Matador Network Readers' Choice Awards 2024: Next Big Destination

There’s plenty to do across Greenland’s reaches, so you’ll have to narrow down what you want to see (unless you have several months available to travel). But no matter where you go, there’s one thing you’re guaranteed to find: space, and lots of it. In 2024, Greenland’s population was approximately 55,800. For comparison, Wyoming is the least-populated state in the United States and has 10 times that many people. Greenland covers 836,300 square miles, making it more than eight times larger than Wyoming.

Photo: Kertu/Shutterstock

That personal space to roam influences everything Greenland offers to tourists. Greenland’s historic and current cultural traditions are shaped by the isolated landscape. There are national costumes for men and women, and the styles date back to when Vikings first arrived. Today, the costumes are worn on special occasions, including every child’s first day of school. Authentic cultural activities led by Indigenous business owners, including ice fishing and dog sledding, are readily available, especially around the capital city of Nuuk.

Dog-sledding is a time-honored tradition, and one that still serves as a mode of transportation between some of the northern part of the country’s remote towns during winter. That means travelers can experience dog-sledding how it used to be, complete with seal-skin clothing to stay warm and routes that run along glaciers and across frozen rivers.

Photo: muratart/Shutterstock

Speaking of glaciers, most of the world-class adventures awaiting in the territory are set against the backdrop of truly jaw-dropping scenery. Greenland’s terrain is primarily a vast, flat ice sheet that covers about 80 percent of the island, surrounded by mountainous, rocky coastline. The center has wildly dramatic landscapes where coastal cliffs, fjords, and ice sheets meet the ocean. Adventurous travelers can book activities like multi-day paddle trips on impossibly blue glacial rivers, or travel to the northernmost city in the world to see Easter-egg colored buildings set against a snowy backdrop. Qaanaaq is a place where few people live and few have seen, with only a couple hundred tourists per year.

Photo: Simone Gramegna/Shutterstock

But that’s not to say Greenland isn’t booming with action. It’s one of the least-touristed places in the world to see polar bears, and with an average of 300 clear nights per year, the town of Kangerlussuaq is known for some of the best aurora borealis displays on Earth. (There’s also a nearby Igloo Lodge, reached by an extreme backcountry snowmobile ride, naturally).

In 2023, Greenland had only 100,000 visitors. Compare that to a place like Iceland (2.21 million visitors) or even Canada’s nearby province of Newfoundland and Labrador (487,000 visitors) and it’s clear why the wide-open appeal of Greenland speaks to so many travelers.

That will soon change, as access to the capital city of Nuuk is about to get easier. Starting in June of 2024, United Airlines will run the first direct flight from the United States to Greenland, offering two weekly flights from New Jersey’s Newark Airport to Nuuk. Plan your trip to the island sooner rather than later – just be sure to pack a few more warm base layers than you’d normally bring on an island vacation.

As the entry point for the vast majority of the country’s tourists, Nuuk is the starting point for most tourist activities, from snowshoe tours to puffin-watching sailing trips to hiking tours or guided food tastings of traditional Greenland dishes like dried cod and reindeer steaks.

Greenland is a country you can visit year-round, especially if you’re keen on skiing or seeing the northern lights. But the busier (not busy, just busier) tourism season is summer, as the slightly warmer weather opens the door to a wider range of activities, including biking, water sports, wildlife tours, remote cultural activities, and even scuba diving.

In the 2024 Readers’ Choice Awards, the Matador Network audience voted on their favorite adventure destination, sustainable destination, wellness destination, airline, and what they thought will be the next big destination everyone will travel to. The poll included nominations from the Matador Network team as well as a write-in option. Voting took place through November, and the poll was sent out to our 600,000-plus Instagram followers and 300,000 global newsletter subscribers.