Greenland! Have you been here?

I have a friend who lived near Nuuk for about 15 years. I see her two or three times a month on zoom and when I see her next I'll ask. I do remember her telling me it is not warm at any time.

Haven't been to Greenland, but Iceland is fantastic. Do the Ring Road tour. We used Arctic Visitor.

I've seen a couple of cruises that visit both Iceland and Greenland.

And this:

https://www.nathab.com/europe/greenland-nature-adventure

I have been to Iceland and loved it. Happy to go back there again.
Not interested in cruises. They just are not for me.
Thanks, Nigel. There is a YouTuber in Greenland that I have been watching for a while and it just looks like a cool place to visit.

The problem with Greenland is that there are no inter city roads, so everything is by air or their version of the Hurtigruten.

I did a cruise to several different destinations, and they were all very different to each other. Stunningly so.
Nuuk is the only town of any size. It is a breath of civilisation after being out in the boonies for so long. But it is not in my view not that representative of the country.

So I would certainly do a multi destination tour, and in this case I think a tour is probably best. A small ship expedition style cruise would certainly makes life easier - that's what I did
I went in July, in a heatwave, but we still had a diversion due to icebergs blocking a key channel. We were on an ice class ship with ice pilots but still had to make the diversion.

At one stage in shirtsleeves on a glacier- surreal and a bit worrying.

The further north you go beyond Disko Bay the more fragmentary the transport to the extent of the air services being unscheduled - they happen when they happen.

A fascinating and wonderful place.

I'm planning a trip this summer now that there are direct flights between Newark and Nuuk.

The big problem is lack of hotel rooms in Nuuk. They fill up fast.

I absolutely loved my trip with Swoop (UK). They offer at least several itineraries. The ship holds 200ish passengers and is absolutely not a "cruise". There were educational presentations each evening for the next day. We were able to visit some remote villages with zodiak landings. It was a charter flight from either Copenhagen or Reykyavik there and back, landing at Kangerlusuaq.
I wanted to see Nuuk very much but at the time there weren't direct flights to the US and apparently, even in summer ( this was July, 2023) there can be cancellations or delays.
Summer, definitely! Not just for the cold, but for the feasibility of landings.

Darn it Frank II, it would be fun to be there at the same time. Thinking more about early Oct. (spending Sept. walking the Portuguese Camino.)

Accommodation would certainly be an issue anywhere outside Nuuk, as just about anywhere except Kangerlussuaq (where the former international airport is) will only have one or at most two options. Kanger. airport is still very much open, but now a secondary airport.
That is a prime case where the journey in by sea, up the fjord is one of those amazing journeys, if hard to do. Just flying in misses that fjord experience.
Unless you are on a cruise the local passenger/supply ship does that voyage just twice a year normally.
There is even a 'city' bus service in Kanger. (a bit of overkill really for a population of 400), and some stunning scenic wildlife tours. Don't expect luxury- the tours are mainly on clapped out American school buses.
I used the City bus mainly for the sake of it, but also to visit the little ( and very good) museum to when Kanger. was a US base, which is on the far side of the airfield.

The museum is someone's labour of love.

October is a little late in the year for me weather wise. But probably less crowded However, will the tourist season be considered over and less excursions offered?

Another international airport is being completed in Ilullissat that will be able to handle medium sized jets and should be completed sometime this year. The town has more hotels than Nuuk.

I'm hoping to base in those two cities but I'm still in the very early planning stages.

I'm probably going to be using a combination of flights and ships with the latter being mostly day trips from the two bases. I'm also looking into the possibility of using a travel company in Greenland to plan this for me.

I need to decide soon. My problem is I'm. still planning my spring trip that starts in three weeks.

The majority of people visit Greenland as part of a cruise, or as an organized tour from Iceland.

There are a number of companies offering anywhere from a day-trip, on up to 2 week trips. They handle everything, so no worries about lodging, transportation, or meals.

We went to Ilullisat and Disko Island in Greenland on our own last summer (mid August) and loved it! Planning though takes a lot more effort.

We flew into KEF and then into Ilulissat (JAV). The flights to Greenland are on smaller planes and weight is a big issue. On our flight, quite a few bags were left behind due to that, including my husbands. The carryon weight limit was 13# and ours were 18#, so we knew we had to check them. We flew on a Saturday and there was no flight on Sunday. It took 5 days to get his bag. Shopping for the basic of basics in Ilulissat was difficult, especially on a Sunday when stores were closed. Even the grocery store clothing areas were closed off.

Our lodging was an apartment and the owner was great. He picked us up at the airport and he does whale watching and midnight sun tours as well, so we went out with him one night. We loved having the apartment with room to spread out etc, but best of all it was right in town so we could walk everywhere. There was a big hotel on the other side of the harbor that is popular, but it is not walkable and you need to use their shuttle, so that limits you quite a bit. The hiking trails were all right near us as well as the Icefjord Center.

We went to Disko Island for two days and that was a real highlight! There is only one hotel there, which was perfect for us, and their restaurant was excellent. The walking tour is not to be missed. Great hiking if that is your thing.

If you just stay in Illulissat you will miss the best things. Definitely do day tours as well as Disko Island.

Eqi Glacier was a fun day trip. Kayaking right there amongst the icebergs in Iluliisat was a big highlight for us. The midnight sun boat ride was as well. We did everything with local guides and small groups.

As for when to go, pretty much from late June until early September as after that a lot of things close. Lodging books out far in advance so if you are thinking of this summer you would need to get that secured asap. We booked ours in early January for the mid August trip, and most places were already booked out, to give you an idea.

Editing to add that if you do this in conjunction with Iceland, really make sure of your dates. The eclipse on August 12th this summer is a big deal and Iceland will be mobbed. We are avoiding that on purpose.

Also, if you add those in, you need to be even more flexible as flights in and out of JAV or even Nuuk, are often delayed or cancelled even in the summer. Our flight out was moved to an earlier day. We flew back to Iceland for a week before going home so that we had that added buffer.

A big warning though, if you thought Iceland was expensive, be ready for your eyes to water.