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8 day - Independent tailor-made Greenland tour.
This short 8 day tour of Greenland lets you experience a modern Greenlandic town north of the Polar Circle, the unique Disko Bay and the wildlife in the area. See majestic Icebergs float in the fiord right outside the town and experience at close range the impressive glacier of Eqi.
- Day 1
- Fly Reykjavik to Ilulissat (Saturday)
- Day 2
- Ilulissat
- Day 3
- Boat to Eqi
- Day 4
- Hiking around the Glacier at Eqi
- Day 5
- Boat to Ilulissat
- Days 6 - 7
- Optional excursions in Ilullissat
- Day 8
- Flight to Reykjavik
- Start/End Place
- Reykjavik, Iceland tours
- Destinations Visited
- Iceland tours
- Greenland tours
- Duration
- 8 Days
- Type
- Touring
- Suitability
- Easy independent holiday suitable for singles & couples
- Code
- IWG001
Details
Transportation
Return flights Reykjavik to Greenland and boat across the Disko Bay to Eqi.
Included
- Flights ex Reykjavik to Greenland west coast with all taxes
- Arrival & departure transfer in Ilulissat
- Welcome dinner
- Daily breakfast
- City walk/tour with local guide in Ilulissat.
- Ilulissat accommodation in twin/double rooms
- Boat trip Ilullisat to Camp Eqi return
- Two nights at Camp Eqi in standard hut with breakfast & dinner
- 24-hour emergency service
- Taxes and service fees
Not Included
Flight tickets to/from start and end points, any airport taxes, travel insurance, visas, gratitudes and any items of personal nature.
Itinerary
Day 1 - Fly Reykjavik to Ilulissat (Saturday)
Midday flight from Reykjavik Domestic Airport to Ilulissat. Meet & greet by an local guide and transfer to the hotel for check-in. After a welcome information meeting we do a guided city walk.
Meals
1 DinnerAccommodation
Hotel Arctic or similarDay 2 - Ilulissat
Ilulissat is the third largest town municipality in Greenland with more than 5000 inhabitants. About 4500 people lives in the town Ilulissat, and 500 people lives in the four remaining small settlements: Ilimanaq, Oqaatsut, Qeqertaq and Saqqaq.
300 kilometres north of the Polar Circle, Ilulissat lies beautifully situated close to one of the worlds largest glaciers – Kangia. The glacier produces about 20 million tons of ice each day, all floating into the Ilulissat Icefiord and the Disko Bay. All this ice gives at good basis for fishing for Halibut which is the main occupation in Ilulissat. Due to the unique ice and landscape, the area of Kangia and the Icefiord has been a UNESCO world heritage site since 2004.
You have several days, at the start and end of the trip, in Ilulissat with time to join some of the many optional excursions, which allows you freedom to chose what you want to see and do. You can enjoy helicopter flights over the Icecap and visit remote settlements where fishing and hunting still continues as it has for centuries.
Optional excursions during stay in Ilulissat:
• The Icebergs of Sermermiut
• Hunter's Settlement - Rodebay
• Midnight Cruise to the Ice Fiord
• By Helicopter to the Ice Cap (operation depend on weather and helicopter capacity)
• Hunter's Settlement - Ilimanaq
• Feeding the huskies
• Whale Safari
Meals
1 BreakfastAccommodation
Hotel Arctic or similarDay 3 - Boat to Eqi
We travel out by boat to Eqi, 5 hours by boat through the Disko bay. Very few places in Greenland are as beautiful as the Eqi glacier, which comes out in a fiord about 80 km north of Ilulissat.
Departure from Ilulissat, in a modern and convenient tourist boats, is early. There is tea and coffee on the way and a light breakfast is served. At around midday, you arrive in front of the Glacier, the boat will stay in front of the glacier for approximately 1½ hour, while we hope to spot some amazing calvings and enjoy lunch.
Around 2pm, we land at Port Victor, the harbour at Ice Camp Eqi. The camp guides will greet and show everybody their huts. Coffee and cake is served and practical information on the area is given. The rest of the day could be spent by joining the excursions that hike to the lagoon, the moraine and the glacier or enjoying the view from the huts.
You do not need to bring all your luggage along for these two days. We recommend that you only pack the most necessary in a day pack, since after arriving in Port Victor you have to carry you own luggage 400 m upwards to Ice Camp Eqi. Remember, however, it can be cold.
Meals
1 Breakfast1 Dinner
Accommodation
Eqi Camp standard hutsDay 4 - Hiking around the Glacier at Eqi
There are several options for hiking here to view all the angles of the Eqi Glacier. From the huts you can join an optional group hike around the small lagoon at the southern end of the glacier. There are often large flocks of geese in the lagoon in the breeding season. The hike goes further up the moraine where we can look down into the enormous cracks in the glacier few meters away from us. From here you will also get an overview of a large part of the 70m high glacier-front and see the impressive calvings from the glacier.
If you wish to join the optional hike, please book early.
Meals
1 Breakfast1 Dinner
Accommodation
Camp Eqi standard hutsDay 5 - Boat to Ilulissat
Today we travel back to Ilulissat by boat across Disko Bay.
