Expeditions to East Greenland on sailboat Elsi
Northern Lights under sail
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4 reasons to visit East Greenland with us
Untouched Arctic nature
Watch giant icebergs from the deck of our topsail schooner.
Greenland Wildlife
Prehistoric-looking musk oxen and hardy reindeer can be found grazing on the tundra. Nimble Arctic foxes and hares casually dart across the landscape.
Marine Wildlife
Sail along the longest fjord in the world
As for marine wildlife, lucky visitors may spot bowhead whales, Greenland whales, belugas and humpbacks, as well as narwhals and bearded seals. Finally, there is a rich tapestry of birdlife with species such as geese, eiders and loons.
You’ll hear the crack of falling ice, sail along the longest fjord in the world and discover what a polar day is like.
Dates and the Route
31 JUL - 10 AUG 2024
14 - 24 SEPt 2024
14 - 24 SEPt 2024
To Greenland and back by plane
29 aug — 7 Sep 2024 2 places left
Route: Reykjavik, Iceland — East Greenland — Reykjavik, Iceland
About the voyage
28 AUG - 4 SEPt 2024
6 - 13 SEPt 2024
6 - 13 SEPt 2024
Our voyage starts in Kulusuk – a small village on the east coast of Greenland.
Angmagssalik, also called Tasiilaq — the largest settlement in East Greenland. The town is located in a picturesque fjord surrounded by high mountains whose slopes and peaks are covered with snow. Beautiful icebergs can be seen on the way to the settlement, as well as cachalots and humpback whales. The town has a population of no more than 2,000 people. Most of the locals are the Inuits, native Greenlanders. The traditional occupation for the Inuits is hunting (sea animals and bears) and fishing.
Sermilik is the region's most ice-carrying fjord with huge icebergs the size of an entire city drifting off its glaciers. The fjord has four major outcrops of the main Greenland Ice Shelf. It is almost always littered with huge, bizarrely shaped icebergs. The main 'suppliers' of icebergs are the Helheimgletscher, Isgletscher, Midgardgletscher glaciers, which are located in the northern part of Sermilik Fjord. One can see the famous Greenland ice sheet and whales from the fjord. We’ll head up Sermilik Fjord as far as the ice conditions will allow.
An old Inuit village is situated on the 'mainland' part of Greenland, on the shore of Sermilik Fjord. It is one of the most interesting and beautiful places in East Greenland. Directly from the shore we can watch the majestic scene of gigantic icebergs of different bizarre shapes floating in front of us. Here you can stroll around and buy something tasty from the local hunters and fishermen. They usually cure river trout and cod.
Depending on the tide and the ice conditions, we might have a chance to go on our motorboat amongst the huge mahouts of ice.
Depending on the tide and the ice conditions, we might have a chance to go on our motorboat amongst the huge mahouts of ice.
Bluie East Two was a minor United States Army Air Forces airfield at Ikkateq in eastern Greenland. Ikkatteq was a small village in southeastern Greenland. Ikateq (as the village was named in old times) means "shallow water". This place is full of lakes worth seeing, so we`re eager to have a walk to see the best locations.
Kulusuk is home for just over 200 people. There are Danes and Inuits among them. Despite the small population there is a health centre, a church and a cemetery there. The name translates from Greenlandic as 'chest of the black guillemot', a polar bird that nests in the area.
Here we will spend some time in a non-stop crossing to Kulusuk, where our voyage will come to an end. A visit to Kulusuk Museum will provide insights on the life of the Tunumi Inuit of the east coast of Greenland, inter-woven in a personal account of a local family.
Here we will spend some time in a non-stop crossing to Kulusuk, where our voyage will come to an end. A visit to Kulusuk Museum will provide insights on the life of the Tunumi Inuit of the east coast of Greenland, inter-woven in a personal account of a local family.
An enchanting area of jagged mountains and two glaciers colliding. Sermiliqaaq means “The Beautiful Glacier Fjord” and certainly lives up to its name. Here we`ll go on a nice walk so you can see one or both glaciers calve, an unimaginable sight with sounds of thunder as the ice calves and hits the ocean. The two glaciers Karale Glacier and Knud Rasmussen are impressive and massive giants, and if the weather conditions are fine, the Elsi will reach the glacier.
