Has anyone here traveled to Greenland?

[alcina]

My partner and I have it in our heads that we'd like to visit Greenland in the coming year, but I'm having a hard time figuring out how to get there from North America. I know there are flights from Iceland and Denmark, but both are a bit of a detour. If you've ever been, I'd love to hear what you thought about it and what route you took to get there.

Thanks!

[cbayer]

1. There used to be direct flights from Baltimore,

but I'm not sure they are still doing that.

So Denmark or Iceland might be your only choices.

I have never been there but would love to go.

Consider doing a self-drive in Iceland first. Iceland Air allows you to stopover in Iceland at no additional charge.

Then I would probably opt for a small ship cruise up the coast.

I hope you are able to make this happen.

[alcina]

4. Thank you!

I'll look into Baltimore.

The drive around Iceland is definitely on my list, but I've been to Iceland twice in the last few years, so wanted to do something different. Strangely, so far it seems the most "affordable" (and I use that term very loosely) route is Iceland Air to Denmark, and then back to Greenland. I guess it's just based on demand. Probably not that many Canadians want to go NORTH for the winter.

[cbayer]

5. I hope to go someday. I would also like to go to the Antarctic, but

it is really, really expensive.

Best of luck.

[alcina]

8. Much too late in my life....

I discovered that there are all sorts of jobs at the Antarctic research station. Had I known this 10 years ago, I'd have been applying for jobs until I got one. I met a couple who worked as line cooks there for several years, before returning to the states and opening a wonderful little cafe.

But it's definitely a younger person's journey. The recruiting company has, understandably, a huge list of medical restrictions. Of course, if I ever have a spare $20k, I could always buy myself a "writer-in-residence" position there. But the chances of that happening are not especially good. Oh well.

[cbayer]

9. One never knows when the star align and you get what you dream of.

Good for you for pursuing your travel dreams.

First on my list is South East Asia at this point. I would like to take a slow boat up the rivers in viet nam and thailand. They stop in places that are hard to get to by land.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

11. Southeast Asia is on my bucket list, too

There's an Elderhostel that starts in Bangkok and goes to northern Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam.

If I ever had the money, I'd like to fly independently to Singapore and then travel up the Malay Peninsula to join the tour in Bangkok. (Malaysia has always intrigued me, for some reason, perhaps because I had Malaysian students for several years.)

[cbayer]

12. It's the airfare that kills you. Once there, it is possible to travel very cheaply.

Last year, I looked into one of the around the world tickets and might do so again next year. While expensive, they are not that much more expensive than a single ticket to some parts of the world.

Malaysia is on my list, too.

[Major Nikon]

2. I went to Thule, Greenland and back on a military flight many years ago

So probably not where you want to go or how you want to get there. I got to know plenty of Danes while I was there and enjoyed their company. Thule is well inside the arctic circle. The sun never set or even got close to setting when I was there in the summer. At 3am it was just as bright outside as 3pm. It was a very fascinating place. I saw several glaciers and the ocean was still frozen solid even though it was June.

[alcina]

6. That's awesome

If I could get that far north, I'd be quite happy. It's even farther north than Jakobshavn Glacier, which was the site of the very amazing film "Chasing Ice."

But, yeah, I'd prefer to avoid military transport.

[Major Nikon]

10. I got to see the only spot in the world where 4 glaciers come together

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolstenholme_Fjord

It's pretty hard to describe it with words or even pictures. The ice would heave up all over the place and you'd see these perfect turquoise translucent blocks that were massive. Huge icebergs were stuck in the ice all over the place.

[greatauntoftriplets]

3. A cousin went on a Greenland cruise a few years ago.

I don't know where the cruise originated, but it was Europe since the cousin is Luxembourgisch. The photos were amazing. She had her partner loved it and strongly recommended going.

Good luck with planning your trip.

[alcina]

7. I found a cruise from Norway

which looked amazing, but it's done for the year and the next one isn't until next autumn. There's probably a reason for that, of course.

[alcina]

13. In my ongoing "research"

I came across this informative and amusing article about Greenland. I hadn't realized how violent the place is!

[cbayer]

14. I think you forgot the link.

[alcina]

15. You are correct!

Sorry about that. It's one of my very worst habits.

http://waitbutwhy.com/2014/09/but-what-about-greenland.html

[cbayer]

16. No worries. It's one of mine, too.

I just scanned it and it looks great! Will bookmark for later.

