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Nuuk to the Thule district · 64° to 78° North

West Greenland and Disko Bay

The coast where the ice sheet reaches the sea. The fastest glacier in the northern hemisphere, the icebergs it sends into Disko Bay, towns of coloured houses on the rock and, in September, the aurora over the ice. The easiest Arctic to reach, and the one with the most icebergs.

Highlights

Why West Greenland

This is the Arctic of icebergs rather than sea ice. The Ilulissat Icefjord, a UNESCO site since 2004, produces around a tenth of all the ice that leaves Greenland, and the bergs ground at its mouth in Disko Bay until they are small enough to float out. The coast is inhabited, which the rest of the Arctic mostly is not: Nuuk, Sisimiut, Qeqertarsuaq, Uummannaq, villages of a few hundred people reached only by sea. Humpbacks feed in the bay all summer, and from mid-August the aurora shows over the ice.

The icebergs of Ilulissat

Swan Hellenic expedition in Sisimiut, Greenland. Photograph by Benn Berkeley.

Towns of coloured houses

A Swan Hellenic expedition ship navigating through a dramatic Greenland fjord surrounded by icebergs and towering mountains.

Glacier fronts by Zodiac

A Ponant ship near rocky landscapes with icebergs in the background

The granite walls of the Karrat fjord

Northern lights reflected on the calm sea during a night crossing on a Swan Hellenic Arctic expedition cruise aboard SH Vega

The aurora over the bay

Signature locations

Where the voyages go

Ten places between the capital and the Thule district, in the order the ships sail north.

Autumn tundra and a small lake beneath snow-dusted hills at Kangerlussuaq, Greenland, on a Swan Hellenic expedition cruise

Nuuk

The capital, around 19,000 people and a new international airport since 2024, with the National Museum and its Qilakitsoq mummies, the old colonial harbour and the Sermitsiaq mountain across the fjord.

When to go

Pick the month, then the ship

The west coast is sailed from May to September, longer than any other Greenland coast, because the Davis Strait keeps it open. This is how we read it.

Only Le Commandant Charcot, into the fast ice of Baffin Bay to the Inuit hunters of Kullorsuaq and the floe edge. Seals, bears and the last of the winter light.

Wildlife

Who you meet, and when

West Greenland is whale and bird country more than bear country, until the ship reaches the ice of Melville Bay. Sightings are never promised. These are the odds as we know them.

Almost certain in Disko Bay from June to September, feeding among the icebergs, often within sight of the town.

Things to do

How the days are spent

A town or a village most days and a Zodiac cruise at the ice, with longer hikes than anywhere else in Greenland. All included on the ships we sell, except kayaking, booked in advance.

Passengers on the boardwalk beside the Ilulissat Icefjord in West Greenland on a Quark Expeditions cruise

The boardwalk to the Icefjord

Passengers in Zodiacs cruising below snow-capped Arctic peaks on a Quark Expeditions cruise

Zodiac cruising at the glacier fronts

Solo traveller in a yellow Quark Expeditions parka on a shore landing with snow-covered Arctic peaks behind

Hikes above Disko Bay

Two passengers sea kayaking beside snow-covered mountains on a Quark Expeditions Arctic cruise

Kayaking among the icebergs

Thrym Glacier spreading beneath snow-capped mountains under a blue sky, South East Greenland, seen from SH Vega on a Swan Hellenic Greenland cruise

Field notes

What the brochures leave out

Ilulissat is the one Arctic town most of our guests want to see and the one most ships only glance at. A single afternoon is enough for the boardwalk; a night at anchor is what makes the Icefjord unforgettable, because the ice calves and rolls after dark. The voyages on this site that give Disko Bay two days, Le Lyrial in September and the Ponant crossings on L’Austral and Le Boréal, are the ones we recommend first. SH Vega adds Uummannaq and the Karrat fjord in a week, and Ultramarine goes on to Qaanaaq with the helicopters.

The practical things. Most voyages start in Kangerlussuaq or Nuuk with a charter or scheduled flight from Paris, Reykjavík or Copenhagen included in the fare, and Nuuk’s new airport now takes direct flights from Copenhagen. West Greenland is twelve hours behind Sydney in summer. The currency is the Danish krone, the towns have mobile coverage and the fjords do not. July days sit between 5 and 12 degrees, September between 0 and 8. Greenland is outside Schengen and needs no visa for Australians; carry your passport ashore.

