More than 90% of Greenland is a continuous layer of ice and towns or villages are scattered along the extremely long coastline.

The average distance between towns is between 200 and 400 km and, given the very sparse population and the extremely difficult terrain and weather conditions, it would be absolutely unviable to build inter-urban roads in Greenland.

Cars therefore only drive within the larger towns.

The only way to get between towns is by plane, helicopter or ferry.

Find out prices for domestic flights within Greenland

Air travel - conventional aircraft and helicopters

All scheduled flights by aircraft and helicopters are operated by Air Greenland.

Planes and helicopters are often the only form of transport, especially for longer distances or to the east and north coasts where ferries do not operate at all.

The most frequent routes, which are flown even several times a day, are as follows:

• Nuuk - Ilulissat
• Nuuk - Sisimiut
• Nuuk - Narsaq
• Nuuk - Kangerlussuaq

Flight prices are very high, especially to/from Nuuk, Ilulissat or Kangerlussuaq. The average cost of a return ticket between Nuuk and Ilulissat is around 5 300 dkk, which is more than for a normal transatlantic flight between Europe and America.

If you're heading to the most touristy locations like Ilulissat or Sisimiut from Denmark or Iceland, it's worth buying a single booking with a stopover in Nuuk and skipping the Greenlandic capital altogether.

From a tourist point of view, it is not one of the most interesting locations in the country.

Local helicopter flights to the smallest villages usually cost around 1 000 dkk one-way, and you can easily buy tickets for most of these flights at airgreenland.com.

Ferries

Greenland has a very rugged coastline full of fjords, bays and islands and the vast majority of towns are located by the sea.

Shipping is a cheaper but significantly less frequent and also incomparably slower alternative to planes.

Arctic Umiaq Line long haul route

Greenland's only long-distance line connecting towns along the west coast operates for several days from start to finish.

Tickets for the Arctic Umiaq Line can be purchased via aul.gl.

We tried this ferry for ourselves from Ilulissat to Sisimiut. How did we like the cruise and what to expect? Find out in our Arctic Umiaq Line cruise review article.

The company operates 3 ships.

Sarfaq Ittuk

The largest ship is deployed once a week on the following itinerary:

• Ilulissat
• Aasiaat
• Sisimiut
• Kangaamiut
• Maniitsoq
• Nuuk
• Qeqertarsuatsiaat
• Paamiut
• Arsuk
• Narsaq
• Qaqortoq

The line operates all year round except for a few weeks in December and January.

Book a hotel by the port

This ship has several different types of cabins:

• Couchette - bunk beds in a common area for about 40-50 passengers each / 3 shared toilets and bathrooms
• Couchette Premium - berths in cabins always 4 berths each with own small kitchenette and shared toilet and bathroom for 4 berths only
• Junior Suite - double room with private bathroom
• Igloo Cabin - large double room with 2x larger bathroom

To give you an idea, here are the prices for one-way tickets between Ilulissat and Nuuk.

• Couchette - 1 990 dkk
• Couchette Premium - 2 240 dkk
• Junior Suite - 6 190 dkk
• Igloo Cabin - 7 190 dkk

You can also add breakfast, lunch, dinner or all available meals on your route to your ticket for an additional fee 90 dkk to 150 dkk.

Nanunnguaq

The smallest boat in the fleet has seating only and connects these cities once a week:

• Ilulissat
• Uummannaq
• Upernavik

The entire route to Upernavik takes about 13 hours and a one-way ticket costs 4 890 dkk.

Heidi

The Heidi is complemented by the small boat Nanunnguaq once a week on the Ilulissat - Uummannaq - Upernavik route.

Local Disco Line

The largest shipping company in terms of number of lines is Disko Line.

Disko Line ships operate in three main areas:

• Disko Bay - mainly connecting Ilulissat with surrounding towns such as Aasiaat, Ilimanaq, Qeqertarsuaq, Qasigiannguit, Akunnaaq, Qeqetaq, Kitsissuarsuit, Kangaatsiaq and others.
  • many routes operate only from June to September, with no routes operating between January and April
  • timetable and ticket booking: diskoline.gl
• West Coast - boats mainly connect the capital Nuuk with towns such as Sisimiut, Maniitsoq, Kapisillit, Qeqertarsuatsiaat, Sarfannguit, Atammik and others
  • most routes operate year-round, some are out of service from January to April
  • timetable and ticket booking: diskoline.gl
• South Greenland - wide route network around Narsaq, Narsarsuaq, Qaqortoq, Nanortalik and more
  • most routes run all year round
  • timetable and ticket booking: diskoline.gl

Taxi

Although there are no roads in Greenland outside the cities, there are a surprising number of cars in the cities themselves, and taxis are one of the main forms of transport.

These operate in all major towns with a population of more than 1,000 and are widely available in major tourist destinations such as Ilulissat, Sisimiut, Nuuk, Narasaq and Tasiilaq.

Fares can always be paid by card or cash and are calculated according to the taximeter.

The usual boarding rate is about 35 dkk and the price per kilometer tends to be around 25 dkk.

Buses

The city bus service operates only in Nuuk, Sisimiut and Ilulissat.

For tourists, it is mainly useful in Nuuk (for example, to get to the airport or ski resort) and in Sisimiut, where the bus can get you close to the start of hiking trails.

Fares are always paid in cash only and cost 20 dkk.