How are your travel plans coming along?

[alcina]

17. Plans are moving slowly

We had really wanted to go in April or May, but that doesn't seem to be a realistic option. The fall cruise looks really interesting, but I have to do a lot more research. There's a mention of renting "thermal suits," which makes me a little nervous.

[cbayer]

18. Aren't the thermal suits for diving?

We are thinking about going to Iceland in May - still cold, but less expensive. We have a connection so could get a cheap rental car. Plus Iceland Air has that cool stopover plan.

Let me know what you come up with.

[alcina]

19. There's no diving mentioned

in the particular cruise I'm looking at. There *is* kayaking. Maybe the "thermal suit" is really one of those ice rescue suits.

Aren't you living in Mexico these days? Iceland's quite a contrast!

I love Icelandair. When I was living in Seattle, I flew Icelandair as much as I could. They used to share their mileage plan with Alaska, which worked out great for me. Alas, they discontinued that a couple years ago. But I'm lucky they also fly out of Toronto, so they're still an option for me.

Last year we were looking into driving in Iceland, and we came across a website for private car rentals. Not sure how good it is, but in case you need options: https://carrenters.is/

[cbayer]

20. I just looked it up and I think there are suits that you can wear while fishing

or kayaking.

I do live in Mexico, but am fortunate to be able to get away in the summer. It is ungodly hot here, unless you can get away to the mountains.

My husband is british and lived in Italy for years, so we plan to go there for the summers to be closer to his family and friends. Stopping in Iceland wouldn't cost anything extra because of their stopover program.

I've never flown Iceland Air, but probably will this summer.

FWIW, Turkish airways offers a similar stopover program in Istanbul and often has the cheapest airfares around.

Thanks for the car rental link. Much appreciated. Car rentals are really expensive in europe, so we are thinking of buy a junker or old camper van this year. It would likely cost less than a rental.

[Lucky Luciano]

21. I am desperate to go to these types of places.

...but the wife only likes beach resorts...sigh.

If I suggest a place like Greenland, I get a "why don't you go by yourself?!"

Some day...

[cbayer]

22. So….

why don't you go by yourself?

[Lucky Luciano]

23. That will not go over well if I dump kid on her while

...I run around tge world doing selfish things.

More like "go by yourself...but bear the consequences if you do."

[cbayer]

24. Hmm…. so she doesn't really mean it.

How old is the kid?

[Lucky Luciano]

25. Almost 3.

Hard to justify using all my vacation time ditching my family. I'll be able to go at some point - just not now.

One compromise I might propose is a trip to Iceland next year for two weeks. During one of the week's she can do spa stuff while I sail to Jan Mayen island and try to climb the world's most northern volcano. Not precisely Greenland, but supercool!

[cbayer]

26. I hope you got to do some of it before you had a child.

I am lucky to be with someone who also loves to travel, but he would also be ok with me taking trips on my own.

Our kids are grown though, and that really changes everything.

[Lucky Luciano]

27. I edited the post above. She does like to travel...

...but to easier destinations. I can sell the Maldives, bora bora, etc pretty easily.

Anything involving mountain climbing or anything physically challenging with some hardships is much harder to sell.

She would be totally cool with private game reserves in Africa (viewing only - not into hunting) once the boy is older. Trekking in Kamchatka - I'm on my own with that one!

Cultural trips are ok too - but after Morocco, I think she would prefer first world. The hatred she had for the hustlers and other assorted pests in morocco turned her off of third world travel.

I did get to 40 countries so far...but it is not enough! I want to hit every province of every country. I just like to explore indiscriminately (outside of war zones).

[cbayer]

28. Iceland has some great self drive trips.

You don't have to climb mountains. The accommodations may be simple, but they are adequate.

Take an african safari is really cool. You can stay in a camp and they drive you around. There is not NatGeo special that will ever come close.

I love 3rd world travel, but it's not for everyone. You might want to ease in by doing some of the more off the beaten path parts of Mexico or central america. Australia is great as well.

I am a traveler like you. I am getting more and more comfortable with getting out of my comfort zone and hope to see much more in the time I have left.

Good luck to you!