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7 nights exploring South Greenland
What's included: Greenland package holidays
South Greenland Grand Adventure includes one week of travel, adventure, and exploration to let you experience both sides of Greenland. On the one hand, Greenland’s fantastic nature: massive glacier fronts, Zodiak navigation among icebergs and hiking on a glacier tongue that is millions of years old; and on the other hand, its people and traditions: Inuit towns like Narsaq and Qaqortoq and idyllic villages such as Igaliku and Qassiarsuk with its Viking ruins, part of the UNESCO World Heritage since 2017. Travel is mainly by zodiacs.
On departures from mid-August onwards, enjoy the awe-inspiring show of the Northern Lights in a place –southern Greenland– famous worldwide for the frequency in which these “spirits of the north” can be seen on summer nights.
Highlights:
Flight depart times:
Select your most convenient flights and departure airport. (Subject to change and availability)
What you'll do
Day 1: Narsarsuaq & Glacier View
Flight from Keflavik international airport in Iceland to Narsarsuaq, South Greenland. Reception at the airport and transfer to Hotel Narsarsuaq for check-in and information meeting. Hike to the Glacier View Point, around one hour from the hotel. Great views of the Tunulliarfik fjord, the plain of Narsarsuaq and the Kiattuut Glacier.
Accommodation: Hotel Narsarsuaq. Twin/double room with private facilities.
Meals included: None
Day 2: Hike to the Flower Valley and Qaqortoq, the capital of Southern Greenland
You reserve the morning for the most famous hike in South Greenland, the Flower Valley. A spectacular walk with sights of the Kiattut river and glacier. Enjoy the magnificent view of this valley formed due to the retreat and the consequent glacial sedimentation with plenty of flowers. Trekking back to Narsarsuaq.
Accommodation: Hotel Narsarsuaq. Twin/double room with private facilities.
Meals included: Breakfast & picnic lunch
Day 3: Narsaq Town
An incredible zodiac boat transfer will take you from Narsarsuaq to Narsaq. Enjoying the wonderful landscape with views of the sole farms and cascades.
With about 1500 inhabitants, Narsaq is the third most populated town in South Greenland.
City tour to discover the beauty of its colourful buildings. Visit the local market, fur shops & hunters harbour.
After this we will start an easy hike in the surroundings with a wonderul view of the valley, fjords and mountains with one of the few caw farms in Greenland and where it was a mine.
During the afternoon you will have free time to stroll around the city surrounded by awe-inspiring landscapes, visit the Greenlandic museum or enjoy a drink with the local people and discover the modern Inuit’s way of life.
Accommodation at Hotel Narsaq. Twin/double room with private facilities.
Meals included: Breakfast
Day 4: Qaleraliq Adventure Glacier Camp and Excursion on Ice
In the morning you set off for Qaleraliq camp towards the Inlandsis or Greenland’s ice cap. Arrive to a cosy, enchanting camp set on a sandy beach, which contrasts with a spectacular view of three glacier fronts from Qaleraliq’s glacier.
Glacier fronts and excursion on ice.
We will navigate along the glacier fronts on a RIB boat, admiring the beauty of their vertical ice walls and numerous icebergs as we approach them along their more than 10 kilometres descent to the sea. These glacier fronts extended in only one but the dramatic progress of climate change has divided it in three separated tongues.
From there you will start the ice excursion. An impressive trek using crampons (organised to be suitable for all travellers) on one of the oldest masses of ice on the planet. You will explore its crevasses, drains, seracs, and other ice formations, which give an incredible, labyrinthine quality to this glacier.
An expert mountain guide will be in charge to make sure we are provided with the appropriate equipment and to ensure the safety of the group during the trip, while he shares with us his knowledge about the special characteristics of the glaciers in the South of Greenland. A unique experience, exciting and original, surprising both first-time comers and those used to the peculiarities of the glacier world. One of the most impressive sights and one of the best excursions in all Greenland.
Picnic lunch on the ice or at the camp depending on conditions.
In the afternoon, transfer by zodiac boat to Narsaq. You will be surprised by enormous icebergs falling off from the Eqaloruutsit Glacier and floating throw all the Sermilik Fjord. Sometimes, they are blocking the access to Narsaq ports.
Accommodation: Hotel Narsaq. Twin/double room with private facilities.
Meals included: Breakfast & picnic lunch
Day 5: Excursion to Hvalsey Church and Qaqortoq City, capital of South Greenland
An exciting tour in a high-powered zodiac will take you from Narsaq to Hvalsoy.
