Do you have a planned trip to Greenland? Wondering how to make the most of your visit and save at the same time? Keep reading to see 9 tips on how to save money by traveling to Greenland!
Greenland easily tops the list of my favorite places in the world.
Among its indomitable and rugged environment….
…your mantle of limitless ice that stretches for thousands of miles in all directions…
…and the lonely and remote beauty of the mountains, glaciers and landscapes of tundras…
There really is no place on the planet that comes close to it.
I mean… just look at that! (The Ilulissat Ice Fjord)
But if you’ve already researched “how to plan a trip to Greenland,” you may have noticed one thing: Traveling to Greenland “no” is cheap.
The reality is that with the high prices of flights, accommodations and excursions, a trip to Greenland, no matter how spectacular, it is not easy for our pockets.
However, based on our experiences during two distinct trips to Greenland, we found that there are some measures that can be taken to alleviate some of these costs.
Which brings us to the topic of today’s article, with 9 tips to save traveling to Greenland.
But before we go straight to the point, I know you must be wondering…
How much does a trip to Greenland cost?
Of course, the total expenses of your trip to Greenland will depend on the destinations you choose to visit, the activities you will do and the dates of your trip.
But to give you an average of some of the “minimum” spending you can expect, I’ve listed below the details of our travel expenses.
Considering that we tend to be travelers quite worrying about the budget, these costs are based on the cheapest options we could find for our flights, accommodation and excursions/activities we wanted to do.
While there may be limited space for cost savings when it comes to flights and accommodation (I’ll give you tips below to save on this!), you can certainly reduce your costs by reducing the number of excursions and activities you participate in.
Although Greenland is expensive, it is often worth spending on certain excursions that allow you to visit amazing places like the ice sheet (which you will not be able to visit alone)
But as you can see in our travel cost list, we reserve a significant budget for tours, excursions and paid activities in Greenland that we have not been able to perform independently.
Since we weren’t sure if we could go back to Greenland (and we had already paid so much to get there!), we made the decision to “don’t skip certain experiences just because they were more expensive than what we planned to spend.
So we did everything we can to make a proper budget and save before our trip. But choosing how much you spend on these types of activities ultimately depends on you!
Without further ado, here is our travel costs in Greenland with details (note that DKK stands for Danish Crown, as Greenland is a Danish territory and uses the same currency):
- Return flight from Copenhagen to Ilulissat with night stopover in every direction in Kangerlussuaq: about 450 euros each (note that this is NOT the standard flight price. The average is closer to 700 euros or more)
- Accommodation at Kangerlussuaq Youth Hostel for overnight: 275 DKK per night in the cheapest dormitory available, plus 250 DKK for check-in outside reception hours (yes, the fee for this is almost the same price as the room… It’s boring, but our flight is delayed and we had no choice!)
- Day trip to the ice sheet in Kangerlussuaq (which I recommend HIGHLY if you have a long enough scale in Kangerlussuaq… See tip No. 5 in our article here to learn more about it): 695 to 995 DKK, depending on the duration of your tour
- The cheapest accommodation we find in Ilulissat (a family home): 1,000 DKK per night, divided between us two
- Boat trip 3 hours to the ice fjord of Ilulissat (a mandatory stop if you are in Ilulissat!!): 695 DKK
- 3-hour kayak trip between icebergs in Ilulissat: 995 DKK
- Full-day adventure starting in Ilulissat that includes boat trip, hiking to a waterfall and visit to a village: 1,450 DKK
- Food: we only ate in the supermarket so our costs were low enough here not to write down the final number
Our total on-trip (per person) for a 6-day trip to Greenland, including round-trip flights from Copenhagen, two nights in Kangerlussuaq, three nights in Ilulissat and a generous number of paid excursions and activities: 9,695 DKK.
It is noteworthy that we do not perform any internal flight or other form of domestic transport (such as the ferry) within Greenland. Home travel can be quite expensive, so make sure you include them in your budget if you’re part of your itinerary in Greenland.
