The ‘magical’ summer holiday destination with no McDonald’s and hardly any tourists

Few places on the planet are as ‘bowl you over’ beautiful as Greenland.

With breathtaking sunsets and some of Earth’s most impressive raw natural beauty, this is a country of magnificent extremes.

The world’s largest island, which sits between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, remained largely isolated from the rest of the world until recently.

But now, Greenland’s capital has big plans to attract adventure-seeking tourists, with the opening of Nuuk international airport in November heralding a new era of travel for the remote Arctic territory.

And travellers are taking note. On TikTok, hundreds of videos linked to the Greenland hashtag showcase genuinely jaw-dropping scenery across the country.

One viral clip, titled ‘POV: you skip summer in Italy and go to Greenland instead’, captures bright turquoise ocean, thundering waterfalls and yellow houses surrounded by immense glaciers.

Spanning an almost unfathomable two million square kilometres, the island is so vast it’s hard to imagine.

Only 11 countries are bigger, and it covers a land mass bigger than Texas — but it’s home to just 57,000 people.

Perhaps its gargantuan size is fuelling Trump’s designs to ‘make Greenland great again’ by turning it into US territory.

Summer in Greenland

Across Europe, traditional holiday hotspots such as Barcelona and Santorini have been pushing back against tourists.

Recent months have also seen the rise ‘coolcations’, where holidaymakers opt for destinations with lower temperatures and less mass appeal.

Places like Greenland are set to benefit. Not only is it essentially a massive ice sheet (80% of its land mass is frozen), the country is actively welcoming visitors.

Variously described as spectacular, magical and ‘so beautiful it’s humbling’, Greenlandic summers are something special.

Midnight sun gives you light all day and all night. Running from June to August, temperatures aren’t exactly warm; you’ll get anywhere from 5°C up north, to a balmy 20°C in the south.

During these months, the frozen island transforms into a giant adventure playground.

Ice sheets melt to expose green fields embroidered with buttercups, and fjords shimmer in the sun. Rivers run thick with trout and strawberries shade the landscape ruby red.

The island offers a host of adventure sports including diving, hiking, kayaking, and climbing, as well as unique experiences like paddleboarding between icebergs.

Nature lovers can cruise to see the fjords, which are home to an extraordinary range of marine wildlife including humpback whales, dolphins, puffins and polar bears.

Hot springs are a common natural phenomenon in Greenland, with dozens of spots hidden across the country. A popular choice is the Uunartoq Hot Springs, on an uninhabited island in the south. It is easily accessible by boats from the two neighbouring towns of Qaqortoq and Nanortalik.

Greenland is also home to ancient history; you can see everything from Viking ruins to Inuit settlements dating back to 600-200 BC.

But perhaps the main draw is the Northern Lights, which are visible in Greenland for most of the year (though not in summer). The best chance of seeing them is between September and April, so you’ll have to come back during winter for that.

Astrotourism

Auroras are set to be extra impressive in 2025 thanks to the current solar maximum, the period of peak solar activity during the sun’s 11-year cycle.

Get a front-row seat by dog sledding tour further north to Kangerlussuaq or Ilulissat Icefjord, a UNESCO World Heritage Site where you can see the auroras reflected on the still water of the iceberg-smattered fjord.

Minimal light pollution in Greenland means it’s even possible to see the Northern Lights even in the centre of Nuuk.

Alternatively, make like Metro‘s Alice Murphy and take to the high seas.

Alice spent five nights on an Arctic cruise ship, before eventually coming face to face with the Lights in the icy climes of the Norway–Russia border. You can read more about that here.

Culture and food

Dotted around the countryside are picturesque villages with rich cultural history, while modern life meets traditional practices in the capital.

After working up an appetite trekking through ice, sample Suasaat, the national dish of seal meat soup. A sold place to dine is Nuuk’s top-rated restaurant Sarfalik Seafood, followed by drinks at the Godthaab microbrewery.

Greenland’s small population and limited transport systems mean it lacks food and drink offerings from brands that other countries consider staples.

