East Greenland Explorer

Breakfast and check-out. Join our guided Golden Circle and Geothermal Energy tour. With 85% of its electricity sourced from renewable sources, Iceland sets an outstanding example when it comes to sustainable energy.  

Our journey takes us to the famous seismic sights of the Golden Circle route – Gullfoss waterfall, Geysir, and history-rich Thingvellir National Park, before we experience first-hand how green, sustainable energy is produced at one of the largest single-site geothermal power plants on the planet at the Geothermal Energy Exhibition and Ljósafossvirkjun Power Station.   

We will also spend time at a true eco-village. Powered with thermal and solar energy. Sólheimar is fully sustainable, boasting greenhouses and forestry programmes, while its sustainable workshops are dedicated to candle-making, carpentry, weaving and soap-making. Late afternoon we return to Reykjavik to board the Greg Mortimer. Settle into your cabin before attending important safety briefings and enjoy the thrill of departure as we ‘throw the lines’ and set sail.  

This evening, get to know your fellow expeditioners and our friendly Expedition Team and crew at the Captain’s Welcome Dinner to celebrate the start of a thrilling adventure. 

As we cross the Denmark Strait to Greenland, we begin our series of informative and entertaining onboard lectures from our team of experts. Learn about sea ice, history of European exploration and wildlife of Greenland, te world’s largest island. 

As we approach East Greenland we may encounter pack ice and perhaps catch our first glimpse of seals and a variety of seabirds including northern fulmar and migratory Brünnich’s guillemot. This stretch of coastline is ripe for exploration, with its many secrets locked in place by drift ice for up to eight months each year. 

In the coming days, a host of choices are open to us, and depending on ice and weather conditions, the east coast of Greenland is ours to explore. Our experienced expedition team, who have made countless journeys to this area, will use their expertise to design our voyage from day to day. We will generally make up to two outings per day, exploring on land or cruising along spectacular fjords, making the best use of the prevailing weather, ice conditions and wildlife opportunities. 

Be prepared to experience ice, lots of it! East Greenland contains some of the Arctic’s most impressive scenery. Deep fjords and narrow channels, flanked by sharp ice-clad peaks up to 2,000 m (6,562 ft) high. Gigantic icebergs calved from glaciers drift throughout the fjord system creating breathtaking scenery. The landscape is filled with multi-coloured tundra home to musk oxen and arctic hare. Throughout the area are ancient Thule archaeological sites, historical trappers’ huts, and modern Inuit hunters’ cabins. A highlight is a visit to the Inuit village of Ittoqqortoormiit, the most isolated and northernmost permanent settlement in the region, with approximately 500 inhabitants. Here you can explore the village, the fascinating museum or sit in the beautiful Lutheran Church. The locals are friendly, and from underneath their Arctic fox-fur jackets, the shy young children are keen to say hello and practice their English. The community boasts an excellent museum, gift shop, an abundance of Greenlandic sled dogs, and the opportunity to meet Inuit people. 

Explore Scoresbysund, the largest fjord system in the world – a spectacular place that simply needs to be seen to be believed. North of Scoresbysund are Kong Oscar and Kaizer Franz Josef fjords, two of the most significant fjord systems in all of Greenland, each one encompassing several smaller fjords and sounds. Kaizer Franz Josef features glaciers that calve icebergs the size of small cities into deep fjords. Thanks to the fertile volcanic soil mountains that protects areas from the strong winds, the area is rich in wildlife. You may spot everything from muskox and arctic foxes to mountain hares and even reindeer near the fjord. Look skyward and you could catch a glimpse of birds including common eider, glaucous gull, black-legged kittiwake, northern fulmar and arctic terns gracefully gliding or plunging into icy bays for zooplankton.

An Aurora first, we aim to break ground by attempting to forge to the northernmost tip of mighty Greenland, battling the ice towards Kap Morris Jesop and Station Nord; a Danish military outpost in Peary Land. Other wild anda remote placds that we hope to reach include Kap Prins Knud, Antarctic Bay, Jokelbugten, Danmarkshavn and Daneborg, home of Sirius Patrol—dog-sled patrollers of Northeast Greenland National Park. 

There are great hiking options in the area, where flowering tundra plants, scattered bones of whales and muskox from centuries of hunting by the Inuit and fumaroles can be found. These are areas where heated groundwater boil to the surface creating bubbling pools and mineral formations as the water reacts with the atmosphere. 

The area also boasts some of the most striking sedimentary sandstone, shale and siltstone formations imaginable. The layers of sediment here are estimated to have taken about 4,000 years to be laid down, and the alternating colours and patterns in the layers of rocks are stunningly beautiful. 

We sail back Iceland through the Denmark Strait. Keep a lookout for whale blows and the many seabirds that trail our ship in the ever-present Arctic winds. Enjoy the time to reflect on your recent adventures, share and exchange photos, and breathe in the fresh ocean air. As we near Iceland, we re-enter an inhabited world as we encounter fishing vessels working the coastal waters.  

After breakfast, bid farewell to the expedition team, crew and newfound friends as you disembark in Reykjavik, where the voyage ends. A transfer is included to your hotel or to Keflavik airport.  

NOTE: At the conclusion of the voyage, we do not recommend booking flights departing Reykjavik prior to 12.00 pm on the day of disembarkation in case there are delays.  

Aurora Expeditions operates in remote and challenging environments, and in the spirit of expedition travel, we encourage you to adopt a flexible and adventurous attitude when joining our voyages. This itinerary is a guide only and is subject to change due to weather, sea state and other conditions beyond our control.