Greenland Practical Guide: Flights, Costs & How to Plan a Trip

Greenland is the world’s largest island and one of the least visited countries — roughly 70,000 tourists annually, compared to Iceland’s 2 million. The reasons are straightforward: it’s expensive, logistically complex, and the infrastructure is designed for a population of 56,000 spread across a coastline as long as the US coast-to-coast. There are no roads between settlements. Almost all movement is by plane or boat.

The result, for travelers who commit to understanding the logistics, is access to landscapes of genuinely extraordinary scale — the Greenland Ice Sheet, the Ilulissat Icefjord, the fjords of the south, and an Indigenous Inuit culture still actively practiced in ways that no other Arctic territory has preserved.

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Getting There

From Europe (Denmark)

Copenhagen to Nuuk (Godthåb Airport, GOH): Air Greenland operates 3–4 flights per week on an Airbus A330. Journey: ~4.5 hours. New Airport Nuuk opened in November 2024, replacing the old short-runway airport and enabling direct transatlantic flights for the first time. This is the primary route for most European visitors.

Copenhagen to Kangerlussuaq (SFJ): Air Greenland operates several times weekly. Kangerlussuaq is an inland airport (former US air base) with good connections throughout Greenland but no town of its own — it functions as a transit hub. Less useful now that Nuuk airport handles larger aircraft.

Copenhagen to Ilulissat (JAV): Seasonal direct flights in summer (July–August). Check current Air Greenland schedule as routes evolve with the new airport infrastructure.

From North America

New York (JFK) / Boston to Nuuk: With the Nuuk airport expansion, Air Greenland launched direct New York–Nuuk and Boston–Nuuk flights in 2024. ~4.5 hours from Boston. A direct North American connection that eliminates the Copenhagen hub.

Via Iceland: Reykjavik to Nuuk or Kulusuk (east coast) with Icelandair or Air Iceland Connect. Useful for combining Iceland and Greenland in the same trip — the two countries are 1,400 km apart at closest point.

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Internal Transport

Greenland has no road network connecting settlements. Movement between towns is:

Air Greenland domestic network: Connects all main settlements with small aircraft (Dash-8, Saab 340, helicopter). Book in advance — flights are frequently full. The domestic network is the backbone of Greenlandic transport. Fares: Nuuk to Ilulissat ~DKK 2,000–3,500 one way.

Arctic Umiaq Line ferry (Sarfaq Ittuk): The coastal ferry running the full west coast from Nuuk to Ilulissat and beyond in summer (May–January). Slow (Nuuk to Ilulissat: ~30 hours), cheaper than flying, and an experience in itself — the ferry carries locals, freight, and tourists, stopping at every settlement. Cabins available.

Boat charters and tours: Within destination areas (particularly in south Greenland’s fjords), local boat operators provide access to areas unreachable any other way.

Within towns: Walking. Ilulissat and Nuuk are small enough to navigate entirely on foot.

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Costs

Greenland is significantly more expensive than Iceland or Scandinavia:

Accommodation:

• Budget guesthouse/hostel: DKK 600–900/night (~€80–120)
• Mid-range hotel: DKK 1,200–2,000/night (~€160–270)
• Hotel Arctic, Ilulissat: DKK 1,800–3,000/night

Food:

• Supermarket supplies: Noticeably expensive — imported goods are priced high
• Restaurant dinner: DKK 250–450/person
• Local specialties (seal, whale, musk ox): Priced as normal local food at traditional restaurants; less expensive than tourist menus

Tours and activities:

• Icefjord boat tour (3–4 hours): DKK 500–700/person
• Dogsled tour (1 hour): DKK 500–800/person
• Northern Lights tour: DKK 300–500/person
• Whale watching: DKK 600–900/person

Typical daily budget: DKK 1,800–3,500/person (~€240–470) including accommodation, meals, and one daily activity.

Why so expensive: Almost everything is imported. Greenland has no agriculture at scale, no manufacturing, and every consumer good arrives by container ship or air freight. The price of a bag of coffee reflects logistics more than markup.

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When to Go

June–August (Midnight Sun Season): The most visited period. Continuous daylight, warmest temperatures (10–20°C in the south, 5–12°C in the north), hiking trails accessible, boat tours running. The icefjord is at its most dramatic with open water. The midnight sun is genuinely extraordinary and worth experiencing specifically.

February–April (Arctic Winter): Northern Lights season, dogsled culture in full activity, sea ice supporting traditional hunting methods. Cold (−15 to −30°C possible in Ilulissat) but the light quality is exceptional (low-angle sun for months in polar twilight). The quietest, most expensive-to-plan season due to weather unpredictability.

September–October: Shoulder season — first Northern Lights of the new cycle from late August, tundra turning autumn color, significantly fewer tourists. The transition period between summer boat access and winter ice; some tours limited.

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What Kind of Traveler Greenland Suits

Greenland rewards visitors who come for the landscape and the physical experience: hiking, boat travel, the scale of ice, the Arctic light. It does not reward visitors who come for nightlife, museum culture, cuisine diversity, or shopping.

The towns are small, the infrastructure is functional rather than polished, and the distances are vast. A visitor expecting the convenience of Iceland or the cultural density of Iceland’s cities will be underwhelmed.

A visitor prepared for genuine remoteness, extraordinary scale, Inuit cultural encounter, and landscapes unlike anywhere else in the world will have one of the strongest travel experiences available in the northern hemisphere.

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Practical Details

Visa: Greenland is part of the Kingdom of Denmark but outside the Schengen Area. However, a Schengen visa covers Greenland for travelers entering via Denmark. Check current rules for your nationality.

Currency: Danish Krone (DKK). Cash is used less than in most Nordic countries; card payments (Visa/Mastercard) are standard everywhere.

Language: Greenlandic (Kalaallisut) is the official language. Danish is widely spoken (official until recently). English is spoken at hotels and tour operators in the main tourist areas; less so in smaller settlements.

Time zone: West Greenland (Nuuk, Ilulissat): UTC−3 (UTC−2 in summer). East Greenland: UTC−1.

Packing: Layering is the organizing principle. Even in July, temperatures can drop suddenly and wind increases the effective cold significantly. Waterproof outer layers are essential. Mosquitoes are surprisingly significant in inland and fjord areas in July — bring repellent.