Ilulissat, Greenland
Greetings from Reykjavik, Iceland.
I just landed here from the most magical place I've ever visited: Ilulissat, Greenland. This city is famous for being on a fjord right where glaciers fall off the ice sheet and into the ocean. This means that the waters off this city of 5,000 people are littered with icebergs. It's indescribably gorgeous. Couple that with the fact the sun doesn't set for much of the summer, and being here truly feels like I have departed Earth.
After a great day in Kangerlussuaq and night at the Old Camp, we took a 7am shuttle to the airport. Little did we know our 8:05am flight was cancelled. Thankfully, we got on a 9am flight without issue. In the meantime, we had breakfast at the Hotel Kangerlussuaq Cafeteria, attached to the airport. Soon enough, it was time to board our flight (no security check!).
After a very comfortable 40 minute flight (with some jaw dropping views of the fjords and ice sheet), we landed in Ilulissat. Hotel Arctic (and most hotels) send shuttles to meet every flight, so we were quickly brought to the hotel. Since it was early, our room was not yet ready, so we dropped off our bags and walked into the city.
From what I gather, Ilulissat is the most popular tourist destination in Greenland, which also means there are excellent facilities for travelers. We stayed at the Hotel Arctic, which is known to be the northernmost 4 star hotel. It's an absolutely lovely hotel with friendly staff, a great restaurant, and excellent tours via World of Greenland.
Because we booked pretty last minute (just a couple of weeks before arrival), the only room left was the Junior Suite. It had two twin beds and a seating area. Hotel Arctic is a 15 minute walk from "downtown" Ilulissat. Being outside the city, the views of the buildings and icebergs in the back are quite nice. There are also hourly shuttles (and taxis) to downtown should you not want to walk.
Tours:
On our first day, we did a city tour to see many of the sites around town. It didn't bring me anywhere I could not just have explored myself, but I appreciated the information about what I saw. My recommendation: call ahead to make sure there's a dedicated English tour. On our day, it was mixed English and Danish, which isn't bad in and of itself, but our guide spent 80% of the time talking Danish and would rush the English part while walking between stops. My brother and I speak German, so we understood a little bit of what he was saying in Danish. So, we realized when he skipped entire parts of his spiel during the English explanation.
That evening we were supposed to do an iceberg viewing boat tour, but it was cancelled at the last minute due to high winds. The staff was very apologetic and got it rescheduled for the following evening. This tour allowed us to get very close to the icebergs, and I liked talking to one of the guides, Nick, about his experience growing up in Greenland.
The following morning, we did a walk to the Sermermiut Settlement. The path, which is pictured below, begins at the Ice Fjord Center at the edge of town. The "settlement" is an area that used to be inhabited by multiple Greenlandic groups but is now basically just a peat field. Bring mosquito spray / nets here because the mosquitos here are relentless. Our guide, Ivalu, was from Greenland's capital of Nuuk and stellar. On the way back from here, I walked with a few other travelers I met along the "yellow trail" back to town. This takes you by some cliffs that overlook the icebergs and is a great place to sit pensively as the ice floats on by.
The next day we headed off on the whale safari, which afforded us some breathtaking views of the icebergs and a few baleen whales. If you are pressed for time, you can get away with just taking one boat tour since you will likely get a mix of whales and ice. Every boat tour we took had both.
On our last full day, we took a day trip to the Eqi Glacier. This is one of the best places to see the glacier calve (pieces fall off and into the ocean). It's an indescribable experience. After a 2 hour ride from Ilulissat, the boat stops about a kilometer from a glacier that is wider than the eyes can see. Then, you wait in the tranquil waters for huge masses of ice to plummet. After you see the fall, the rumble ensues. It's utterly magical, but you must have patience and pay close attention because once you hear it, the action is done. Two types of boats make this trip— one larger and one smaller. The larger one is a more comfortable ride, but the tour also takes longer (up to 10 hours versus 6). It seems as if the tour company randomly assigns people to one boat or the other, so tell the main office the type of boat you would like to be on. Often, they are operating both boat types on the same day.
Dining:
One thing that impressed me about Greenland— similar to Barrow, Alaska— was the high food quality.
On our first day, I had a pad thai at Cafe Iluiaq in downtown Ilulissat (right by where the hotel shuttle does dropoffs). My brother had the caesar salad, which he found to be over dressed. We went back another time to get beef with noodles.
We had three dinners at Hotel Arctic's Brasserie Ulo. For the two a la carte nights, we had snow crab as an appetizer and then Sashi steak (the wagyu of the north) as an entree. Both were divine, but my brother's steak was on the rare side one night despite ordering Medium. On one of our evenings, the hotel did a Greenlandic Barbecue buffet. Here we gorged ourselves on musk ox and reindeer meat. They were both super flavorful, and we appreciated the ability to have an authentic taste of the region.
The one issue we had at the hotel restaurant was on our second to last day. We went to the restaurant to order some sandwiches for lunch. However, our server rang in the order incorrectly, and we waited over 90 minutes for the cold meal. By the time we got our food, people who sat down 30 minutes after us had already left. However, the server took extra good care of us from then on and provided a discount on our meal.
The highlight of my dining experience in Greenland (and, frankly, my life's dining experiences) has to be KOKS Restaurant. Originally based in the Faroe Islands, this restaurant creates a masterful tasting menu grounded in the location. Accessible only by a 45 minute boat ride through a vast canyon of icebergs, the journey to KOKS is a delight in and of itself. Over 13 courses, I ate everything from a seal blood–seaweed tartlet to whale steak. This meal, coupled with the atmosphere of being in an 18th century home overlooking a fishing boat and icebergs, made this a tranquil, unforgettable evening. I don't usually go to fine-dining restaurants on my vacations, but this experience has seriously made me consider investing in these experiences a bit more often. The thing I appreciated the most was the non-alcoholic drink pairing. Usually, I am relegated to drinking water with my meal since I don't drink alcohol, but KOKS concocted some exquisite kefirs, kombuchas, and teas to go alongside the courses. I cannot say enough good things about this restaurant– if you are in Greenland, I implore you to bite the bullet and go here.
Conclusion:
Ilulissat is officially one of my favorite places. There aren't many places where you can enjoy the midnight sun and stare at icebergs while enjoying excellent food and interacting with friendly people. The physical beauty of Greenland cannot be overstated, and this is certainly a place people should try to see once in their lifetime.
That's all for now. I just stopped here in Reykjavik for one night and am now at the airport to go to the Faroe Islands. Unfortunately, my flight has been delayed from 10:15 to now 14:20. Hopefully, there won’t be any more delays, so that I can enjoy my two nights in the Faroes.