Whales and Icebergs of Greenland

Arrive in Ilulissat and transfer to your hotel, beautifully positioned in one of Greenland’s most celebrated Arctic settings. Later, join a local guide for a walk through this colourful town, discovering its most important landmarks and gaining an introduction to everyday life north of the Arctic Circle. Ilulissat sits beside the UNESCO-listed Icefjord, where an immense procession of ice travels from the Greenland Ice Sheet towards Disko Bay, creating a spectacular backdrop for the week ahead.

Enjoy a day at leisure in Ilulissat, giving you the freedom to experience this remarkable corner of western Greenland at your own pace. The nearby Icefjord offers extraordinary views across a landscape continually reshaped by the ice flowing from Kangia, while optional adventures range from kayaking among icebergs to Arctic fishing or relaxing in a private sauna overlooking the frozen scenery. For an unforgettable aerial perspective, a helicopter flight over the Ice Cap can also be arranged in advance.

Leave Ilulissat early for a spectacular boat journey north through Disko Bay towards Eqi Glacier. Spend time offshore admiring the enormous glacier front and watching for dramatic calving events as sections of ice break away into the fjord. Afterwards, continue to Port Victor and make your way up to Glacier Lodge Eqi, your secluded base for the next two nights. Settle into your comfortable hut and spend the remainder of the day enjoying remarkable views across one of Greenland’s most impressive glacial landscapes.

Set out to explore the wilderness surrounding Eqi Glacier on foot. Follow trails towards the small lagoon at the glacier’s southern edge before climbing onto the moraine, where elevated viewpoints reveal immense crevasses and the scale of the glacier below. From here, admire sweeping views across the towering glacier front and watch for sections of ice breaking away into the water. During the breeding season, the surrounding lagoon may also attract large gatherings of geese, adding another dimension to this remote Arctic landscape.

Leave the tranquillity of Eqi and travel back across Disko Bay towards Ilulissat. The journey itself offers another opportunity to appreciate Greenland’s extraordinary coastal scenery while keeping watch across the surrounding waters for marine life. During summer, humpback, minke and fin whales visit Greenlandic waters to feed, and Disko Bay is particularly productive thanks to its abundance of capelin. Return to Ilulissat for the evening and settle back into your fjord-side hotel.

Head back onto the waters surrounding Ilulissat for a three-hour whale safari through Disko Bay. Cruise among immense drifting icebergs while searching for the marine giants that visit these rich Arctic feeding grounds during summer. Humpback whales are among the most anticipated encounters, although wildlife sightings always depend on nature. The combination of whales, open water and monumental ice makes this one of the journey’s most memorable experiences before returning to Ilulissat for your final evening in Greenland.

Enjoy breakfast and a final morning in Ilulissat before transferring to the airport for your onward flight. Leave western Greenland behind after a journey combining the colourful character of Ilulissat with the UNESCO-listed Icefjord, the immense Eqi Glacier and the wildlife-rich waters of Disko Bay — a compact introduction to some of Greenland’s most extraordinary Arctic landscapes.