03
Qaqortoq excursions, from the free walk to the long boat day
Ranked by one question: does the tour take you somewhere you can’t walk to?
In town, it usually doesn’t. Across the water, it nearly always does — that’s where the fare goes.
Tender, money and safety notes are on our Qaqortoq cruise port guide. If your sailing continues north, our Nuuk cruise port guide covers the capital.
If you’d rather have someone explain the buildings, the ship’s walking tour covers the same streets with a local guide — context, not new ground.
Princess lists A Walk through Qaqortoq at 1.5 hours, from $104.95, rated moderate.
Seabourn’s included On Foot walk runs about 2.5 hours. It stops at the market, the 1832 church and the old administrative buildings, and its listing includes museum entrance at the end.
NCL’s version adds a traditional Inuit sod house and free time before you head back to the pier.
- Time commitment
- About 1.5 hours (Princess) to 2.5 hours (Seabourn).
- Getting there
- Meets near the tender landing.
- Suits
- First-timers who want context, couples.
- Ship or independent
- Ship — for the guide and the museum entry.
Why it's worth considering
The guide covers hunting, fishing, the church and Greenland’s politics — the context you won’t get from a carving on its own.
Seabourn guests pay nothing extra for theirs.
The catch
You’re paying for commentary on streets you could walk free, so book it for the stories, not the route.
Seabourn’s own listing warns that guide experience varies in this region and tourism infrastructure is limited.
Verify before you book
- Whether museum entry is included on your line’s version
- How the tour fits around a boat trip the same day
- The activity rating, given the stairs
This is the excursion Qaqortoq is known for, and a boat is the way in — the published tours all go by water.
Hvalsey sits about 18 km northeast of town. The ruin is a stone church from around 1300, and NCL’s listing says its walls still stand about 20 feet high.
The last recorded event at the church was a wedding, in September 1408. After that the record goes quiet, and the guide’s job is the mystery of why.
HX describes a 30-minute boat ride through the sheltered Hvalsey Fjord, then 1 to 2 km of walking with about 20 meters of climb around the site.
- Time commitment
- About 2 hours (Princess), 2.5 hours (HX) or 2¾ hours (NCL).
- Getting there
- By local boat. NCL’s meets a short walk from the tender pier.
- Suits
- History fans, first-timers who want the headline sight.
- Ship or independent
- Ship — the boats, guides and landing are arranged for you, and at a port this remote that’s worth paying for.
Why it's worth considering
It’s the headline sight of South Greenland, and it’s a boat ride, not a walk.
The fjord crossing is part of the trip — you see the coast from water level, not from the ship’s rail.
The catch
At $329.95 on Princess, it’s a steep price for about two hours.
NCL rates it at about 90 minutes of walking and standing on uneven ground, and it isn’t open to wheelchair users.
Anyone prone to seasickness should plan for the boat, even on a sheltered fjord.
Verify before you book
- The exact duration on your line’s listing
- What happens if wind or ice cancels the boats
- Footwear for wet, rocky ground
Long day · a warm soak
Uunartoq hot springs by boat
A natural hot pool on an uninhabited island, with icebergs in the fjord around you. It’s the most unusual trip on the menu here.
Princess runs it at 5.5 hours, with about an hour and a half on the boat each way. Its listing puts the water at 37 to 39°C all year.
Greenland by Topas, a local operator, sells its own trip at 4.5 to 5 hours with about 1.5 hours at the springs, for DKK 1,900 (or €255). It quotes the water at about 35°C.
Either way, the facilities are basic. Princess mentions small changing areas and no restrooms on the tour; Topas says to bring your own towel, food and drinks.
- Time commitment
- About 4.5 to 5 hours (Topas) or 5.5 hours (Princess).
- Getting there
- By boat from Qaqortoq.
- Suits
- Repeat visitors, couples, anyone with a long call.
- Ship or independent
- Either — but on a tender day, the ship’s version has one edge: if it runs late, the ship knows where you are.
Why it's worth considering
Sitting in warm water among icebergs is a memory no town walk competes with.
Booked direct, Topas’s price is well under Princess’s.
The catch
It eats most of a typical call, and about three hours of it is boat time — on Princess’s timings, at least.
Topas needs at least 4 participants for its trip to run.
Verify before you book
- Your time ashore against a 5.5-hour tour plus tenders
- Topas’s minimum numbers and meeting point
- What to wear under your clothes — swimsuit on, before you leave
On the water · icebergs
An iceberg boat trip from the harbor
If you want the fjord without the ruin, a short iceberg cruise does it — and it’s the easiest boat trip here to fit around a town walk.
Princess sells two. The Iceberg RIB Boat Tour runs about an hour and is rated moderate. The Iceberg Cruise and Story Telling runs about 2.5 hours and is rated easy.
Holland America lists an Arctic Ocean Cruise and an Arctic Ocean RIB Cruise, and Virgin offers iceberg trips by RIB or by semi-closed boat.
The choice is mostly about comfort. An open RIB is the quicker, wetter ride, and a covered boat suits anyone who feels the cold — pick for the weather on the day, not the brochure photo.
- Time commitment
- About 1 hour (RIB) to 2.5 hours (cruise with storytelling).
- Getting there
- From the harbor, close to the tender landing.
- Suits
- Families, couples, short calls.
- Ship or independent
- Ship — the published iceberg trips are cruise-line tours.
Why it's worth considering
Ice is what most people picture when they book Greenland, and this puts you next to it.
The short version leaves time to walk the town as well.
The catch
An hour at $274.95 is one of the priciest hours on the menu.
What you see depends on where the ice drifts that week — no listing promises a size or number of bergs.
