A land of stark beauty and contrasts, Greenland can feel like a world apart. Selected as one of our Best Places to Go for 2025, it is the largest island in the world, roughly a quarter the size of the continental United States, but with a small population of approximately 56,000. It’s also the planet’s least densely-populated country. About 80% of Greenland is covered in ice, and the majority of the nation’s inhabitants live along its western coast.
Greenland is also a haven for wildlife: Polar bears patrol the icy coast, humpback whales breach in its waters, and arctic terns perch on its glaciers. If you’re lucky, you’ll also spot the elusive narwhal and its distinctive unicorn tusk. From kayaking among colossal icebergs to witnessing the dance of the Northern Lights and learning about ancient Inuit traditions, Greenland promises a journey unlike any other.
For first-time visitors to this autonomous territory of Denmark, the sheer scale of its icy landscapes can feel both exhilarating and daunting. But don’t let the island’s remoteness deter you. With the addition of direct flights from Newark to Nuuk, Greenland’s capital, on United Airlines in the summer of 2025, it’s about to become a lot more accessible.
Whether you choose to visit via cruise ship or land tour, there are lots of luxury-priced vacations available. Budget options are fewer, but they are developing as visitor numbers climb. Scroll on to find out how to travel to Greenland, the ideal time to visit it, and the best land tours and cruises.
How to fly to Greenland
With the opening of a new international airport in Nuuk last November, travel to the country has become much easier. Flights to Nuuk from Iceland’s Keflavik International Airport, near Reykjavik, are available on Air Greenland and Icelandair. Visitors can also fly from Denmark to Nuuk via Air Greenland, which also has direct flights from Nunavut, Canada.
Greenland is also investing in modernizing its airport infrastructure to improve accessibility and boost tourism and economic growth. Beginning in June 2025, United Airlines will offer direct 4-hour flights from Newark to Nuuk.
In 2026, two more airports are projected to open in Ilulissat, a major tourist destination known for its ice fjord, and in Qaqortoq, a Nordic-inflected village of about 3,000 in South Greenland. This will make it much easier to see more of the country since it has no railways, internal waterways, and virtually no roads between its towns.
Best time to visit Greenland
Greenland’s weather is most favorable between June and September, although even then, conditions can often be unpredictable. In summer you’ll experience the midnight sun, with longer daylight hours and milder temperatures, which is ideal for outdoor activities like hiking and kayaking. Summer is also an excellent time to view wildlife, but keep in mind that this is also peak tourist season, so expect higher prices and more people.
The prime time for viewing the Northern Lights falls between December and April, when the days get shorter and there are extended periods of darkness. Dog sledding and snowmobiling are popular activities during these months, but you’ll also encounter very cold temperatures and limited access to some areas.
Consider visiting during the shoulder seasons of spring and fall, which are generally less crowded and more affordable than summer. Spring, when ice conditions become more favorable, is often a time for traditional activities such as seal hunting and fishing. You may also have opportunities to attend local celebrations and festivals related to the arrival of spring. Autumn marks the transition from summer to winter, and popular activities then include boat tours and kayaking before the sea ice returns.
Best land tours in Greenland
Best Hiking Tours: Wilderness Travel
Wilderness Travel offers two Greenland itineraries that include Hiking the Fjords of Greenland and Iceland, an 11-day land tour that visits the east coast of Greenland and Northwest Iceland. Considering its all-day hikes can include up to 2,600-foot elevation gains, this tour is not for the faint at heart. But participants are rewarded with a cruise into Sermilik Fjord, with a vast ice wall that is part of the Greenland Ice Sheet. Prices start at $11,295 per person, with dates available in June and July 2025 and 2026.
An 8-day Western Greenland Expedition visits the capital, Nuuk, as well as Kangerlussuaq and the Ilulissat Icefjord, a UNESCO World Heritage Site at the edge of town, before calling on the Inuit settlement of Sermermiut. Guests also angle for cod and redfish in the Western Fjords, then enjoy their catch in Nuuk. In Kangerlussuaq, they search for musk oxen and walk the Greenland Ice Sheet. Prices start at $8,195 per person, with dates available in August 2025 and July/August 2026.
Best luxury bespoke tours: Nomad Greenland
Nomad Greenland emphasizes tailored adventures. These cost more, but they allow travelers to customize their own itineraries. A private guide helps plan adventures each day, and depending on how experiential travelers want their trip to be, they can fill their time with options like iceberg cruises or helicopter tours to the ice cap. For culinary activities, Nomad can plan a guided foraging tour or arrange a visit to a local home in Saqqaq for coffee and cake during a kaffemik, which is a traditional form of casual community gathering, to enjoy the warmth of Greenlandic hospitality.
Focusing on small groups of up to 10 people, Nomad also has two remote Arctic retreats in Saqqaq and Kiattua in West Greenland. On the edge of Disko Bay in Saqqaq, vacationers can relax in a 430 square-foot tent with its own bathroom. They’ll enjoy similar accommodations in Kiattua, and both camps also feature a central dining tent and Wi-Fi. Prices are customizable depending on location and length of stay, but start at approximately $9,500 for six days at the Kiattua Wilderness Retreat.
