Ice cave - Inside the largest glacier

by Glacier Trips · Ice caves · Vatnajökull & Jökulsárlón

Beginners welcome
Fine on your own
Good with teenagers

from €175.45 per person

Next departure: Thu 22 Oct

Book Thu 22 Oct · €175.45 Other dates

Ice cave - Inside the largest glacier — Glacier Trips

Formation and the colors are great in Sparkle ice cave

One of our truck that takes you to the Ice cave

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13 photos from Glacier Trips. Tap any one for the full-size original.

Duration
3 hours
Difficulty
Easy
Season
Sep – Apr
Pickup
Meet at the start point
Starts at
Jökulsárlón parking lot
Jökulsárlón (Glacier Lagoon), Höfn í Hornafirði
Guide
Guided in English
Departs
07:30, 08:00, 08:30, 09:00 …
Minimum age
8
Cancellation
Free until 2 days before

About this experience

If you want to capture/photograph the blue crystal colours of the ice with a local company, this is a tour that we recommend for you.

We start with a 4×4 super jeep ride to the glacier, where we hike to the ice cave (note that there is no elevation on the way to the cave). We spend a good amount of time in the ice cave exploring and taking all the photos you need.

The tour can take 2.5 to 3 hours, depending on the day’s conditions and weather. All the ice caves are naturally made, so nature decides how they are shaped and where they are located. Safety is our priority, so we always choose the best Ice cave for every trip. The drive and the walk to the ice cave can, therefore, be different between days. If nature decides we cannot go to the ice cave, we have other extraordinary alternatives for you.

Difficulty
Easy / Moderate for some – Accessible to all those in good health.

Important
Good clothes, hats, gloves, and hiking shoes are very important.

Gear Provided
Micro spikes (when needed), helmets and other safety gear.

Booking info
availability
October – April

Private tour contact
info@glaciertrips.is

Group Size
Maximum
14 persons

Duration
Depends on Conditions
2.5 – 3 Hours

Meeting point
Jokulsarlon (glacier lagoon / ice lagoon)

Note: Natural Ice caves in Iceland are very popular. Many people travel from all parts of the world to see this magnificent phenomenon, so we might not be the only ones in the cave, but we do try to organize the tour so that you will get the most out of it.

Meeting point
Latitude: 64.048399 | Longitude: -16.179443
Jökulsárlón (Parking Area)
info@glaciertrips.is
+354 – 7792919

Note: Be at least 30 minutes before departure

Description from the operator, Glacier Trips. Prices and availability in the booking panel are live.

Included

Super Jeep Tour English speaking guide Gear provided: Micro spikes (when needed), helmets, headlamps if needed.

Good to know

Good clothes, hats, gloves, and hiking shoes are very important.

Meeting point: Jökulsárlón main parking area (closest to the lagoon). GPS: 64.048399, -16.179443. Please arrive at least 30 minutes before departure. A regional/parking fee applies at Jökulsárlón and is paid through Parka.

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.

1Glacier Trips 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 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 Ice Cave Sólheimajökull Experience - Meet on location from Glaciers and Waterfalls is €131 — €45 less. Here is every difference we can actually measure.

	Glacier Trips · €175	Glaciers and Waterfalls · €131
How long it runs	3 hours	4 hours
Changing your mind	Free until 48 h before	Free until 24 h before
How hard it is	Easy	Challenging

The €45 buys you free cancellation up to 48 h before. Whether that is worth it is your call — but that is what the difference is.

Who this is not for

Children under 8 cannot join this one.
Not for late risers on your first morning — the earliest departure is 07:30, and Reykjavík pickups start before that.

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

Why we list it

Glacier Trips 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

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.
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.
Boat tours in Iceland: the five kinds explainedWhale boats, aurora cruises, glacier-lagoon zodiacs, island ferries and sea angling. What each one actually is, what it costs, and which are worth a slot.

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 Skaftafell, 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

€175.45 per person

Glacier Trips'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.

Departs07:3008:0008:3009:0009:3010:0010:3010:4511:0011:3012:0012:3013:0013:3014:0014:1514:3015:00

Skaftafell: light 08:16–17:28, 9 h 12 min of daylight.

✓ Free cancellation until 2 days before
✓ Instant confirmation by email
✓ If Glacier Trips 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: Glacier Trips'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 €11 on the cheapest pair. One basket, one payment, however many operators they come from.