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NEW for 2017! Short break including an overnight in Narsarsuaq as well as a 3-night stay in Qaqortoq. This tour gives you amble opportunity to see icebergs, visit Viking ruins and explore daily life in the Arctic. Our guides will be on hand to help you get the most out of your trip!

South Greenland

South Greenland is the often overlooked by visitors travelling to Greenland - and it is a real shame. The area has so many Arctic experiences to offer: From iceberg-filled fjords to dramatic glaciers, not to mention archaeological remains from the Inuit and Viking settlers.Narsarsuaq is the gateway to South Greenland. Meaning ‘great plain’ in Greenlandic it is today the site of a small international airport.

Formerly a US airbase it is now a small settlement which is largely preoccupied working for the local tourism industry – primarily at the hotel and the airport. The area is offering a huge diversity of experiences from iceberg cruises, to easy hikes in a nearby valley or perhaps a full-day trek to the Inland Ice Cap. The area around Narsarsuaq is also Viking Country and there are numerous ancient remains from these first Europeans on the American continent.

Narsarsuaq

Narsarsuaq is the gateway to South Greenland. Meaning ‘great plain’ in Greenlandic it is today the site of a small international airport.

Formerly a US airbase it is now a small settlement which is largely preoccupied working for the local tourism industry – primarily at the hotel and the airport. The area is offering a huge diversity of experiences from iceberg cruises, to hikes in a nearby valley or to the Inland Ice Cap. The area around Narsarsuaq is also Viking Country and there are numerous ancient remains from these first Europeans on the American continent.

Qaqortoq

Qaqortoq is the biggest town in South Greenland with approx. 3200 inhabitants. The area around Qaqortoq has been inhabited since prehistoric times, but the present-day town was only founded in 1774 and christened Julianehaab after the Danish queen Juliane Marie. The town became a major center for the saddle-back seal trade and today remains the home of the Great Greenland sealskin tannery.

Qaqortoq is the ideal base for exploring everything Greenland has to offer; the town itself has a thriving cultural scene, first made popular by the local artist Aka Hoegh who in the 1990s led the Stone & Man project, designed to transform the town into an open air art gallery. Eighteen artists from all over Scandinavia carved 24 sculptures into the rock faces and boulders in the town. Today there are over 40 sculptures in the town, all part of the Stone & Man exhibit.

Other cultural highlights include the original blacksmith’s shop, built in 1804 which is now the town’s museum and the oldest standing building at the historical colonial harbour which was shipped to Greenland as a flat pack in 1797 and then reassembled where it stands today.

Qaqortoq offers a choice of daily excursions to points of interest in the local area including Viking ruins such as Hvalsey Church ruin, which is mentioned in the Icelandic Sagas. Explore the natural wonder that is the hot springs of Unartoq not to mention the amazing icebergs and glaciers found nearby.

Itinerary

Evening arrival with Air Iceland flight from Keflavik Airport. Your Arctic Adventure guide will be waiting for you in the airport and will assist with the transfer to the hotel. After check-in dinner will be served followed by an information meeting will be held after your meal.

Breakfast at the hotel. Guided walk of Narsarsuaq before transfer to the pier and by boat to Qaqortoq where an Arctic Adventure guide will be waiting. After check-in there will be an information meeting followed by a guided walk around the town.

Breakfast at the hotel. Day at leisure. Your Arctic Adventure guide will be able to recommend optional excursions in the area.

Optional excursions:

* Hike around Storesoen

* Hvalsey Church Ruin

* Hot Springs of Uunartoq

* Boat excursion to the inland ice cap

* Coffee Mik, coffee with a family

Breakfast at the hotel. Day at leisure. Tonight you celebrate your last night in Greenland with dinner at the hotel

Breakfast at the hotel. Tonight you will fly back to Keflavik - but first you will travel to Narsarsuaq Airport by helicopter! Flying in low altitude over the magnificent Arctic landscape, this is a memorable way to end your trip!

Depending on the time of your helicopter transfer - there may be time to join a short optional excursion from Narsarsuaq to the Qoroq Glacier or the remains of Eric the Red's Farm. Please check with your Arctic Adventure guide if this is possible