GREENLAND EXPLORER

Land in the world’s most northerly capital city – Reykjavik with its surprising range of interesting sights, museums, appealing modern architecture and human scale.

Stay: One night in a luxurious Reykjavik hotel.

From Reykjavik a short internal flight pops you over to Constable Point where you’ll board the Ocean Nova ready to begin your expedition into a world of stunning fjords, glaciers, remote islands and arctic wildlife.

Stay: Seven nights in an outside cabin aboard the purpose-designed, ultra-comfortable Ocean Nova.

Today you sail into a dazzling world of monumental icebergs drifting like silent white ghosts, glittering blue sounds and towering fjords. Your Zodiac boat will zip you along fjords and inlets, coming close to the shoreline so you have the chance to see and photograph Arctic foxes and musk ox roaming freely across the frozen habitat.

Brogetdal was justly nicknamed the Multi-coloured or Painted Valley; its fascinating geology and colourful panoramic views will definitely have you stretching your camera’s memory. Even the surrounding mountains are a symphony of different colours and tones, set off against their mantles of white. Then comes a rare visit to the impressive Waltershausen Glacier, a vast expanse of gleaming ice floe at the mouth of Nordfjord and scene of a failed attempt by the German explorer Waltershausen to reach the North Pole via East Greenland.

Another colourful surprise awaits you at the Bay of Flowers – purple and gold rocks that invite you on a hike to examine them more closely. Renbugten, or Reindeer Bay as it is known, has a different attraction. Here the wildlife observation includes reindeer sightings, not surprisingly, and the chance to see Arctic hares.

Landing on Ella Island is your opportunity for a great hike to the summit of the island’s mountain which will give you fantastic views – and an unrivalled perspective for photography – of the island’s ice-packed waters, rugged cliffs and giant icebergs reflecting the gleaming blue of the sky.

Time to meet the locals. Ittoqqortoormiit is home to the most northerly settlement in East Greenland and the Inuit people will welcome you to their community by showing you their handicrafts, and how their traditions merge with their modern way of life. Sailing on to Hall Bredning – part of Scoresbysund – you’ll also see icebergs larger than football pitches and taller than apartment blocks. And, of course, the phenomenal Northern Lights.

Just when you thought the frozen Arctic landscapes could not become any more majestic, their chilled beauty reaches another level. Sail deeper into the Scoresbysund where enormous icebergs look over ancient Thule settlements. Towering mountains, ice cliffs and gigantic bergs conspire together to create a wonderland that plays tricks with your perceptions of scale and distance.

Today you arrive back at Constable Point and fly back to Reykjavik to experience, once again, the vibrancy and culture of Greenland’s premier city.

Stay: One night in a luxurious Reykjavik hotel.

Day 10: Reykjavik

Time to take your leave of Greenland and fly home.