What are the best things to do in Greenland?

Most of the best things to do in Greenland happen outdoors and follow the seasons: icebergs and whales in summer, sled dogs and northern lights in winter, and the ice sheet on a half-day trip from Kangerlussuaq for most of the year. Below are thirteen, each with its months, the lowest adult price its operator published on October 15, 2026, and who runs it. Prices are in Danish kroner (DKK); dollar figures use Visit Greenland's April 16, 2026 rate of DKK 634.28 to $100.¹ Greenland has no VAT, and prices include tips.²

For the country as a whole, start with our Greenland guide. Temperatures and daylight for each month are in Greenland weather by month, flights in getting to Greenland, and ships in Greenland cruises.

Things to do in Greenland at a glance

The cheapest things on the list are a museum ticket in Nuuk at DKK 100 ($16) and the free Arctic Circle Trail; most guided tours cost DKK 525 to DKK 2,395 ($83 to $378).³⁴⁵

What can you do at the Ilulissat Icefjord?

You can walk the trails beside it, sail among its icebergs or fly to the glacier at its head, and Visit Greenland's advice is to take the flight first for the overview, then the boat, then the trails.¹⁸ The fjord is the sea mouth of Sermeq Kujalleq, which UNESCO calls one of the fastest and most active glaciers in the world: it moves about 131 ft (40 m) a day and produces 10% of all the ice Greenland's glaciers calve, more than any glacier outside Antarctica. It became a World Heritage Site in 2004.¹⁹

On foot. The land between Ilulissat and the fjord, including the yellow, red and blue trails, carries a site fee of €10 (about $12) per visitor from June 1 to October 31. One payment covers your whole stay and includes a 30-minute audio guide; Greenland residents and anyone under 18 are exempt.²⁰ Albatros Arctic Circle guides a 4-hour, 7 km (4.3 mi) hike on the blue trail from May to October for DKK 495 ($78); early and late in the season it can be partly under snow or ice.²¹ Its shorter walk to Sermermiut, about 2.5 km (1.6 mi) on a boardwalk, runs all year from DKK 295 ($47); the site fee is extra on both.⁷

The Icefjord Centre. Kangiata Illorsua, the Ilulissat Icefjord Centre, opened in July 2021 at the edge of the World Heritage area.¹⁸ Adults pay DKK 150 ($24); in 2026 it opened daily from 10:00 to 17:00 between June 16 and September 15, with shorter hours in spring and autumn, and on busy days a ticket covers a 1.5-hour slot.²²

By boat. Boats can usually sail in the mouth of the fjord all year, but only commercial fishermen and sealers may go deeper in.²³ Albatros's 2.5-hour icefjord sailing runs from May to December from DKK 695 ($110), with at most 12 people a boat.⁶ Its midnight sailing runs May to August from the same price.²⁴ In 2027 the sun stays up all night in Ilulissat from May 21 to July 23.²⁵

By air. A helicopter is the only way to reach Sermeq Kujalleq itself, landing near the glacier front.²³ Air Greenland sells a helicopter tour to the glacier for DKK 4,495 ($709) as an add-on to its 3-day Ilulissat Getaway, which runs June 1 to September 30.⁸

How do you get to the Eqi Glacier?

By boat from Ilulissat: Eqi, or Eqip Sermia, lies about 43 miles (70 km) north of town, and Albatros's 6-hour trip runs May to September from DKK 2,395 ($378), with lunch, coffee and cake included.⁵ The ride takes about two hours each way, in a boat holding at most 12. The ice wall stands about 656 ft (200 m) high and 1.9 miles (3 km) wide, and the boat gets within a few kilometers of the calving front when the ice allows.⁵

Where is the best whale watching in Greenland?

Disko Bay, Nuuk Fjord and the fjords of South Greenland, in summer.²⁶ Up to 15 species visit Greenland's waters; the most common are the fin, humpback and minke whales, and a dozen humpbacks return to Nuuk Fjord every summer. Belugas, bowheads and narwhals are winter whales, usually seen around Disko Bay, Qaanaaq and Northeast Greenland.²⁶

• Ilulissat, Disko Bay. Albatros runs 3-hour trips from June to September from DKK 995 ($157), with coffee and tea, on boats that carry 12; humpbacks are the most likely sighting, with no refund if you see none.⁹
• Nuuk Fjord. Raw Arctic's 3-hour Whale Safari runs June to September from DKK 1,450 ($229), on a closed Targa boat with a heated cabin and an open deck. Humpbacks are the target; fin and minke whales are rarer.¹⁰

When and where can you go dog sledding in Greenland?

