Ilulissat means iceberg in Greenlandic and the town is beautifully situated at the mouth of the almost 60 km long ice fjord, filled with enormous icebergs from the most productive glacier in the northern hemisphere, Sermeq Kujalleq. 4,600 people live today in Ilulissat but the large number of dogs that also living there helps to emphasise how important dogsled is for transport, even in a large modern town.
The journey is designed so that it is suitable for anyone who enjoys outdoor activities. No special physical condition is required to participate. The stay in Ilulissat will be on your own. However, you will have permanent assistance from Tasermiut staff.
Flight from Reykjavik or Copenhagen to Ilulissat. Reception at Ilulissat Airport and transfer to the hotel for check-in.
Ilulissat city tour: Visit of the city with a guide who will describe the history of Ilulissat and its buildings. The tour will start from the old part of town where there are the buildings of the first Danish settlement with the harbour, the church and the museum. Accommodation at Hotel. Twin / Double room with private facilities.
Ilimanaq is a settlement in the Municipality of Qasigiannguit (south of Ilulissat) whit a population of approx 80 inhabitants. The settlement was founded around 1741 and the community’s main occupations are still hunting and fishing. The boat tour to Ilimanaq is an opportunity to visit an old and almost untouched inuit settlement and, at the same time, sail among the massive icebergs that lay at the mouth of the Ilulissat icefjord.
The boat leaves Ilulissat harbour at 10 am with direction Ilimanaq. Before reaching the village the boat will cross the famous Ilulissat icefjord with its massive icebergs. In Ilimanaq you will have a couple of hours where you can visit the village in particular the little church that was built in 1904.
Lunch with a greenlandic family that will cook the traditional dish called Suasast – a soup with rice, vegetables and meat (usually seal) or fish -. During lunch, Regine will tell you stories and fact about the village the way it was and the way it is.
At 2pm the boat will sail back to Ilulissat crossing the icefjord again. Arrival in Ilulissat is around 4pm. Accommodation at Hotel. Twin / Double room with private facilities.
* Note that there is an option to stay one more day in Ilulissat.
After breakfast at the hotel, day at leisure in Ilulissat for optional excursions. Accommodation at Hotel. Twin / Double room with private facilities.
Optional excursions:
Trekking to the Sermermiut valley: guided tour to an area where 3 different cultures of Inuit fishermans and hunters families settled almost 4000 years ago. The short trekking starts from the old heliport and it will take you to the icefjord where you can admire huge icebergs. Duration: 3 hours (approx.) Price: 325dkk (44€)
Boat tour to Rodebay: the excursion to Rodebay is the perfect choice if you are interested in visiting a greenlandic little settlement with its coloured houses and a little church and having a sailing tour admiring the landscape and the icebergs of the Disko bay area. The boat journey takes approximately 1,5 hours to get to the village. Once at the village you will be able to visit the settlement and have lunch at the restaurant H8 or a kaffe-mik at one of the local families (optional). The boat will leave Rodebay at 2pm to sail back to Ilulissat. Duration: 5 hours (approx.) Price: 800dkk (110€)
Dog sledding tour to Sermeq Avagnardlek view point (February, March and April): Ilulissat is the capital of dog sledding in Greenland. The activity will be notably seen in all around the city as there is no house without dogs or sledges. Every guide will be in charge of every sledge and it’s only allowed one traveller per sledge. Greenlandic dog sledding is very special and singular. Every sledge could be pulled by 9 to 15 dogs, depending in the snow/ice and weather conditions. Duration: 5 hours (approx). Price: 1,675dkk (225€)
