Vatnajokull ice cave tours take you across an outlet glacier to a cave inside the ice, with a guide who picks a safe one that day. They run in the cold months, roughly October to April, from the lagoon car park or from Skaftafell, and the cave changes from winter to winter.
Meet by the cafeteria in the lagoon's main car park, ride a modified 4x4 onto the glacier and walk 1 to 5.5 km to an ice cave or blue ice feature. Helmet and spikes are supplied. From age 10, in the cold months.
From $169 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
A modified 4x4 from the Crystal Cave Tours sign at the lagoon, then about an hour on the glacier and inside the cave the guide picks that day. Bring hiking shoes: none are rented. If no cave is safe, you can hike with 30% refunded.
From $157 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Starts at the lagoon car park with a 20-minute jeep ride, then about three hours on the ice in two legs, with a blue ice cave between them. Crampons, helmet, axe and harness are included; food is not.
From $158 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
From the Mountain Guides lodge at Skaftafell: a vehicle to the ice, a guided walk and a natural ice cave, in three and a half hours. Crampons, axe and helmet are included. From age 10, one youth per adult.
From $160 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
The gentlest cave walk: a 4x4 bus from the Arctic Adventures hut, about 3 km on the ice, rated easy, and a natural ice cave. From age 8, with crampons that fit EU 35 to 50 only.
From $159 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Cave tours start at $157, and every one refunds in full up to 24 hours ahead. Pick your date and see the meeting time and group before you pay.
Check availabilityA ride and a walk, with a cave at the end. At the lagoon car park you board a modified 4x4 that drives onto Breiðamerkurjökull; at Skaftafell a bus or a vehicle takes you to the foot of the ice. You put on a helmet and crampons or spikes, and you walk to whichever cave the guides have judged safe that week.
The park’s rangers at Breiðamerkursandur are responsible for the ice caves in Breiðamerkurjökull, and only operators under contract with the park run them. In autumn 2024 the park barred cave entry until 30 October, then let caves reopen from 3 October at risk-assessed sites, as a trial with daily checks. You do not choose the cave; the ice does. The ice cave season guide explains the rules behind that.
A hike shows you the surface. A cave tour takes you under it, into blue light, with a guide who has checked the roof. Nothing else sold on the glacier does that.
In the cold months the caves are what the south-east does best. If your trip falls between October and April, this is the day to build the trip round.
Every cave tour crosses the ice to reach the cave: about 3 km on the gentlest, 1 to 5.5 km on the Original Ice Cave, and about three hours in two legs on the lagoon hike and cave tour.
The Crystal Cave tour spends about an hour on the glacier and in the cave, in three hours all told. One traveller found it just right for elderly parents.
If a cave is the point, book the cave. If you are unsure, read this first.
| An ice cave tour | A glacier hike | |
|---|---|---|
| When it runs | The cold months, roughly October to April | All year |
| Fares | $157 to $169 | $104 to $256 |
| Youngest | 8 on one cave; 10 where published | 8 on the Arctic Adventures hike |
| Starts at | The lagoon car park or Skaftafell | The Skaftafell bases |
| What you see | A cave that changes each winter | Ridges, crevasses, moulins |
| The catch | The cave may be small, and shared | No cave |
Travelling outside the cold months? Take one of the glacier hike tours from Skaftafell; the longer ones pass moulins and crevasses in the same blue ice.
You get a guide, the ride to the ice, a helmet and crampons or spikes on every tour, and a harness and an axe on most. Your guide picks the cave each day, and on the Crystal Cave tour you can take a hike with 30% of the fare back if no cave is safe.
You do not get a promise of size. The Original Ice Cave says a large cathedral-style cave cannot be guaranteed and that you share it with other groups. One traveller on a lagoon tour spent more time waiting behind other groups than in the caves. You do not get boots or warm clothes on most tours either, and the Crystal Cave tour has no boots to rent. Our FAQs say what to wear.
| What to expect | |
|---|---|
| Season | The cold months, roughly October to April, confirmed on the day |
| Fares | $157 to $169 per person |
| Length | 3 to 4 hours |
| Youngest | 8 on the Arctic Adventures cave; 10 on two others; the rest not published |
| Check-in | 10 to 20 minutes early, by tour |
| Cancellation | Free up to 24 hours ahead |
Pick the start that suits your bed. The Skaftafell caves suit a night to the west, the lagoon caves a night towards the east; how to get to the bases shows each meeting point. In midwinter an afternoon tour ends in the dark.
Keep a hike as your fallback. A warm spell or a flood can close a cave at short notice, and the operator decides on the day.
About 3 km on the glacier, rated easy, to a natural ice cave, from age 8. Pick your date and see the meeting time before you pay.
Check availabilityNext: Read the ice cave season guide before you book, or choose a base in Skaftafell or the lagoon. Every fare sits side by side on Vatnajokull Tours.