From February to April, north of the Arctic Circle or in East Greenland, the only areas where sleds are used; on the west coast, Sisimiut and Kangerlussuaq are the southernmost towns where you can ride.²⁷ Trips run from about two hours to expeditions of several days.²⁷ Statistics Greenland counted 13,123 sled dogs in 2022, 2,974 of them in the Ilulissat district.²⁸

Albatros's 1.5-hour ride from Ilulissat runs January to April from DKK 1,495 ($236). Two passengers share each sled with the musher standing behind, the minimum age is 12, and warm clothing and boots cost DKK 250 ($39) extra. The ride is not suitable for people with back or leg problems.¹² In Ittoqqortoormiit, on the east coast, sledding season runs from February to May.²⁹

Can you walk on the Greenland Ice Sheet?

Yes, at Kangerlussuaq, where a 16-mile (25 km) dirt road, Greenland's only road to the ice sheet, runs to the ice edge.³⁰ The ice sheet covers 80% of Greenland, more than 656,000 sq mi (1.7 million km²), and it is one of only two in the world.³⁰

• Point 660. Albatros's 5-hour trip runs February to November from DKK 735 ($116) and gives about an hour on the ice. The path up and down the icy slopes is slippery and uneven, so poles or light spikes help.¹³
• Russell Glacier. A 4-hour trip by four-wheel-drive vehicle, all year, from DKK 735 ($116), to an ice wall up to 197 ft (60 m) high inside the Aasivissuit-Nipisat World Heritage Site. In the summer melt the wall can calve, so guides keep a safe distance.³¹
• Crossing it. A full crossing of the ice sheet needs special permission and competence, and only a handful of agencies offer it.³⁰

How hard is the Arctic Circle Trail?

Hard: its official website recommends it only for hikers who have already done several independent multi-day wilderness hikes and can navigate well.³² The trail runs 99 miles (160 km) from Kangerlussuaq, near the ice sheet, to Sisimiut on the coast, and typically takes 8 to 10 days.³³ The path is often only about 1 ft (30 cm) wide, parts are boggy, some river crossings are difficult, and hikers report averaging about 1.6 mph (2.5 km/h). There is no cell coverage and nothing to buy along the way.³²

• Huts: nine official huts, open all year on a first come, first served basis; many are small, so every hiker must carry a tent.³⁴
• Cost: no permits or fees, but each hiker must register online; a fishing license is extra.¹⁴
• When: mid-June to late September, or March and April. The trail's managers advise against October to February and May to mid-June, when the weather is unpredictable, lake ice is missing or unstable and the ground is boggy.¹⁵
• What changed: since 2021 an ATV track has overlapped part of the route, so a harder, less marked southern route is being developed.³²

What is there to do in Nuuk?

See the national museum, take a boat into Nuuk Fjord, and look for the northern lights; Visit Greenland's best months are June to October for whale watching, boat trips and hiking, February to April for skiing, and October to March for the aurora.³⁵ The Greenland National Museum's Thule culture exhibition covers the ancestors of today's Greenlanders, who came from Alaska around 1200, and shows a 36 ft (11 m) umiaq boat from the 1470s and the Qilakitsoq mummies.³⁶ Adults pay DKK 100 ($16), and students and children enter free. It opens 10:00 to 17:00 every day from April 15 to September 15 and 12:00 to 16:00 the rest of the year.³ More on the capital is in our Nuuk guide.

Where are Greenland's hot springs?

The only springs warm enough to bathe in are on Uunartoq, an uninhabited island between Alluitsup Paa and Nanortalik in South Greenland, where three springs feed a small stone-dammed pool at 98°F to 100°F (37°C to 38°C).¹⁷ The heat is geothermal, not volcanic. Disko Island has thousands of springs and East Greenland about a hundred, some of them 122°F to 140°F (50°C to 60°C), but none of those is dammed for bathing.¹⁷

Tours run from Qaqortoq from June to September and from Nanortalik in summer.¹⁷ Blue Ice Explorer's 4.5 to 5-hour boat trip from Qaqortoq costs DKK 1,900 ($300), needs at least four people and stops 1.5 hours at the springs; bring a towel, swimsuit, food and drinks. Blue Ice gives the water temperature as 35°C (95°F).¹⁶

What else is there to do in South Greenland?

