Summer excursions Ilulissat
Experience the midnight sun, the Greenland Ice Sheet, massive icebergs, and calving glaciers. Encounter whales, seals, sled dogs, permafrost, and a wealth of fascinating flora. A world so far from your everyday life.
Greenland is vast, and there are many beautiful and exciting places to visit. But there’s a reason Ilulissat is the most popular destination. Few places offer such a complete experience as here in Ilulissat—the town by the Icefjord.
On this page, we have compiled a list of our recommendations for the best experiences in Ilulissat and our surrounding lodges. The tours in Ilulissat are not organized by us but refer to the platform Arctic Excursions, which gathers products from all local operators on one online platform.
Although Ilulissat is amazing in itself, even greater experiences await those who dare to venture a little further into Disko Bay. Out here, away from the crowds, you'll encounter a different and more authentic side of Greenland. Visit our lodges, each focused on sharing a unique story about our beautiful country.
Welcome to Greenland – the land of adventures.
Iceberg Sightseeing
When visiting Ilulissat you should not miss out on a boat tour among the famous icebergs.
Every year, more than 48 km³ of ice flows from the Ilulissat Glacier into the Icefjord. These amounts can be difficult to imagine. The result is enormous icebergs that can measure several hundred meters in each direction and rise up to 100 meters above sea level. At the mouth of the icefjord, these giants come aground, and here you have the opportunity to sail among them.
The icebergs are beautiful in every kind of weather. In sunny weather they glitter in shiny white, the blue shades are best seen when it is cloudy and the midnight sun casts a unique, warm glow on the icebergs.
The icebergs are Ilulissat’s icon and sailing among them is an absolute must-do when visiting Ilulissat. An incredible nature experience.
Please note
Remember warm clothes. It is cold out in the Icefiord both summer and winter.
Walk to Sermermiut Settlement
Beautiful icebergs set the scene for the old settlement Sermermiut, located one and a half kilometers south of Ilulissat. For 4000 years, different Inuit cultures lived in this settlement and today you can still see remains that indicate their presence.
Hear stories about the lives and customs of Greenlanders before the arrival of Europeans. See the ruins of turf huts and feel the permafrost with your own hands.
The area is so outstanding that UNESCO named it World Heritage in 2004 and it is estimated that up to 30,000 guests visit Sermermiut every year. For this reason there is a wooden walkway to protect the area against wear. Therefore anyone can go on this trip.
A tour to Sermermiut is an absolute must-do when visiting Ilulissat. We promise – you have never seen anything like this before.
Please note
Remember clothing according to the weather.
Whale Safari
It surprises most people how great an experience it is getting close to such large animals like whales.
I sommerhalvåret er det som regel pukkelhvalen, vågehvalen og finhvalen, du kan se ved Ilulissat.
Pukkelhvalen er på trods af sine op til 18 meter og 30 tons akrobaten blandt de store hvaler. Den kan kaste sig ud af vandet og slå med halen og lufferne. Den er let at kende på den puklede rygfinne og hvide luffter, og den løfter som regel halen, når den dykker ned. Hvalerne svømmer rundt i hele Diskobugten sommeren igennem; sommetider tæt på byen, andre gange i isfjorden eller oppe nordpå ved Arveprinsens Ejland.
Please note
Remember warm clothing.
Daytour to Eqi Glacier
Only few places in Greenland are as beautiful as the Eqi Glacier, which ends in the fiord 80 kilometres north of Ilulissat. By boat it is possible to get very close to the glacier and hopefully experience pieces of ice breaking off. The sounds are enormous and breathtaking.
On the way we pass tiny settlements, steep fields, beautiful waterfalls and icebergs in incredible shapes and colors. And that is before two glaciers and the enormous Icesheet is in sight. If we are lucky we might even spot seals and whales on the way.
Please note
If this sounds appealing to you, you should replace one of your nights in Ilulissat with a night here by the Eqi Glacier.
Kayak
Inuit have paddled kayaks in Greenlandic waters for thousands of years. Glide silently through the water and experience the enormous icebergs rising around you.