McDonald’s, Starbucks and Burger King are just a few of the companies that don’t have a single site in Greenland.

But while the harsh climate means much of the food on the island has to be imported, traditional Greenlandic cuisine relies on local marine life.

Expect to find dishes made with whale meat, cod, shrimp and lumpfish roe (the Greenlandic equivalent of caviar) on the menu in restaurants.

Elsewhere, The Greenland National Museum and Nuuk Art Museum offer a window into local history and traditions.

It is possible to visit some of Greenland’s remote settlements to learn more about Inuit culture, but bear in mind that getting around Greenland isn’t easy.

The vast and largely uninhabited country has only a few roads, so it’s best to choose one region to explore and spend most of your time there.

Where should I stay in Greenland?

Greenland is vast, and there’s no way you can do it all on one trip. Transport can be tough — you can’t just drive across the country like you can in the UK.

Communities cluster around the coast, with no roads connecting them, which means you’re reliant on boats, helicopters and internal flights.

Instead, it’s best to choose a base and explore the surrounding region.

Greenland’s tourist capital Ilulisaat is the place for thrill-seekers. A hive of activity, here you can do everything from kayaking to midnight sun iceberg cruises. The town is home to more dogs than people and there are a surprising number of high-end restaurants.

Ilulisaat is a good base for travellers who want to see Disko Bay, a former whaling village known for its bright chocolate box houses (you’ve probably seen them on Instagram).

Expect to pay upwards of £140 a night for a standard double room.

If history and green fields are more your thing, head south to Qaqortoq, an artsy town surrounded by mountains with plenty for culture vultures and adventure tourists alike.

From here you can catch the boat to Uunartoq Hot Springs, or book on to one of the camping tours that takes you foraging in Tasermiut fjord.

How to get to Greenland

Despite the recent unveiling of a revamped Nuuk Airport, there is no direct route between the UK and Greenland.

Direct flights run from Copenhagen, and in June, twice-weekly connections will soon launch from New York.

Flying via Iceland or Denmark remains the best route for British travellers, with direct flights available from across the UK to Keflavik Airport, which connects to Nuuk.

Direct routes from Billund and Aalborg, both in Denmark, are expected to begin in March 2025.

Two more airports are set to open in the south of Greenland (Ilulissat and Qaqortoq) in 2026, the final phase of an expansion project costing £615m.

Why is Greenland important to the United States?

Earlier this year, US President Donald Trump reiterated his interest in buying Greenland from Denmark, claiming the US ‘need[s] Greenland for national security purposes.’

While it’s not entirely clear why Trump thinks this, Greenland is home to a large American space facility and is also rich in mineral resources including coal, copper, diamonds, iron ore, oil and zinc.

In response to Trump’s ambitions, Greenland’s head of government Mute Bourup Egede said: ‘Greenland is ours. We are not for sale and will never be for sale. We must not lose our years-long fight for freedom.’

He also expressed his desire to pursue independence from Denmark and to strengthen Greenland’s cooperation with other countries.

Donald Trump has elsewhere suggested that the US could take control of the Panama Canal and that Canada could become the 51st US state.

Who controls Greenland?

Greenland is one of three territories that make up the Danish kingdom, alongside the Faroe Islands and Denmark itself.

Greenland has been autonomous since 2009, when the Danish parliament recognised the Greenlandic people as a nation in their own right. The law gave the country the right to become fully independent at any time.

As it stands, Greenland has its own flag, language and institutions, but the judiciary, defence, monetary policy and foreign affairs are all controlled by Denmark.

This sovereignty was declared in 1921 with support and recognition by the United States, who had a say due to Greenland’s proximity. Why did the US agree to Denmark taking control?

It’s all down to the selling of a former Danish colony in the Caribbean.

In 1917, Denmark sold a group of islands then known as the Danish West Indies to the US, who quickly set about renaming them the US Virgin Islands.

Denmark got sovereignty of Greenland as part of that deal.

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