Before I actually visited Iceland, I was really curious about the difference between Greenland and Iceland.
These two neighboring Nordic countries share many similarities when it comes to natural hot pools, a spread out, sparse population of residents, and of course, layers upon layers of ice sheets. They also have unique wildlife and offer a great place to see the Northern Lights.
After that, the differences start really stacking up. In today’s article I’ll pit Iceland vs. Greenland and show you all the differences you’ll encounter in your arctic adventure so you can choose which one is best to visit.
Differences Between Greenland and Iceland
Below I’ve outlined the key differences between Iceland and Greenland.
Differences as a Tourist Destination
If you are looking to reach either country, know that getting to Iceland is much easier in comparison to traveling to Greenland.
In fact, the differences in tourism is massive, with Iceland attracting over 2 million tourists into the country every year, compared to the average of just 60,000 people visiting Greenland.
When you visit Iceland, you will find many more hotels and hospitality venues such as restaurants than Greenland offers. Iceland has built a tourism infrastructure to support the growth of people coming to experience the natural wonders of the country, whether that be the black sand beaches, natural hot springs, volcanic landscapes, or the Blue Lagoon.
When I visited Iceland it was very simple to rent a car and tour the entire country on the famous Iceland Ring Road.
If you were to try this in Greenland, there are only 150,000 kilometers of paved roads which really limits the experiences you’ll be able to enjoy.
Greenland is, however, slowly but surely growing in tourism, having it’s best year ever by a 9% margin in 2023.
Populations of Iceland vs. Greenland
Greenland is the world’s largest island and is a massive country that in fact is 21 times larger than Iceland. Despite this fact, it has a very small population of 50,000+ citizens compared to the over 350,000 people that reside in Iceland.
It has to be some sort of record that that Greenland’s population density is a SHOCKING 0 people for every square kilometer!
Most of the population in Iceland resides in the city of Reykjavik, which is the capital city. With half of the population living there, it’s no wonder it’s the tourism hot spot that most people stay in.
Greeland is similar in regards to having a lot of the populace reside in one central area, with 30% of their residents staying in Nuuk.
Climate
The name Iceland implies a cold country built on an ice cap, almost like a little ice age city built for a Disney movie. Despite the name, Greenland is the colder of the too countries.
While Iceland boats 11% of the land covered by an ice sheet, this doesn’t hold a candle to the Greenland ice sheet cover of 80%!
While Icelandic winters will be very cold and uncomfortable for many tourists, it’s temperature range isn’t as drastic as Greenland. Temperatures hover around 32 Fahrenheit ini Iceland in the chilling winter months, but in comparison Greenland’s average winter temperature is 1.4 degrees.
Being raised in Minnesota, I can relate to both temperatures!
Related: Iceland’s Monthly Temperatures
Name Origins of Iceland vs. Greenland
Both countries have naming origins that are stories I’ll delve into in future articles.
In short, Iceland was named by Hrafna-Floki, a Norseman who had hiked up a mountain and witnessed icebergs and aptly decided to call the island “Iceland.”
There’s also another story that settlers wanted the island to themselves and called it Iceland to insinuate it was too cold for most people so they would stay away. In fact, Iceland is more green than Greenland.
But that wasn’t always the case! Over 2.5 million years ago, Greenland was actually more green than Iceland! An Icelandic murderer named Erik the Red was exiled to Greenland and called it “Greenland” in an effort to attract more settlers, and the name stuck. Studies show that under 2 miles of ice Greenland has ancient dirt cryogenically frozen for millions of years.
Both countries have very unique beginnings that make the tales of these countries very similar in that regard.
Cultural Differences
Each country has it’s own culture and even languages. The Norse Men (of Viking history) descendants make up the majority of Icelandic people while the Inuit culture and people make up about 90% of people in Greenland. There are in fact 3 Inuit groups in Greenland that have their own history and language.
Kalaallisut is the official language of Greenland while Icelandic is the official language of Iceland.
English is taught and spoken at an early age in Iceland and if you visit Iceland you’ll find it widely spoken.
Both countries are made up of a majority of Christian religions.
Wildlife
Throughout the countries and in national parks you’ll find very unique wildlife including whales, sharks, and seals. Arctic birds fill the skies and are unlike birds you’ll find anywhere else. There is an artic fox I didn’t get to see but apparently it’s a very unique animal native to the area.