It takes approximately an hour and a half, traveling between icebergs and gorges, with views of small islands that adorn a magical landscape. Hvalsoy Church was built in the 14th century and is considered the best preserved church from that period. People came to this Church from far away to participate in the different Christian events held throughout the year. This area has recently been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
After this beautiful experience, disembark in the beautiful city of Qaqortoq, where you take a guided tour of the city.
Qaqortoq, the capital of southern Greenland, was founded in 1775 and is considered the most charming and attractive city in all of Greenland. With more than 3,000 inhabitants and its colorful houses built on a mountain at the foot of the sea, Qaqortoq is a truly striking and pleasant city. The center, to the large fishing port, it is made up of several houses from the beginning of the last century, some converted into restaurants, and it houses what is the only fountain in all of Greenland. From there a path leaves that makes a tour of the city, always with the landscape of mountains and fjord at our feet, in which you will see a collection of thirty large stones carved by local artisans with motifs from the Inuit culture. Equally interesting is its wooden church next to the river, the craft shops, the fish market or the traditional kayak club.
In the afternoon, transfer by zodiac boat to Narsaq city.
Accommodation: Hotel Narsaq. Twin/double room with private facilities.
Meals included: Breakfast
Day 6: Excursion in Igaliku & boat excursion to Qooroq Ice Fjord
In the morning, enjoy the spectacular views of Einarsfjord, a stunning fjord that is one of the few in Greenland that can’t impress visitors with big icebergs. However, green hills provide guests with a warm, relaxing and quiet environment. Hike back to Itilleq, where you embark on the RIB boat and start a sea excursion to Qooroq fjord. This is probably the most spectacular glacier in the South of Greenland. Navigate among blocks of ice until the density of ice is such that it is impossible continue. It’s an incredible sight of ice floating around you. Continue your navigation by zodiac boat to Narsarsuaq. Car transfer to Hotel Narsarsuaq.
Accommodation: Hotel Narsarsuaq, Twin/double rooms with private facilities.
Meals included: Breakfast
Day 7: Tasiusaq, “the Icebergs Bay” and Qassiarsuk, the Viking Greenland
In the morning, 4×4 jeep trip to the beautiful Tasiusaq farm, where seven people live in notable isolation next to Sermilik fjord, which is almost always blocked by the ice fromicebergs coming from Eqaloruutsit glacier.
Picnic at Tasiusaq farm.
Later on, transfer in RIB boat through Tunulliarfik Fjord to Qassiarsuk.
Visit of the church ruins and the settlement of Eric the Red comprising the old Brattahlid, capital of Viking Greenland, and where Erik the Red settled in 985. Walk through the village of about 50 inhabitants, mostly farmers. This Norse and Greenlandic core farming area were in 2017 inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List under the title: Kujataa Greenland: A Norse and Inuit farming landscape on the Edge of the Ice Cap. Qassiarsuk area represents the most comprehensive and rich example of both Norse and Greenlandic farming histories and contains ruins of large cattle-based Norse farms and their numerous satellite sites including, not least, Erik the Red’s Brattahlid. It was also here that Otto Frederiksen in 1924 established the first sheep farm after Igaliku, founding today’s settlement of Qassiarsuk.
Optional Excursion: Kayak Excursion in the “iceberg bay”, a 2-hour sea kayaking trip for beginners among icebergs and ice in one of Greenland’s safest and most delightful places.
Return by jeep to Qassiarsuk and transfer by zodiac boat to Narsarsuaq.
Accommodation: Hotel Narsarsuaq. Twin/double room with private facilities
Meals included: Breakfast & picnic lunch
Day 8: Leisure time and flight home
Free time for some last photo shoots and short walks in Narsarsuaq. We recommend visiting on your own the Blue West Museum One, which reflects the town’s history and especially Narsarsuaq’s role in the Second World War.
Flight from Narsarsuaq to Keflavik International Airport in Iceland
Meals included: Breakfast
Call us on +44 (0) 1773 850222
ATOL Protected
Thank you so much Gareth for organising such a lovely holiday for us! We gave a basic outline of what we wanted from our holiday and Gareth organised everything. Everything ran very smoothly and what an amazing experience. Thank you for all your suggestions, so glad we took them on
We are here to reassure you that you can trust our team with your Iceland holiday plans, knowing that all bookings with us are ATOL protected
