Eastern Greenland Arctic Cruise 2026

Sunday 16th August – Akureyri

• We’ll board our ship at 4pm in Akureyri, the biggest city in the north of Iceland. A shuttle bus departing at 9:00am is available on that day from Reykjavik to Akureyri (extra 150€ one way). It is also possible to reach the city with a 45 minutes domestic flight from Reykjavik. YPT can assist you with the transfer.
• Departure! In the early evening we will sail towards the Denmark Strait.
• Dinner and our first night aboard the ship.
• Overnight on the Plancius.

Monday 17th August – East Greenland Sea

• On the way north, we will look out for arctic animals with the local specialists able to answer our questions about all creatures we will encounter. We can expect to see fulmars, kittiwakes, gannets and guillemots.
• During the day, we’ll cross the Arctic Circle and if we’re in luck, might be able to spot whales. The expedition crew is always on the lookout and will make announcements when they spot interesting wildlife.
• During the evening, we can expect to see our first icebergs as we get near to the east Greenland coast, near Brewster.
• Dinner and overnight on the Plancius

Tuesday 18th August – Scoresbysund

• In the morning, we’ll reach Scoresbysund, sailing along the glaciated Volquart Boons Kyst.
• Our goal during the trip is to be off the vessel as much as possible. While our planned schedule and activities are always subject to change due to local conditions (ice, weather, wildlife spotting opportunities), a typical day involve a zodiac cruise and a landing in the morning, and another cruise and landing in the afternoon.
• We’ll hop onto zodiacs past one of the glacier fronts, along with a visit to the basalt columns and ice formations of Vikingebugt.
• In the afternoon, we’ll have reached Danmark Island, where we’ll land to explore the remains of an Inuit settlement. Due to the cold conditions surrounding the settlement, it has been very well preserved and it will be easy for us to guess what life was like a couple of centuries ago.
• There is also wildlife here. Along with the many birds common to the area, such as black guillemots, we may see musk oxen.
• Dinner and overnight on the Plancius.

Wednesday 19th August – Røde Fjord

• On today’s menu, a zodiac cruise to Sorte Ø, surrounded by icebergs. Their austere blue-white contrasts sharply with the sediment slopes nearby.
• The afternoon will bring us to Røde Fjord where a mountainous coast meets with some of the world’s most beautiful icebergs in an all-natural myriad of colours. The icebergs set against the brooding red backdrop of Røde Ø (Red Island) is one of YPT’s favourite sights in Greenland.
• A zodiac ride will take you closer to the giant ships of ice which are numerous enough to form a virtual maze of ice and snow.
• We’ll then sail through the northern parts of Røde Fjord, with the chance to see musk oxen.
• Dinner and overnight on the Plancius.

Thursday 20th August – Sydkap

• During the day, we’ll see enormous icebergs, some of which are taller than 100 metres and a few kilometres long! They are so big that some of them touch the bottom of the sea, as the fjord is “only” about 400 metres deep
• In the afternoon, we’ll land near Sydkap, where we’ll witness one of the most iconic sights in Eastern Greenland, Hall Bredning, renowned for its dazzling display of reflected light.
• Today’s walk goes from Sydkap to Nordøstbugt (12 km, 7.5 miles to the northeast), where the river coming from Holger Danskes Briller flows into the sea. We plan to walk south along the shore to Satakajik, seeing whale vertebrae and the remains of Thule summer houses. Passengers who opt out of the long walking group can join us at this location for their second excursion of the day.
• Dinner and overnight on the Plancius.

Friday 21st August – Ittoqqortoormiit

• In the morning, we’ll land on the tundra of Liverpool Land by Hurry Inlet, a peninsula of East Greenland
• Things will get even more exciting in the afternoon as we’ll reach Ittoqqortoormiit, this time landing here. We’ll get to experience life in Greenland, seeing people going about their business on their sleds pushed by dogs. You may have sent a postcard from Pyongyang, and here you can send postcards too!
• In the afternoon, we’ll head back on the boat to sail south, following the gorgeous Blosseville Coast.
• Dinner and overnight on the Plancius.

Saturday 22nd August – Stewart Ø

• The island of Stewart Ø that we will reach today is an important hunting station for the people of Scoresby Sund and also a good area to spot polar bears, narwals, and the beautiful remains of Thule houses.
• Dinner and overnight on the Plancius.

Sunday 23rd August – Turner Sound and Rømer Fjord

• The Turner Sound and Rømer Fjord grants us with the opportunity to sail far inland, as they have no glacier front at the head and are not clogged with ice
• Here we will attempt to spot the long-toothed mammal, the unicorn of the sea, the narwhal!
• Dinner and overnight on the Plancius

Monday 24th August – East Greenland Sea

• Today is a sea day. We’ll spend the day heading back towards Iceland. It won’t seem so long as we’ll get plenty of opportunities to see whales and seabirds.
• We may have spent some time there already but we’ll celebrate our last night in the ship’s bar for what will surely have been the trip of a lifetime

Tuesday 25th August – Akureyri

• Arrival in Akureyri
• Bus transfer back to Reykjavik (extra 140€). We expect to arrive at 3pm in the city center: we recommend not booking return flights earlier than 6pm.
• End of tour, YPT can help you arrange connections to your next destination