Kulusuk
Tasiilaq
Sermilik Fjord
Tiilerilaaq Settlement
Bluie East Two and Ammassalik Fjord
The crossing to Kulusuk & Kulusuk Museum
Sermiliqaaq
NOTE: these are FLY&SAIL programs, and the flights ARE included in the price.
When you arrive in Kulusuk, a transfer to the ship will be waiting for you at the airport. In the evening there will be embarkation at the Elsi, dinner and the briefing from the captain. The whole trip will last 8 days, including the day of embarkation on the sailboat and the day of disembarkation.
Tasiilaq has a historical museum of the area, where you can learn about Inuit life, practice balancing on a kayak and see how everyday life is organized in an Inuit house. You can buy some souvenirs and postcards here as well!
If the weather is fine, we`ll try to get as close as possible to Ammassalik Fjord that is famous for whales diving around.
Kulusuk
Our voyage starts in Kulusuk – a small village on the east coast of Greenland.
There are regular flights from Reykjavik to Kulusuk and way back. It is important that the cost of the tickets is not included in the package. You do not need to buy tickets the day before and after the program, because the expedition strictly follows the flight schedule. We recommend purchasing them in advance.
Schedule: From Reykjavik to Kulusuk 5:30 PM – 6:15 PM;
From Kulusuk to Reykjavik 7:00 PM – 9:45 PM
(Iceland UTC +0, Greenland UTC -2)
From Kulusuk to Reykjavik 7:00 PM – 9:45 PM
(Iceland UTC +0, Greenland UTC -2)
Approximate round trip plane tickets price: €600 – €1300 depending on departure day
When you arrive in Kulusuk, a transfer to the ship will be waiting for you at the airport. In the evening there will be embarkation at the Elsi, dinner and the briefing from the captain. The whole trip will last 8 days, including the day of embarkation on the sailboat and the day of disembarkation.
Tasiilaq
Tasiilaq has a historical museum of the area, where you can learn about Inuit life, practice balancing on a kayak and see how everyday life is organized in an Inuit house. You can buy some souvenirs and postcards here as well!
Angmagssalik, also called Tasiilaq — the largest settlement in East Greenland. The town is located in a picturesque fjord surrounded high mountains whose slopes and peaks are covered with snow. Beautiful icebergs can be seen on the way to the settlement, as well as cachalots and humpback whales. The town has a population of no more than 2,000 people. Most of the locals are the Inuits, native Greenlanders. The traditional occupation for the Inuits is hunting (sea animals and bears) and fishing.
Sermilik Fjord
Sermilik is the region's most ice-carrying fjord with huge icebergs the size of an entire city drifting off its glaciers. The fjord has four major outcrops of the main Greenland Ice Shelf. It is almost always littered with huge, bizarrely shaped icebergs. The main 'suppliers' of icebergs are the Helheimgletscher, Isgletscher, Midgardgletscher glaciers, which are located in the northern part of Sermilik Fjord. One can see the famous Greenland ice sheet and whales from the fjord. We’ll head up Sermilik Fjord as far as the ice conditions will allow.
Tiilerilaaq Settlement
An old Inuit village is situated on the 'mainland' part of Greenland, on the shore of Sermilik Fjord. It is one of the most interesting and beautiful places in East Greenland. Directly from the shore we can watch the majestic scene of gigantic icebergs of different bizarre shapes floating in front of us. Here you can stroll around and buy something tasty from the local hunters and fishermen. They usually cure river trout and cod.
Depending on the tide and the ice conditions, we might have a chance to go on our motorboat amongst the huge mahouts of ice.
Depending on the tide and the ice conditions, we might have a chance to go on our motorboat amongst the huge mahouts of ice.
Bluie East Two and Ammassalik Fjord
Bluie East Two was a minor United States Army Air Forces airfield at Ikkateq in eastern Greenland. Ikkatteq was a small village in southeastern Greenland. Ikateq (as the village was named in old times) means "shallow water". This place is full of lakes worth seeing, so we`re eager to have a walk to see the best locations.