And if you are not in Europe, take into account also the cost of your flight to Copenhagen.
(P.S. If you want to see a little more about the tours we did in Ilulissat that I mentioned above, take a look at our post here: 10 things to know before visiting Ilulissat)
That said… let’s go to the tips!
9 Tips to Save by Visiting Greenland
1. Book your trip as soon as possible
There is a reason for this being the No. 1 tip in this article and in my other article: 10 things to know before visiting Ilulissat, the ‘City of Icebergs’ of Greenland.
And the reason is simple: it is one of the most important advice I can give to those who plan a trip to Greenland.
No matter what you plan to do in Greenland, book in advance!
On the one hand, you’ll want to secure your reservations for your flights, accommodations and excursions in advance so that they don’t run out (which happens often if you’re visiting a place like Ilulissat during high season).
But in addition, booking in advance can really help you save money, especially when it comes to choosing the most economical accommodation options before they run out.
To put in a context, we booked our most recent trip to Greenland (Ilulissat) 9 months in advance and we still had difficulty finding reasonably priced accommodations.
2.Turn on the flight alerts In addition to accommodation, your second largest expense is likely to be the flight to Greenland, usually from Copenhagen via Air Greenland or Iceland via Air Iceland. At the moment, these are the only two airlines serving Greenland. Flying to and into Greenland can be expensive On average, round-trip flights cost 3800 reais or more.
However, our trip to Greenland was initially inspired by an unexpected Google Flight alert, notifying us of a Copenhagen-Ilulissat flight in mid-September for just $2100. We realized that we probably wouldn’t see a price like that again, so we took the opportunity and bought the tickets as soon as possible. That is, you can find some offers of flights to Greenland with a little patience and flexibility!
3. Consider visiting Greenland in low season Throughout Greenland, the high season of travel takes place during the summer months: June, July and August. Predictably, this period is also one of the most expensive times of the year to travel there. Try to visit during the “shoulder” season of Greenland for a less crowded (and potentially cheaper) experience. To tell the truth, there are very compelling reasons to visit during the summer: more predictable weather, more reliable transportation, and availability of most activities and excursions.
Personally, we were not interested in visiting during the “low” season because we knew that transportation could be complicated and that the cold and limited hours of the day would make impossible the activities we wanted to perform.
However, we found that from mid-September, just a few weeks after the end of the high season, it was almost perfect. Not only were we able to find a more affordable flight (which would be almost impossible during the summer), but we also avoided most of the crowds of the summer and cruise season. In addition, the weather still allowed us to take advantage of all the activities and excursions we had in mind, since most tourism companies would close their doors in October.
4. Consider taking a cruise through Greenland Although we flew directly to Ilulissat on our most recent trip to Greenland, on our first trip to this stunning island we were by cruise from Copenhagen! View of the spectacular Prince Christian Sound of Greenland from our cruise ship And really? The reason we chose to travel this way is because we came across many things that were by far the cheapest way to travel to Greenland. After all, the price we paid for the cruise included: Round-trip transport to Greenland from Copenhagen Transport between several destinations in Greenland (Nuuk, Qaqortoq and Ilulissat).
Given the absence of roads between coastal cities, since Greenland is made up of about 80% ice, domestic transport in Greenland can be quite difficult and expensive so this was a very significant advantage! Accommodation throughout the trip All of our meals 3 bonus stops in Iceland to enjoy along the way So if you find any cruise in Greenland that will pique your interest…
I will let you do the math and see how the final costs accumulate! (It is noteworthy that, unfortunately, our cruise ship failed to dock in Ilulissat because there was too much ice in the bay. We still had a lot of fun on our cruise and this only led us to return to Ilulissat for another spectacular trip… But keep in mind that surprises like this are part of the adventure in a place like Greenland!)
