Kangerlussuaq

Kangerlussuaq is the old transatlantic hub at the head of a long fjord, and now that Nuuk takes the big jets its role on a route has narrowed to two things: the summer direct flight from Copenhagen for people heading to Disko Bay or the ice sheet, and the start of the Arctic Circle Trail. It is a settlement built around a runway, with a hotel in the terminal and a handful of houses, and nobody stays for the town.

The flight is dated and specific. Air Greenland's announcement, read today, says the Kangerlussuaq–Copenhagen direct continues in 2026 once a week on Tuesdays from 10 February to 20 October, flown by Jettime with a Boeing 737-800 under an agreement with Albatros Arctic Circle, and that it connects with six weekly Ilulissat flights, three weekly Sisimiut flights in summer, and same-day Tuesday links to Copenhagen from both. Air Greenland's route map also shows the northbound Copenhagen–Nuuk service calling here on Mondays and Thursdays. Outside those days the way in is a domestic hop from Nuuk.

What there is to do is unusual for Greenland: a road. Not to another town (Visit Greenland is explicit that none exist) but a gravel track from the settlement to the edge of the ice sheet, driven by tour operators in their vehicles. A day here is that track, the fjord and the musk oxen; two days adds a hike. Visit Greenland lists a local bus in the settlement and names Kangerlussuaq as the trailhead for the walk to Sisimiut.

Timing: one night at minimum because of the once-weekly international flight; Ilulissat connections are frequent enough to pass through the same day. Quiet is April and September; July is full. Practical line: one shop and the hotel kitchen; bring what you need from Copenhagen.