Both Iceland and Greenland are home to gorgeous wildlife and outstanding natural beauty.
The skies are filled with arctic birds and the nearby waters are teeming with whales, sharks, and seals. They both have huge National Parks, vast ice caps, and breathtaking scenery to enjoy.
Greenland has a massive national park that is 10 times larger than the entire country of Iceland and in this area you’ll find polar bears and walruses.
Our tour guide in Iceland shared with us that often times polar bears float into Iceland on ice sheets and they are immediately euthanized.
“Why do they do this, that’s so sad,” I asked the guide.
He then explained to me that these polar bears have been floating on ice sheets, sometimes for months at a time, and when they arrive the first thing they want to do is eat. They will eat anything in sight and can be very dangerous to the wildlife in Iceland as well as to humans! For this reason, they are put down humanely in order to not disrupt the ecosystem.
Polar bears do not exist in Iceland, however you may see a walrus, but they are not common. The Icelandic walruses were all hunted by Vikings and the breed that is there now is a different one.
The Midnight Sun
There are long hours of winter darkness in both countries given they are so close to the Arctic Circle. In contrast, the sun barely sets in the Summer. I was there in June and we had two hours without sunlight, which made staying out late at night in the bustling Reyjkavik Lebowski Bar very easy!
In both countries the dark months give you a chance to see the Northern Lights. They are more visible in Greenland’s dark months.
Food
I talk about the food options in Iceland at length if you want to see pics of the cuisine. It’s NOTHING like how we eat here in North America!
You’ll find dishes like seabirds, puffin, whale, and even shark on the plates of people in both countries. Fish is a common meal as it’s not simple to grow crops in either country, and since both countries are indeed island nations they have plenty of water to fish out of.
There is farming in remote areas of both countries. I visited a very cool destination in Iceland that was called Fridheimar that I highly recommend if you are driving around the Ring Road.
At Grillmarkadurinn, I got to experience Icelandic horse, which to me, tasted like the best New York strip I’ve ever had. A juicy, tender, and lean cut of red meat that is consumed during celebrations. Hey, I was celebrating getting to Iceland, so the Icelandic horse was on my plate! It was out of this world!
Another popular item to try is the Icelandic hot dog!
Reasons to Visit Iceland
I found Iceland an eye opening trip. So much so, that I went back a second time just months later to experience more of it! From the unique cuisine, to the waterfalls, ice caves, and hot springs, there is something for everyone if you don’t mind the cold weather. Seeing the sun shine for 22 hours in a day is a sight to be seen if you visit Iceland in the Summer temperatures which feel like a spring day before Summer comes into full swing.
Iceland travel is popular for many reasons. Whether you want to see the Golden Circle, breathtaking glaciers, and colossal icebergs, Icelandic culture just feels different and I highly recommend it as a cultural experience where you can be adventurous throughout the day and come home to first world accommodations at night.
Visiting Greenland
While I can’t speak from first hand experience, visiting Greenland, as cited by the tourism statistics above, its a lot less appealing in comparison. Their lack of infrastructure between Iceland and Greenland is massive, with Greenland being far behind.
However, if you want to see what the Greenland ice sheet is all about, expect Greenland travel plans to include trips to fishing villages, dog sledding, breathtaking landscapes, glaciers, ice caving, and arctic waters. I’d love Greenland to be on an upcoming travel itinerary for us, and maybe we could do Iceland on the same trip to really compare them side by side in the same vacation.
Related: Best Months to Visit Greenland
Iceland vs. Greenland Recap
Both Iceland and Greenland are travel experiences that you’ll never forget. While Iceland offers more in terms of tourism by a landslide, don’t sleep on visiting Greenland. It’s on my bucket list for a reason! Having visited Iceland twice, I’m ready to see what the cold Norther Atlantic ocean in Greenland is all about and explore Southern Greenland’s mountain regions and green pastures.
If you’ve visited either or both countries, we’d love to hear from you in the comments below!
About Tim Schmidt
Tim Schmidt is a 20+ year Entrepreneur and Digital Marketer. A Fort Lauderdale-based "Digital Nomad," he enjoys traveling as much as possible with family and friends. AllWorld is his escape to document all of his adventures, including being a hardcore "foodie." He has property in Costa Rica and visits several times each year and is happy to offer his expert advice for planning your trip. Make sure to download the AllWorld Travel Hacks FREE ebook.