5.Skip the restaurants and eat only in supermarkets As a Danish territory, you will find Danish (or higher) prices when eating out in Greenland. Eating in the supermarket can save you a lot while in Greenland Fortunately, we found that the “big” supermarket in each city would have a generous supply of fresh, pre-prepared and economical meals (26 reais or less). (Note that you can also reduce the costs of meals by staying in accommodation with free breakfast or by participating in full-day excursions that include lunch. Most of them include it.)
6. Consider “alternative” forms of accommodation, such as the hostel in Kangerlussuaq or a family home in Ilulissat. Unfortunately, the economical accommodation options are quite limited throughout Greenland. Although there is no hostel in Ilulissat, I believe that in Kangerlussuaq, the city that will probably be your entry point into Greenland, as it houses the largest airport on the island, it is currently the only city with a hostel. (This means that Kangerlussuaq may well be the cheapest accommodation option in all of Greenland!) So if you’re on a limited budget and have a nighttime stopover in Kangerlussuaq (something we highly recommend…
And about which you can read more in tip 5 of our article here!), then definitely take a look at the Kangersuaq Youth Hostel. Please note that you will have to send an email directly to the hostel to book your bed. And that they are “very” strict when charging the fee if you arrive for check-in outside of the normal reception hours. In Ilulissat we can find a homestay option on Agoda. But these are few and rare (and cost us $150 a night).
Occasionally you can find camping options. But they are limited and still have quite high prices, especially if you have to rent equipment that can support the conditions of the Arctic.
7. Don’t forget to enjoy the free hiking trails While there are numerous amazing excursions and paid activities in Greenland (such as visiting the ice sheet or kayaking among icebergs), if you are on a budget, it is worth exploring some nearby trails for a free adventure day. Hiking around Lake Taserqua in Qaqortoq Although you can walk anywhere in Greenland, here are some of the trails we have done and we like: Ilulissat: take a look at our article here for details on the obligatory walks in Ilulissat Nuuk: Hill Quassussuaq behind the airport (you will walk directly under the cable car.
You really can’t lose!) Qaqortoq: the trail of Lake Tasersuaq, a few steps from the city center Note: Weather conditions in Greenland can change rapidly, so be prepared. Fortunately, all the trails listed above are close to the cities and are very easy to follow, so no extensive preparations are needed.
8. If you feel comfortable, think about doing some independent hiking and camping adventures that take more than a day If you have your own equipment, are confident in your fitness level and are well prepared for the challenges of Greenland’s wild nature, so an independent hiking/camping adventure can be an economical way to explore.
It’s not hard to get views like this just for you in Greenland However, I want to emphasize that you need to be very confident in your abilities before you leave, given the incredibly harsh, isolated environmental and climatic conditions of Greenland.
9. If you plan to travel between coastal destinations, take a look at the weekly public ferry As I mentioned above, traveling within Greenland can be as much a challenge as getting to Greenland. With most of Greenland covered in ice and with no road links between coastal cities, your choices are limited to flying or taking a boat (assuming fjords are still frozen!).
It is not news that domestic flights inside Greenland are usually quite expensive. However, there is a passenger ferry that offers an alternative. The ferry, known as Sarfaq Ittuk, is operated by the Arctic Umiaq Line and makes stops at 12 sites along the west coast of Greenland. Sarfuq Ittuk from Greenland Ferry (photo by Visit Greenland) I didn’t take the ferry, but you can find more information about the ferry, including stops, times and tickets, here.
I want to point out that the ferry service is still quite expensive and only works once a week. But if you plan to travel for several days through Greenland, it may be worth comparing the cost of flights and see if the ferry is cheaper overall.
It would be a beautiful (and unique) way to travel! “Ill with you to the “complimentary “with “” and “Ill of the’ Offices of the… “Cerptore” And that’s it! Do you have any other questions about how to visit Greenland on a budget (or just about visiting Greenland in general)? Or have you been and have some tips to add? Comment below and we will answer you!
