Ice Cave & Glacier Discovery - Full Day Tour

by Heading North · Ice caves · Glacier hiking · Vatnajökull & Jökulsárlón

Ice Cave & Glacier Discovery - Full Day Tour — Heading North

Would this be cheaper direct? No — we sell at Heading North's own price and take our commission from them, not from you. What you get here is one checkout across operators, one confirmation, and one place to change or cancel it. If you ever find it cheaper on their own site, tell us and we will match it or explain why we cannot.

More photos of Ice Cave & Glacier Discovery - Full Day Tour

Climbing up and out of a moulinGlacier WalkDetails of glacial formationsOur ride - Modified Land Rover DefenderAdventure beingsBreiðamerkurjökull Glacier WallPrivate diamond beachIce Cave & Glacier Discovery - Full Day Tour, photo 13Ice Cave & Glacier Discovery - Full Day Tour, photo 14Ice Cave & Glacier Discovery - Full Day Tour, photo 15Ice Cave & Glacier Discovery - Full Day Tour, photo 16

16 photos from Heading North. Tap any one for the full-size original.

  • Duration

    6 hours

  • Difficulty

    Moderate

  • Season

    Sep – Apr

  • Meeting

    Meet on location

  • Languages

    EN

  • Departs

    08:00, 08:30, 09:00, 09:30 …

  • Minimum age

    15

  • Cancellation

    Free until 2 days before

About this experience

Our Glacier Walk Journey begins with a 4x4 ride in a modified Toyota Land Cruiser heading towards one of Vatnajökull's glacial outlets. Once we get close we will equip you with all the necessary glacier safety gear: crampons, a harness, helmet and an ice axe. From there we take our first steps on the ice.

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We spend between 30 to 45 minutes exploring the Ice Cave before we continue our journey onto the glacier to explore its features. Along the journey we will share local knowledge of the area, the glacier and surrounding glacial terrain, perhaps even stopping to drink the purest water which can be found in Iceland. Every year the glacier brings us new formations to explore such as canyons and moulins, it's like a box of chocolates: you never know what you're gonna get.

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Since our groups are extra small(max 6 people), we have more flexibility and we go with the flow. We might stay longer or shorter on the glacier depending on how we feel.​

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IS THIS TOUR FOR YOU?

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In this tour we visit a natural Ice Cave as well as going on a Glacier Walk. It's perfect for the adventurous person who likes to venture a bit further to get the full experience. Since this is a full day tour a decent fitness level is required. The distance covered this winter is around 5-6 km in total.

Description from the operator, Heading North. Prices and availability in the booking panel are live.

Where you go

  1. Super Jeep Ride - Land Rover Defender
  2. Walk to the Ice Cave
  3. Explore the Sapphire Ice Cave
  4. Glacier Walk + Moulin and Crevasse Stops

Good to know

Food and Drink : 


Bring light lunch and snacks, as well as some drink preferably water.

Clothing:

Waterproof Jacket, warm clothes, boots, and a hat.

Medium to hard difficulty - The difficulty is dependent on your personal
ability. Typically the tour will include at least 3.5 hours of walking.

Bring lunch, drink, waterproof Jacket, warm clothes, boots, and a hat.

Cancellation for this tour

Free cancellation until 2 days 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.

  1. 1Heading North 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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 2 days 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 Perlan Ice Cave, Northern Lights Planetarium & Golden Circle Tour from BusTravel Iceland is €107 — €164 less. Here is every difference we can actually measure.

Heading North · €271BusTravel Iceland · €107
How long it runs6 hours10 hours
Getting thereYou make your own wayPicks you up
Changing your mindFree until 48 h beforeFree until 24 h before
How hard it isModerateVery easy

The cheaper tour is ahead on more of what we can measure. The €164 is worth it only if free cancellation up to 48 h before is what you want.

Sold out on your date?

Seats come back — a cancellation, or the operator adding a vehicle. Tell us the date and we will check once a day and email you if one opens. One email, then we delete the address; nothing else is ever sent to it.

Who this is not for

  • Not for families with children under 15 — the operator will not take them, even with a parent.
  • 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

Heading North is one of 154 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 →

Read before you book

Reviews from our travellers

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

No reviews yet from our travellers on 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.

  • One checkout, any number of operators

  • Rankings are not for sale

  • 153 operators vetted, and not all of them accepted

  • If it falls short, we fix it

Pairs well with

Everything here goes into the same basket and the same single payment, however many operators it comes from.

from

€271 per person

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