Ice Cave Tour

by Ice Explorers · Ice caves · Super jeeps · Vatnajökull & Jökulsárlón

4.70· 302 TripAdvisor reviews of this tour 4.80· 600 Google reviews of the operator

Beginners welcome
Fine on your own
Couples

from €172.51 per person

Next departure: Thu 22 Oct

Book Thu 22 Oct · €172.51 Other dates

1 / 10

10 photos from Ice Explorers. Tap any one for the full-size original.

Duration
3 hours and 30 minutes
Difficulty
Easy
Season
Sep – Apr
Starts in
Höfn, Hornafjørdur
Pickup
Meet at the start point
Starts at
Glacier Lagoon Jökulsárlón cafeteria
Glacier Lagoon cafeteria - Jökulsárlón, Höfn
Guide
Guided in English
Departs
08:00, 08:20, 08:50, 09:20 …
Minimum age
7
Cancellation
Free until 24 hours before

Meeting point, in Ice Explorers's words: Please be ready at the cafeteria at Jokulsarlon on time!

Our take on this one

Meet at Jökulsárlón, get into one of Iceland's larger custom super jeeps and drive about forty minutes onto the moraine of Breiðamerkurjökull to find the day's cave. The caves are entirely natural, form and collapse with the season, and change from week to week, so nobody knows until the morning which one you will see — sometimes it is at the glacier's edge, sometimes it means walking 500 to 1,000 metres on the ice. Total walking varies from one to four kilometres, so a reasonable level of fitness is needed even though the grade is easy. Minimum age seven. Nine departures a day from 08:00, winter only, €168.

Book it if: Anyone based near Höfn or driving the southeast in winter who wants a real cave rather than a tunnel cut into ice.
Skip it if: Natural caves are at the mercy of melt and collapse — the cave you saw in a photograph may not exist on your day, and the walk can reach 4 km.

Written by us, from the operator's own details and what we know of the route. We don't take a fee for a good word.

About this experience

Ready to witness nature’s stunning creativity? Imagine embarking on this adventure in a custom-built super jeep. Our most popular experience, the Ice Cave Tour at Breiðamerkurjökull, offers a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity guided by our expert team. Let the adventure begin.

THE TOUR

Your journey starts by meeting your guide and boarding one of Iceland’s largest custom-made super jeeps. We’ll depart from Glacier Lagoon and drive approximately 40 minutes toward Breiðamerkurjökull, a glacial tongue extending from Vatnajökull. Along the way, your guide will share fascinating insights into the formation of ice caves, glaciers, and volcanoes, as well as local culture.

The caves we visit are 100% natural, constantly forming and changing with the seasons and weather conditions. As such, the cave we explore will depend on the conditions on the day of your tour. We may find ourselves at the edge of the glacier, or we might need to hike a short distance (500-1000m) on the glacier to reach the cave. The walking distance on the tour, therefore, varies between 1-4 km. All participants should be in good health and comfortable with the walking distance.

Before entering the cave, your guide will provide a safety briefing and equip you with helmets and crampons or micro spikes, if needed. Each tour is unique due to the ever-changing nature of the glaciers and caves. You’ll witness a variety of stunning ice formations and colors, from brilliant blue to emerald green and even striking black ice. Our guests often tell us that the diverse ice formations and colors are the most unforgettable part of their experience.

WHICH ICE CAVE DO WE VISIT?

We always aim to take you to the most beautiful and awe-inspiring ice caves available during the season. Since the caves constantly evolve, old ones disappear, and new ones form, each tour is a unique adventure. Rest assured, we will guide you to the best ice cave accessible at the time of your visit.

If you want to learn more about how the Ice caves evolve through the months of the Ice cave season, check out our blog post Ice caves evolution through the season.

If you’re looking for an extended experience, we also offer a 5-6 hour tour (Ice Cave & Glacier Exploration tour) that combines an ice cave visit with a glacier walk.

Description from the operator, Ice Explorers. Prices and availability in the booking panel are live.

Where you go

Ice Caving

Cancellation for this tour

Free cancellation until 24 hours before departure; no refund after that. If the operator cancels for weather or safety, you get a full refund or a new date.

If the weather cancels this tour

Iceland's weather is real. What usually stops this one is melt-water or unstable ice after a warm spell — the guide decides on the morning, and a cave can close for days. Here is exactly what happens to your booking.

1Ice Explorers decides, and tells us. Operators cancel when it is unsafe or pointless, and we back that call every time — we do not ask them to run anyway.
2We contact you by email, and by phone if your tour is the same or next day. You choose: another date if there is one you can make, or a full refund. There is no fee and nothing to argue.
3The refund goes back to the card you paid with, through Stripe, usually visible within a few working days. If this tour was one of several in your booking, the others are untouched.

What you do not get is the day back. If this is the only free day in your plan, put a spare day next to it — the planner leaves days free with the rest-day option. And if you want out because the forecast looks bad, that is your own cancellation: free until 1 day before departure, the operator's policy after that.

Questions on the day: [email protected] · +354 497 1373. How cancellations work in Iceland →

Why this one and not the cheaper one?

The nearest cheaper Ice Cave Sólheimajökull Experience - Meet on location from Glaciers and Waterfalls is €131 — €42 less. Here is every difference we can actually measure.

	Ice Explorers · €173	Glaciers and Waterfalls · €131
How long it runs	3.5 hours	4 hours
How hard it is	Easy	Challenging

On everything we can measure, the Glaciers and Waterfalls tour is the better buy. The €42 is not buying anything we can point to, so unless you want this operator in particular, take the cheaper one.

Who this is not for

Children under 7 cannot join this one.
Not available in summer; the operator runs it roughly September to April.

Read off the operator's own conditions. If none of it applies to you, this is a good one.

