Around the World: The Northern Route
In 2016 this page carried National Geographic's Northern Route: 22 days by private jet from Seattle to Boston, for up to 75 guests, circling the northern hemisphere. It went through the temples and gardens of Kyoto and Nara, a ger camp in Mongolia's Gobi, Irkutsk and Lake Baikal, St. Petersburg, the fjords around Ålesund in Norway, Reykjavík, and the icebergs of the Ilulissat Icefjord in Greenland.
That trip can't run the way it was drawn. Two of its stops are in Russia, and the UK Foreign Office advises against all travel to Russia. Lake Baikal and the Hermitage come off the list. The rest of the route is open, and Greenland is far easier to reach than it was in 2016.
The northern route on scheduled flights
-
Seattle to Osaka, for Kyoto and Nara: Kinkakuji, the Golden Pavilion, the torii gates of Fushimi Inari, and Todaiji in Nara, one of the largest wooden buildings in the world.
-
On to Ulaanbaatar and the Gobi. Stay in a ger camp, and look for dinosaur fossils at Bayanzag, the Flaming Cliffs.
-
From Ulaanbaatar, fly west to Europe. MIAT Mongolian Airlines flies direct to Frankfurt and Turkish Airlines direct to Istanbul.
-
Ålesund, the art nouveau town on Norway's Atlantic coast, and the fjords behind it.
-
Reykjavík, for the Blue Lagoon, Thingvellir, where you can stand on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, the hot springs of Geysir, and Gullfoss.
-
Greenland. Nuuk's new international airport opened on 28 November 2024, with a runway long enough for jets from Europe and North America, and Icelandair flies to it from Reykjavík all year. Ilulissat and its icefjord are further up the west coast.
-
Nuuk to Newark on United, then on to Boston. United flies the route twice a week in summer, and the 2026 season began on 13 June. It is the only nonstop between Greenland and the United States.
That seasonal flight sets the calendar. Plan the trip for the northern summer and book the Nuuk to Newark leg first.
An AirTreks specialist will price the flights for your dates. If you'd rather travel by private jet, see around the world by private jet, or for something slower, around the world by train.
Tags: around the world northern route, around world travel national geographic, travel rtw group departure
Planning a round-the-world trip? AirTreks has built multi-stop itineraries since 1987. See sample routes or ask a specialist.