Kayaking in Iceland: glacier lagoon or fjord?

Choose by where you are sleeping, not by the photo. Glacier-lagoon kayaking is in the southeast, and it is the one with icebergs. Fjord kayaking is in the Westfjords and the north, and it is calmer, cheaper and better for a first time in a kayak. Neither is worth a long drive on its own.

Glacier lagoons: icebergs, cold and a short paddle

Fjallsárlón sits ten minutes west of Jökulsárlón, smaller and quieter, with ice calving straight off the glacier into it. Glacier and Volcano Expeditions runs Glacier Kayaking there from €127 for an hour and a half, in groups of six at most. You wear a drysuit, you paddle between icebergs that are sometimes the size of a house, and the guide keeps you well away from the glacier face, which can drop ice without warning. Minimum age is 10. The parking fee at the lagoon is extra.

For a longer day, further east towards Höfn, North Tides’ Heinabergslón Kayak and Hike is from €217 for six hours. You meet at Hótel Smyrlabjörg, paddle about an hour and a half through the icebergs, then land at the foot of Hafrafell, a mountain with no road access, and climb to a viewpoint. It has the fewest people of the two by some distance. Hiking boots with ankle support are the safe choice for the climb. It also asks the most of your legs.

The downside of the lagoons: you are cold, the paddle itself is short, and the water is still so there is no real kayaking skill involved. You are there for the ice.

Fjords: calmer water, wildlife, longer on the water

Ísafjörður has a colony of seals that lives in its fjord. Borea Adventures’ Calm Water Kayaking is from €130 for two and a half hours, with departures from 09:00 through the afternoon. In summer you paddle past eider ducks, Arctic terns and oystercatchers under mountains that drop straight into the water. Minimum age 12. Borea charges 30% if you cancel within a week, which is stricter than most.

In the north, Sigló Sea’s guided kayak tour in Siglufjörður is the cheapest good paddle we list, from €94 for two and a half hours. They supply a drysuit, neoprene boots and gloves, and teach you the basics before you set off. Small groups, relaxed pace.

Near Akureyri, North Fjord Kayak’s Árskógssandur tour is from €137 for two hours on Eyjafjörður, a fjord where humpbacks are regular in summer. You may see one from the kayak. You may also see none. Árskógssandur is about half an hour’s drive north of Akureyri, and there is no transport included.

The downside of the fjords: there is no ice, and if the wind picks up the guide will shorten the route or cancel. Fjord water is also colder than it looks, so bring wool, not cotton.

When you can go

Kayaking is a summer thing in Iceland. Most of the tours above sail from late spring to September, and our calendars show the lagoon trips and the Westfjords and Siglufjörður tours empty from the end of September. The Árskógssandur tours are the exception and run into the autumn. If you are here in winter, walk on a glacier instead.

Do you need experience?

No. Every tour here takes beginners, and the lagoon ones use stable boats on flat water. What matters more is being comfortable in cold air for two hours and having no back trouble; the lagoon tour says so plainly. Single and double kayaks are both usually available. Couples tend to argue in doubles, which is traditional.

Our honest take

If you are sleeping near Jökulsárlón, book the €127 Fjallsárlón paddle. It is short, it is cold, and it is the closest you will get to icebergs without a boat engine running. If you have a whole day near Höfn and strong legs, the €217 Heinabergslón kayak and hike is the better buy.

If you are in the Westfjords or the north, paddle a fjord instead. The €94 Siglufjörður tour is the one we would pick first: cheapest, longest on the water, drysuit included. Don’t drive three hours to either kind. A kayak is the thing you do because you are already there.