Money in Greenland

Danish krone, and no local currency

Greenland is part of the Kingdom of Denmark and uses the Danish krone exclusively. There is no Greenlandic currency: the same krone that circulates in Copenhagen circulates in Nuuk, Ilulissat and every settlement on the island. Sterling, US dollars and euros all exchange without difficulty at the bank in Nuuk and, in a more limited way, at the capital's airport. Travellers arriving from Australia, Canada or New Zealand are generally better off changing money during their transit through Copenhagen or Reykjavik, since exchange facilities outside the capital are thin. There is no street exchange and no informal currency market anywhere in Greenland.

Cash machines in the larger towns only

Greenland's own bank, GrønlandsBANKEN, has branches in Nuuk, Ilulissat, Sisimiut, Aasiaat, Maniitsoq and Qaqortoq, and a second commercial bank also operates in the country; between them the larger towns are covered for banking and cash. International Visa and Mastercard withdrawals work and dispense krone. Beyond those towns there are no cash machines at all: not in the small settlements, not at dog-sledding or hiking bases, not anywhere in the backcountry. Withdraw what a leg will need before you leave a town, because the next machine may be a flight away rather than a walk away.

Cards work in town, cash works everywhere

In Nuuk, Visa and Mastercard are accepted at hotels, supermarkets, restaurants and larger shops, and phone payments work wherever the terminal is modern, which in practice means the capital and the bigger establishments in Ilulissat. Outside the towns the picture changes: smaller guesthouses, local eateries, boat operators and guides frequently want cash in krone, and some have no terminal at all. Domestic flights and organised packages can normally be booked and paid for by card in advance. The working answer for any Greenland trip is to carry both, with enough cash to cover the parts of the itinerary that leave the towns behind.

Budget for the transport, not the souvenirs

Greenland is one of the more expensive places in the world to travel, and the reason is structural rather than seasonal: nearly everything is imported, the internal network is aircraft and ship rather than road, and the market is tiny. The single largest line in most budgets is not accommodation or food but moving between towns, since every leg is a flight, a helicopter or a berth. Book flights, beds and major excursions well ahead, because capacity is genuinely limited rather than merely busy. On the plus side, the arithmetic of what is expensive is not what visitors expect: the country's own fish, shellfish and meat are the good value on any menu, because Greenland's food is caught or raised within sight of the table rather than shipped in.