Verify before you book
- Open RIB or covered boat
- Minimum age and any health limits
- Warm, waterproof layers for the ride
Great Greenland, the sealskin company, has its tannery here, across the harbor from the old town — a working site, not a museum piece.
Great Greenland runs a shop, the tannery, a sewing studio and a visitor center, The Story of the Seal and Greenland. Its posted hours are weekdays 10:00 to 16:00, and it says it extends them when cruise ships arrive.
Visit Greenland says guided tours show how the skins are produced. The company arranges those on request.
- Time commitment
- An hour or so.
- Getting there
- Across the harbor from the center, at Havnevej B-1274.
- Suits
- Repeat visitors, shoppers, anyone curious about how the town earns a living.
- Ship or independent
- Independent — contact the company ahead if you want a guided visit.
Why it's worth considering
You see how the town earns a living, which most port days never show you.
The visitor center explains the seal’s place in Greenlandic life, which puts the market and the museum in context.
The catch
No admission or tour prices are posted.
Sealskin may face import limits at home, so check before you buy.
Verify before you book
- Opening hours on your call day, especially a weekend
- Whether a guided tour can be arranged
- Your home country’s customs rules on sealskin
Active · above the town
Lake Tasersuaq and the hills behind town
The lake above town is Qaqortoq’s water supply, and the trail around it is the local hike.
Princess sells Hiking Along the Great Lake at 3 hours, from $209.95, and rates it strenuous.
On your own, Visit Greenland points to Saqqaarsuk, behind Sulisartut Højskoliat, for the view over the roofs and the fjord.
- Time commitment
- About 3 hours on the Princess hike.
- Getting there
- On foot, uphill from the town.
- Suits
- Active travelers, repeat visitors.
- Ship or independent
- Either — guided for the route-finding, alone for the viewpoint.
Why it's worth considering
It gets you above the harbor and into the landscape, on foot.
The viewpoint alone costs nothing.
The catch
Strenuous means strenuous — this is a hike in boots, not a stroll in town shoes.
Weather turns quickly, and the US advisory flags limited emergency services in Greenland — don’t go far alone.
Verify before you book
- The guided hike’s fitness requirements
- A forecast check before you head uphill
- How long the walk back to the pier takes
Low effort · seated
Panoramic Qaqortoq by minibus
For anyone who can’t manage the hills, Princess runs a one-hour minibus loop — the town from a seat, with the climbs done for you.
It passes the town square and Mindebrønden and makes two photo stops at viewpoints. The bus seats up to 19.
The listing says guests with walking difficulties can join if they can get in and out of the vehicle. It isn’t wheelchair accessible.
- Time commitment
- About 1 hour.
- Getting there
- Meets near the tender landing.
- Suits
- Limited mobility, minimal stress.
- Ship or independent
- Ship — book it through your line.
Why it's worth considering
It gets you the views from above the town without the climb.
An hour leaves room for a coffee by the square after.
The catch
For an able walker, it’s $129.95 to see what the streets show you free.
The viewpoint stops have slightly rough, rocky ground.
Verify before you book
- Step height into the vehicle
- Whether a companion can join at the same price
- Tender access if you use a mobility aid
04
Qaqortoq with the ship or on your own
In town, skip the tour
The streets, the carvings and the fountain square start at the landing, so a guide adds stories, not access.
The tannery and the viewpoint above town are both doable alone, too.
On the water, the ship usually wins
Hvalsey, the icebergs and the glacier trips are boat tours, and the cruise lines run most of what’s published.
At a tender port this remote, a ship tour has one advantage that matters: if it runs late, the ship knows where its guests are.
Where going direct can pay
Topas sells the Uunartoq trip direct at DKK 1,900, against $649.95 on Princess. That’s a real gap.
The trade-off is the minimum of 4 participants, and the timing risk is yours.
How each option compares in Qaqortoq
| Excursion | Lean ship excursion when… | Independent works when… |
|---|
| The town on foot | Only for a guided history walk | Almost always — it starts at the pier |
|---|
| Hvalsey church ruin | Yes — the boat and landing are arranged | Only if a local boat runs it — ask at the pier booth |
|---|
| Uunartoq hot springs | On a tight call, or if you want the ship tracking your timing | With Topas, if your call is long and the group fills |
|---|
| Iceberg boat trip | Yes — the published trips are cruise-line tours | Ask at the pier booth on the day |
|---|
| Great Greenland tannery | Not needed | Yes — contact ahead for a guided visit |
|---|
| Lake Tasersuaq hike | For the guide and the route | For the viewpoint, in good weather |
|---|
Short answer
Walk the town first — it’s free and it’s right there. Then book Hvalsey through the ship if Norse history is why you came. Choose the hot springs only on a long call, and go direct with Topas only if you’re comfortable owning the timing.
06
Qaqortoq port logistics: tenders, kroner and weather
From the anchorage into town
Ships anchor off Qaqortoq and launch guests to a pier near the center. A tourist information booth and a souvenir shop sit at the landing.
Full detail is on our Qaqortoq cruise port guide.
- Tenders depend on the weather
- Taxis and a bus run in town, with no ride-sharing
- No published taxi fare — agree the price first
Money
The currency is the Danish krone. Visa and Mastercard work in many shops and restaurants; American Express less so.
Restaurants typically add the service charge to the bill.
Weather and season
Most Greenland cruise calls fall between mid-July and mid-August.
Ice and wind can change the plan. Holland America says plainly that Greenland visits are subject to both.
Safety and paperwork
The State Department rates Greenland Level 2, Exercise Increased Caution, for extreme weather and limited emergency services, in an advisory last updated October 28, 2024.
Greenland is outside Schengen, so a Schengen visa doesn’t cover it. Check entry rules for your passport with your line.