If the weather is fine, we`ll try to get as close as possible to Ammassalik Fjord that is famous for whales diving around.
If the weather is fine, we`ll try to get as close as possible to Ammassalik Fjord that is famous for whales diving around.
Sermiliqaaq
An enchanting area of jagged mountains and two glaciers colliding. Sermiliqaaq means “The Beautiful Glacier Fjord” and certainly lives up to its name. Here we`ll go on a nice walk so you can see one or both glaciers calve, an unimaginable sight with sounds of thunder as the ice calves and hits the ocean. The two glaciers Karale Glacier and Knud Rasmussen are impressive and massive giants, and if the weather conditions are fine, the Elsi will reach the glacier.
The crossing to Kulusuk & Kulusuk Museum
Kulusuk is home for just over 200 people. There are Danes and Inuits among them. Despite the small population there is a health centre, a church and a cemetery there. The name translates from Greenlandic as 'chest of the black guillemot', a polar bird that nests in the area.
Here we will spend some time in a non-stop crossing to Kulusuk, where our voyage will come to an end. A visit to Kulusuk Museum will provide insights on the life of the Tunumi Inuit of the east coast of Greenland, inter-woven in a personal account of a local family.
Here we will spend some time in a non-stop crossing to Kulusuk, where our voyage will come to an end. A visit to Kulusuk Museum will provide insights on the life of the Tunumi Inuit of the east coast of Greenland, inter-woven in a personal account of a local family.
Сообщение об успешной отправке!
The Elsi schooner
The two-masted schooner Elsi was built by the German shipyard Blumenthaler Werft as a training expedition ship.
She was used in medical humanitarian expeditions to remote corners of the world.
Elsi is prepared for operation in the high latitudes of the Arctic and Antarctic.
She was used in medical humanitarian expeditions to remote corners of the world.
Elsi is prepared for operation in the high latitudes of the Arctic and Antarctic.
1 — Captain's cabin
2,3,4 — double cabins with an increased level of comfort
5 — quadruple cabin (for crew)
6,7,8 — triple cabins
9,10,11 — head
12 — galley
13 — salon
14 — double cabin
2,3,4 — double cabins with an increased level of comfort
5 — quadruple cabin (for crew)
6,7,8 — triple cabins
9,10,11 — head
12 — galley
13 — salon
14 — double cabin
Accommodation
Prices
Special offer
15% discount till 15 september 2023
Prepayment of 50% required within 3 days after reservationprices include discount
You’ll have to pay the remaining 50% 2 months before the start of the voyage
1 seat/triple cabin: € 5300
1 seat/double cabin: € 5700
Reykjavik, Iceland — Kulusuk, Greenland — Reykjavik, Iceland
Prices in EUR
Prices in USD
1 seat/triple cabin: 5670 $
1 seat/double cabin: 6200 $
Reykjavik, Iceland — Kulusuk, Greenland — Reykjavik, Iceland
more about
What is included
- Accommodation in a berth of your choice
- Flights to Kulusuk, Greenland and back to Reykjavik, Iceland
- Three meals a day
- Educational programme and guide accompaniment on board
- Professional crew and ship’s cook on board
- First aid on board
- Visa support if required
- Port fees
- Medical insurance
What is not included
- Visa application fee if required
- Flight to Reykjavik from your starting point and flight from Reykjavik to your end point
more about
What is included
- Accommodation in a berth of your choice
- Flights to Kulusuk, Greenland and back to Reykjavik, Iceland
- Three meals a day
- Educational programme and guide accompaniment on board
- Professional crew and ship’s cook on board
- First aid on board
- Visa support if required
- Port fees
- Medical insurance
What is not included
- Visa application fee if required
- Flight to Reykjavik from your starting point and flight from Reykjavik to your finish point
Сообщение об успешной отправке!
Photos from our previous expeditions
Click on photo to enlarge
you asked
FAQ
A cruise is the best option for exploring an Arctic region as remote and pristine as Greenland. Traveling by ship, you can witness towering icebergs, encounter unique wildlife, and experience the culture that goes back hundreds of years.