  • 40 m a day
  • UNESCO since 2004
  • May to September

How we plan it

Four decisions, in the right order

A West Greenland voyage is decided by how far north you want to go. This is the order we work in with every guest.

June and July for the midnight sun, September for the aurora and the biggest icebergs. We tell you which fortnight gives you what you want.

What a West Greenland voyage costs

From A$16,975 per person for seven nights aboard SH Vega from Kangerlussuaq in September with the Reykjavík charter, and from A$17,120 for seven nights aboard Le Lyrial from Nuuk with the Paris flights.

From A$18,810 for thirteen nights from Reykjavík to Nuuk aboard the Ponant sister ships, east coast and south included. From US$10,041 for South Greenland by helicopter aboard Ultramarine.

From A$30,100 for sixteen nights to the Thule district aboard the Ponant sister ships, and from US$19,281 for fifteen nights to Qaanaaq aboard Ultramarine with the helicopters.

From A$29,280 for twelve nights into the sea ice of Baffin Bay and the hunting villages of Kullorsuaq in April, Paris flights included.

Flights from Australia to the charter city, hotel nights there, kayaking on most lines and travel insurance are the usual additions. Many of these departures carry offers we hold for Arctic Cruise guests and do not publish. Call us and we quote the whole journey with them, in Australian dollars, on one proposal.


Expeditions

Expeditions to West Greenland

Disko Bay in a week, the crossing from Iceland, the Thule route, the far north with helicopters and the spring ice aboard Le Commandant Charcot. Tell us the month and we tell you which sailing, which ship and what we can do on the fare.

All expeditions
7 Nights
Ponant
From A$17,120

Disko Bay and Inuit Villages

Nuuk to Nuuk aboard Le Lyrial: the Eternity fjord, Disko Island, the Eqi glacier, the Karrat fjord, Uummannaq and the icebergs of Ilulissat in a single week. One sailing in September 2027, one in August 2028, return flights from Paris included. From A$17,120 per person, planned with you by Arctic Cruise.

7 Nights
Swan Hellenic
From A$16,975

Greenland, Land of Northern Lights

Kangerlussuaq to Kangerlussuaq. Sailings in September 2027 and 2028, with 2029 to follow. From A$16,975 per person, charter flights from Reykjavík included, planned with you by Arctic Cruise.

13 Nights
Ponant
From A$18,810

Expedition to the Edge of the Ice Sheet

Reykjavík to Greenland aboard a Ponant sister ship: Tasiilaq and the east coast, Prins Christian Sund, the Norse ruins of the south, Nuuk, Disko Bay and the Eqi glacier. Four sailings across 2027 and 2028, the Greenland to Paris flight included. From A$18,810 per person, planned with you by Arctic Cruise.

15 Nights
Quark Expeditions
From US$19,281

West Greenland and the Far North: Ilulissat to Qaanaaq

Reykjavík to Reykjavík via Nuuk, flights across the Denmark Strait included. One sailing in September 2027, one in September 2028, with 2029 to follow. From US$19,281 per person in US dollars, planned with you by Arctic Cruise.

16 Nights
Ponant
From A$30,100

Expedition to the Thule Region

Greenland to Greenland aboard a Ponant sister ship, north along the west coast past Disko Bay and the Karrat fjord to Savissivik and Thule, then across Baffin Bay to Pond Inlet. One sailing in August 2027, one in August 2028, return flights from Paris included. From A$30,100 per person, planned with you by Arctic Cruise.

12 Nights
Ponant
From A$29,280

Encounter with the Last Guardians of the North Pole

Nuuk to Nuuk, 4 to 16 April 2027, with 2028 to follow. From A$29,280 per person, Paris charter flights included, planned with you by Arctic Cruise.

Go further

Pair West Greenland with the rest of the Arctic

Disko Bay is where the Northwest Passage voyages begin and the autumn coast of Canada starts. These are the routes that join them.

All expeditions

Northwest Passage and the Canadian Arctic

The sea route that Franklin died looking for and Amundsen took three winters to sail. Today it opens for six weeks a year, and the ships that go in come back with stories no other coast gives. Ice decides the route, every year, every morning.

