18 Days Luxury Greenland & Canadian Arctic Cruise - Nuuk to Nuuk

Pre Cruise Benefits
Private Executive Transfers
International flights - Economy class
or Business Class upgrade
Airport transfers
Hotel
Charter/Group flights

In the bustling capital city of Greenland, you could be forgiven for forgetting you are in such a vast and isolated country. Nuuk is Greenland's economic and social hub, home to more than a third of Greenland's population, and although it feels like a world capital, scratch the surface, and a uniquely Greenlandic character can be found underneath. Nuuk Cathedral overlooks the gorgeous old Colonial Harbour district and the Greenland National Museum, resting place of the legendary Qilakitsoq mummies, the true highlight of the museum's archaeological collection. Above the Colonial Harbour sits downtown Nuuk, with lines of Scandistyle apartments, a bustling shopping district, the Greenlandic Parliament, Nuuk City Hall (which welcomes visitors to see its artwork) and even outdoor cafes selling locally produced food and beer. These nods to modernity compete for space with local artisan boutiques, the meat market selling the catch from Nuuk's vast fjord-lands, and the stunning Katuaq Cultural Centre, where blockbuster movies, as well as local and foreign performers entertain the people of Nuuk. Although Nuuk has long been a melting pot of Danish and Greenlandic ideas, this is a city where Greenland displays its sophistication, with the Country's only traffic lights, roundabouts and University. Most of all, expect to find a multitude of friendly people who are proud of who they are, and equally proud of the city they call home.

Days at sea are the perfect opportunity to relax, unwind and catch up with what you’ve been meaning to do. So whether that is going to the gym, visiting the spa, whale watching, catching up on your reading or simply topping up your tan, these blue sea days are the perfect balance to busy days spent exploring shore side.

Iqaluit is the capital of Canada’s newest territory, Nunavut, which is Inuktitut for “our land”. The community is located at the head of Frobisher Bay, an inlet of the North Atlantic extending into southeastern Baffin Island. The Bay is so long that it was first taken to be the possible entrance of a Northwest Passage. In Iqaluit, the Nunatta Sunakkutaangit Museum and the Nunavut Legislative Assembly Building both house incredible collections of Inuit artwork with interesting local prints for sale in the museum shop.

The Lower Savage Islands are a small group of islands off of the southeastern tip of Baffin Island, and a common location for polar bears to be found during the summer months. With plenty of land to roam while giving each other a wide berth, plus opportunities to feed, it seems perhaps bears can be found here as the ice vanishes with the summer season’s warming temperatures.

Monumental Island is a splinter of ancient metamorphic rock, hunching in the frigid waters of the Davis Strait, defying the ocean and ice around it. Named to honour the legendary Polar Explorer Sir John Franklin, the island displays at times displays everything Nunavut has to offer, in an ocean studded with vast icebergs drifting across from Greenland. Monumental Island is a well known den site for polar bears, the icon of the Arctic; there is a good chance to see mother bears with cubs on the island, as the bears become trapped by the lack of summer ice, using the island as a base to hunt until the ice returns in the Autumn. Seeing the white silhouette of a polar bear against the ancient black rock and autumn tundra colours is an experience that will remain long after returning on board. Groups of harp seals are a common sight in the waters around Monumental Island, and can be very curious, often swimming very close to investigate new objects such as boats. There are several sites on the island also used as haul out sites for the charismatic Atlantic Walrus. These vast animals are surprisingly gentle and skittish, and can often be observed caring for their calves on the rock bluffs while keeping a careful watch for polar bears. Almost nowhere else in Nunavut can the charismatic wildlife of the Arcticbe observed in such a stunning setting.

