Cruises to Greenland
Scoresby Sund, Aurora borealis
Witness the Northern Lights at Scoresby Sund
RVR27-18. The Scoresby Sund cruise travels into the largest fjord system in the world. The expedition visits historic Inuit sites, sails through sensational scenery and tops it all off with a night-time sky filled with the Northern Lights.
Spitsbergen - Northeast Greenland, Aurora Borealis
A classic three island voyage : Ice , Inuit and Remoteness
PLA16-18. The Spitsbergen and Northeast Greenland cruise sails waters filled with breath-taking scenery. The expedition passes through areas that are home to seals, seabirds, whales, and polar bears, topped off with nighttime viewing of the Northern Lights.
Scoresby Sund - Aurora Borealis
Witness the Northern Lights at Scoresby Sund
PLA17-18. The East Greenland – Scoresby Sund cruise crosses the Arctic Circle into the home waters of multiple species of whale. The expedition will spot huge icebergs as it journeys into the largest and deepest fjord system in the world. Along the way the Northern Lights is guiding our way.
Greenland cruise video
Greenland photo
Greenland story
Under the Northern Lights of Greenland
Driving towards the port in Akureyri, I recognized Plancius from miles away. This was the ship that once took me to the end of the Earth, the...
Greenland blog
10 Tried-and-True Bird Photography Tips
It’s easy to understand the human fascination with birds: They’re beautiful, graceful (usually), and physiologically equipped to take flight...
Greenland experiences
See the highlights you may experience::
Greenland wildlife
See the impressive array of wildlife you may encounter::
Map of Greenland
Greenland cruise reviews
Overall rating based on 20 votes
Vom Abholen am Flughafen in Longyearbyen bis zur Ankunft in Rejkjavik lief alles wie am Schnürchen. Großes Lob an die Schiffsbesatzung, das Servicepersonal und das Expeditionsteam. War eine ganz tolle...
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Upgraded to a superior cabin with 2 bottles of complimentary wine was a great start as was the humpback whales "show" the first evening. Force 10 in the Denmark Strait was quite an experience but was...
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Brilliant all-round. A superb trip & log. Fantastic photos. Have informed DtW of how excellent it was in every way. Convivial guides / excellent food ( including vegetarian ) / cabin staffing. Many thanks...
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A fantastic trip! Wonderful views, great hikes and mostly absolutely fantastic staff who were kind, considerate, knowledgeable and friendly! I'd totally travel with oceanwide again :) A great experience.
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Dear fellow-travelers, My wife and I had the extreme prevelage to join countless Oceanwide expeditions during the last 20 years, resulting in thousands of new " free-off-costs" images for the Int. Imagebank...
Greenland FAQ
Where is Greenland?
Greenland is the world’s biggest island stretching approximately 2800 kilometres (1750 miles) from north to south. 85% of Greenland is covered in ice and is therefore white on the map.
Read more >>What is the temperature and weather like in Greenland?
The size of Greenland creates a diverse range of temperature and climate conditions. For example, the populated sections of Greenland are all found on the coast because this area is free of ice. Meanwhile, the central region of Greenland is covered by...
Read more >>What will I see along the coastline of Greenland?
The surface of Greenland is dramatic and spectacular. Heavily indented with numerous fjords, the coast is formed by spectacular high mountains, 2000 meters (6500 feet) high cliffs and innumerable glaciers. The large glaciers produce the huge cathedral-like...
Read more >>What wildlife can I expect in Greenland?
A Greenland cruise may enable you to see a large variety of birds. The number of land mammal species is relatively small, but it is still possible to see polar bears, Arctic hares, Reindeer, Muskoxen, and Arctic foxes. Marine mammals such as Fin whale,...
Read more >>What does the surface of Greenland look like?
Huge outlet glaciers slowly slide down the mountains towards the sea where the ice breaks of and creates the huge cathedral like icebergs that are so abundant in the Greenlandic waters.
Read more >>What is the time in Greenland?
Greenland uses Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), with a range of UTC +0 to -4. This means that if it is 18:00 UTC (6 p.m.) in Nuuk when you travel to Greenland, it would be 16:00 (4 p.m.) in New York City, USA, 21:00 (9 p.m.) in London, U.K. and 09:00...
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About Greenland
Greenland: The Land and People
Fewer than 100,000 people call Greenland home, the majority of them Inuit – the indigenous people of the Arctic. Positioned northeast of Canada, Greenland is considered part of North America, though politically it has always been associated with Scandinavia.
Despite the mile-thick ice sheet that covers most of the island, Greenland is home to a variety of wildlife. Numerous land mammals reside along the northern and eastern shores, where human populations are scarce. The waters around Greenland are similarly rich with belugas, blues, fins, Greenland whales (bowheads), minkes, narwhals, and sperm whales.
Greenland’s ice sheet is the only one of its size outside Antarctica. About a tenth of the Earth’s surface is covered in similar sheets, nearly all of which are concentrated in Greenland and the Antarctic Continent. As such, human centers of activity―even the capital of Nuuk―are chiefly located along the shore. It almost goes without saying, then, that there are no roads connecting the Greenland coasts. Travel there is done only by air and sea.
Facts About Greenland
- Greenland is officially part of Denmark, though it retains a great degree of self-rule
- Almost 80% of Greenland is frozen in ice – only Antarctica has a larger ice sheet
- The remaining 20% of Greenland’s ice-free land is nearly the size of Sweden
- Greenland is the largest island (and least densely populated landmass) on Earth
- An estimated two million seals live in the waters around Greenland
- Greenland’s ice sheet is estimated to be between 400,000 and 800,000 years old
- Words like “igloo” and “kayak” – and more than a few synonyms for snow – originated from the Inuit of Greenland
- Greenland’s warmest temperatures don’t average much higher than 10°C even during the summer
Travel to Greenland
Those who join one of our cruises to Greenland, or Kalaallit Nunaat (Land of the People) as it is called in Greenlandic, encounter a country in which European and Inuit cultures intersect to create a world wholly its own. It is a severe but stunningly picturesque landscape of sprawling ice, towering rock, and limitless sky-blue sea.
From the midnight sun to the northern lights, the great polar bear to the colossal blue whale, the full range of this mythic environment’s awe-inspiring attractions are possible on our many Greenland cruises. Our ice-strengthened cruise ships, Plancius and Ortelius, will provide you a comfortable home base from which to embark on daily expeditions, allowing you to dig deep into the Greenland experience. And if traditional sailing is more your speed, join us aboard our three-masted schooner, Rembrandt van Rijn.
Our Greenland expeditions afford you experiences that are truly once-in-a-lifetime: hiking the same trails as the Vikings hundreds of years ago, watching the many species of whale that visit the spirited Greenland coast, meeting the Inuit people and learning firsthand about their vibrant Thule ancestry―not to mention bird watching, polar diving, and kayaking opportunities also available when you explore this otherworldly Arctic island with us.
You can see the wide array of Greenland cruises we offer on our dedicated Greenland Cruise Page.
