07.03.17 - Travelling independently with Arctic Umiaq Line

By Malik Milfeldt
 
The year before last the shipping company Arctic Umiaq Line sold one of the two twin ships which for many years have sailed a scheduled service along Greenland's coasts. Now the remaining ship, M/S Sarfaq Ittuk, will soon be ready to kick-off the season on a route that runs between Narsarsuaq in the south and Ilulissat in Disko Bay in the north.

M/S Sarfaq Ittuk is expected to begin the passenger ship season on 29 March from South Greenland before sailing north. Until 17 May, however, the ship will first depart from Narsaq, and from this date until 26 September the ship will sail from Narsarsuaq on Thursdays at 8.00 a.m.



Connection with Air Greenland
As a supplement to this ferry service, Air Greenland has two weekly routes direct from Copenhagen on Wednesdays and Saturdays during the period 23 May to 23 June. From 26 June to 1 September there is an extra departure from Kastrup on Tuesdays. In the high season this gives visitors the option of exploring South Greenland for either two or five days prior to AUL's Thursday departure.

During the trip the ship calls at a number of towns such as Qaqortoq/Julianehåb, Nuuk/Godthåb, Sisimiut/Holsteinsborg and Ilulissat/Jakobshavn, and the route from south to north and back again takes just under a week.

Individual holidays or package holidays
Holidaymakers travelling independently can for example plan a trip from Narsarsuaq to Ilulissat leaving on Thursdays at 8.00 a.m. in the high season with arrival on Sunday at 13.00 in Ilulissat. From here you can choose from a wealth of excursions, including trips to the UNESCO-protected ice fjord and the ice cap, after which you can fly back to Copenhagen via Kangerlussuaq/Søndre Strømfjord. The trip can also be reversed with departure from Ilulissat and concluding in Narsarsuaq.

For an easier – and probably also more economical – way of travelling, several travel agencies offer package deals with ship transport and hotel accommodation included. The travel agencies offering these deals include Profil Rejser (tel. +45 7733 5500) and Grønlands Rejsebureau (tel. +45 3313 1011). If you wish to travel independently, you can contact – in addition to the two bureaus above - Vejle Rejser on tel. +45 76429999.