The Best Time to Visit Greenland

Why Visit Greenland in the Spring?

Spring in Greenland: April & May

In Greenland, spring is brief, dramatic, and unpredictable. The snow doesn’t melt much until early May, although daylight hours begin to lengthen noticeably in April. Once they do, Greenland launches into summer, making spring less of a season of its own and more of a rapid transition period.

April is a great month for seeing the aurora borealis in the far north, but unpredictable weather routinely causes travel interruptions here. Many fjords remain frozen or clogged with ice well into the spring, and fog often delays flights into Ilulissat for days at a time. Those planning to visit Greenland independently earlier than June should account for a few days of potential weather-related delays.

What to Expect on Our Spring Tours

We don’t tour Greenland in the spring as travel conditions are unreliable well into May. Our earliest departure of Hiking the Fjords of Greenland & Iceland sets off from Reykjavik in June on a round-trip itinerary that visits Greenland’s King Oscar Fjord, travels up the Sermilik Fjord, and explores steep granite cliffs on hikes from the town of Tasiilaq.

Why Visit Greenland in the Summer?

Summer in Greenland: June, July & August

Summer is the season for all things outdoors in Greenland, thanks to pleasant temperatures, accessible trails and fjords, and long daylight hours. Hiking, paddling, cycling, and fishing become national pastimes during the country’s few months of warm weather, although rain can still be unpredictable.

The midnight sun brings 24 hours of daylight to the Arctic Circle for weeks at a time between the summer and winter solstices, while the snowmelt feeds the mountainside wildflowers and opens the fjords to expedition cruises. This makes June through August the ideal time to see wildlife in the Arctic Circle, from walruses and polar bears to belugas, humpback whales, and narwhals. The long daylight hours during peak summer make seeing auroras unlikely, but you might catch a glimpse of the boreal displays in the Arctic Circle as the days shorten in late August.

What to Expect on Our Summer Tours

Late June and July departures of Hiking the Fjords of Greenland & Iceland will have you embarking on full-day hikes between stunning granite mountains and calving glaciers, and cruising up the Sermilik Fjord to the Greenland Ice Sheet. On a Western Greenland Expedition trip in August, you’ll cruise the western fjords, spending eight days sighting humpback whales, gliding between icebergs, hiking across the tundra, and visiting Inuit settlements.

On a North Pole & East Greenland cruise, you’ll venture farther up the eastern coast and into the heart of the Arctic on your way to the North Pole, spotting whales, musk ox, polar bears, walruses, and—if you’re lucky—the northern lights along the way. 

A late August Northern Lights Expedition Cruise will take you along the coastlines of the Arctic—you’ll explore an active volcano, see the world’s largest fjord system, and hike a Norwegian national park by day, and look for the aurora borealis by night. And our Northwest Passage Expedition starts in northwest Greenland and travels to Alaska by expedition cruise with stops at historical sites, hikes through glacial valleys, and no shortage of wildlife viewing along the way.

Why Visit Greenland in the Fall?

Fall in Greenland: September & October

Like spring, fall in Greenland is fleeting. The southern tundra foliage turns to reds, yellows, and browns as the days rapidly shorten and temperatures plummet. This is the season when Greenlanders forage for abundant berries, hunt for musk ox and reindeer, and wrap up the fishing season in the south. Nearer the Arctic Circle, opportunities for viewing the northern lights get better and better as daylight hours dwindle.

Fall storms are common and bring rain and snow, particularly to southeast Greenland. And although northern regions are drier, increasingly frozen fjords complicate travel there beyond September. If you want to plan a fall trip to Greenland, early September provides fantastic conditions for viewing the northern lights before fjords become impassable and days become freezing.

What to Expect on Our Fall Tours

Departing in September on a Northwest Passage Expedition, you’ll head north of the Arctic Circle in search of the northern lights, discover Inuit culture in Sisimiut and paddle among icebergs in western Greenland. On a September Northern Lights Expedition Cruise, you’ll visit remote islands and villages, traverse surreal volcanic landscapes, and—with luck—see the auroras.

September departures of our North Pole & East Greenland trips take you all the way to the North Pole. Expect an epic expedition that crosses through pack ice and polar bear territory, and discovers Inuit traditions in the Ittoqqortoormiit region.

Why Visit Greenland in the Winter?

Winter in Greenland: November, December, January, February & March

Winter is most of the year in Greenland—the country’s largely uninhabited north experiences perpetual night for months at a time and even southern towns like Nuuk have just four hours of daylight by the winter solstice. Difficult conditions can cause travel to suddenly halt as early as October.

For those who dare to reach them, the frozen northern fjords provide excellent dogsledding, ice fishing, and snowmobiling opportunities in Sisimiut and Ilulissat in the west and Tasiilaq and Kulusuk in the east. But for most travelers, travel to Greenland is best suited for the summer months, when receding snow and ice make the country more accessible for a range of activities.

What to Expect on Our Winter Tours

Due to unreliable conditions and limited daylight, we pause our trips from late September through May. We resume in June, when our guides can showcase more of Greenland’s incredible landscapes and culture.