Helicopter Tour: the helicopter tour is a unique opportunity to visit the Jakobshavn Glacier or Sermeq Kujalleq (in Greenlandic) which is the is a large glacier in West Greenland. It is located at the end of the Ilulissat icefjord approx 56 km from the city of Ilulissat. The Sermeq Kujalleq front is about 10km wide and 1 km high. It produces 46km3 equal to 63 billion tons of ice (12% of the USA yearly water consume) and produces around 10% of all Greenland icebergs. It is also the fastest glacier in the north hemisphere with 38 metres per day. The helicopter tour takes off from Ilulissat airport and it reaches the south part of the glacier (Kujalleq) in about 35 minutes flying over the city and the 56km long fjord. It lands by the glacier for about 30 minutes before returning to Ilulissat. Operation depend on weather and helicopter capacity. Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes (approx.) Price: 3,495dkk (480€)
Boat tour to Eqi Sermia Glacier: the Eqi Sermia Glacier is located approx. 100 km north of Ilulissat. It’s called the “calving glacier” because ice breaks off from it more frequently than other glaciers. It is also the easiest place from which you can get onto the inland ice. The Eqi glacier is 100 meters high. It is 5 kilometers from edge to edge. Small pieces of ice break off from the glacier at regular basis. In the 50th century, the famous French polar scientist Paul-Emilie Victor came to this area to study the inland ice. The excursion to the Eqi Sermia glacier gives you the opportunity to get very close to the inland ice and to see the calving phenomenon. The tour starts from Ilulissat harbor around 8 am. The boat journey to the glacier depends on the boat, the weather and sea conditions but it’s approximately 3/4 hours. At the glacier the boat stops approx 500 metres from it and there you will have time to admire the calving while drinking a cup of coffee. Lunch will be served at the restaurant in Ataa (a small Inuit settlement that was abandoned in 1960). In Ataa, there will be approx 2 hours where guests can have lunch and visit the settlement. Return to Ilulissat is expected around 6pm. Duration: 9 hours 30 minutes (approx.) Price per person: 1,995dkk (275€) The price includes lunch and the transfer by bus from the accommodation to the harbor and return.
Kaffe-Mik: is a Greenlandic way of celebrating birthdays, weddings or confirmations but kaffe-miks are also organised as “get together”. The Greenlanders open their homes to family and friends for a cup of coffee and home made cakes. Sometimes they are proper buffet with fish and meat. Duration: 2 hours (approx.) Price: 150dkk (21€)
Fishing tour: during the summer months, we can experiment fishing tours in Ilulissat and in the Disko bay area. There are different fishing techniques, location and periods depending on the fish. Please find below the list of fish that can be caught in the area. Duration: 5 hours (approx.) Price: 1,195dkk (163€)
Dog feeding: there are approx. 4.000 dogs in Ilulissat. Dogsledging in this town is still the only way people can travel during the long cold winters. Spending an hour with a fisherman while feeding his dogs will give you the opportunity to know everything about dog sledging in Greenland and the Inuit culture. Duration: 1 hour (approx.) Price: 150dkk (21€)
Whale Safari: in the summer months many species of whales migrate to the cooler waters of the Disko bay area. If you sail in this area in the months of July and August you have huge chances to see these big mammals swimming around and, if you are lucky, jumping out of the water. The most common whales that you can meet on the whale safari tour are humpbacks and Fin Whale but also Sei Whale, Blue whale and the Bowhead Whale, known as Greenland Right Whale or Arctic Whale. This last specie spends all of its life in Arctic waters, unlike other whales that migrate for feeding or reproduction. Duration: 5 hours (approx). Price: 900dkk (123€)
IMPORTANT: The indicated prices are per person unless otherwise stated. Prices may change without prior notice due to specific conditions at the time and place of the excursion. Please note that not all excursions are available during every tour-programme that includes this destination. Please contact Tasermiut Office to get more information.
Breakfast at the hotel. Transfer to the airport. Flight from Ilulissat to Reykjavik or Copenhagen.
2,575 € from Reykjavik
2,375 € from Copenhagen
Single room supplement: 180€
2,775 € from Reykjavik
2,575 € from Copenhagen
Single room supplement: 240€
4 or 5 days. Departures from Copenhagen and Reykjavik.
* Send an enquiry to check available dates for this trip
May, June, July, August and September 2022
What it’s included:
What it’s not included:
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