Ice Cave Private Photography Tour

by Icarus Rising ehf · Ice caves · Glacier hiking · Vatnajökull & Jökulsárlón

  • Beginners welcome
  • Can be tailored

from €1,101.12 per vehicle

Next departure: Thu 22 Oct

Book Thu 22 Oct · €1,101.12 the vehicleOther dates
Ice Cave Private Photography Tour — Icarus Rising ehf
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  • Duration

    4 hours

  • Difficulty

    Easy

  • Season

    Sep – Apr

  • Starts in

    Höfn

  • Pickup

    Meet at the start point

  • Starts at

    Ice Pic Journey

    Ice Pic Journey, í Hornafirði, Jökulsárlón, Glacier Lagoon, , Höfn í Hornafirði

  • Guide

    Guided in English

  • Departs

    07:30

  • Cancellation

    Cancelling costs 10% of the price within 730 days of departure.

About this experience

This is the ultimate glacier and ice cave photography tour in Iceland. An adventure that is catered to those wanting to get the best shots for their portfolios on and inside of the glacier. During this tour, we will visit one or more ice caves and spend as much time as possible working inside the caves as our professional photography guide teaches you the tricks to getting perfect photos. Techniques taught include focus stacking, bracketing, panoramas, model positioning, and perfect settings for the unique conditions of the cave. After shooting the caves, we head up the glacier to shoot some of the most photogenic spots including crevasses, icefalls and viewpoints of Iceland below. Unlike the rest of Iceland, shooting the glacier gives you unique photos that nobody can ever copy since the glacier is always moving and changing.

Description from the operator, Icarus Rising ehf. Prices and availability in the booking panel are live.

Where you go

  1. Ice Cave Photography Tour

Included

  • Certified Glacier Guide, Professional Photographer, and photo model in one.
  • Small Group – Max of 6 people per group
  • Glacier & Ice Cave Equipment: helmet, harness, crampons (hiking boots upon prior request)

Not included

  • Food and Drinks
  • Warm Layers

Good to know

✓ Camera + Lenses (ideally you want a wide angle, mid range, and telephoto lens for this shoot)

✓ Accessories (recommended): Tripod, extra camera batteries, dry cloth, and remote shutter release will help you in any low light and/or bad weather conditions.

✓ Winter Clothing- Gloves, Hat, Wind/Rainproof Jacket, and warm layers for freezing conditions.

✓ Hiking Boots (boots should have good ankle support) If needed, please message us with your shoe size in the booking.

✓ Water Bottle

  • Arriving at an ice cave early never guarantees that we will be the only company or group there. Going earlier just gives us greater chances of having far fewer people inside the cave since most companies do not operate until 9 am or later.
  • Ice caves are a dynamic ever-changing natural phenomenon. Each year, old ice caves melt and new ice caves appear. Photos that you see of the cave at any given time on our website or any social media will not necessarily mean that is what you will experience on your tour. This makes each experience unique and special for our guests.
  • This tour involves roughly 1-1.5 hours of total hiking. The terrain is very flat yet rocky and is relatively easy for a person of average fitness.
  • Our Cancellation Policy can be found here.
  • We recommend you arrive at least 15 minutes before your tour and use the restrooms.

Cancellation for this tour

Cancelling costs 10% of the price within 730 days of departure. 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. 1Icarus Rising ehf 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 the cutoff shown above, the operator's policy after that.

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

Who this is not for

  • Not for late risers on your first morning — the earliest departure is 07:30, and Reykjavík pickups start before that.
  • Priced per vehicle, so it is poor value for one or two people and good value for four or more sharing.

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

Why we list it

Icarus Rising ehf 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 →

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.

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

Pairs well with

Add any of these to this tour and 3 % comes off both at checkout. One basket, one payment, however many operators they come from.

from

€1,101.12 per vehicle

Book Thu 22 Oct · €1,101.12 the vehicle