3 day tour of Ilulissat – West Greenland
Ilulissat is the Greenlandic word for “icebergs” and because of its close proximity to the picturesque Ilulissat Icefjord, it is Greenland’s most fascinating destination on the west coast. With a population of about 4,600, the town is the seat of the municipality of Ilulissat, and also the third largest settlement in Greenland.
Highlights
- Ilulissat – the city of icebergs
- Great selection of daytours
- Wild nature of Greenland
Daily itinerary:
Itinerary
Day 1: Flight Reykjavik – Ilulissat
Flight departure from Iceland – Reykjavik Domestic airport – to Ilulissat. Upon arrival to Ilulissat, transfer by hotel shuttle bus from the airport to Hotel Hvide Falk where you stay 2 nights.
Day 2: Ilulissat
Free day to explore Ilulissat, the city of icebergs, on your own.
Possibilities for optional tours, such as:
Boat tour to Icefiord :Boat tour amongst the floating icebergs – an exceptional experience you do not want to miss out while visiting Ilulissat. Every year, more than 46 km3 of ice flows into the fjord. This process creates gigantic icebergs, which can be more than 100 metres on each side and with a height of more than 100 metres above the water surface. These giants strand at the end of the fjord, and that gives a good opportunity to sail among them.
Guided culture-historical walk of Ilulissat: – an enhanced understanding of the Greenlandic culture and history, which will give the other experiences in Greenland a new perspective. You will learn about the history of the city, the Greenlandic culture and the modern life 300 km north of the Arctic Circle.
Boat trip to Oqaatsut (Rodebay) : The settlement Oqaatsut (Rodebay) was through several centuries the resort of Dutch whale hunters, and whales are still drawn ashore here once in a while. Oqaatsut is beautifully situated about 15 km north of Ilulissat. Even though it only has 45 inhabitants it has got its own school, church, shop and a small restaurant called “H8”, which is one of the old buildings from the colonial time.
Day 3: Ilulissat – Departure
Breakfast at the hotel.
Morning free or possibility for an early morning walk to the Sermermiut UNESCO site. Beautiful Icebergs are the setting for the old settlement of the Sermermiut 1½ km south of Ilulissat. For 4000 years, different Inuit cultures lived in the settlement and today you can still see relics left from times gone by.
Late morning transfer by hotel shuttle to the airport, in time to check in for your flight departing Ilulissat at 11:15 /12:45 and arriving at Reykjavik domestic airport at 17:30 /18:00*
*Please note: flight schedules to be reconfirmed at the time of booking.
Dates and prices
Departures:
June: Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays
July, August: Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays
Price per person: EUR 1.810
Single room supplement: EUR 150
Additional night in double room, p.p.: EUR 195
Additional night in single room: EUR 270
Please note: additional night will be needed for Wednesday and Saturday departures!
Package price includes:
* Flights Reykjavik-Ilulissat-Reykjavik
* Airport taxes
* Hotel accommodation in double/twin room with private facilities, including breakfast
* Airport transfers in connection with flights in Ilulissat;
We reserve the right to change the itinerary depending on flights or weather conditions.
Information about Ilulissat
Ilulissat is the Greenlandic word for “icebergs” and because of its close proximity to the picturesque Ilulissat Icefjord, it is Greenland’s most popular tourist destination on the west coast. With a population of about 4,600 it is the the seat of the municipality of Ilulissat, and also the third largest settlement in Greenland after Nuuk and Sisimiut.
In Danish it has been named Jakobshavn – after the founder Jakob Severin. The town has about 3500 sled dogs, which underlines the importance of the dogsled as means of transportation even in a large modern town.
The Ilulissat Icefjord was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2004 and is 40 km long situated close to Ilulissat town. At its eastern end is the Jakobshavn Isbræ glacier, the most productive glacier in the Northern Hemisphere. The glacier flows at a rate of 20-35 m per day, resulting in around 20 billion tons of icebergs calved off and passing out of the fjord every year. Icebergs breaking from the glacier are often so large that they are too tall to float down the fjord and thus lie stuck on the bottom of its shallower areas, sometimes for years, until they are broken up by the force of the glacier and icebergs further up the fjord. On breaking up, the icebergs emerge into the open sea and initially travel north with ocean currents before turning south and running into the Atlantic Ocean. Larger icebergs typically do not melt until they reach 40-45 degrees north (south of the United Kingdom and level with New York City).