Due to the island's location and climate, you’ll encounter plenty of sea ice during your expedition. The cruise is held on a vessel which is licensed to sail worldwide and can sail wherever required. At shore, you'll get to see the massive Greenland ice cap, which covers more than 80% of the land area.
Yes, and the majority of the population is Inuit. A cruise usually offers opportunities to learn about the local culture and traditions through visits to small towns and villages.
If you decide to cancel, a full refund will be made if you inform us no later than 2 months before the start of the voyage.
You can also use you prepayment to change the dates of your voyage - also no later than 2 months before the start of the voyage you initially booked.
If you cancel later than 2 months before your booked voyage starts, your prepayment cannot be refunded.
You can also use you prepayment to change the dates of your voyage - also no later than 2 months before the start of the voyage you initially booked.
If you cancel later than 2 months before your booked voyage starts, your prepayment cannot be refunded.
With the «Late Refund» service, if necessary, you can get back the full amount you paid at any time before the start of the programme. The cost of the service is 20% of the booking price. This payment is non-refundable. The service can only be arranged when booking a voyage. Once the booking has been finalised, the service will not be available for purchase.
testimonials
“It never occurred to me that I could miss sea travel and sea people so much… This trip to Iceland and Greenland on the Wylde Swan tall ship was just a breath of joy and freedom. I think I was even overloaded with impressions. There were mast climbs from where you could see the ice-filled fjord. There were jokes, landings at an abandoned American military base and Greenlandic villages. There were whales, icebergs, whales against icebergs and so on!
Experimentally we found out that night watches have an amazing soporific property: before and after them you don't want to sleep at all, but during the watch you have to fight for who will go to check the engine room to cheer up. All in all, it was an incredibly joyful adventure, even considering that on the way back we got caught in a storm and someone (I) spent a day and a half in bed! I'd say it was an essential part of the voyage. But it's better to be on this trip in person and experience your own emotions, because every trip is unique!”
Experimentally we found out that night watches have an amazing soporific property: before and after them you don't want to sleep at all, but during the watch you have to fight for who will go to check the engine room to cheer up. All in all, it was an incredibly joyful adventure, even considering that on the way back we got caught in a storm and someone (I) spent a day and a half in bed! I'd say it was an essential part of the voyage. But it's better to be on this trip in person and experience your own emotions, because every trip is unique!”
— Daria Fokina
Sailing expedition to Greenland
testimonials
It was an unforgettable journey. These are must-see places before the global warming final consequences.
— Yakov Goldich
Sailing expedition to Antarctica
testimonials
The trip was amazing! Many thanks to the team: for their dedication to the ship, professionalism, desire to teach and learn, for a sense of humor in any situation. Thanks to the participants of our hike: it was fun, reliable and very interesting with you! Thanks to Iceland and Greenland for the pristine beauty presented, for the people they met, for icebergs and whales, for mountains and waterfalls. It's worth seeing!
— Liubov Kulichenko
Sailing expedition to Iceland and Greenland
testimonials
Nothing could possibly have prepared me for how incredible this week has been, and no words will adequately capture the memories you've helped me make. This was literally one of the best weeks of my life. Each day we did so many fun, exciting, challenging, and memorable activities that I can hardly keep track of them. After all the uncertainty and negativity in the world during recent events, the uplifting positivity, and teamwork aboard your ship is such a wonderful contrast. My time aboard was the first time in a long time when I truly felt joy.
— Perry Chaffe
Sailing expedition to Iceland
testimonials
This week was exceptional as so many different people became a whole, connected to each other and have done an amazing exchange of ideas, energy, experience, knowledge. We worked, and played, and learned and listened, and talked to each other. Steered the wheel, set the sails, kept watches and participated in lectures, learned knots, rode dinghy, played the guitar, sang, connected. I thank the destiny for this opportunity.
— Eugenia Jeitz, Luxembourg
Sailing expedition to Iceland
Other expeditions to Greenland
We are going to explore East Greenland on board two sailing schooners: Wylde Swan and Elsi.
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