With Greenland rising as a tourist destination, Minnesotans can visit for less than $1,000

While President-elect Donald Trump has been making confounding statements about the United States acquiring Greenland by diplomacy, money or force, the world’s largest island (ahem, an autonomous territory of our NATO ally Denmark) has already been rising as an off-the-path tourist destination.

Among the first airlines to make the connection is Icelandair. For airfares starting around $988 this spring/summer, the carrier will fly you from Minneapolis-St. Paul — via Iceland — to the new international airport in the Greenlandic capital of Nuuk (pop. 20,000). There, you can peer at colorful cottages, climb the 3,970-foot Sermitsiaq (Saddle Mountain), go on a whale safari, discover Norse ruins and engage in some serious winter sports. Spartan, modern lodgings include the Hotel Aurora at around $1,312 a week for a double room.

Icelandair’s two-hour Greenland leg could be on a little propeller plane or a 737 MAX. One or both of the layovers in Iceland could be up to 25 hours long, so take advantage with a day trip to Reykjavik, the newish Sky Lagoon or the Golden Circle driving tour. Icelandair’s website also encourages a free Iceland stopover of up to seven days, which would pair nicely with a Greenland jaunt.

To go a little deeper into the ecological marvel/crisis of Greenland, Intrepid Travel is touting its new Greenland Expedition in 2025, with a 10-day trip from Nuuk to iceberg-laden Ilulissat and Qeqertarsuaq (aka Disko Island), where you can “hike on glaciers, cruise through ice fjords and visit small settlements steeped in mythology.” Summer-only departures start around $6,769.

Simon Peter Groebner

The next vessel to take the title of world’s largest cruise ship is headed to Florida. Coming in at more than 250,000 gross tons, Royal Caribbean’s Star of the Seas will be incrementally bigger than Icon of the Seas, which debuted in 2024 and can sail with 10,000 people on board. It has a six-slide water park among nine neighborhoods. Unique features on Star of the Seas will be “Back to the Future: The Musical” on top of new productions for its ice rink and signature AquaTheater. The ship will also introduce the high-end Lincoln Park Supper Club themed to 1930s-era Chicago. The ship’s maiden voyage is Aug. 31 with seven-night alternating Eastern and Western Caribbean itineraries on tap.

Orlando Sentinel

If you are looking for a once-in-a-lifetime trip to round out your winter, head to Anchorage, Alaska, for the Fur Rendezvous festival, which surrounds the Open World Championship Sled Dog Race. For the 90th anniversary of Alaska’s “spring break celebration,” the festival will feature a talent competition, a fur auction, a fireworks show, a carnival and most notably, a running of the reindeer. There are also events around the city. Fur Rendezvous takes place from Feb. 20 to March 2. No tickets are needed to enter the festival.

Atlanta Journal-Constitution