eSIM for Greenland

Greenland has one telecoms company, the state-owned Tusass, which was called TELE Greenland until 2021. Your eSIM uses its 4G LTE network. The country's flight map also changed in November 2024, when Nuuk's long runway opened and Air Greenland moved its transatlantic hub there from Kangerlussuaq. Both changes affect how you plan your first day online.

A summer week split between Nuuk, the capital and main international gateway, and Ilulissat on Disko Bay, where the UNESCO-listed Icefjord fills the sea with icebergs. There are no roads between towns, so the route uses two Air Greenland flights and several boat trips.

Length

7 days

Bases

2

When to go June to August brings the midnight sun around Ilulissat, open water for Eqi glacier and iceberg boat trips, and the most reliable flights; February to April suits dog-sledding and northern lights, but many boat trips do not run and weather delays are more common.

1. 01

   Day 1 Nuuk

   Nuuk: the colonial harbour and the national museum

   → Nuuk Airport (GOH) is a short taxi ride, about 10 minutes, from the centre.

   From the airport, head to the old colonial harbour area (Kolonihavnen), where the 19th-century wooden buildings, Our Saviour's Church and the waterfront sit below the modern city. Visit the Greenland National Museum, which holds the 15th-century Qilakitsoq mummies, Thule-era kayaks and skin clothing. In the evening, walk the coastal path from the harbour towards the Katuaq cultural centre, the wave-shaped building in the centre that houses a cinema and concert hall.

   Signal Nuuk is on the Greenland Connect submarine cable, so Tusass 4G is the fastest you will get in the country; turn on notifications in case of weather-related flight changes.

2. 02

   Day 2 Nuuk

   Nuuk fjord by boat and a hike above the city

   Join a morning boat trip into the Nuup Kangerlua fjord system, one of the largest in the world, to look for humpback whales in summer and to see the abandoned settlement of Qoornoq or the ruins of a Norse farm, depending on the operator. In the afternoon, hike up Quassussuaq (Little Malene), a marked trail behind the city with views across the fjord and the peak of Sermitsiaq. Wear proper boots, as the path is steep and rocky.

   Signal There is no mobile coverage once the boat is out in the fjord; on the Quassussuaq trail you keep 4G for much of the climb because it overlooks the city.

3. 03

   Day 3 Ilulissat

   Fly to Ilulissat: Sermermiut and the Icefjord

   → Air Greenland flights from Nuuk to Ilulissat take about 1 hour 30 minutes; Ilulissat airport is a few minutes from town by taxi.

   Take the morning flight north to Ilulissat. After checking in, walk to the Ilulissat Icefjord Centre, which explains how the Sermeq Kujalleq glacier feeds the fjord, then follow the boardwalk into the Sermermiut valley, the site of a settlement used for about 4,000 years. At the end, you look out over the mouth of the Icefjord, packed with icebergs. Return on the yellow-marked trail along the cliffs.

   Signal Ilulissat town has Tusass 4G, which reaches the Icefjord Centre and the start of the boardwalk but fades on the clifftop trail.

4. 04

   Day 4 Ilulissat

   Boat trip to the Eqi glacier

   → About 3–3½ hours each way by boat from Ilulissat; tours run in summer only.

   Spend the day on a boat trip north across Disko Bay to the Eqi glacier, where the ice front is several kilometres wide and regularly calves into the sea. Boats wait off the face for a couple of hours so you can watch and hear the ice breaking. Bring warm layers, hats and gloves even in July, and some food, although most tours serve lunch on board. You return to Ilulissat in the evening.

   Signal You will be out of mobile coverage for most of the day; download podcasts and maps before you sail and save your tour confirmation offline.

5. 05

   Day 5 Ilulissat

   Ilulissat town and a midnight iceberg cruise

   In the morning, visit the Ilulissat Museum in the childhood home of the polar explorer Knud Rasmussen, then the small Inuit Art Museum. Walk down to the old harbour to watch fishing boats and visit the Zion Church on the headland. In the evening, join a boat trip among the icebergs at the mouth of the Icefjord; in June and July the sun stays up around midnight and lights the ice from low angles.

   Signal 4G is reliable in the town centre and harbour; signal drops a short way out on the iceberg cruise.

6. 06

   Day 6 Ilulissat

   Day trip to Ilimanaq or Oqaatsut

   → Boats from Ilulissat take about an hour to either settlement; schedules depend on the weather and the season.

   Take a boat to Ilimanaq, a settlement of about 50 people south of the Icefjord, where you can walk among wooden houses and along the shore, or to Oqaatsut, a fishing village north of Ilulissat. Either trip shows you life in a small settlement. Experienced hikers can walk to Oqaatsut instead, a 5–7 hour route on rough ground that needs good navigation and arranged boat transport back.

   Signal Small settlements may have a local mast, but their internet runs on a shared link, so expect messaging to work and photo uploads to stall; there is no coverage on the hike.

7. 07

   Day 7 Nuuk

   Fly back to Nuuk and depart

   → Ilulissat–Nuuk flights take about 1 hour 30 minutes.

   Take a last morning walk along the hill above Ilulissat's harbour or return to the Sermermiut boardwalk for another look at the Icefjord. Fly back to Nuuk for your international connection. If you have a few hours in Nuuk, visit the Nuuk Art Museum or walk along the Nuussuaq coast. Allow a buffer day if you can, as fog and wind regularly delay flights in Greenland.

   Signal Good 4G at both airports and in Nuuk; keep Air Greenland app notifications on in case your connection is moved or rescheduled.