As I’ve already introduced you to my trip to Ilulissat and Kangerlussuaq in a previous post (and narrated one of my trip’s highlights: evening sea kayaking amongst the icebergs), there are a few technical topics I’d like to cover. For one: what on earth do you pack for a trip to Greenland in June? Secondly, does Greenland actually have warm weather? Here you have it: packing tips from a girl who managed a ten day trip to Greenland via Copenhagen with just a backpack.

Is summer a thing in Greenland?
Well, to start with, here’s what my trip looked like in terms of timing:
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May 30 – train to Geneva, flight to Copenhagen
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May 31 – flight from Copenhagen to Kangerlussuaq
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June 1 – flight from Kangerlussuaq to Ilulissat
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June 7 – flight from Ilulissat to Kangerlussuaq
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June 8 – flight from Kangerlussuaq to Copenhagen
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June 9 – flight from Copenhagen to Geneva, train to Bern where I stayed the night in the youth hostel (not the finest example of one)
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June 10 – train from Bern to my new house in Meiringen, where in a rare case of advance planning all my belongings were moved in and waiting
I’m not sure if the weather was typical for early June in Greenland, but I was never uncomfortably hot nor cold. I wore my light ski jacket every day in Ilulissat, but I probably could’ve got by with just a jumper a lot of the time. When researching my trip beforehand, I read advice from others that layering is key. I’d agree: pack enough layers and a waterproof and you’re sorted. You should definitely be prepared for colder weather (especially if you’re going on evening boat rides), but you don’t want to be stuck with a really heavy jacket and ski trousers on a good day either.
My decision to pack light for Greenland
Now, I don’t necessarily recommend you follow my lead and pack tremendously light. It’s just the way I like to travel. I love being able to explore a new place with everything I need on my back. I like checking out of a room and knowing I don’t need to find a locker for my bag, because it’s light enough to keep with me.
There were also some disadvantages of travelling light in Greenland:
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I didn’t really have any room to acquire and store souvenirs in my bag. Sorry guys, no whale tooth tupilaks for you this time.
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I flew from/to Copenhagen, spending a day here on either side of my trip. This complicated my wardrobe: while I was wearing winter clothes in Ilulissat, it was shorts weather in Copenhagen. As expected, navigating the city centre with a less-than-attractive hiking outfit and a ski jacket in tow wasn’t ideal. I had prepared myself for any questions with a “I’ve been in Greenland, I’m not as stupid as you think”, but of course this didn’t happen. I’m guilty of overthinking things.

A rundown of what I packed for Greenland:
Most of the time I wore…
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Purple Salomon ski jacket (which wasn’t too bulky or thick), with the following things stuffed in pockets:
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Passport
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Phone plus charger
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Green knitted hat and thick woollen gloves with furry lining (e.g. not built for adventure sports in the slightest)
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Quattro small artist blank notepad and a pen
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Ankle-height Salomon hiking boots (bulky, so I wore these when travelling)
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Colombia black hiking trousers
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Black cotton leggings (I wore these most the time under my hiking trousers)
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Grey zip-up fleece jacket
On my back was…
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North Face Borealis backpack
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Nikon D3300 camera with 18-55 lens and 55-300 lens plus battery charger
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Small Nikon Wireless Adapter for uploading photos from camera to phone
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European adapter plug
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Clear plastic airport liquids bag, containing…
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A few makeup supplies: MaxFactor mascara, L’OrĂ©al Touche Magique concealer, the rose-coloured Vaseline, Bobbi Brown powder and blush compacts (these two non-liquids mostly resided in my coat pockets)
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Travel-size toothpaste, toothbrush, small pot of moisturiser, suncream, insect repellent roll-on, deodrant, mini shampoo and conditioner, shower gel
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Sleep eye mask and earplugs
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Nike running leggings
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5 x cotton t-shirts, mostly long-sleeved
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1 x Zara thin navy blue knitted top
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4 x thick hiking socks and 2 x thinner trainer socks
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Enough underwear for 5 days (thank you, apartments with washing machines)
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Kindle + charger
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Spare phone (I keep my previous phone lying around, so decided I might as well pack it)
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Blue thin Patagonia rain jacket (which spent most of the trip folded and stuffed under the elastic bungee cord on the front of my backpack)
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Things I didn’t really need:
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My airport liquids bag was definitely pushing its luck in terms of size. I know this might seem ridiculous for the standard traveller (who would’ve just checked in a bag), but by nature I am a bit ridiculous. So, when repacking throughout the trip, I thought I should have…
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Decanted some of my suncream into a tiny pot. While I used it fairly often, there was no way I needed the whole tube.
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Packed a mini deodorant instead of a full-sized one in a glass container.
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My navy thin knitted top. It creased too easily in my bag, wasn’t a layer I needed for hiking, and looked too dark worn alone with black leggings. If you’re travelling around Greenland like I did, doing a lot of hiking and outdoorsy stuff, you probably don’t need to bring anything other than hiking clothes with you. The only time I felt underdressed was when passing through Copenhagen, but I’d probably feel like that on a good day.
Things I needed:
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Although I worried it would be excessive, I found it useful to have two pairs of shoes (one pair ankle height, the other more trainer-ish and flexible).
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I bought a merino wool Buff before my evening kayaking to keep my ears/neck warm, both when on the water and while hiking. It did an ideal job (much better than my knitted – read: ventilated – wool hat), so would definitely recommend packing one.
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My zoom lens. It’s heavy and bulky, but I was glad I had it when hiking and spying on wildlife.

Great hints for my planned trip there and stunning pictures.
Thanks so much for sharing!
Max