Experience the dramatic landscape of Vatnajökull National Park and go inside the ice caves formed when water runs beneath the glacier during the summer. Trek across the rugged terrain of the south of Iceland, and look at the magical blue ice of the caves.

About this activity

Free cancellation: Cancel up to 24 hours in advance to receive a full refund
Covid-19 precautions: Special health and safety measures apply. Learn more
Mobile ticketing: Use your phone or print your voucher
Duration 3 hours: Check availability to see starting times.
Instant confirmation
Live tour guide: English

Highlights

Experience the deep blue ice formations of Europe´s largest glacier at Vatnajökull
Hunt down the newest ice caves with a local guide
Enjoy the stunning glacial surroundings of the ice cave

Full description

Meet at the Café by Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon, about 40 minutes east of Skaftafell, for the start of a unique winter activity and look at an extraordinary natural phenomenon. Go inside some of the ice caves that form after water runs beneath the Vatnajökull Glacier during the summer. Benefit from a choice of 3 departure times during the day. Every fall, local guides hunt for new ice caves, as their location can change each year. The structure and condition can also vary from year to year, but rest assured your guide will decide which is the best cave to visit, depending on the safety and weather conditions. Drive for approximately 20 to 30 minutes to the ice cave chosen by your guide, and then walk for 5 to 15 minutes to the mouth of the cave. Upon arrival, enjoy between 1 and 1.5 hours to look inside at the miraculous blue ice of the cave, and take in the natural beauty of the surrounding area.

Includes

All safety gear

Not suitable for

Children under 8 years

Covid-19 precautions

Safety measures in place

All areas that customers touch are frequently cleaned

Prepare for the activity

Meeting point

Meet at the Café by Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon in South Iceland. The lagoon is approximately 390 kilometers east of Reykjavík.

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Important information

What to bring

Warm clothing
Rain gear

Know before you go

Please note that the total duration of this tour is about 3 hours
It will be cold inside the cave. Bring warm and water resistant clothing
Good hiking shoes are recommended as you will have to walk over rugged terrain for approximately 10-15 minutes
This activity has extremely limited availability so reserve now if you want to see a blue ice cave
Please be advised that the ice caves are a natural phenomenon and it's impossible to predict where, when and how many will form. In the unlikely that no ice caves form next winter, the tour will be fully refunded
You can choose from 3 different departure times: 09:30, 13:00 and 15:00

Customer reviews

Overall rating

4.3 /5

based on 93 reviews

Review summary

Guide
4.9/5
Value for money
3.8/5
Service
4.6/5
Organization
4.5/5

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This is a great tour for those with limited time and want a quick trip to an ice cave tour. The whole experience was wonderful. The ice cave itself was beautiful, the guide was very knowledgeable and nice, and both the drive and the hike to the ice cave were fun. The other smart thing all the guides were doing is stopping during the hike to talk, and measuring the line ahead. Yes, this is popular and can get crowded, and the guides smartly try to bring people into the cave in chunks so it's not too crowded. Recommended!

October 28, 2021

Very good visit to the ice cave! We went there at the end of winter (03/23/2020 to be precise), the cave was starting to melt so the ground was not ice. We did about 30min Super JEEP, 30min walk, 30min in the ice cave, and the same for the return, 30min walk and 30min Super JEEP. The scenery is breathtaking, and the cave itself was truly stunning! We had a lot of information from the guide, the time to get there may seem long but that's what makes the charm of this cave, not accessible to all. 30min in the cave may seem short (I would have been disappointed to pay so much for 30min), but in the end that's enough, it gives us time to go around and admire this beauty.

March 30, 2020

Really good guide , really informative and fun. We found a crazy weather with snow storm which makes the things a bit difficult usually but actually we had a great and really adventurous time. We were only 4 people , which was better , and we managed to see 2 caves - blue diamond and black diamond. Due to the weather we couldn’t see a third one but the guide made the tour in the black cave really amazing , making us going through a small tunnel inside ( we had to crawl there ) and this was really exciting! I really recommend it

March 14, 2020

South Iceland: Vatnajökull Glacier Blue Ice Cave Tour

South Iceland: Vatnajökull Glacier Blue Ice Cave Tour

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