Product Description

Kayak past towering icebergs, dog-sled frozen tundra to picture-postcard villages, marvel at the midnight sun or dancing northern lights – Greenland and the Arctic are the perfect backdrop to an unforgettable experience. Whether you crave quiet solitude or bold adventure, this inspiring and practical guide takes you to the heart of the cold north.

Exploring Made Easy – slumber in colorful cottages, dine on reindeer or sail the coast in style, with our extensive, practical listings

Plan Your Adventure – inspiring itineraries for exploring the Arctic Circle, from Lapland to Deadhorse, Nuuk to the North Pole

Get Beneath The Surface – topical coverage of cultural and environmental issues affecting the region, with chapters on indigenous peoples and Arctic research projects

Amazing Endeavours – from Norse voyages to legendary explorers, storybook adventures uncovered in our dedicated history and exploration chapters

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #95464 in Books
• Published on: 2005-06-01
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 352 pages

Review
Lonely Planet guidebooks are, quite simply, like no others.' --New York Times

Customer Reviews

Good Greenland guide - Crappy Arctic guide...
For those who want a good read and a good guide to fascinating Greenland, then this book will do it (though I think the previous edition of LP's guide to Greenland had a bit more coverage - especially the more off-the-beaten-track settlements). But anything beyond Greenland, LP seems to really lose interests in the rest of the Arctic world. It seems as if they just threw in a few sections just to say that they've covered it... It should really be titled "Greenland and an Introduction to the rest of the Arctic". All they give you are some sloppy details of a few selected regions under their "suggested itineraries" sections for other Arctic regions.

Living in Northern Canada myself (Yukon by the way...not Vancouver), I know that there are tons to offer for any Arctic fan. But this LP guide has missed out so much...to mention a few:

1) Yukon - there's more to this territory than just Dawson and Dempster Hwy...such as Old Crow, Vuntut & Ivvavik Parks, and simply the rest of Yukon itself. BTW, Whitehorse, which is the hub of the Yukon, sits at about the same latitude as Qaqortoq in Greenland. It's sub-Arctic...but close enough...

2) NWT - Yellowknife, the areas around Great Bear Lake such as Deline and Tulita, etc... same thing, its all sub-Arctic environments similar to Inuvik's...what's the problem?

3) Nunavut - there's a lot more places than just Baffin Island or Resolute...how about Kitikmeot and Kivalliq regions? Every region of NU is worth a visit.

4) Nunavik (Northern Quebec) - how could they forget this beautiful Arctic region of Quebec? Colourful villages, beautiful landscapes, rich Inuit culture ...even the LP guides to Quebec/Canada mention very little on this region. Better do your planning online... though slightly southerly regarding its latitude and location, this place has nothing but Arctic landscapes and climate.

5) Northern Labrador - another beautiful Inuit region of Labrador completely forgotten on this so-called "Arctic" guide...

6) Scandinavia - Northern Norway is very beautiful, but this guide only gives you a vague idea of this fascinating region. Buy the individual guides instead (Norway, Sweden, Finland...but don't bother with the "Scandinavian Europe" unless you only plan to see only a few places from each country)

7) Arctic Russia - I know its a difficult place to go to, but there are fascinating untouched areas out there in Siberia. But this book covers very little of this vast region...especially the Far East - Chukotka. Even LP's "Russia" guide is next to useless to this region if you're really interested into visiting these areas. Once again, do your homework online...

8) Alaska - get the "Alaska" guide instead...

I was quite disappointed with this LP publication. I hope their next edition will be a heck of a lot better. Otherwise, its a waste of time and money. It's really just a Greenland guide ...but for the rest of the Arctic, don't count on it...

Perfect for those few travellers headed to Greenland
Apart from Antarctica, this is the most obscure place covered by LP. Half of the book (about 165pp) is specifically about Greenland in the customary LP format, and the remainder is about other Arctic regions. (One tidbit: It is impossible to fly to Nuuk, the capitol, without changing planes in another Greenlandic town.)

This guide covers a casserole of places that cannot conceivably be visited on a single itinerary, because so few Arctic air routes cross national borders. For example, charter flights between Canada (Iqaluit) and Greenland were terminated after the book went to press, so now it's impossible to fly from North America to Greenland without going through Europe.

Alaskan coverage is only Fairbanks and points north; Yukon is Dawson and north. The Inuvik region and nearly all of Nunavut are covered. Places like Whitehorse, Yellowknife, and Anchorage are too far south to be covered in this volume, which is unfortunate because it's impossible to reach northern Alaska without passing through either Anchorage or Whitehorse.

Also covered are Arctic Russia, northern Norway (town of Mo and north), and northern Finland (Rovaniemi and north). The end result is a book that's fun to read but of doubtful utility except for those few Greenland-bound travellers.

A take-along 'must' for any destination-bound traveler
The second updated edition of Etain O'Carroll & Mark Elliott's Greenland & The Arctic is out, and is an indispensable guide for any heading North sans travel group. From overviews of regional history and culture to local sights, activities, and opportunities, Greenland & The Arctic highlights all kinds of opportunities, from transportation options between small towns and remote regions to rare shopping opportunities and plenty of nature. A take-along 'must' for any destination-bound traveler; especially since relatively few other titles cover the region in depth.