Talk to an Expedition Specialist
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This is true polar exploration—whether it’s attempting to penetrate the massive ice of east Greenland to reach Northeast Greenland National Park, marveling at the big ice of West Greenland, or cruising among the towering icebergs of UNESCO World Heritage-designated Ilulissat Icefjord. Each year in this incredibly remote region, our guests enjoy simply spectacular wildlife sightings, and cultural rewards as well. You’ll visit the small Inuit community at Pond Inlet, hike the tundra, meet locals, and search for unique wildlife that congregates along the scenic shores of Greenland, Baffin Island, Newfoundland and Labrador—where, in addition to the natural splendors of the sea and land, we trace the lineage of Arctic exploration and migration, from the ancient Vikings to the Acadians. And as the New York Times stated in a 2020 article listing Greenland as #4 among the Top 52 Places To Go In the World in 2020 (make that 2021 now, given the pandemic): “With that mile-thick ice sheet melting fast, and two new international airports slated to open in 2023, the time to explore an untrammeled, intact Greenland is now.”
We venture high, deep, and far into Arctic Canada and East Greenland lured by the chance to see mythic species: muskox, beluga whales, polar bears, killer whales, even the possibility of the elusive narwhal. And to log the exhilarating sightings of other iconic creatures—walrus, humpbacks, bearded and ringed seals—that our keen-eyed spotters reliably deliver each year. As we head farther south along the coast of Labrador, two bear territories intersect in one fjord system, creating a rare opportunity: the chance to see both black bears and polar bears in one incredible landscape.
5 diverse ways to discover this wild part of the planet
Exploring Greenland & the Canadian High Arctic |
Fabled Lands of the North: Greenland to Newfoundland |
East Greenland: Wild Shores of the High Arctic |
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August 2021 |
August 2021 |
September 2021 |
“Although space shuttles never fly directly over the Arctic like a weather satellite, on a clear day we could certainly see far up into the region, for example the lower 25% of Greenland with the fjords all cut in and incised and the stark white on blue of the ice sheet against the ocean. It was an oblique view like a super-cool postcard picture of a place—it’s just so alluring it makes you want to go, but it doesn’t really satisfy a deeper sense of what’s out there? To get a chance now to explore into those further northern reaches into Baffin Bay and Nares Strait along the top of Greenland I’ll be thinking back to what I know about plate tectonics and the underlying geology that runs along the sea floor and I’m very excited for the chance to be in the presence of Precambrian rocks—these are some of the oldest rocks on earth dating in the 3.6 to 4 billion year range and they are renowned because the stromatolites found within them are believed to be remnants of very ancient algal maps with some of the earliest lifeforms on Earth. I’m also hoping to learn more about the terrestrial life and the First Peoples on both the Greenland and Canadian side—these are dimensions of the Arctic I’ve had no real opportunity to experience and I’m very jazzed about that!”
— Dr. Kathryn Sullivan, Geologist, NOAA scientist, and NASA astronaut
Dr. Sullivan joined us as the Global Perspectives Guest Speaker aboard Exploring Greenland and the Canadian Arctic in 2019.
Iceland’s Wild West Coast to East Greenland |
The Canadian Maritimes & Newfoundland |
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September 2021 |
September 2021 |
“Our original itinerary had to be altered due to too much ice along lower Baffin Island, but the staff was determined to find polar bears. After a few days, we struck gold: a mother and two cubs, sleeping on an iceberg. The ship approached slowly and the three bears, as curious about us as we were about them, walked across the ice and started rolling on their backs in front of the ship. I was fortunately able to share this experience with my wife, son (age 10) and daughter (age 13). It was one of those moments that will stick in our minds forever. My son’s love for photography started on this voyage, and my daughter wrote a beautiful essay about this trip that won an award at school.”
—Bennett G., Guest, Greenland, July 2013
Visit expeditions.com/Arcticfamily to learn more about exploring the Arctic with kids.