Why we list it

Ice Explorers is one of 204 operators we work with — chosen for reliability, honest descriptions and how they treat guests when weather changes plans. We don't list everything; we list what we'd book ourselves. The six checks every operator passes →

What travellers say about Ice Explorers

Read all 600 reviews on Google →

Operator rating 4.8/5 from Google — these are reviews of the company, not this specific tour. Shown as Google returns them, unedited.

Łukasz Strep
★★★★★ · 7 months ago
Our glacier tour was an unforgettable experience. Walking across the ice and visiting the breathtaking ice cave felt truly magical. Everything was well organized and the scenery was absolutely stunning. A special thank you to our amazing guides, Barbara and Guillermo. They were incredibly professional, friendly, and made the whole adventure both safe and exciting. Their positive energy made this tour even more memorable. Highly recommended.
Kevin Neumann
★★★★★ · 4 months ago
We had the chance to go on a glacier tour with the lovely Zusana to visit some ice caves that had formed there. Just the drive there was an adventure in itself. It was a breathtaking experience to hike on a glacier for the first time. The caves we were allowed to explore were truly impressive. A big thank you to Zusana, who was not only incredibly friendly but also very knowledgeable and told us a great deal about the glacier and the ice caves. Thank you so much for this wonderful afternoon! Spikes and helmets are provided on site.
Jason Foster
★★★★★ · 3 months ago
This tour was one of my favorite experiences in Iceland. Learning about the glacier, and seeing the effects of climate change up close was very inspiring. The guide, Guillermo, did an amazing job as well!
Brooke Hauser
★★★★★ · 7 months ago
Our guide, Javier, was so wonderful. He was so friendly, knowledgeable and cool. He made us all feel so safe and comfortable. We throughly enjoyed viewing all of the different ice caves and such. Would recommend this tour (specifically w Javier) a million times over!

Reviews from Google · updated 21 Oct 2026

Read before you book

Höfn í Hornafirði: the glacier baseIceland's best-placed small town for Vatnajökull. Ice caves, glacier walks and langoustine, an hour east of Jökulsárlón and a long way from Reykjavík.
Best Glacier Hike in Iceland (2026): 5 PicksThe glacier hikes we would book ourselves in Iceland, on Sólheimajökull and in Skaftafell, with real adult prices, departure points and who each one is not for.
Best Ice Cave Tour in Iceland (2026): 5 PicksThe ice cave tours we would book ourselves, from the Vatnajökull caves near Jökulsárlón to Katla near Vík, with real prices and meeting points.

Reviews from our travellers

Only people who booked this tour through us can write here. We publish every review in full — good or bad.

Reviews arrive the day after each trip — none yet for this one. After your tour we send one email asking how it was, and what you write goes here, unedited.

Ice caves — questions people ask

When can you visit an ice cave in Iceland?

Natural blue ice caves open from around November to March, when the glacier is cold enough for the meltwater tunnels to be safe. They form under Vatnajökull near Jökulsárlón, and the caves change every year. Two exceptions run all year: the Katla ice cave near Vík, which is dark ice striped with ash, and Into the Glacier at Langjökull, a man-made tunnel. If you want the glowing blue photos, come between November and March.

Can I do an ice cave tour as a day trip from Reykjavík?

Only the Katla cave. The South Coast and Katla ice cave tour (/experience/22559/) is about twelve hours from Reykjavík and back. The blue caves at Vatnajökull are five hours' drive each way, too far for a day, so operators sell them as two- or three-day tours (/experience/6131/, /experience/7358/) with a night near Jökulsárlón. If you are self-driving, stay in the Höfn or Skaftafell area and book the Crystal Ice Cave tour (/experience/17337/) from there.

Is the Katla ice cave as good as the blue ice caves?

Different, not worse. Katla's cave under Mýrdalsjökull is black and white, layered with volcanic ash, and open all year. It will not give you the glowing blue tunnel photos from Instagram; those are the Vatnajökull caves, November to March only. What Katla gives you is a shorter super-jeep drive from Vík (/experience/22558/) and availability in summer. If you are here between November and March and can reach Jökulsárlón, choose blue. Otherwise choose Katla.

Are ice caves safe?

With a guide, yes. Operators inspect the caves daily and cancel when meltwater, warm weather or ice movement makes them unsafe, which happens most often in November and March at the edges of the season. You wear a helmet and crampons and stay with the group. Never enter a glacier cave on your own. If your tour is cancelled for safety, you get a full refund or another date, and most operators try to substitute another cave first.

Hotels

Where to stay for this tour

From the cheapest to the top end of what is near Höfn í Hornafirði, from our hotel partners. Rooms are booked on our hotels site.

All hotels in Vatnajökull & Jökulsárlón →

One checkout, any number of operators
Rankings are not for sale
203 operators vetted, and not all of them accepted
If it falls short, we fix it

from

€172.51 per person

Ice Explorers's own price. 3% off the whole trip when you book two or more tours together, in one checkout.

Your date

The next departure we can see — change it if this tour is for another day.

Pick a date to check departures.

Departs08:0008:2008:5009:2010:0012:2012:5013:2014:0014:4015:20

Höfn í Hornafirði: light 08:10–17:20, 9 h 10 min of daylight.

✓ Free cancellation until 24 hours before
✓ Instant confirmation by email
✓ If Ice Explorers cancels for weather or safety: a full refund, or another date
✓ Card — Apple Pay or Google Pay where your device offers it — through Stripe; the charge is made in Icelandic krónur
✓ Price promise: Ice Explorers's own price, or we refund the difference
✓ One checkout, even with tours from several operators
✓ Vetted operator — the six checks every operator passes

Pairs well with

Add any of these to this tour and 3 % comes off both at checkout — about €10 on the cheapest pair. One basket, one payment, however many operators they come from.