June 26, 2007
Visiting Greenland is getting easier for Americans
To me, Greenland is one of a handful of impossibly distant and exotic destinations, along with Tibet and Easter Island that I will probably never actually go to. But now Greenland is a little bit closer and more accessible than it was before – on May 24th, Air Greenland introduced the first direct commercial flights from the US to Greenland.
The flight departs from Baltimore-Washington twice a week and the travel time to the town of Kangerlussuaq is only 5 hours. Surprisingly, the time difference between Greenland and the East coast is just two hours and round trip fares start at around $1100. Air Greenland also flies within Greenland to such equally unpronounceable places as Upernavil, Uummannaq and Kangilinnguit. (It’s also possible to fly to Greenland from Iceland and Copenhagen, Denmark).
But why would you actually want to go to Greenland? For me, part of the appeal is simply traveling to somewhere that nobody else ever goes to – as well as being able to boast of having visited the world’s largest island. Greenland is about three times larger than Texas and has a population of only 56,000.
I assumed that Greenland was just a huge cold island with little to see and do, but I found that there is actually a lot to do, according to the country’s web site.
Some of the sights and activities described on the web site sound quite intriguing – a musk ox safari, a whale watching expedition or a round of golf on the world’s most northernmost golf course. And as you might expect, winter sports such as snowmobiling, skiing and dogsledding are all widely available.
And an unforgettable part of any trip to this part of the world is a unique chance to see the northern lights – or Aurora Borealis.
Guest entry by Mancunian
Posted by James Trotta at June 26, 2007 1:17 PM | TrackBack