Greenland

[Highland Capital]

I've been looking at going to Greenland recently, but it looks horrendously expensive.  The cheapest way I could find going to the west coast was for about £500 return from Iceland and that was in February, which I imagine is when it's pretty inhospitable.  Has anyone been?  Is it worth going?

[welshbairn]

My sister takes groups trekking in Eastern Greenland and says there's not much there unless you want to go trekking, or dog sledding in the winter. There aren't many hotels or hostels and they're expensive. There aren't any cheap ways of getting there, all she said was book far in advance and that via Copenhagen might be the cheapest way of getting to the West coast. The West coast could be beautiful in February or it could be impossible to go outside because of storms and blizzards. The East is more sheltered from the prevailing winds and general extreme weather. She recommends September for a balance of weather and a good chance of seeing the Northern Lights. I've been tentatively looking at the ferries that service the west coast settlements and trying to find out if you can get a cabin and get off to wander around when it docks like you can in Norway but haven't found out much yet. 

[Highland Capital]

1 hour ago, welshbairn said:

My sister takes groups trekking in Eastern Greenland and says there's not much there unless you want to go trekking, or dog sledding in the winter. There aren't many hotels or hostels and they're expensive. There aren't any cheap ways of getting there, all she said was book far in advance and that via Copenhagen might be the cheapest way of getting to the West coast. The West coast could be beautiful in February or it could be impossible to go outside because of storms and blizzards. The East is more sheltered from the prevailing winds and general extreme weather. She recommends September for a balance of weather and a good chance of seeing the Northern Lights. I've been tentatively looking at the ferries that service the west coast settlements and trying to find out if you can get a cabin and get off to wander around when it docks like you can in Norway but haven't found out much yet. 

I believe Air Iceland do (or did) day trips to the Kulusk Island off the east coast but they cost about £500.  Going by what I've read online, Ilulissat on Disko Bay is the place to go while I've read mixed reviews of Nuuk.  The flights from Copenhagen fly to the Kangerlussuaq, which is the only airport capable of taking bigger planes but it really is in the middle of nowhere. 

I only know one person who's actually been and he went by boat years ago.  He said (wherever he was) was like Iceland but much much bleaker.

[Richey Edwards]

Contrary to popular belief, it's actually not very green.

[Hampden Diehard]

11 minutes ago, Richey Edwards said:

Contrary to popular belief, it's actually not very green.

Spoiler alert!

 

[Highland Capital]

Contrary to popular belief, it's actually not very green.

Don’t want to go now.

[Richey Edwards]

Just now, Highland Capital said:

Don’t want to go now.

I flew over Greenland one time and I looked out the window and it was all white and I shouted "WHAT THE ACTUAL f**k!?! GREENLAND IS WHITE!".

I suppose calling your country Whiteland isn't very PC these days.

[DiegoDiego]

Go to Svalbard instead, far cheaper flights and a more interesting place.

Also: the Extreme Fishing with Robson Green episode in Greenland is worth a watch.

[welshbairn]

4 hours ago, Richey Edwards said:

Contrary to popular belief, it's actually not very green.

That was supposed to be one of the first branding campaigns to encourage Viking settlers. I guess there weren't too many takers for Iceland. Although the snow melts in most of the place in the summer except for the glaciers and high up.

[supermik]

3 hours ago, DiegoDiego said:

Go to Svalbard instead, far cheaper flights and a more interesting place.

Also: the Extreme Fishing with Robson Green episode in Greenland is worth a watch.

Feck that. Is Svalbard not the place where a load of polar bears like to eat schoolkids in tents?

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Svalbard_polar_bear_attack

[welshbairn]

18 minutes ago, supermik said:

Feck that. Is Svalbard not the place where a load of polar bears like to eat schoolkids in tents?

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Svalbard_polar_bear_attack

Etonians eaten by polar bears could be an evolutionary plus imo.

[Enigma]

I’ve been to Greenland! I went back in May 2000 and we flew from Reykjavik to Kulusuk. We flew by helicopter from Kulusuk and stayed a few nights in Tasiilaq. Not much to do really but I found it a fascinating place. Kulusuk is more of a village, Tasiilaq more of a town you can have a bit of a wander round. The dog sledding was top class though. The local who took us turned it into an impromptu seal hunt and shot a seal he had spotted on the horizon half way through the trip from quite an incredible distance.

 

I can confirm it’s not very green.

[Richey Edwards]

On 30/06/2018 at 01:51, Enigma said:

I can confirm it’s not very green.

I knew I could count on you to back me up 'Nigma xx

[morrison]

Go to Svalbard instead, far cheaper flights and a more interesting place.

Also: the Extreme Fishing with Robson Green episode in Greenland is worth a watch.

I loved Svalbard, but admittedly was only there a couple of days. The ferry trip to Pyramiden was a real highlight - stunning views all around and the abandoned town itself was deeply unsettling.

I went for a jog in Longyearbyen and got dive-bombed by some unhappy birds protecting their nest. Oops.

Seeing the seed vault was also pretty cool. You can see it as soon as you're off the plane, mind you.

[Highland Capital]

Going next June lads.

[welshbairn]

10 hours ago, Highland Capital said:

Going next June lads.

What route?

[Highland Capital]

What route?

Via Keflavik.

[Cardinal Richelieu]

I'd love to go. Thought Iceland was ace but Greenland would be something else. 

I learned two things from a recent documentary ... one is that all the ice / snow is melting, so you could now call it Brownland. And two... a lettuce costs £20. So it would suit Glasgwegians. 

[welshbairn]

42 minutes ago, Cardinal Richelieu said:

I'd love to go. Thought Iceland was ace but Greenland would be something else. 

I learned two things from a recent documentary ... one is that all the ice / snow is melting, so you could now call it Brownland. And two... a lettuce costs £20. So it would suit Glasgwegians. 

Sounds really expensive for flights considering you're only going a bit further than Iceland, so on the fringes of Europe really. But it's also on the Canadian fringes and even less people want to visit Greenland, so maybe it's understandable. Battered baby seal fritters would be a good draw for the Weegies.

[Cardinal Richelieu]

19 minutes ago, welshbairn said:

Sounds really expensive for flights considering you're only going a bit further than Iceland, so on the fringes of Europe really. But it's also on the Canadian fringes and even less people want to visit Greenland, so maybe it's understandable. Battered baby seal fritters would be a good draw for the Weegies.

Aye, their tourist industry must be quite niche. I know a guy who went with work. He spent two weeks in the "capital" .. absolutely hee-haw to do and apparently all the local young team have their own equivalent of the tonic wine. Still would be brilliant to go to. Second only to Tristan da Cunha in the list of places I'd love to visit that I never will.