The sun illuminates the icebergs, creating a unique play of colors on the ice. In overcast weather, the beautiful blue hues of the icebergs will stand out. With a bit of luck, the silence will be broken by the sounds of whales exhaling after their last dive or the crash of a calving iceberg.
The Icefjord looks no better than from a kayak.
Please note
Feel free to bring a cap or similar, sunglasses, and sunscreen.
Ilulissat City Walk
You might think, "Well, we can walk around the town ourselves." Yes, you can. But on a guided city walk, we dig a little deeper and gain insights into everything that can't be seen from the outside.
The city walk is usually an easy shortcut to deeper knowledge and quirky stories about Ilulissat and Greenland in general.
Stories are shared about the town's history, the contemporary Greenlandic culture, and modern life 300 kilometers north of the Arctic Circle. There are several stops along the way, including at the fishermen at the harbor, by the "brættet" (the fish market), and passing by Knud Rasmussen's birthplace and the old wooden church, Zion Church.
Please note
Remember clothing according to the season.
Ilimanaq Glacier Adventure
* Requires 1 night at Ilimanaq Lodge.
This is the true adventure in Disko Bay.
On this trip, we sail south of Ilimanaq to Itilliup Ilua. We are dropped off on the wide sandy, beach, after which we are driven in off-road vehicles through the arctic tundra until we reach the Tasiusaq Fjord system. This place has been a popular hunting area for thousands of years. From here, we sail further deep in between the icebergs to the end of the fjord, where the two glaciers and the ice sheet come into view.
We go ashore, and with a view of the glacier, we eat our lunch pack. Afterwards we hike towards and on the enormous ice sheet.
Please note
The terrain may be uneven. We do not recommend this trip if you have serious back or neck problems.
Turen afgår og har ankomst i Ilimanaq.
Lunch pack, coffee and tea is included.
The boat trip is done in an open boat with a reinforced hull to handle the ice safely.
All particpants must be at least 12 years old.
7 Hours
June 20th - Sept. 5th
4 participants
Hike to the Icesheet
* Requires two nights at Glacier Lodge Eqi
A hike to the ice sheet is long and very varied. We will encounter many different types of landscapes, from lush lowlands to windswept highlands, moraines and of course the ice sheet with its cracks, streams and glacier wells. On the trip, we follow the polar explorer Paul-Emile Victor's trail all the way to the ice sheet. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, supplies were transported by trailed vehicles for the famous ice sheet expeditions, and we can still see the remains of these machines, as well as an old cable car, today. Half-way through the day, we take a break in a beautiful valley with a view of a dead glacier and eat our lunch before we begin the hike across the moraine and into the ice sheet. In our humble opinion, this is the absolute highlight of the trip where you, among other things, get to experience the ice edge zone. We then head back to our lodges, where a well-deserved dinner awaits us.
Our guides are specially trained to take you on this trip on the ice, and they always bring safety equipment such as satellite phones, GPS, avalanche sticks and first aid equipment.
The trip is demanding, but it does not require special training or equipment. This is not a technically difficult hike, but since we walk 20 km and climb about 1.000 meters, you need to be in good shape.
Please note The tour departs from Glacier Lodge Eqi in the morning. Therefore, to participate you need a minimum of two nights in Glacier Lodge Eqi.
10 hours
June 20th - Sept. 5th
4 participants
Glacier Sauna
* Requires one night at Glacier Lodge Eqi
We look forward to welcoming guests to our new sauna at Glacier Lodge Eqi.
The nature in Eqi calls for immersion and relaxation, and here the sauna is the obvious choice. Whether it's a heavy rainy day, a post-hike retreat or an evening session to round off the day, the glacier sauna will be a first hand choice.
In the outer lodge area with a fantastic view of the fjord and the calving glacier, there are now two beautiful saunas – of course with a large panoramic window.
I forlængelse af saunaen, findes en iskold udendørsbruser og en “naturlig pool”, hvor man kan dyppe sig i koldt, friskt smeltevand fra Indlandsisen.
Please note
We have two saunas - each with room for 6 people. You may thus risk having to share the sauna with other guests.
1 hour
June 15th - Sept. 10th
1 person
