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Travelers in search of an iconic Arctic destination likely think about Greenland. But just across the Davis Strait in Canada is the equally stunning Baffin Island. Homeland of the Inuit, this grand landscape is defined by deep fjords, maritime glaciers and shimmering icebergs and it’s traversed by an abundance of charismatic wildlife. Find out more about Baffin Island and why you might want to include it in your Arctic travel plans.
What to Expect on a Baffin Island Tour
No adventure in the Arctic would be complete without a tour of Baffin Island. Located in the High Arctic territory of Nunavut, Canada, Baffin sits near Greenland across Baffin Bay. People have made their home in this harsh environment for millennia. The Inuktitut called the island Qikiqtaaluk while Norse explorers referred to it as Helluland, meaning “stone land.” Today, the Inuit still live on Baffin in the traditional ways, including hunting caribou, seals and narwhals.
A Baffin Island cruise is the best way to tour this vast, roadless landscape which is comprised of an area of 195,928 square miles or 507,451 square kilometers. The fjords on Baffin’s eastern coast are renowned for their glacier-sculpted peaks and granite walls that showcase a staggering vertical relief beloved by climbers and photographers alike.
These dramatic fjords open onto Baffin Bay, a scenic body of water that is part of the North Water Polynas, one of the most biologically productive marine areas in the Arctic. A polynya occurs when sea ice surrounds open water, forming a maritime habitat that is hugely important to an array of wildlife including polar bears, seals and seabirds.
The bay is also the eastern entrance to the storied Northwest Passage, a legendary maritime voyage known for its centuries of triumph and tragedy. On a tour of the island, your guides will help uncover more about the history, wildlife and geology of this fascinating region.
Where is Baffin Island Located?
Baffin Island sits in the Canadian High Arctic territory of Nunavut where it forms part of the Arctic Archipelago. It’s separated from Greenland on its eastern coast by Baffin Bay and the Davis Strait. Situated at 66° 49' 51.3300'' N 69° 36' 2.8800'' W, Baffin is the largest island in Canada, and the second largest in the Americas, after Greenland.
How to Get to Baffin Island
With its vast size and relatively large population—in 2024, the population of Baffin Island was 13,039 including Nunavut's capital city, Iqaluit—Baffin is served by an airport in Iqaluit, with some other, smaller airstrips nestled across the island in various hamlets. During the summer when the sea ice has melted, Baffin can also be reached aboard an expedition cruise ship.
Traveling to Baffin Island by Cruise Ship
Baffin Island is incredibly rugged and practically roadless, plus many of its most spectacular sights can be found along the coastline and in the surrounding waters. An expedition cruise ship can sail into otherwise inaccessible fjords and inlets where exploration tools like Zodiac boats or kayaks will bring you even closer to these natural wonders.
If you travel with National Geographic-Lindblad Expeditions, you can choose from two unforgettable itineraries that incorporate Baffin’s magnificent east coast: Northwest Passage: Greenland to Alaska and High Arctic Archipelago: Canada and Greenland, which both navigate through pristine Lancaster Sound and offer thrilling opportunities to explore the island’s bays and inlets.
Flying to Baffin Island on a Plane
Baffin Island is accessible by air year-round, via the airport in Iqaluit. Canadian North is one of the only airlines that services the island with direct daily flights from Ottawa as well as non-direct flights from other cities in mainland Canada like Montreal, Toronto, Edmonton, Winnipeg and Yellowknife. International travelers will need to fly into Canada first to reach their connecting flights.
Once on the island, you can also access outlying communities like Pond Inlet, Pangnirtung, Arctic Bay, Kimmirut or Clyde River via inter-island flights out of Iqaluit.
Can You Get to Baffin Island by Car?
There are no roads or bridges to bring you onto Baffin or any connecting roads anywhere within the island. So even if you could bring your car, you’d have nowhere to drive. The locals use ATVs and trucks to get around the island in summer, and snowmobiles and dogsleds in winter. If you want to drive as far north in mainland Canada as possible before flying to Iqaluit, you could head to Toronto, Montreal, Edmonton, Winnipeg or Yellowknife.
Best Time to Visit Baffin Island
The best time to visit is midsummer (mid- to late July), according to Steve Backus, a naturalist with National Geographic-Lindblad Expeditions. During that time, travelers are welcomed by a wildflower-studded tundra, including the vibrant purple saxifrage; abundant wildlife, such as the eider ducks who amass near the heads of the fjords; and near-endless daylight, which he calls “a highlight of visiting the Arctic regions.” It is also the most temperate, with July—the warmest month—seeing an average daytime high of 42° F.
Things to See and Do on Baffin Island
There are incredible opportunities on Baffin Island to photograph the stunning icescapes, spot rare wildlife, hike the expansive tundra or Zodiac among fjords featuring huge, craggy peaks like Mount Thor. The island is also famed for its enduring Inuit heritage which you can learn about firsthand when you visit local towns.
Backus always looks forward to connecting with the Inuit communities who happily share their culture, traditions, music, games, crafts and history with guests of National Geographic-Lindblad Expeditions. “To be around and make connections with people who have lived in the Arctic for thousands of years and stewarded the environment we enjoy is one of the most important and lasting parts of any visit,” he says.
What Wildlife Can You See on Baffin and When is the Best Time to See Them?
Baffin’s wildlife is at its peak activity during the warmest, summer months, says Backus, with the chance to see animals like polar bears, arctic foxes, hares, tundra wolves, terns, skuas, musk oxen, caribou and ringed seals. Spotting the elusive narwhal is much rarer. The prime spot for these mythical looking creatures, says Backus, is the cliff-lined Buchan Gulf on the northeast coast, where, if you’re extremely lucky, you might see the whales’ tusks protruding as they feed near the shoreline.
Baffin Island Arctic Cruises
An Arctic cruise on a small expedition icebreaker ship is a great way to see Baffin, letting you approach the coast in summer as the ice breaks up and even ferry to shore on Zodiacs to enjoy inland activities like tundra hikes. A cruise ship also lets you explore some of the port towns like Iqaluit, Pond Inlet or Qikiqtarjuaqon depending on the itinerary or the company you sail with.
Baffin Island Photography Tours
There are so many amazing sights on Baffin—the cliffs in the eastern fjords, the breaching whales, the bird colonies, the glaciers, the tundra—that it’s hard to know where to point your camera. A guided photography tour can help narrow your focus, as can a naturalist or pro photographer traveling aboard with you on an expedition cruise.
Baffin Island is a rugged Arctic paradise rife with opportunities for exploration and discovery—from its majestic, mountainous landscape teeming with wildlife to its welcoming communities. The days are long in summer, providing ample time to take in all these incredible wonders as well as enjoy the spectacular seasonal light that bathes everything in a golden atmosphere.