Labrador and Newfoundland

The autumn coast, where the polar bears come down to a shore of red tundra, the Vikings built the first European houses in the Americas and a piece of France waits at the end. September, when the colour is on the tundra and the bears are on the shore.

East Greenland

The longest fjord system on earth, the largest national park on earth and a coast with one settlement in a thousand kilometres. September brings the aurora. Ten days here changes what you think a fjord is.

High aerial view of Ilulissat spread along the coast of Disko Bay at golden hour, with small icebergs in the dark blue water, West Greenland, on a Swan Hellenic SH Vega expedition cruise

Questions

West Greenland and Disko Bay, your questions answered

The icebergs, the towns, the aurora and getting there from Australia. If your question is not here, we are a call away.

Fly to Paris, Copenhagen or Reykjavík, around 24 hours with one stop, and join the charter or scheduled flight to Kangerlussuaq or Nuuk that most fares include. We book the long-haul flights, the night before the charter and the hotel on the way home, so it is one booking with one specialist.

September for a first voyage: the biggest icebergs, the aurora and the lowest fares. June and July for the midnight sun and the whales. August for the Thule district, which only opens then.

From mid-August, on any clear night, and most September voyages see them more than once over Disko Bay. We cannot promise a clear sky. We can tell you which sailings sit in the darkest fortnight.

Not in Disko Bay, where the ice is glacier ice and the bears are far to the north. The Thule and Baffin Bay voyages see them on the sea ice in most years. No one can promise a sighting, and we never do.

SH Vega for the September week with the smallest group, Le Lyrial for the French week with Paris flights, the Ponant sister ships for the whole coast and the Thule route, Ultramarine for the helicopters, Le Commandant Charcot for the spring ice. We have sailed them all and we say which suits you.

Between 5 and 12 degrees in July, 0 and 8 in September, colder at the ice fronts. The ships provide the parka and boots. Bring thermal layers, waterproof trousers, a down jacket for the aurora watches and sunglasses for the ice.

Yes, for Disko Bay: Ilulissat, Eqi, Qeqertarsuaq and Uummannaq fit in seven nights from Kangerlussuaq or Nuuk. Thirteen nights add the east and south coasts, sixteen the Thule district.

We have sailed these ships on this coast, we know which suite to ask for, and we hold offers on many departures that are only available by talking to us. One Australian specialist plans the whole journey and stays with you until you are home.

Made to measure

Tell us your Arctic, we build the rest

Every guest sails differently. Tell us what you are hoping for, the ice, the wildlife, the light, who you are travelling with, and we match it to the right sailing, the right stateroom and the right year, with flights from Australia and our own offers included. One Arctic Cruise specialist stays with you from the first call until you are home.

The Arctic, by destination

Other Arctic destinations

Seven coasts, each with its own season, its own ships and its own page. Tell us which one you are drawn to and we tell you how it fits with the others.

All expeditions

Svalbard

Nine islands halfway between Norway and the Pole, where the bears outnumber the people and the sun does not set for four months. We have sailed every coast of it.

East Greenland

The longest fjord system on earth, the largest national park on earth and a coast with one settlement in a thousand kilometres. September brings the aurora. Ten days here changes what you think a fjord is.

Northwest Passage and the Canadian Arctic

The sea route that Franklin died looking for and Amundsen took three winters to sail. Today it opens for six weeks a year, and the ships that go in come back with stories no other coast gives. Ice decides the route, every year, every morning.

Labrador and Newfoundland

The autumn coast, where the polar bears come down to a shore of red tundra, the Vikings built the first European houses in the Americas and a piece of France waits at the end. September, when the colour is on the tundra and the bears are on the shore.

The Geographic North Pole

One passenger ship in the world can take you to the top of the planet, and she sails from Svalbard. Three days through the pack ice, two days on it, every direction south, and nothing else like it on any ship.

Iceland and Jan Mayen

Where most Arctic voyages begin or end, and where the best of them linger: the Westfjords, the whales of Húsavík and the volcano that rises alone out of the Greenland Sea. Two nights in Reykjavík either side, and the whole of the North Atlantic between.