Water sports in Greenland

By Carla Langholz Verified Expert

Published: 09/11/2022

Reading time: 4 minutes

It’s well known that Greenland is surrounded by the ocean, and the capital Nuuk is located in the second largest fjord system in the world. The Greenlandic people are very dependent on the sea surrounding them, in regards to the fishing industry and the transport aspect, but there is also a number of water sport activities that takes place in Greenland.

Paddleboarding

One of my favorite activities to do in Greenland is paddleboarding. The spectacular surroundings makes paddleboarding in Greenland an out-of-this-world experience. The fjord system in Nuuk is the second largest in the world, which means that there is plenty of space to explore and play around in.

Paddleboarding is such a relaxing sport that really let’s you enjoy the environment in your own pace, while also being an activity that doesn’t demand that much prior practise.

Paddleboarding in Nuuk fjordsystem is a fun water sport in Greenland — Paddleboarding in Nuuk fjordsystem.

Harpoon fishing

A new sport that my family and I picked up is snorkeling and harpoon fishing. Greenland have a rich sea of fish, which makes it such a pleasant experience to snorkel. Below the surface of Greenland, there is a very rocky bottom, lot of seaweed and sand.

We started practasing shooting for Halibut with a harpoon, which is quite a challenge. Their skin camouflage with the sea bottom, and they slide against the bottom instead of swim in the free, making them hard to spot. This is a very pleasant activity, though it requires patience, but a great way to explore another side of Greenland.

Halibut harpoon fishing as water sport in Greenland — Halibut harpoon fishing in Nuuk.

Swimming

Swimming in Greenland can be, and often is a cold experience. Even when swimming in summer, the ocean is cold and it defiantly takes some convincing before jumping in. After jumping in the water for the first time, and then coming up again, you realise that often the wind feels colder then the sea, so you might just want to jump in again!

In the fjord you can find quite a few places with sand bottom, which is my personal favorite. Even tough the sea is cold, it’s so nice to jump in an feel your body cooling down. If the water is clear, you might even be able to see the cod’s swimming underneath you. The ocean in Greenland is often clean and clear, with very limited trash floating around.

Kayaking

Kayaking amongst icebergs is a special activity. The images below is taken in Ilulissat icefjord on a midnight kayaking adventure. The secery is breath taking and you could just spend hours kayaking around the huge icebergs, and if you are lucky you might even be acompanied by the giants of the sea, the Whales. One this specific kayaking tour, we meet a very gentle humpback whale, which just made this experience even more spectacular.

If you want to experience Greenland from a new perspective, Kayaking is defiantly the way to do it!

Jet skiing

This is one of the more rare activities, but defiantly one of the more fun ones, if you like speed. Being able to speed through the sea and feel the water on your skin is a completely different experience then sailing, especially if you like the feeling of being close to the sea.

Jet Skiing is not a very usual activity in Greenland, since the equpitment is expensive and living in such an extreme environment as Greenland, it’s limited how often you are able to enjoy this sport. Jet Skiing allows you to explore places you aren’t able to reach by boat, since they are fast, shallow and do have a particularly deep bottom.