🤝 It's a tie — both rated 75 OVR
Greenland
75OVR
Costa Rica
75OVR
Ilulissat
Greenland
La Fortuna
Costa Rica
Ilulissat
La Fortuna
💰 Budget
🛡️ Safety
Ilulissat
Greenland is one of the safest travel destinations in the world by crime statistics — violent crime toward tourists is essentially unheard of. The genuine risks are environmental: extreme cold, fast-changing weather, iceberg calving, thin sea ice, and the isolation of the medical system. Any injury that would be minor elsewhere becomes serious when the nearest advanced hospital is an hour-plus flight away. Travel with comprehensive insurance that explicitly covers Arctic evacuation.
La Fortuna
La Fortuna and Costa Rica broadly are among the safer destinations in Latin America for tourists. The town is small and tourism-oriented, with a generally relaxed and friendly atmosphere. Petty theft from unattended vehicles and rental cars is the most common issue. Natural hazards — river currents, flash floods, sun exposure, and the geologically active volcano — require more attention than crime.
⭐ Ratings
🌤️ Weather
Ilulissat
Ilulissat has a polar tundra climate with short cool summers and long dark winters. The town sits north of the Arctic Circle but is warmed slightly by the coastal position — summer highs touch 10°C, winter lows commonly −20°C. What defines the year, however, is daylight: from late May to late July the sun never sets; from late November to mid-January it never rises. Plan visits around the light you want.
La Fortuna
La Fortuna has a classic tropical rainforest climate — warm year-round with temperatures between 22-30°C regardless of season. The dry season runs December through April with sunny mornings and clearer volcano views. The green season (May-November) brings heavy afternoon rains, lush landscapes, and lower prices. September and October are the wettest months. Arenal Volcano is famously cloud-covered much of the year — clear views of the full cone are most likely in the early morning or during dry season.
🚇 Getting Around
Ilulissat
Ilulissat is small enough to walk end-to-end in 25 minutes. There is no public bus system; the only motorised options inside town are taxis (few, expensive) and private hotel shuttles. Outside town, movement is by boat in summer (to the icefjord, whale watching, Disko Island) and by dog sled or snowmobile in winter. There are no roads leading out of Ilulissat — every onward destination requires a flight or ship.
Walkability: Town itself is highly walkable — flat-to-rolling streets and everything within 1.5 km. Once outside town, walking is limited to marked trails (yellow/red/blue route to Sermermiut). No paths link Ilulissat to any other settlement.
La Fortuna
La Fortuna's town center is small and walkable, but most major attractions — the volcano, waterfall, hot springs, and hanging bridges — are spread along a 20 km corridor west of town. A rental car gives the most flexibility and is the most popular choice among independent travelers. Shared shuttle vans connect the main tourist hotspots efficiently, while local taxis handle shorter hops.
Walkability: La Fortuna's compact town center is pleasant to walk, with the main street, church, park, and local restaurants all within 10 minutes on foot. However, the town itself is a hub rather than the destination — a vehicle of some kind is essential for reaching the volcano, waterfall, hot springs, and hanging bridges.
The Verdict
Choose Ilulissat if...
you want UNESCO ice fjords + aurora at the literal edge of the Arctic — calving glaciers, sled dogs, and midnight sun
Choose La Fortuna if...
you want Costa Rica's adventure base — Arenal Volcano, hot springs, hanging-bridge cloud forest, and the Jeep-Boat-Jeep crossing to Monteverde
Ilulissat
La Fortuna