Greenland is not exactly the place for a typical island vacation, but it is one of the best places in the world to travel to for the rugged, beautiful wild. In the November 2009 issue of ISLANDS magazine, writer-photographer Jad Davenport took a cruise from Iceland to around the southern coast of Greenland in search of a Viking settlement that vanished ages ago. To track it down, he had to essentially take control of the cruise. See his story and photos and plan your Greenland cruise. Jad also made a Greenland video of what he discovered. Get a free issue of ISLANDS magazine!

Greenland Airports
Fly to the international airport of Kangerlussuaq, known as the "gateway to Greenland."

Greenland Cruises
For his Greenland trip, Jad Davenport was aboard the National Geographic Explorer ship for the "Viking Saga" voyage offered by Lindblad Expeditions as it left from Iceland and went around the southern coast of Greenland. That cruise itinerary won't be offered in 2010, instead going to the Faroe Islands and Scotland. Norwegian Coastal Voyages does have several Greenland cruise itineraries for 2010, from eight to 14 days. Polar Star Expeditions offers a 19-day "Viking Trail to the Americas" among its offerings that include a leg from Iceland to Greenland.

Greenland Tours and Activities
Kayak where the activity originated with Inuit hunters from Greenland. And since the 1980s the sport has become a favorite pastime here. Take a multi-day guided tour of the fjords in remote Scoresbysund on the eastern coast, or at Maniitsoq. Or hike the classic, 90-mile trek from Sisimiut inland to Kangerlussuaq. From coastal fjords to tundra, musk ox, reindeer, arctic foxes, high lakes, and the inland ice caps, this strenuous hike offers a look at some of Greenland's natural treasures.

Greenland Souvenirs
Japan has its netsukes, and Greenland its tupilaks, small carvings of grotesque, demonic figures that once represented mythical or even spiritual characters to be used against an enemy. Once made mostly from bone, today the figures are generally carved from reindeer horn and narwhal tusk. Now a popular souvenir, the tupilaks vary in quality, but in the hands of a gifted Inuit artist, they still evoke the Greenlandic heritage.

Greenland Official Tourism Site
Learn more through the Greenland Tourism and Business Council.