East & South Greenland Explorer

Experience history, dazzling glaciers, and search for polar bears in aurora-lit southeast Greenland

Titel

East & South Greenland Explorer

Start – End

Reiscode

PLA11-26

Taal

Engelstalige reisleiding

Schip

m/v Plancius

Embarkation / Disembarkation

Akureyri - Narsarsuaq

Nights / Days

13 nachten

Group request For reservations with more than 15 guests you can contact us directly
Reisbeschrijving
LET OP:

All itineraries are for guidance only. Programs may vary depending on ice, weather, and wildlife conditions. Landings are subject to site availabilities, permissions, and environmental concerns per AECO regulations. Official sailing plans and landing slots are scheduled with AECO prior to the start of the season, but the expedition leader determines the final plan. Flexibility is paramount for expedition cruises. The average cruising speed of our vessel is 10.5 knots.

Korte beschrijving

Southeast Greenland offers many historic sites relating to ancient Thule, Norse, and Moravian culture while also allowing us to walk in the footsteps of famed polar explorers like Fridtjof Nansen. Glaciers, icebergs, and fjords make for a dazzling environment where we may see polar bears, and the crossing to Iceland will give us a great opportunity to observe migrating whales and seabirds.

Day 1: On the Iceland road

Your journey begins in the morning - the scent of adventure is on the air! By request, you can transfer via chartered bus (T) from the bus stop at Harpa Concert Hall and Conference Centre at Austurbakki, Reykjavik (the meeting point), to the ship in Akureyri (the embarkation point). You arrive in the afternoon after a six-hour drive through the beautiful landscapes of Northern Iceland.

PLEASE NOTE: This transfer (T) must be booked and paid for in advance. In the early evening, the ship departs from the port of Akureyri, sailing north toward the Denmark Strait.

Sailing to east Greenland

While sailing north, you will likely see various bird life, including fulmars, kittiwakes, gannets, and common guillemots. You then cross the Arctic Circle, possibly spotting whales. By evening, the first icebergs flash into sight with your approach to the east Greenland Blosseville coast, a wild, remote, and dramatic area. With a fresh breeze in the air, your Arctic adventure has truly begun.

A myriad of mighty fjords and valleys

Sailing southward along the East Greenland coast, we enter several fjords competing in beauty: d'Aunay, Nansen, Kangerlussuaq, and possibly either Ikersuaq or Kangertitsivaqmiit. Most of these fjords feature glacier front at the head, and any one of them can offer us a chance to spot polar bears and narwhals. The head of Mikis Fjord provides good possibilities for a long hike. The landscapes you will see in this area are typical of this part of Greenland and are especially beautiful.

Smalltown Greenland

Tasiilaq, once known as Angmagssalik (about 2,000 inhabitants), is our next port of call. This charming town is the center of East Greenland, boasting a museum where you can learn about the colorful local history of this incredibly remote area.

In the steps of Nansen

We next sail south to land at Umivik, an accessible bay where the explorer Fridtjof Nansen ascended the Greenland ice sheet during his pioneering 1888 Greenland expedition. Nansen and his party crossed the Greenland ice sheet, reaching Godthaab on the west coast, where they remained for several months before being picked up. In Umivik, you may even be able to trace his footsteps with a short walk in the area.

The valley of Mariedal

Today, we circumnavigate Skjoldungen through one of the most spectacular fjords of southeast Greenland. We then land at Qornoq to see the remains of houses from the Thule culture. We will then visit Mariedal, a beautiful valley once frequented by Greenlanders, to collect berries in autumn.

Exploring Greenland's settled past

Moving on to Timmiarmiut, we can see an abandoned Greenlandic settlement and, weather-dependent, possibly sail into the fjord. Polar bears have sometimes been spotted here. As an alternative, we may visit Igutsait, another fjord just to the south.

Prins Christian Sund mountains

One of the highlights of the voyage is our westward passing of the Prins Christian Sund, surrounded by mountains of over 1,000 meters (3,300 feet). We may land at Svaerdfiskens Havn or, in the evening, at Ikigait, once known as Herjolfsnes, a former Norse settlement.

Hot springs and Moravian mission

We will then try to get to Uunartoq, where we can bathe in a large, hot natural spring surrounded by icebergs. Across the bay, at Vagar, we find the remains of a Norse homestead. Later, we reach Lichtenau, a lovely, though nearly deserted, Greenlandic village where the Herrnhuters established and maintained a religious mission in the 18th century. Some of their large German-style buildings still remain.

Erik the Red's base

In Eriksfjord, we land at Ittileq, in a bay from which we can walk 4 km (2.5 miles) into Igaliku (Gardar). In this small Greenlandic village, we can see the remains of a 13th-century Norse church and other ruins. Then, in the afternoon, we plan to visit Bratthalid, the base of Erik the Red, the famous Norse explorer who was the first European to found a settlement in Greenland. This sub-Arctic area has birch trees, agriculture, and cattle - not common across much of Greenland. Later that evening, we will arrive at Narssarsuaq for the final night of our voyage.