Named in honour of Sir John Franklin’s widow, the lonely and uninhabited Lady Franklin Island lies off of Baffin Island’s Hall Peninsula at the entrance to Cumberland Sound. The island is named for the wife of Sir John Franklin, the Arctic explorer who died trying to discover the Northwest Passage. The geology of the island is striking with vertical cliffs of Archean rocks, likely to be some of the oldest stone in Canada. The waters around Lady Franklin Island offer an abundance seabirds, ducks, seals, and walrus. With a bit of luck it is possible to see Atlantic Puffins here and perhaps even a rare Sabine’s Gull.

Days at sea are the perfect opportunity to relax, unwind and catch up with what you’ve been meaning to do. So whether that is going to the gym, visiting the spa, whale watching, catching up on your reading or simply topping up your tan, these blue sea days are the perfect balance to busy days spent exploring shore side.

Located at the heart of Nunavut, on Baffin Island’s Cumberland Peninsula, Auyuittuq National Park offers you one of the most beautiful and striking landscapes in Canada. Large valleys and steep-walled fjords surrounded by a skyline of irregular peaks and massive glaciers, exactly how you would picture the Arctic.

Auyuittuq homes little vegetation, however, you can however spot some arctic wildlife species in these stunning and serene landscapes. Arctic foxes, caribou, lemmings, snow geese, ermines, but also polar bears and many bird species like peregrine falcons can be observed. Several cetaceans species frequent the surrounding waters of the island, narwhals, beluga whales and orcas being the most likely to be seen. The coasts of the island are a haven for many seabirds like the king eider or the little auk.

Established a national park in 1972, Auyuittuq holds an extremely important place in Canada’s history due to its location. Many civilisations visited Auyuittuq since the first people settled during the Stone Age, noting the ideal conditions for whaling. Among them, Norse and English explorers but also the Inuit, a people that left his mark on the island and all the Nunavut region. Auyuittuq means “The Land That Never Melts” in Inuktitut, the national park’s land being covered by the huge Penny Ice Glacier.

Isabella Bay is about 100 kilometers south-southeast of Clyde River, on the northeast coast of Baffin Island. Designated in 2010, the Ninginganiq National Wildlife Area not only covers Isabella Bay, but also its islands, shores and the adjacent open water of the Davis Strait out to 12 nautical miles from shore. In the 19th century Isabella Bay had been an important center for whaling and this National Wildlife Area is still an important marine habitat –today a sanctuary- used for feeding and resting by adult and large adolescent bowhead whales during late summer and fall. Bowhead whales gather here to feed on the abundant copepod zooplankton blooms that occur in two deep troughs in Isabella Bay. The single largest concentration of bowhead whales in Canada has been recorded here with up to 100 whales. The Ninginganiq National Wildlife Area is Canada’s largest with more than 336,390 hectares. Although this is a sanctuary, resident Inuit have according to the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement the right to harvest wildlife on lands and waters throughout the Nunavut settlement area and therefor are allowed to hunt the whales, polar bears, ringed seals and narwhals found in Isabella Bay. King Eiders, Long-tailed Ducks, Little Auks and Northern Fulmars also call Ninginganiq (“the place where fog sits”) their home.

The starkly beautiful Sam Ford Fjord area of Baffin Island has one of the most impressive concentrations of vertical rock walls to be found anywhere in the world. It is a 110-kilometer (68-mile) waterway lined with sheer cliffs that have attracted some of the world’s best (and most extreme) rock climbers to the region. The steep stone walls were formed by ancient glaciers that carved the landscape through the ages. However, the feature that makes the shoreline truly special is the way that many of these walls rise straight up from the dark waters of the deep fjord. Swimming these waters are marine mammals including narwhals and seals that once attracted Inuit hunters to this coast.

Buchan Gulf is a deep, elongated gash carved by glaciers during the last Ice Age that cuts 22 miles into the eastern shores of Baffin Island. The most striking feature in the Gulf ate impressive steep coastal cliffs and rock pinnacles. The cliffs are comprised of hard Precambrian metamorphic rock that rises as much as 2,000 feet from the sea. The conditions are perfect for nesting Northern Fulmars, and in fact, this area is one of the most important nesting sites for these birds in the world. European explorer William Baffin first ventured here in the 15th century to search for the Northwest Passage.

