Long Weekend by Disco Bay

Departure from Copenhagen is in the morning, and after approximately 4½ hours’ flight, you will set foot on the world’s largest island. Following a brief stop in Kangerlussuaq, we continue toward Ilulissat on a smaller plane. It is a beautiful 45-minute flight, which allows you to take in the magnificent Arctic landscape, the barren wilderness, and the magnitude of the Inland Ice Cape. During our approach to Ilulissat, the city will appear as a colorful dot in the middle of nowhere. The colored houses stand in stark contrast to the rugged mountains, and you can look forward to the next days filled with icebergs, nature clad in autumn colors, and cultural impressions from a highly traditional Greenland town.

The bus of Hotel Arctic will pick you up at the airport, and you check in at the wonderfully situated four-star hotel. Here you will meet one of our guides who will brief you about the city, the area, dining, and excursions.

We continue with a guided town walk. You will learn about the history of the Ilulissat and experience its many interesting aspects. One of them is the many sled dogs that live here. Most of the dogs stay outside of the town at a large dog site if they are not roaming the terrain.

This evening, you will have a lovely welcome dinner in the hotel’s amazing restaurant (drinks not included).

Beautiful iceberg vistas are the setting for the old settlement of the Sermermiut 1½ kilometers south of Ilulissat. For 4,000 years, different Inuit cultures lived in the settlement. Hear the story about the Inuit people’s life and traditions before the Europeans came to Greenland, see the ruins and touch the permafrost with your own hands.

On this hike, we will pass “Kællingekløften” where you can enjoy the magnificent view of the Ice Fjord, before heading back again. During the hike, there will be time to talk about flora, fauna, geology, and not least, the story behind the omnipresent ice.

More than 40 million ton of ice flows out into the fjord every day. The result is gigantic icebergs, which can be more than 100 meters on each side and with a height of up to 100 meters above the water surface. These giants strand at the end of the fjord, and that gives you a good opportunity to sail among them. An exceptional experience, you do not want to be without while visiting Ilulissat. Remember to bring warm clothes, or you can rent a suit of sealskin.

In the evening we will go on Northern Lights Safari. When the sky is clear on cold nights, you can see the most beautiful northern lights over Ilulissat. Aurora Borealis is, without a doubt, the night sky’s most spectacular phenomenon. We are going to drive away from the lights of the town and go to where the darkness is most intense. The guide will tell us all about the causes of the phenomenon. You will also get tips and tricks to enable you to take the best pictures of the colored lights as they cross the night sky. 

The legend says that, when the Northern Lights dance in the sky, the sprits are playing football with a walrus skull. Other people think that children conceived under the Northern lights will be more intelligent.

Use your final full day in Greenland to experience the atmosphere and life in the town. Go back in time and get a sense of history at the cozy museum established in Knud Rasmussen’s birthplace. The fishermen at “Brættet,” the local marketplace, provide you with an impression of the interesting food products of Greenland that do not come fresher than this.

When you have satisfied your appetite for visual experiences, it is time to treat your tastebuds and fill your stomach. The restaurants in Ilulissat invite you on a journey of discovery through local specialties such as Greenland sushi, deep-fried ammassats (small fish), whale and seal – and in the cafés, freshly baked cakes will tempt your sweet tooth. This is indeed a holiday that will impress all your senses.

After an adventurous, extended weekend, it is time to say your goodbyes to Ilulissat. Greenland is likely to have made quite an impressions on you that will spark a special feeling and flash a series of indelible mental images whenever you hear the word Greenland mentioned in the future.

You depart from Ilulissat via Kangerlussuaq, arriving in Copenhagen in the evening.