Around 15 species of whale are regular visitors to Greenlandic waters, but only three of these - the beluga whale, the narwhal and the bowhead whale - remain in Greenland during the winter. Whale species such as the blue whale and killer whale are only rarely seen. During brief stays in Greenland in the summer season it is, however, usually completely different species that can be seen: the humpback whale, minke whale and fin whale. The humpback, in particular, is wonderful to see as it often comes up very close to the boats.
Rich in capelin for the whales to feed on, the Disko Bay waters are excellent places to watch for sea mammals of all types.
Meals
1 BreakfastAccommodation
Hotel Arctic or similarDays 6 - 7 - Optional excursions in Ilullissat
The next two days are free for optional activities around Ilullissat. There is plenty to do, however, if you wish to book a helicopter flight over the Icecap, please organize this with us before departure.
Meals
2 BreakfastsAccommodation
Hotel Arctic or similarDay 8 - Flight to Reykjavik
You are transferred to the airport in the mid morning for flight from Ilulissat to Reykjavik Domestic Airport where the tour ends.
Meals
1 BreakfastPlease contact us for a personal quote. Accommodation books out early. Price per person.
31 Aug 2019
31 Aug 2019
Important Information
If you wish to book a helicopter flight over the Icecap, please organize this with us before departure.
Gallery
Interactive Tour Map
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Travel Insurance
Travel Insurance
Travel insurance is compulsory for all tours with 50 Degrees North. Please ensure that you have this organised as we will need to see proof of this upon issuing your tour documentation. Please contact us for a quote or visit http://www.suresave.net.au/
Optional Excursions - Ilulissat
The indicated prices are per person unless otherwise stated. Prices may change without prior notice due to specific conditions at the time and place of the excursion. Please note that not all excursions are available during every tour-programme that includes this destination. Please refer to the tour-programme for a list of excursions available on that particular tour.
1: City Walk Ilulissat
During a walk through town the guide tells about the history of Ilulissat. We will visit the fishermen at the harbour and the hunters at their trading post. We will show you the church and the house where the famous explorer Knud Rasmussen was born..
Duration: 2 hours (approx.)
Price: DKK 250
2: Visiting the old settlement of Sermermiut
By bus as far as the road goes. A beautiful walk along the UNESCO designated Ilulissat Ice Fiord to Sermermiut where traces from the 3 old Eskimo cultures still can be seen.The different Inuit cultures have lived here during the last 4000 years, and today you can still find artefacts, which witness their presence. Hear the story about the life and the customs of the Greenlanders before the Europeans arrival; see the ruins, the kitchen mitten, and fell the permafrost with your own hands.
Duration: 3 hours (approx.)
Price: DKK 250 including refreshment
3: Boat trip to Hunter's Settlement - Rodebay
By boat to the small settlement Oqaitsut/Rodebay with a local population of approx. 40 persons totally dependent on fishing and hunting - a quite different world compared to the nearby town of Ilulissat. Guided walk through the village before we will enjoy lunch at the old trading station. You can walk back as an option (6 hours one way).
Duration: 6 hours (approx.)
Price: DKK 1020 including lunch
4: Midnight Cruise to the Ice Fiord
The midnight sun and the warm red colours reflecting in the gigantic icebergs is a fantastic sight. Cruise between the icebergs and enjoy a late Martini on "the real rocks"! Season for midnight sun is approx. 22may-24jul. Outside this season the excursion is operated as an evening cruise with the beautiful sunset reflecting over the icebergs. Remember to bring warm clothes or you can rent suit of sealskin.
Duration: 3 hours (approx.)
Price: DKK 600
5: By Helicopter to the Ice Cap
As a new service you can now pre-book our helicopter excursion in Ilulissat. The tour includes a ground stop where you can leave the helicopter! Either in front of the glacier itself (long tour) or mid fiord overlooking the whole ice fiord (short tour). Actual tour depends on helicopter available. During the flight we cruise in low altitude over the Ilulissat Ice Fiord which is now on the UNESCO World Heritage list. Operation depend on weather and helicopter capacity.
55min. flying time + ground stop DKK 2895
30min. flying time + ground stop DKK 2400
6: Hunter's Settlement - Ilimanaq
By boat to the settlement of Ilimanaq, which is situated just south of the Kangia Ice Fiord. Ilimanaq has a population of approx. 80 persons mainly depending upon fishing and hunting. A completely different world compared to the town of Ilulissat. Upon arrival to Ilimanaq guided tour of the settlement before enjoying our lunch with a local family.
Can also be operated by night at a smaller surcharge of DKK 250 per person.
Duration: 6 hours (approx.)
Price: DKK 800 including lunch
10: Feeding the huskies
Ilulissat is sledge-area and the approx. 3500 dogs in town are still used for both work and fun every winter. We invite you to join the feeding of a dog team. You can see, feel, touch and most of all hear the howling of 20 hungry dogs. The owner will demonstrate the sledge and the harness and tell about life as a sledge dog in Greenland. Good shoes advised!
Duration: 1 hour (approx.)
Price: DKK 125
11: Whale Safari
By boat we go out into the Disko Bay to spot whales. In the summer time humback whales come to the Disko Bay to feed on the capelin, a small herring-like fish. As the humpback whales are protected they are very trusting and can often be enjoyed at close range. However, as this is not a zoo there is, of course, no guarantee for seeing the whales.
Duration: 5 hours (approx.)
Price: DKK 995 including lunch packet