January and February
The year opens with the clearest overlap of Greenland’s winter activity seasons. Dog sledding runs from January to April, while the northern lights season extends from September through April. Both therefore apply during January and February, although they do not apply everywhere in the same way.
Dog sledding is legally restricted to West Greenland north of the Arctic Circle and to East Greenland. This boundary is known as the dog line. There is no dog sledding in Nuuk, Qaqortoq or anywhere else in South Greenland. January and February may be dog-sledding months on the calendar, but the activity is only available in the parts of the country where dogs are permitted.
The northern lights can be visible in several parts of Greenland during these months. A season tells us when an activity or natural phenomenon is possible; it does not guarantee suitable conditions on a particular night. Cloud and other local weather conditions can change the plan, so we do not recommend arranging a short stay around only one evening.
Nuuk is the established international entry point during this part of the year. Its international airport opened on 28 November 2024, bringing direct jet service from Copenhagen. The route normally operates five times a week, increasing to six weekly flights over Christmas and New Year. From Nuuk, Air Greenland flies to Aasiaat, Ilulissat, Kangerlussuaq, Kulusuk, Maniitsoq, Paamiut, Qaqortoq and Sisimiut. The domestic connection still needs to be checked against the complete itinerary rather than considered separately.
March
March continues the January and February pattern. Dog sledding remains in season in West Greenland north of the Arctic Circle and in East Greenland, while the northern lights remain possible during suitable dark hours. The location restriction is unchanged: a March trip to Nuuk may include northern lights, but it cannot include dog sledding. The same applies to Qaqortoq and the rest of South Greenland.
Ilulissat’s own airport opens during 2026, after which the city has direct Copenhagen service on Wednesdays. There is a specific additional frequency from 1 to 27 March 2027, when direct flights operate on Mondays as well as Wednesdays. Those dates matter. The Monday service should not be treated as a permanent arrangement for March in every year.
March is therefore one point in the calendar where annual activity seasons and a year-specific flight schedule need to be kept separate. Dog sledding and northern lights return according to their stated seasons each year. The additional direct flight to Ilulissat applies specifically from 1 to 27 March 2027. For travel in later years, we would check the operating days again.
April
April is the final month of both the dog-sledding and northern lights seasons. That does not mean conditions remain unchanged from January until the end of April. Greenland has an Arctic climate, and local conditions differ between regions and from one year to the next. We treat April as the closing and transitional month of these seasons, not as a guarantee of particular conditions on a selected date.
The legal geography of dog sledding also remains the same until the season ends. It is restricted to West Greenland north of the Arctic Circle and to East Greenland. An itinerary covering several towns should therefore be assessed destination by destination rather than on the assumption that one Greenland-wide winter season applies equally everywhere.
The northern lights season also runs through April. After this month, the calendar changes clearly: neither dog sledding nor northern lights falls within the normal seasons we use for May.
May
May sits between the winter and summer periods covered by this calendar. Dog sledding finishes in April, while the stated seasons for hiking and kayaking do not begin until June. Humpback whales are present in Disko Bay from mid-June to August, and summer is also when icebergs are most numerous at the mouth of the Ilulissat Icefjord.
For that reason, we avoid extending activities into May merely because they occur in an adjacent month. May is not part of the dog-sledding season simply because it follows April. Nor do we include it in the hiking and kayaking period when that season starts in June.
Planning in May needs to be based on the particular destination and the local conditions applying on the travel dates. Greenland covers large distances, and the name of a month does not imply identical conditions in every region.
June
June brings the start of the summer activity periods in this calendar. Hiking and kayaking run from June through September. Humpback whales enter their stated Disko Bay season in the middle of June rather than necessarily on the first day of the month.
Roughly 15 whale species occur in Greenlandic waters overall. That broader figure should not be confused with the more precise seasonal information used here: mid-June to August specifically describes the presence of humpback whales in Disko Bay.
Summer is also the period when icebergs are most numerous at the mouth of the Ilulissat Icefjord. The icefjord has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2004. Its icebergs can rise more than 150 metres above the waterline, and around a hundred large icebergs can gather at the fjord mouth in summer. These figures indicate the scale of the area; they are not a fixed daily count that visitors should expect to reproduce on a particular date.
The direct Copenhagen route to Nuuk increases from its normal five weekly flights to eight a week during summer. The additional frequency creates more possible departure days, but any onward domestic flight from Nuuk still has to fit the itinerary as a whole.