Lying far to the north, amid the sheer fjords and mountains of spectacular Baffin Island, discover Fecham Bay’s bounty of human heritage and Arctic wildlife. Towering cliffs shelter the calm waters of this protected harbour amid the intimidating splendour of Baffin Island's steep cliffs and rocky shores. Encounters with the remarkable wildlife that calls this remote location home await - look up to see Northern fulmars gliding above or you might experience the rush of adrenaline and the quickening of your heartbeat if you are lucky enough to glimpse a wandering polar bear or the sharp sword-like tusk of a narwhal. Nearby Icy Fjord offers further opportunities to stare wide-eyed at the unfurling drama of this immense winter wonderland. Inuit peoples have called this unforgiving environment home for centuries, while recent discoveries have also revealed a European history on the island too. Archaeological items were found on Baffin Island, including a carved wooden Dorset culture face mask with Caucasian features. The discovery suggests that European traders and possibly settlers were present on Baffin Island - one of the world's largest islands - as early as AD 1000.

Days at sea are the perfect opportunity to relax, unwind and catch up with what you’ve been meaning to do. So whether that is going to the gym, visiting the spa, whale watching, catching up on your reading or simply topping up your tan, these blue sea days are the perfect balance to busy days spent exploring shore side.

Uummannaq ('Heart-Shaped') is famous even in Greenland for its staggering scenery. This small town of around one thousand two hundred people clings to a rocky bluff at the foot of a vast striped mountain, whose twin peaks resemble a heart. The waters surrounding the town are jewelled with vast icebergs, and the vertical cliffs jutting out to the fjord are simply breathtaking. Like all towns in Greenland, Uummannaq is only accessible by helicopter or by sea, though in the winter when the sea is frozen, locals will often take a dog sled or even a four wheel drive taxi across the ice to the airport in the nearby village of Qaarsut. Despite its remoteness and size, Uummannaq is a town which is happy to welcome visitors; local women will often sell unique handicrafts in the town square near the only stone church in Greenland, and the bustling meat market sells everything from sea urchins to seals. The local museum offers excellent exhibitions in several languages, including on the mining history of the area, and the story of the world-famous Qilakitsoq Mummies, found just across the fjord, and now housed in the National Museum in Nuuk. A brisk walk outside town takes you to Santa's Castle, a turf hut built for a Danish TV show, and now firmly the home of Santa Claus in popular imagination. But in Uummanaq, life runs at a slower pace, and nothing compares to doing as the locals do, taking time to relax in the arctic summer sun, and enjoy some of the best scenery in Greenland at your own pace.

Known as the birthplace of icebergs, the Ilulissat Icefjord produces nearly 20 million tons of ice each day. In fact, the word Ilulissat means “icebergs” in the Kalaallisut language. The town of Ilulissat is known for its long periods of calm and settled weather, but the climate tends to be cold due to its proximity to the fjord. Approximately 4,500 people live in Ilulissat, the third-largest town in Greenland after Nuuk and Sisimiut. Some people here estimate that there are nearly as many sled dogs as human beings living in the town that also boasts a local history museum located in the former home of Greenlandic folk hero and famed polar explorer Knud Rasmussen.

Sisimiut ('The People of the Fox Holes') is Greenland's second city, the largest Arctic City in North America, and a hub between the warmer South and the frozen North of the country. With a young, dynamic population, including students from all over the country, Sisimiut is one of the fastest growing cities in Greenland. Inhabited for more than four and a half thousand years, the Danish Colonial Era saw the rapid development of the city into a trade centre, and the old buildings and artefacts can be seen at Sisimiut Museum, a collection of beautifully restored buildings displaying everything from ancient turf houses to modern Inuit art. The local artisans are considered some of the best in Greenland, and often sell their wares direct from their communal workshop in the harbour, where they barter with hunters for raw materials. Today, modern industry focussed on processing sea food and shipping; KNI, the state-run chain of general stores operating in even the most remote settlements is based in Sisimiut. Most residents still live in the colourful wooden houses Greenland is so well known for. Sisimiut's vast back country offers excellent opportunities for hiking and fishing, and the locals often use sled dogs or snowmobiles to get around their vast mountainous playground during the long winters. In the summer, one can walk as far as Kangerlussuaq International Airport, a trail also used for the gruelling Polar Circle Marathon, one of the toughest endurance events in the world.

