Featuring private charter of the three-masted expedition vessel Rembrandt van Rijn, helicopter flights onto the second largest ice cap on Earth, close encounters with the Arctic’s largest icebergs, and excursions onto the colorful autumn tundra.

Greenland’s remote and little-visited west coast is a world of arctic grandeur. Each year, the massive Jakobshavn Glacier calves some 35 billion tons of icebergs into the sheltered waters of Disko Bay and Ilulissat Icefjord, the only UNESCO World Heritage Site on the world’s largest island. Towers, arches, and walls of ancient blue ice thrust skyward from the water’s surface. Whales and seabirds abound. Steep-walled fjords, dramatic coastal mountains, tundra in autumn color, the Greenland Ice Sheet, and the Aurora Borealis combine to form an incomparable landscape. Visionary Wild presents a unique opportunity to experience and photograph this arctic wilderness in all its glory.

Join this world-class team of leaders – Frans Lanting, Christine Eckstrom, Justin Black, and Chris Linder – for our all-inclusive photographic exploration of Greenland’s west coast. The 168-foot, three-masted schooner Rembrandt van Rijn (click here for more about the vessel) will be our private floating base camp for the first eight days in Greenland. We are radically under-booking this comfortable vessel to ensure ample space for our group both on the ship and in zodiacs – our group will consist of only sixteen participants and four leaders, though Rembrandt normally sleeps 33 guests in addition to her crew of twelve. She is exceptionally well-suited to exploration and photography along the Greenland coast, with a reinforced hull, expansive unobstructed sight lines even under sail, and very comfortable accommodations. We will make frequent landings by zodiac to photograph in morning and evening light, and as serendipity presents us with compelling opportunities along the way. In addition to the arctic landscape, we will photograph Disko Bay’s whales, including beluga, bowhead, and humpbacks, and a variety of coastal and pelagic birds such as eider ducks and albatross. The etherial glow of the aurora borealis dancing in the night sky over the iceberg-dotted bay will be the sight of a lifetime.

After disembarking from Rembrandt, we will move on to the nearby town of Ilulissat, home to 5,000 Greenlanders and an equivalent number of sled dogs. There, our base will be Hotel Hvide Falk (White Falcon). One of the highlights of our four days there will be a series of helicopter excursions (one hour of flight time per participant, each with a window seat) to do aerial photography of icebergs, Jakobshavn Glacier and Ilulissat Icefjord, and to access the Greenland Ice Sheet itself, where we will land and photograph at a moulin, meltwater lake, or other interesting feature on the kilometers-deep icecap. We will also make excursions on a local charter boat to approach large icebergs, and hikes on the autumn tundra with stunning views of Disko Bay and the coastal mountains.

Click “read more” at below right for addition information, the itinerary, and the complete photo gallery…

Our starting point will be Copenhagen, the charming Danish capital. You will be met at Copenhagen’s Kastrup International Airport (CPH) and transferred to the Admiral Hotel, a modern four-star hotel in a historic 18th-century waterfront building in the historic city center close to Nyhavn and the Amalienborg Palace. There, we will gather for group introductions and orientation, and an inaugural dinner at one of Copenhagen’s finer restaurants. The following day, we fly directly to the west coast of Greenland, landing in the dramatically scenic fjord of Kangerlussuaq, where we will catch a charter flight up the coast to the Aasiaat archipelago to embark on Rembrandt van Rijn.

ITINERARY:

Sept 9 – Arrival day in Copenhagen: Transfers to The Admiral Hotel (on the water near Nyhavn) will be arranged for inbound guests. Group introductions and orientation, followed by dinner at a fine local restaurant. Overnight in Copenhagen.

Sept 10 – Fly to western Greenland: Early breakfast and transfer to the airport to catch our direct Air Greenland flight to Kangerlussuaq. Once in Kanger, we will board a charter flight up the coast to Aasiaat to board S/V Rembrandt van Rijn.

Sept 10-17 – Aboard Rembrandt: Cruise Disko Bay and western Greenland coast aboard Rembrandt, visiting icebergs and islands, following whales, making landings by zodiac to photograph, and keeping an eye out for the aurora borealis at night. All meals and accommodations aboard ship.

Sept 17 – On to Ilulissat: Disembark in Aasiaat and catch a short hop flight to Ilulissat. Check in to Hvide Falk Hotel, explore and photograph in town, and enjoy our first dinner on Greenland itself.

Sept 18-20 – Ilulissat and environs: Daily excursions around Ilulissat area: one helicopter flight per participant, with an hour of air time at a window seat to do aerial photography of Jakobshavn Glacier,  the Ilulissat Icefjord and icebergs, plus one to two hours landed at an interesting feature on the ice sheet; outings aboard local charter fishing boat (accommodates whole group if necessary); hikes to photograph autumn color on the tundra. Overnights at Hvide Falk, and meals at Hvide Falk and local restaurants.

Sept 21 – Fly home: 7:15am flight to Kangerlussuaq, followed by 11:40am flight to Copenhagen.

The cost of the all-inclusive package (including all flights from Copenhagen) is $14,995 per person based on single-occupancy ($14,500 per person double-occupancy).