Boat tours are commonly part of local summer schedules where they are offered. The price for a tour lasting around two hours varies with destination, boat type and content; our article about prices in Greenland covers the observed price levels with source and date.
July and August
July and August are the months when the summer periods listed in this calendar overlap most fully. Hiking and kayaking are in season throughout both months. Humpback whales are present in Disko Bay, and summer remains the time when icebergs are most numerous at the mouth of the Ilulissat Icefjord.
The stated humpback whale period ends with August. As with the northern lights, a seasonal window does not promise a sighting on a specific outing. We also distinguish between Disko Bay and Greenlandic waters generally. Roughly 15 whale species occur in Greenlandic waters, while the mid-June-to-August period on this page refers specifically to humpback whales in Disko Bay.
Hiking and kayaking can be planned during both July and August, although whether an activity goes ahead still depends on local conditions. A calendar cannot replace an assessment on the day. The same principle applies to boat trips among icebergs or on open water, where the price likewise depends on local conditions and is best checked in our article about prices in Greenland before setting an early budget estimate.
Nuuk’s direct jet service from Copenhagen operates at the higher summer frequency of eight flights a week. Ilulissat’s direct Copenhagen route begins after the city’s airport opens during 2026 and operates on Wednesdays. No general second summer operating day has been specified for the Ilulissat route, so Wednesday is the base schedule unless a current timetable says otherwise.
The calendar for July and August is consequently straightforward. Summer hiking and kayaking continue, the Disko Bay humpback whale season runs through August, and icebergs are at their most numerous at the Ilulissat Icefjord mouth during summer. Neither dog sledding nor the northern lights falls within its stated season during these two months.
September
September is the main overlap between the summer and autumn periods covered here. Hiking and kayaking continue through the end of the month, while the northern lights season starts in September and lasts until April. It is the only month in this calendar that falls within all three stated periods: hiking, kayaking and northern lights.
The Disko Bay humpback whale season, by contrast, finishes in August. We do not describe September as an extension of the documented mid-June-to-August period. Icebergs are not confined to a single calendar section either, but the specific statement that they are most numerous at the mouth of the Ilulissat Icefjord applies to summer. We do not automatically carry that description into September.
As with spring, conditions during a transitional month need not be the same at the start and end of the month, or from one region to another. The calendar shows where the stated seasons overlap. It cannot confirm that every listed activity will be possible under all local conditions.
October and November
By October, the hiking and kayaking period used in this calendar has ended. The northern lights season continues throughout October and November, while dog sledding has not yet begun because its season starts in January.
These two months therefore have fewer overlaps among the activities covered on this page. That makes the calendar simpler, but it does not make an individual evening more predictable. Northern lights viewing still depends on suitable conditions, and cloud cover cannot be determined from a month-by-month overview.
Outside the separate summer and Christmas/New Year schedules, the direct Copenhagen route to Nuuk normally operates five times a week. Air Greenland’s onward routes from Nuuk include Aasiaat, Ilulissat, Kangerlussuaq, Kulusuk, Maniitsoq, Paamiut, Qaqortoq and Sisimiut. The existence of a route does not mean it connects on the same day as the international arrival, so we recommend checking the complete sequence of flights.
After Ilulissat’s airport opens during 2026, its direct Copenhagen service normally operates on Wednesdays. The additional Monday flights apply only over Christmas and New Year and from 1 to 27 March 2027.
December
December closes the year within the northern lights season. Dog sledding does not begin until January, so we do not include December even though it immediately precedes the season. This is one reason a monthly calendar is more precise than using winter and summer as broad labels.
Direct flight frequencies change over Christmas and New Year. Nuuk’s Copenhagen service increases from the usual five weekly flights to six. Once Ilulissat’s airport has opened during 2026, its direct Copenhagen route increases from Wednesdays to Mondays and Wednesdays over Christmas and New Year. These extra flights relate to the holiday period and should not be assumed to operate throughout December without checking the applicable dates.
At the turn of the year, the calendar starts again. January opens the dog-sledding season in West Greenland north of the Arctic Circle and in East Greenland, while the northern lights season continues without interruption from December into the new year. Hiking and kayaking, the Disko Bay humpback whale period and the summer concentration of icebergs at the Ilulissat Icefjord mouth remain on the other side of the annual calendar.
Last reviewed July 31, 2026
