Nuuk Water Taxi: Explore the unexplored

By Signe Hansen | Photos: Oscar Scott Carl - Visit Nuuk

Paddleboarding, whale-watching, and camping in a majestic landscape of floating ice and stunning wilderness – Nuuk Water Taxi is much more than the name lets on. With its glamorous camping site, a fleet of heated cabin boats, and a team of experienced local guides, the company offers visitors to Nuuk a host of unforgettable experiences on and along Nuuk Fjord, the world’s second-largest fjord system.

Ten years ago, most visitors to Greenland would see Nuuk merely as a stopover to other more popular destinations on the breathtaking island of Greenland. Today, this has changed as the beauty and magnitude of the Nuuk Fjord and its enchanting surrounding wilderness have become more accessible to visitors. The change is partly due to companies like Nuuk Water Taxi which allows nature lovers to comfortably explore and revel in the beauty of the vast fjord system. Speaking of the company’s luxury campsite, which opened in 2022, Lasse Kyed, marketing and adventure manager, says: “To get there, we sail through the fjords along the floating icebergs and through areas with lots reindeer – it’s a very beautiful area with lots of hiking opportunities.”

Camp Kangiusaq allows you to get away from it all and immerse in nature.

Located 90 kilometres from Nuuk, the camp is without mobile and internet connection, allowing guests to truly immerse in the experience without worrying about practical comforts. “The tents are super cool, nice, spacious, and all heated – we have installed solar panels, so we can run the camp on green energy,” explains Kyed. “The idea is to get you into the wilderness, but in the most comfortable way possible. You will get a good night’s sleep, proper toilet facilities and meals served in our large camp centre tent.”

From the campsite, guests can explore the surrounding area on their own or with the help of the experienced guides of the camp. Paddleboards and kayaks are also available.

Paddleboarding by Camp Kangiusaq.

Exploring the fjord

With a fleet of six heated 6-12 person Targa cabin boats, Nuuk Water Taxi offers individual tailormade tours and business services as well as scheduled group tours of all kinds. One of the company’s most popular tours is the Icefjord cruise, which takes guests on a six-hour tour north of Nuuk, where most of the icebergs in and around the Nuuk Fjord originate from. “Traditionally, Nuuk has not been known as a tourist destination because you must go a bit further out to see ice, but what we realised is that people really don’t mind. It’s a beautiful two-hour trip there among tall mountains, and then you are in the Icefjord where we have plenty of beautiful ice, also blue ice” explains Kyed.

Cozy tent in Camp Kangiusaq.

Along with icebergs, whales are probably the biggest attraction of Greenland, and since Nuuk Fjord is the only place in Greenland where humpback whales are protected, it is the perfect place to watch the magnificent mammals at play. Around 30 humpback whales return to Nuuk every year. “The humpback whales are super cool to encounter because they are quite playful and always flip their tails when diving. Sometimes you also see them waving their fins, and, if you are really lucky, seeing fully breaching whales is also a possibility,” explains Kyed. “What’s extra cool is that we’re often lucky that the whales are often curious about our boats and come by to have a look. It’s an exclusive experience, seeing them up close with a small group of people, it feels very intimate.”

Puffins and auks near Nuuk. Photo: Nuuk Water Taxi

Fishing and Northern Lights

With its rich marine life, Nuuk Fjord is also a paradise for anglers, and, of course, Nuuk Water Taxi offers tours for this purpose. The most popular is, says Kyed, the Qooqqut Nuan Catch’n’eat tour, where participants can enjoy their catch prepared in one of the most remotely located restaurants in the world. “We have so many tours, but this is one of the most popular along with the Icefjord cruise, the whale watching and the Northern Lights tour,” he explains.

Sunset in Camp Kangiusaq.

As it will be clear by now, Nuuk Water Taxi is indeed much more than a taxi company. Though the company does serve as a means of transport for locals and offers chartered tours to for instance drop off and pick up hikers, its fleet of boats is in use year-round for numerous activities. Moreover, the company also offers a number of hiking, paddleboarding and kayaking experiences. And much more is to come – the company is currently working on a seven-day hiking trip and has just purchased another addition to its fleet, a steel passenger ship, with a capacity for 36 passengers. “There is so much to explore here – for instance, we also have the only island in Greenland where you can experience a wild puffin population,” says Kyed. “A lot of it is new to visitors and with the new airport opening up in Nuuk this year, we are very excited about showing more people the many, still unexplored, parts of the Nuuk Fjord.”