For some, it’s a last frontier—but not for long.
Come this fall, it’ll be easier than ever to visit Greenland. The opening of a new international airport in Nuuk, the capital city, is set to bust the door wide open for tourism, with flights starting in late November. It’s one of three new airports the country is building through 2026 to attract more visitors.
The airport is a big deal because, well, it’s traditionally been challenging to fly to Greenland. Flights had to connect through internal Greenland cities, Iceland, or Denmark, and there was no capacity for larger commercial jets. The new airport and its much longer runway will simplify getting to Greenland and open up to new destinations, cutting down the need for multiple transfers and, hopefully, the frequent flight cancellations that currently occur due to the limitations of the smaller airports.
All of this expansion is driving a host of new options to visit, including cruises, which have already seen a major uptick in Greenland in the last year. According to Visit Greenland Tourism Statistics, there was a 73% increase in cruise passengers visiting Greenland from 2022 to 2023. It’s easy to see why: the pro of sailing by cruise ship is that it’s a non-hassle way to see the country from a comfortable, ever-moving base. Your itinerary is crafted for you, and there’s no need to book hotels (a bonus since accommodations are limited in Greenland as of now).
INSIDER TIPFlight schedules are still to be announced, but a direct Copenhagen, Denmark, and at least one Canada route is in the works.
Perhaps the most notable new cruises are from expedition line HX, which has partnered with Air Greenland and is now offering nine itineraries in Greenland, including three new itineraries for 2025. Each of them, Icy Giants of Disko Bay, Mythical Lands of the North, and Farthest North to Thule and Kane Basin, cruise Greenland’s greatest hits, including Disko Bay, Ilulissat Icefjord, and towns north of the Arctic Circle.
Top Picks for You
Recommended Fodor’s Video
INSIDER TIPWhales, seals, walruses, polar bears, and Arctic terns are all abundant in Greenland, making it an ideal place for wildlife watching.
With a focus on science and active excursions that immerse you in the destination, they offer the chance to whale watch, visit small towns (some with a population of only 50 people), cruise among icebergs and glaciers, learn about an increasingly rare way of life, and more. Think of all the beauty of Alaska and all the remote wonders of Antarctica wrapped in one.
For cruises, the opening of Nuuk’s new airport means they won’t need to fly into Reykjavik and sail from there—they can start directly in Nuuk and spend more time on the country’s west coast, going further north. Of course, ramping up tourism in Greenland comes with its concerns. A country of 60,000 people and limited infrastructure can’t sustain the kind of massive growth that neighboring island nation Iceland experienced—at least not right away.
But officials are hoping there will be a natural cap to wild tourism growth simply because of Greenland’s limited capacity—there aren’t yet enough hotel rooms available to support mass tourism. That means that tourism can, hopefully, develop slowly. Towns like Ilulissat, Greenland’s third largest city, are still small by any measure and have no sidewalks, so it stands to reason that they’re not ready for huge cruise ships with hundreds of people a day to come through and flood the streets. To that end, Greenland is trying to catch up with the development; for example, the mayor of Ilulissat is introducing measures to limit the number of tourists to 1,000 per day.
If you want to visit with a small footprint and with experts in the field, HX is a good way to go, considering sustainability is one of the company’s major tenets. To start, they were the first cruise line to ban heavy fuel oil and single-use plastics, but they also donated to communities they visited and respected local guidelines. Their state-of-the-art expedition ship, MS Fridtjof Nansen, which sails Greenland, was one of the first hybrid battery-powered ships and was even named the world’s safest and most sustainable ship.
Because it’s hybrid battery-powered, MS Fridtjof Nansen is 20% more efficient than a regular ship, meaning less impact. The line also has an aggressive emissions reduction plan in line with the Paris Agreement. The ship even produces 300 tons of fresh water a day through osmosis, and engine heat is used to make hot water for showers.
And how does it help guests safeguard the environment? Simple things like a boot washer tray that guests must use before disembarking to ensure they don’t introduce any new invasive foreign flora or fauna to the area. Not to mention, only 100 of its 530 guests can set foot on land at any given time.
Cruisers can also participate in citizen science projects on board, contributing to legitimate research on, for example, climate change via phytoplankton community growth and change over time. And finally, the company puts its money where its mouth is: the Hurtigruten Foundation has already donated 360,000 euros to local Greenland community efforts.
But sustainability doesn’t mean there aren’t cushy accommodations—you’re by no means roughing it on this beautiful ship, outfitted in Scandinavian style with sumptuous rooms (50% of which have private balconies) and fine dining restaurants, plus a spa and fitness center with a sauna that melts the icy itinerary away after a long day. I recently had the chance to join the Disko Bay itinerary with HX on MS Fridtjof Nansen, the line’s purpose-built ship that sails Greenland and Antarctica itineraries. It was nothing short of magic.
INSIDER TIPWith 80% of the country covered in ice, the UNESCO-recognized Ilulissat Icefjord and Greenland’s Ice Sheet are just the beginning of the glaciers you can see while visiting Greenland.
One day, I awoke to the sun streaming through icebergs in Vaigat Sound, got outfitted in expedition gear, and cruised to a landing site where fellow guests participated in a “polar plunge,” dipping into the iceberg-strewn water (and later, warming up back on the ship’s cozy sauna). Another, we traversed choppy water in a RIB boat, the misty, ice-capped Fjord of Eternity, wind whipping through our hair, while HX’s resident geologist pointed out some of the world’s oldest rocks — ones over 3 billion years in the making — before we got up close to a glacier.
On yet another, we participated in a citizen science project that contributed to real research about climate change. As I held the Secchi disc over the blue-green water and let it dip down, I felt a sense of accomplishment, like I wasn’t just on a trip but on a mission to understand the world around me and help it for the better.
The bottom line is what you really get with this expedition cruise line that you don’t get with other cruises: access to onboard scientists and experts you can engage with. And the luxurious rooms and top-notch dining weren’t too bad either.
HX also stands out for its pre- and post-cruise offerings, including a memorable stay in Ilimanaq (population: 50), where the waterfront A-frame lodges of have breathtaking views of icebergs and the mayor rides around town on an ATV, or a cod-fishing trip outside of Nuuk followed by local Thai Greenlandic fusion restaurant Qooqqut Nuan cooking your catch. Trust me, it’s a meal to remember.
If you’re planning on a trip to Greenland, remember that summer has the best weather (and, therefore, the least likelihood for flight disruptions) but also is time for the midnight sun—a period of 24/7 sunlight. The sun never set on my trip to Greenland. Sometimes, the only way I could be sure time had passed was by the icebergs shifting positions outside my window. And that is the magic of Greenland—all soon to be set center stage.
This could end up being a "not good" thing. Probably gonna happen. But if GL turns into a frigid Cancun that's the ballgame. Watchout below!