Explore West Greenland on this unique Whale Safari. Highlights such as searching for Whales at the mouth of Disko Bay, soaking in the warm hot springs on shore and exploring the fantastic scenery of West Greenland.

The vessel for the trip is the S/V ‘Rembrandt Van Rijn’ which was built as a herring lugger early last century. The vessel was rebuilt as a three-mast passenger sailing schooner in The Netherlands in 1994 and sailed in Spitsbergen (1994 – 1996) and in Galápagos (1998 - 2001). The vessel underwent a complete rebuilding and refurbishment program in 2011. The communication and navigation equipment has been completely revamped according to the latest SOLAS regulations.

The Rembrandt van Rijn measures 56 meters in length (168 ft.), 7 meters in width and has a draft of 2.5 meters. The maximum engine speed is 9 knots. She has an experienced crew of 10 on board including two tour guides. The ship can accommodate a maximum of 34 passengers in 17 twin cabins (1 Twin Shared cabin with porthole (shared shower and toilet), 6 Twin Private Inside cabins (with shower and toilet, no porthole), 10 Twin Private cabins (with shower and toilet and porthole). A spacious restaurant on board the vessel allows all passengers to have their meals at the same time. The vessel furthermore consists of a separate bar including a reading table. The ship is well suited for expedition cruising among small islands and offers good open deck viewing areas, even when under sail. The two inflatable rubber crafts (zodiacs) enable landing and wildlife viewing opportunities in otherwise inaccessible areas.

Deckplan
Click here to view deck plan for the Rembrandt Van Rijn

Countries visited

• Greenland

Places visited

• Nuuk
• Ilulissat

Transportation

Newly restored and fitted out herring lugger S/V ‘Rembrandt Van Rijn’

Included In Price

* Voyage aboard the indicated vessel as indicated in the itinerary.
* All meals throughout the voyage aboard the ship including snacks, coffee and tea.
* All shore excursions and activities throughout the voyage by Zodiac.
* Program of lectures by noted naturalists and leadership by experienced expedition staff.
* Transfers and baggage handling between airport and ship in Greenland harbours on the chartered group flights.
* All miscellaneous service taxes and port charges throughout the program.
* AECO fees and governmental taxes.
* Comprehensive pre-departure material.

Meals Included

This tour includes 20 meals; 7 breakfasts 6 lunches 7 dinners

Not Included In Price

Any airfare, whether on scheduled or charter flights; pre- and post land arrangements; transfers to / from the vessel outside Spitsbergen; passport and visa expenses; Government arrival and departure taxes; meals ashore; baggage, cancellation and personal insurance (which is mandatory); excess baggage charges and all items of a personal nature such as laundry, bar, beverage charges and telecommunication charges; and the customary gratuity at the end of the voyages for stewards and other service personnel aboard (guidelines will be provided).

Note:It is agreed that if world fuel prices will reach or exceed US Dollar 90 per Barrel Brent 90 days prior to departure Oceanwide Expeditions reserves the right to levy a fuel surcharge of US Dollar 25 per passenger per night, to be paid by the contracting party of Oceanwide Expeditions.

Important Information

We strongly recommend to pre-book optional excursions, as these can easily be booked out. Note, however, that weather conditions may affect these excursions and due to this we cannot guarantee that the excursions will run on the time/date booked.

You can do snow shoeing on this voyage.

Day 1: Nuuk

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Arrive from Reykjavik to Nuuk airport on a regularly scheduled flight (Not included in the voyage cost).

After embarking the ship, there is enough time to do some individual sightseeing. Nuuk (Godthåb), the capital of Greenland has a population of about 14.000. You could visit the museum which has a remarkable collection of Inuit mummies, dating from the 15th Century, which were found near Uummannaq, further to the north. The Cultural Centre of Nuuk, which has yearly exhibitions of the works of a Greenlandic artist, is also worth visiting. There are historical buildings from colonial times and bookstores with a good collection of books about Greenland. In the evening we set sail to the north. The waters to the west of the town are a good place to see Humpback Whales and Blue Whales.

Meals Included

1 x Dinners

Day 2: Søndre Isortoq at Ivnnarssuaq

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In Søndre Isortoq at Ivnnarssuaq in the Manitsoq area we visit a large seabird colony with Kittiwakes and Brünnich's Guillemots.

Meals Included

1 x Breakfasts
1 x Lunches
1 x Dinners

Day 3: Visit Evighedsfjord

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We sail past Manitsoq to reach the fantastic landscapes of the Evighedsfjord. There we visit a large seabird colony at Taaterat (Kittiwake) and sail along the nearby glacier front.

Meals Included

1 x Breakfasts
1 x Lunches
1 x Dinners

Day 4: Sailing to Sydbay

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We arrive at Sydbay (Ukivik), where the 18th Century whalers traded with the Eskimo’s at the occasion of the yearly Assivik, when people from a large area come together, on a beautiful sandy beach. We land also at nearby Isortoq where remains of houses from the Thule culture can be found. In this area we may also see Reindeer.

Meals Included

1 x Breakfasts
1 x Lunches
1 x Dinners

Day 5: Sail in the mouth of Disko Bay

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The island groups of Hunde Ejland and Kronprinsens Ejland, at the mouth of Disko Bay, are surrounded by rich waters which attract both seabirds and whales. We intend to call at the small settlement on Hunde Eijland where old dwellings of Greenlands’s Thule culture (dating from the 11th Century) and graves from 18th Century Dutch whalers can be seen. Later we will make Zodiac excursions in the beautiful narrows of the Kronprinsens Ejland archipelago. This day we will have good opportunities to observe foraging Greenland Whales at the mouth of Disko Bay.

Meals Included

1 x Breakfasts
1 x Lunches
1 x Dinners

Day 6: Enjoy warm springs at Qeqertarsuaq

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Another day of opportunities to see Greenland Whales, when we sail to Disko Island and land at Engelskmandens Havn and Fortunebay near Qeqertarsuaq (Godhavn), where there are warm springs.

Meals Included

1 x Breakfasts
1 x Lunches
1 x Dinners

Day 7: Jakobshavn Glacier to Ilullissat

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Today we find ourselves just south of the large Jakobshavn Glacier with its enormous ice- bergs. We climb the hill at Avangnardlit from where we have a fantastic view across the Jakobshavn Isfjord, which is a World Heritage site. In the evening we sail along the front of the glacier and the ice-bergs to Ilullissat, where we will spend the night.

Meals Included

1 x Breakfasts
1 x Lunches
1 x Dinners

Day 8: Departure day from Ilulissat

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Ilulissat (5000 inhabitants) is an important West Greenland town, with museums, institutes bookstores, etc. At mid-day we fly from Ilulissat to Reykjavik by chartered plane.

Meals Included

1 x Breakfasts