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  • Hurtigruten's MS Fram in the Uummannaq bay in Greenland

5 remote places you can visit while on a cruise

We have compiled a list of the five most outlying towns and settlements you can cruise to with Hurtigruten in Greenland.

That a place you dream of travelling to is “far away” must be said to be relative and dependent on your starting point. However, the fact is that Greenland is just a four and a half hour flight from Denmark, which is Air Greenland‘s northern European beachhead to the country high up in the north.

Once you are in Greenland, an expedition cruise is the ideal way in which to visit the majority of places, but you can actually also sail there from northern Canada or from Iceland. One of the most experienced shipping lines in Greenland, which has an abundance of expedition cruises to ‘Kalaaliit Nunaat’ is the Norwegian company Hurtigruten and the ship M/S FRAM.

The ship sails during the summer season from June to September around most of Greenland, which in itself – in any event in mental terms – is far, far away for most people. And, if you cannot get enough of the ‘remote’ and ‘difficult to access’ places, we have compiled a list of the five most outlying towns and settlements you can cruise to with Hurtigruten in Greenland.

SIORAPALUK

Learn more about Siorapaluk
Siorapaluk in summer. Photo by Kim Insuk - Visit Greenland

Siorapaluk in summer. Photo by Kim Insuk – Visit Greenland

A beautifully located little settlement just below the 78 degree northern latitude. People in Siorapaluk are mainly hunters and live off what nature has to offer, in good times and in bad.

Climate change means that life so far up north has become even more difficult and more challenging, because in winter, the ice is thinner and the prevalence of it is more unpredictable.

Continues further down the page...

Package Tours

Arctic Umiaq Line: Discover Greenland from the sea

Arctic Umiaq Line

Discover Greenland from the sea

The coastal ship Sarfaq Ittuk sails from southern Greenland up along Greenland’s west coast to Disko Bay.

FROM 500 DKK
Greenland Travel: Northern Lights on the Starboard Side

Greenland Travel

Northern Lights on the Starboard Side

Our super popular round trip to 3 towns combined with northern lights sightings. Sail along the dramatic coastline and watch the northern lights.

From €3,195
Disko Line: Day trip to Eqip Sermia

Disko Line

Day trip to Eqip Sermia

Experience the beautiful Eqi glacier that runs into the fjord north of Ilulissat.

FROM €327
Disko Line: Icefjord Cruise

Disko Line

Icefjord Cruise

Get closer to the impressive Greenlandic nature with Icefjord Cruise.

FROM €93
Show More

QAANAAQ

Learn more about Qaanaaq
Empty kayak waiting by the pack ice in Qaanaaq - Photo by Kim Insuk, Visit Greenland

Empty kayak waiting by the pack ice in Qaanaaq – Photo by Kim Insuk, Visit Greenland

Not far from Siorapaluk is the largest, but also the only real town so far towards the north and that is Qaanaaq. The Thule District was the entrance to Greenland, which the Inuit from the west initially came to via the Canadian Ellesmere Island.

Even today it is still a strong cultural hunting stronghold for the original way of life, but naturally influenced by the advent of modern times’ technology. If you have the opportunity, you should not miss out on listening to the Qaanaaq choir and also remember to visit the church and the museum in the town.

UUMMANNAQ

Learn more about Uummannaq
Uummannaq Town photographed from above. Photo - Erez Marom, Visit Greenland

Uummannaq Town photographed from above. Photo – Erez Marom, Visit Greenland

Talk about a gem in Greenland! Many people who have traveled along the coasts in our part of the country, will mention Uummannaq, which is a ‘must-see’ place. The town is beautifully located at the foot of a heart-shaped hill on an island in the middle of a large and open fjord system, which tends to be more of a bay.

But forget all about the topographical terminology, because the most important thing is that Uummannaq is a place that melts travelers’ hearts and remains forever in their memories as a place one never forgets.

QASSIARSUK

Learn more about Qassiarsuk
A group of travelers having lunch in front of the Sven Havsteen Mikkelsen artwork in Qassiarsuk. By Mads Pihl - Visit Greenland

A group of travelers having lunch in front of the Sven Havsteen Mikkelsen artwork in Qassiarsuk. By Mads Pihl – Visit Greenland

We love naming our settlements with sounds and letter combinations that give most people who speak other languages a tough challenge to pronounce. However, Qassiarsuk is also known as Brattahlid – the place where Erik the Red settled with his wife Tjodhilde and from where Leif Erikson set out on an expedition towards the west and discovered America, or Vinland, more than 1,000 years ago.

On the Hurtigruten cruise, ‘The Vinland Saga Adventure‘, famous ruins in Garðar are also visited, which was once Greenland’s religious centre.

ITTOQQORTOORMIIT

Learn more about Ittoqqortoormiit

Few places in Greenland, like in Ittoqqortoormiit, formerly known as Scoresbysund, has time seemed to stand still as it does right here. The town is located by the approach to the world’s biggest fjord system and slightly more to the north, we have the world’s largest national park.

The town’s less than 500 inhabitants enjoy having visitors as the place is isolated, in terms of sailing, from the rest of the world for up to nine months of the year due to pack ice and drift ice from the Greenland Sea and Denmark Strait. Keep an eye out for polar bears on their way in and out of the fjord. The chances of seeing them there are better than in most other populated places in Greenland.

The cruise ship Europa anchored outside Ittoqqortoormiit in East Greenland. By Frank Petersen - VIsit Greenland

The cruise ship Europa anchored outside Ittoqqortoormiit in East Greenland. By Frank Petersen – VIsit Greenland

And so the list is complete and your planning can begin! Remember that you can fly to Greenland and begin your cruise there, typically from Kangerlussuaq, or sail there – most often from either Reykjavik in Iceland or from St. John’s Canada on Newfoundland.

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By Malik Milfeldt

Malik has traveled extensively in Greenland and visited many towns and settlements, from Siorapaluk in the high North to Ittoqqortoormiit in East Greenland. He grew up in the dogsled district - the scenic iceberg capital of Ilulissat, and coined the town's nickname 'Ilovelissat'. He believes that the real reason the country is called Greenland is due to the aurora borealis that dances over the sky from September to April.

https://visitgreenland.com

Editors' pick

Immersing overwelmed by the surroundings. Photo by Aningaaq Rosing Carlsen - Visit Greenland

Editor’s guide: How to spend 4 days in East Greenland

An occupational hazard as an editor is that I read about and collect the most beautiful bucket list destinations, and East Greenland has long been one of mine.

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Paninnguaq Pikilak. Inuit tattoos. Photo by Aningaaq Rosing Carlsen - Visit Greenland

A guide to Inuit Tattoos in Greenland

Inuit tattoos have had a revival in recent years, with many young people, among others, breathing life into the traditional lines. However, it has deep roots in Inuit communities, both spiritually and culturally.

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Ruined vehicle with the landscape of Ikkatteq in East Greenland, where the Americans once had a military base. Photo by Reinhard Pantke - Visit Greenland

13 Ghost Towns in Greenland

There are many abandoned places in Greenland, and there are, obviously, several reasons for the abandonment: The hunting grounds moved, The natural minerals were used up, Forced displacement for military purposes, The need for a workforce elsewhere.

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Camping under the sunset. Photo by Mark Hutchison

Camping and exploration logistics in Greenland

For packing a tent, booking a flight and heading into nature, the considerations for exploration logistics are where, when, how, and most importantly what are the risks and how to manage them?

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