Hvalsey, Iceland cruise port guide
Twelve miles by Zodiac up the Hvalseyjarfjord from Qaqortoq, the largest community in South Greenland, lies the most prominent Norse archaeological site in Greenland. The so-called Eastern Settlement lasted from the 10th until the mid-15th century. Your expedition team archaeologist can interpret for you the ruins of the great halls and church at Hvalsey that hint of a prospering medieval farmstead. The site evokes an era when the Norse were trading with the indigenous Thule people of the area for furs and ivory, which were a prized commodities in Europe. A wedding held in the church in 1408 comprises the last written record of the Norse adventure in Greenland. Within a few years, Hvalsey and the rest of other Norse communities of Greenland withered as immigrants returned to the more established communities in Iceland and Norway. The site’s meadows of wildflowers sloping up from the fjord give a sense of the peaceful community that existed here in that long-ago summer.
About Hvalsey, Iceland
Qaqortoq is southern Greenland's largest city and a significant North Atlantic cruise destination, recording 30–40 ship calls per season. The port serves as the gateway to the Hvalsey Norse ruins—the most prominent in Greenland—located 19 km to the northeast. Large cruise ships call here in late summer and early autumn, often repositioning from northern Europe to the Caribbean.
The defining excursion from Qaqortoq is the journey to Hvalsey, 19 km to the northeast, where the best-preserved Norse church ruins in Greenland mark the site of the last documented Norse gathering in the western hemisphere—a wedding celebrated in the Hvalseyjarfjord church in 1408. The Norse era in southern Greenland spanned nearly five centuries, and Hvalsey represents its most tangible legacy. Within Qaqortoq itself, the Stone & Man open-air gallery rewards exploration on foot: more than 40 sculptures carved into the town's natural rock faces and boulders by 18 Nordic artists in 1993–1994 are distributed across the narrow, winding streets. The Qaqortoq Museum, set in the town's 1804 blacksmith's shop, and the 1932 Mindebrønden fountain—Greenland's oldest—anchor the historic colonial harbor area. The Great Greenland Furhouse, the island's sole sealskin tannery, provides cultural context for the region's traditional economy.
Quick facts
Cruises visiting Hvalsey, Iceland
Prices per person · incl. taxes & fees.
Sailing soonest
Nuuk (Godthab) to Reykjavik
Silver Wind · Polar Regions · 13 nights
from $16,900
$1,300 / night
Reykjavik to Nuuk (Godthab)
Silver Wind · Polar Regions · 12 nights
from $18,200
$1,516 / night
Glaciers, Fjords & Indigenous Cultures
Seabourn Venture · Polar Regions · 12 nights
from $14,554
$1,212 / night
34-Day Glaciers, Fjords & Northwest Passage
Seabourn Venture · Alaska · 34 nights
from $43,574
$1,281 / night
40-Day Wild British Isles, North Atlantic & Greenland
Seabourn Venture · Northern Europe · 40 nights
from $36,954
$923 / night
28-Day Wild Isles of the North Atlantic, Greenland & Iceland
Seabourn Venture · Europe · 28 nights
from $27,174
$970 / night
Showing the 20 least-expensive of 46 sailings.
Showing 46 Hvalsey, Iceland cruises
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Jul 26, 2026 | 12 |
from $14,554 $1,212 / night |
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Jul 26, 2026 | 34 |
from $43,574 $1,281 / night |
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Jul 1, 2026 | 13 |
from $16,900 $1,300 / night |
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Jul 14, 2026 | 12 |
from $18,200 $1,516 / night |
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Jun 7, 2027 | 40 |
from $36,954 $923 / night |
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Jun 19, 2027 | 28 |
from $27,174 $970 / night |
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Jun 25, 2027 | 14 |
from $19,300 $1,378 / night |
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Jul 3, 2027 | 14 |
from $15,274 $1,091 / night |
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Jul 17, 2027 | 15 |
from $16,724 $1,114 / night |
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Jul 3, 2027 | 77 |
from $101,824 $1,322 / night |
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Jul 3, 2027 | 59 |
from $74,894 $1,269 / night |
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Jul 3, 2027 | 47 |
from $54,224 $1,153 / night |
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Jul 3, 2027 | 29 |
from $28,824 $993 / night |
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Jul 17, 2027 | 45 |
from $61,184 $1,359 / night |
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Jul 17, 2027 | 33 |
from $40,509 $1,227 / night |
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Jul 19, 2027 | 13 |
from $19,900 $1,530 / night |
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Jul 9, 2027 | 10 |
from $17,000 $1,700 / night |
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Sep 7, 2027 | 15 |
from $23,600 $1,573 / night |
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May 17, 2028 | 45 |
from $46,698 $1,037 / night |
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May 6, 2028 | 56 |
from $56,617 $1,011 / night |