Best variety tours in Greenland: Raw Arctic
Focusing on tours that range from a half-day to 10 days, Raw Arctic works with local guides, which supports their communities and ensures that visitors gain insight into the region from people who know it best. Half-day tours include a whale safari through Nuuk Fjord ($233 per person), a trip to the Kapisillit Settlement ($335 per person), or a three-hour Northern Lights cruise ($233 per person).
Longer tours include a 10-day fly fishing adventure on the Qussuk River ($3,633 per person) and a six-day deep sea fishing expedition in search of cod, halibut, and wolffish ($5,086 per person).
All-inclusive luxury cabin itineraries are also an option, such as the 3-day Camp Itivi Retreat. Situated at the edge of the icefjord, it serves Greenlandic cuisine curated by a private chef and has wellness facilities like a spa and sauna. For activities, travelers can create their own itinerary from a menu of options that include hiking and boat charter tours. Prices start at $4,360 per person.
Best small group adventure tour for Greenland: Intrepid Travel
While Intrepid Travel sells a variety of polar cruises, its 10-day Greenland Expedition may be the best overview, taking in a range of destinations from Nuuk to Ilulissat’s ice fjord, which are about 350 miles apart on Greenland’s west coast. By day, guests travel on foot, by kayak, or they take ferries through ice floes. Because the trip operates during the summer, groups will witness the midnight sun, and they will take a two-day glacier hike to an eco-lodge on Lyngmark Mountain and visit the Greenland National Museum & Archives while in Nuuk. Prices start at $7,125 per person, with a maximum of 11 participants. Tours run between July and September.
Best cruises to Greenland
Best budget cruise: Carnival Cruise Line
Take a 14-day cruise on the 2,100-passenger Carnival Pride that travels to Greenland and Canada from Baltimore, Maryland. Two itineraries are available, with two sailings scheduled for 2025 and one in 2026. Highlights include a visit to Nanortalik, Greenland’s southernmost town, and to the hot springs in Qaqortoq. This ship was launched in 2001, so it’s not the freshest vessel on the market, but it’s one of the only ways to get to Greenland on a mainstream cruise departing from the United States. Prices start at $1,474 per person, based on double occupancy.
Best small ship expedition cruise: Adventure Canada
Adventure Canada’s small ship expedition cruises currently offer four itineraries that focus on Greenland, and they sail on two new ships in 2026, Exploris One and Ocean Nova. The 13-day “The Heart of the Arctic” itinerary travels through the Arctic Circle from Kangerlussuaq (see the massive ice sheet and free-ranging musk oxen) and Nuuk before crossing the Davis Strait to Northeast Canada. (Prices start at $6,495 per person, based on double occupancy.)
Travel from Iceland to Greenland on the 13-day “In the Wake of the Vikings” cruise, which starts in Reykjavik, Iceland, and travels through Prince Christian Sound and Sermersooq (the huge southeastern municipality that includes Nuuk) before ending in Kangerlussuaq in the west. (Prices start at $5,395 per person, based on double occupancy.) The 12-day Circling the Midnight Sun voyage travels to Canada’s wild Baffin Island and then to Greenland, and the 15-day Torngat Mountains Adventure pairs Greenland with Canada’s Labrador coast. (Prices per person start at $6,495 for the Circling the Midnight Sun voyage, and $9,495 for the Torngat Mountains voyage, based on double occupancy.)
Best environmentally conscious cruise: HX Expeditions
Norway-based HX Expeditions, formerly Hurtigruten Expeditions, launched three new “Grand Greenland” itineraries in 2025 that start and end in Nuuk: Mythical Lands of the North, Icy Giants of Disko Bay, and Farthest North to Thule and Kane Basin. All of the cruises sail along Greenland’s west coast and include Disko Bay, Ilulissat Icefjord, Uummannaq Fjord, and the central west coast, including Sisimiut, which lies 25 miles north of the Arctic Circle. It’s one of Greenland’s fastest-growing cities (more than 5,000 residents now!) and a gateway for outdoor adventures like hiking, boating, and cross-country skiing.
Voyages are aboard the 530-passenger hybrid battery-powered MS Fridtjof Nansen, a vessel that prioritizes low emissions and waste reduction. Greenlanders also design and manage all its itineraries. Cruises run from 13 to 21 days, and prices range from $10,828 to $15,820. HX was also the first cruise operator to offer flight-inclusive packages to include flights from Newark to Nuuk.
Best variety of Greenland cruise: Viking
Viking, another luxury line, visits Greenland on both its ocean and expedition voyages, and in 2025, it visits the Arctic for the first time on multiple new itineraries in Greenland. The 13-day Into the Northwest Passage cruise is one of its most recent, which sails roundtrip from Nuuk. Pricing starts at $13,995 per person based on double occupancy.