From the WW2-era airport of Narssarsuaq, we fly back to Copenhagen or Keflavik. The trip may have ended, but the memories will last forever.

m/v Plancius

Ons oudste schip, de Plancius, is een klassieke keuze voor een aantal van onze populairste poolreizen.

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Hutten & prijzen

4-persoons hut met patrijspoort

  • Hutgrootte 12 m²
  • 1 patrijspoort
  • 2 stapelbedden
  • Privé douche & toilet
  • Bureau & stoel
  • Haardroger
  • Flatscreen TV
  • Telefoon & WiFi (extra)
  • Kluisje
  • Voldoende bergruimte
  • Deze hut is geschikt voor families met kinderen, of passagiers die geen aparte hut of meer luxueuze hutten vereisen.

Complete cabine

31000 USD

Prijs voor de complete hut, volledig bewoond.

Sorry, cabin is not available

Ligplaats delen

7750 USD

Deel je hut met anderen voor de beste prijs.

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3-persoons hut met patrijspoort

  • 1 patrijspoort
  • 1 stapelbed & 2 aparte bedden
  • Privé douche & toilet
  • Bureau & stoel
  • Haardroger
  • Flatscreen TV
  • Telefoon & WiFi (extra)
  • Kluisje
  • Voldoende bergruimte
  • Deze hut is geschikt voor families met kinderen, of passagiers die geen aparte hut of meer luxueuze hutten vereisen.

Complete cabine

28050 USD

Prijs voor de complete hut, volledig bewoond.

Sorry, cabin is not available

Ligplaats delen

9350 USD

Deel je hut met anderen voor de beste prijs.

Sorry, berth is not available

2-persoons hut met patrijspoort

  • Hutgrootte 12 m²
  • 1 patrijspoort
  • 2 bedden
  • Privé douche & toilet
  • Bureau & stoel
  • Haardroger
  • Flatscreen TV
  • Telefoon & WiFi (extra)
  • Kluisje
  • Voldoende bergruimte

Complete cabine

21700 USD

Prijs voor de complete hut, volledig bewoond.

Sorry, cabin is not available

Eenpersoonshut

18445 USD

Prijs voor de volledige hut bezet door 1 persoon (1.7het gedeelde tarief).

Sorry, cabin is not available

Ligplaats delen

10850 USD

Deel je hut met anderen voor de beste prijs.

Sorry, berth is not available

2-persoons hut met raam

  • Hutgrootte tussen 12,5 m² en 13,5 m²
  • 1 raam
  • 2 bedden
  • Privé douche & toilet
  • Bureau & stoel
  • Haardroger
  • Flatscreen TV
  • Telefoon & WiFi (extra)
  • Kluisje
  • Voldoende bergruimte

Complete cabine

23900 USD

Prijs voor de complete hut, volledig bewoond.

Sorry, cabin is not available

Eenpersoonshut

20315 USD

Prijs voor de volledige hut bezet door 1 persoon (1.7het gedeelde tarief).

Sorry, cabin is not available

Ligplaats delen

11950 USD

Deel je hut met anderen voor de beste prijs.

Sorry, berth is not available

2-persoons deluxe hut

  • Hutgrootte 13,5 m²
  • 2 ramen
  • 2 bedden
  • Privé douche & toilet
  • Bureau & stoel
  • Haardroger
  • Flatscreen TV
  • Telefoon & WiFi (extra)
  • Kluisje
  • Voldoende bergruimte
  • Deze cabines zijn hoek hutten en zijn iets ruimer dan de normale Twin Window hutten.

Complete cabine

25300 USD

Prijs voor de complete hut, volledig bewoond.

Sorry, cabin is not available

Eenpersoonshut

21505 USD

Prijs voor de volledige hut bezet door 1 persoon (1.7het gedeelde tarief).

Sorry, cabin is not available

Ligplaats delen

12650 USD

Deel je hut met anderen voor de beste prijs.

Sorry, berth is not available

Superior

  • Hutgrootte tussen 21 m² en 23 m²
  • 2 ramen
  • 1 2-persoons bed
  • 1 bank bed
  • Privé douche & toilet
  • Bureau & stoel
  • Haardroger
  • Flatscreen TV
  • Koelkast
  • Koffie en thee zetter
  • Telefoon & WiFi (extra)
  • Kluisje
  • Voldoende bergruimte

Complete cabine

28100 USD

Prijs voor de complete hut, volledig bewoond.

Sorry, cabin is not available

Eenpersoonshut

23885 USD

Prijs voor de volledige hut bezet door 1 persoon (1.7het gedeelde tarief).

Sorry, cabin is not available
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