Evighedsfjord (Eternity Fjord) is a large fjord northeast of Kangaamiut in southwest Greenland. The fjord has a length of 75 kilometers and several branches with numerous glaciers coming down from the Maniitsoq Ice Cap to the north can be seen. The Evighedsfjord has several bends and whenever the ship reaches the supposed end the fjord continues in another direction and seems to go on forever. Qingua Kujatdleq Glacier is at its southeastern end. At the northwestern end a U-shaped valley has seven glaciers coming down from the mountains but not reaching the water. The glaciers had their maximum extent around the year 1870 and have gone through several cycles of advance and retreat. The mountains on either side of the fjord can reach in excess of 2,000 meters and the fjord has a depth of up to 700 meters. Evighedsfjord’s snowline is at 1,100 meters and the Evighedsfjord region is famous as one of Greenland’s best heli-skiing areas.

Kangaamiut (the People of the Fjords) is a settlement which clings to the shoreline of Greenland's Arctic Circle region, backed by some of the country's most spectacular fjordlands. The nearby pinnacle-shaped mountains gave the Danish-Norwegian colonial settlement its original name of Sukkertoppen (Sugarloaf) and the town recently celebrated its 250th anniversary. Here, one can experience small-town Greenlandic culture at its most authentic. The town is scattered across a small hill, displaying all the colourful buildings of the town at once; it is impossible to take a bad photo here. A system of staircases and boardwalks leads to the top of the hill, an area used to helicopter transport which offers jaw-dropping vistas of the wilderness around the settlement. The locals are proud of their Inuit history and culture, and the people of Kangaamiut are friendly and welcoming to vistors. Depending on the day, one could see local men selling fresh fish or reindeer meat from the surrounding fjords or flensing their catch on the rocks of the harbour, local women selling intricate homemade beaded necklaces and carvings, or even be invited into a local home to share a pot of coffee with some of the friendly residents, who are always happy to have visitors. Although the scenery is world-class, as in many towns in Greenland, wonderful memories of the welcoming residents are the most treasured.

In the bustling capital city of Greenland, you could be forgiven for forgetting you are in such a vast and isolated country. Nuuk is Greenland's economic and social hub, home to more than a third of Greenland's population, and although it feels like a world capital, scratch the surface, and a uniquely Greenlandic character can be found underneath. Nuuk Cathedral overlooks the gorgeous old Colonial Harbour district and the Greenland National Museum, resting place of the legendary Qilakitsoq mummies, the true highlight of the museum's archaeological collection. Above the Colonial Harbour sits downtown Nuuk, with lines of Scandistyle apartments, a bustling shopping district, the Greenlandic Parliament, Nuuk City Hall (which welcomes visitors to see its artwork) and even outdoor cafes selling locally produced food and beer. These nods to modernity compete for space with local artisan boutiques, the meat market selling the catch from Nuuk's vast fjord-lands, and the stunning Katuaq Cultural Centre, where blockbuster movies, as well as local and foreign performers entertain the people of Nuuk. Although Nuuk has long been a melting pot of Danish and Greenlandic ideas, this is a city where Greenland displays its sophistication, with the Country's only traffic lights, roundabouts and University. Most of all, expect to find a multitude of friendly people who are proud of who they are, and equally proud of the city they call home.

Post Cruise Benefits
Charter/Group flights
Hotel
Airport transfers
International flights - Economy class
or Business Class upgrade
Private Executive Transfers

Itineraries are subject to change.