See the Norse ruins and the ice. Hvalsey Church, 30 minutes by boat from Qaqortoq, was probably built in the 14th century and is the best preserved Greenland church of its period; its stone walls stand 16 to 20 ft (5 to 6 m) high, and its last recorded event was a wedding on September 16, 1408.³⁷¹⁶ Blue Ice Explorer's 2.5-hour trip there costs DKK 900 ($142) with about an hour ashore, and its 4.5 to 5-hour trip to the Qalerallit Glacier costs DKK 1,900 ($300).¹⁶

The wider farming landscape, Kujataa, became a World Heritage Site in 2017 for its five areas of Norse farms from the 10th to 15th centuries and Inuit farms from the 18th century on.³⁸ Qaqortoq's airport opened on April 16, 2026; flights are in getting to Greenland.³⁹

When can you see the northern lights in Greenland?

From late August to April, on dark, clear nights.⁴⁰ Albatros's 2-hour bus tour from Kangerlussuaq runs in February, March and September to November from DKK 525 ($83); it moves to the next night if heavy cloud is forecast and refunds you if you cannot go then, but cannot guarantee a display.⁴ Where and when the skies are darkest and clearest is in Greenland weather by month.

Can you go kayaking in Greenland?

Yes, in summer. Albatros's 3-hour Ilulissat trip, two hours of it on the water, runs June to September from DKK 1,250 ($197); it keeps a safe distance from large icebergs and does not enter the Icefjord.¹¹

Can you visit Scoresby Sund and the national park?

Mostly by expedition ship: cruises to the Northeast Greenland National Park usually leave from Iceland or Svalbard, and visiting on your own needs a permit from the Greenland Government, applied for at least 12 weeks before departure.⁴¹ The park covers 375,000 sq mi (972,000 km²), the world's largest, with about 40 inhabitants.⁴¹ To reach Ittoqqortoormiit, the town beside Scoresby Sund, you fly from Reykjavik or Akureyri to Nerlerit Inaat, then cross the last 25 miles (40 km) by helicopter, boat or snowmobile; it suits sailing and hiking in July and August and sledding from February to May.²⁹ Ships and fares are in Greenland cruises.

Can a US citizen go to Greenland?

Yes, with no visa for a stay of under 90 days, and a passport valid for at least 90 days beyond your departure, says the State Department, which rates Greenland Level 2, "exercise increased caution," because of extreme weather and limited emergency services.⁴² Greenland is outside the EU and the Schengen area, so a Schengen visa does not cover it.⁴³ Flights from the US are in getting to Greenland.

Is Greenland very expensive?

Yes, a little more than Scandinavia: Visit Greenland puts prices about 10% higher, with alcohol, tobacco and fresh fruit and vegetables at the top of the scale.² Most activities in this guide cost DKK 295 to DKK 2,395 ($47 to $378), the glacier helicopter DKK 4,495 ($709), and flights are the biggest cost; fares are in getting to Greenland. Air Greenland's packages bundle them:

Air Greenland is strict about baggage weight and charges a high price per extra kilo.²

How many days do you need in Greenland?

Three days for one town, and a week or more for two regions, a cruise or the trail. Air Greenland sells a 3-day Ilulissat Getaway "designed for those with limited time."⁴⁵ Its Keflavík to Nuuk package gives 4 nights in the capital.⁴⁴ The shortest expedition cruise we list, Polar Latitudes' Disko Bay voyage from Kangerlussuaq, takes 7 days, and the Arctic Circle Trail alone takes 8 to 10.⁴⁶³³ Leave spare time: Visit Greenland says the weather can change even on clear days.²

Is Greenland a good place for tourists?

Yes, if you come for nature, and more people are coming: hotels counted 169,366 guests in 2025, up from 146,740 in 2024, and guests from the United States nearly doubled to 7,251.⁴⁷ Roads stop at the edge of town, so you travel between towns by air or sea.⁴⁸ Book boat trips with tour companies: Visit Greenland warns that accidents at sea happen every year and that hiring a private, non-commercial boat owner can prove a very poor decision.²

What can you do in Greenland in each season?

Summer has the most trips, but something runs every month.

The museum in Nuuk and the Russell Glacier trip are open all year.³³¹ For the wider region, see our Arctic guide.