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Greenland, anyone??

Hello fellow wanderers,

I am trying to organize a trip to Greenland for the Sprig Equinox this March. Yes, I know it's just a heartbeat away, but I just found out that it may be an excellent time to view the Northern Lights. I would very much appreciate hearing from anyone who has been to Greenland. Any and all advice, suggestions and exhortations would be most welcome!

Best,
Lydia in Santa Fe

Posted by
2031 posts

Not yet, but it is on the list! My husband is actually sailing there this summer on an adventure expedition. I am so envious, but do not have the skills that he does so am not qualified;) If you can't manage to get that trip pulled off so quickly you may just head to Iceland or Norway instead. I know, not nearly as exciting, but still a great way to hopefully see the aurora.

Posted by
15024 posts

I've been planning a trip to Greenland for awhile but have decided to postpone until 2025. I'll get to that reason in a moment.

The first thing you have to do is figure out where in Greenland you want to go. It's a big place.

As of now, the only way to fly into Greenland is either an Air Greenland Airbus from Copenhagen to Kangerlussuaq airport (the only airport that can take jets) and then a smaller plane to other areas including the capital Nuuk or a smaller propeller plane from Reykjavik Iceland to Nuuk. That's a three hour flight.

From there it's usually either a smaller flight or helicopter to your final destination since Greenland doesn't have any roads between cities. There are boats that travel around the island.

However, Nuuk is currently expanding its airport. It will have a new terminal and a runway long enough to accept passenger jets.

Air Greenland is hoping to offer flights direct from the US next year but nothing definite has been announced.

Posted by
768 posts

For a brief summer in 2007, Air Greenland had direct flights from Baltimore to Kangerlussuaq. Improbable, I know, but I was fortunate enough to be one of the few takers! In my opinion, it doesn't get any better than Disko Bay, and thus Ilulissat as a base. Others may have suggestions for addition stops, but I'd put as many eggs into that basket as possible. It is stunning. Now, granted this was July not March, and "stunning" was the glaciers not the Northern Lights (which we didn't see). But I'm a semi-professional photographer and the best photography of my life was in DIsko Bay.

Posted by
46 posts

THANK YOU all for your responses. Very helpful. And CL, the Adventurous Kate site was one of the most useful I've seen for Greenland. I very much appreciate the recommendation. If I can manage to pull it all together, it will be a real adventure!

Best,
Lydia

Posted by
8944 posts

I have been watching some YouTube videos from a lovely native Greenlander, that makes me want to go there too. Looks like a great tourist destination and may get trendy, now that Iceland is so popular.

Posted by
7363 posts

I’ve certainly viewed stretches of Greenland many times, as flights between London and Denver so often pass over Greenland. Our trip to Iceland in early April a few years ago offered a possibility of seeing Northern Lights, and so March, and farther north, would potentially be even better. The Lights were never seen , though, as it was too cloudy for us looking on land, although people out on a nighttime boat tour reportedly saw some Aurora.

Go for the destination, but Northern Lights can be elusive.