Things to Do at Vatnajokull

Most of what surrounds the ice costs you only the parking. Beside any Vatnajokull glacier tour you can walk to a waterfall, reach the front of a glacier on a marked path, and watch icebergs drift on two lagoons.

The Skaftafell trails, easy to hard

Skaftafell is the park's hiking area on Route 1, at the foot of the ice. The park marks trails from a 30-minute stroll to a ten-hour trek. You pay the regional fee once and walk as many as you like that day.

Check before you set off. The park closed the Austurbrekkur trail for maintenance from 1 to 30 September 2026. In spring it also shuts muddy paths to protect them. The rangers at Skaftafellsstofa, the visitor centre by the car park, know what is open that morning.

Svartifoss and its basalt columns

Svartifoss drops over a wall of dark, regular basalt columns. The park explains how they formed. About 300,000 years ago lava filled an old river bed here, cooled slowly, and split into columns.

You reach it on trail S2, a 5.8 km loop of about two hours, graded easy. On the way up you pass two smaller falls, Hundafoss and Magnúsarfoss. If you have three hours, take S6 instead and add the Sjónarnípa viewpoint over the glacier.

A glacier without crampons: Skaftafellsjökull (S1)

Trail S1 takes you to the front of Skaftafellsjökull in a 4.1 km loop of an hour to an hour and a half. It is the park's easy way to see an outlet glacier up close. Numbered markers of the park's Melting Glaciers project explain the kettle holes and the new plants you pass as the ice retreats.

Stop where the path stops. The park sends anyone who wants to walk on the ice to a guide. The guided hikes go onto Falljökull next door, with crampons, a harness and a helmet in the fare.

Jökulsárlón, the beach and the B trails

At the glacier lagoon, icebergs calve off Breiðamerkurjökull and drift toward the sea. The lagoon sits at the mouth of a trough the glacier carved, 200 to 300 metres deep and 25 km long. Across Route 1, ice washes up on the black sand of Fellsfjara, known to most visitors as Diamond Beach.

Look for seals at the river mouth, where the park records large colonies. Keep your drone in the bag from 15 April to 15 July, when birds nest here.

Fjallsárlón, 10 km west

Fjallsárlón lies in front of Fjallsjökull, 10 km west of the main lagoon. It is smaller, the glacier face is closer, and the park notes fewer crowds. There are toilets and a cafeteria by the car park.

Trail B4 walks you along it in about 45 minutes. If you have a whole day, trail B3 links the two lagoons across the plain, 15 km and four to five hours.

Heinabergslón and the eastern tongues

East of the lagoon, the Hornafjörður glacier tongues reach down almost to the farms. The turn-off for Heinabergslón leaves Route 1 between Skálafell and Flatey. The last 8 km are gravel, and the park recommends four-wheel drive.

At the lagoon a short interpretive trail explains the vanishing glaciers, and a toilet is open all year. A right fork on the way in leads past the old Heinaberg farm to the Bólstaðafoss waterfall. Watch for reindeer, most often in winter.

The stops on the lagoon day from Reykjavík

If you join the coach day from Reykjavík, the drive is half the day. The itinerary stops at Skógafoss for 25 minutes on the way east, then for 40 minutes at Freysnes. At the lagoon you get a guided visit, then 15 minutes on the beach.

On the way back it stops in Vík for 45 minutes and at Seljalandsfoss. That day stays on the shore and never goes onto the ice. You see the glacier from the lagoon, not from on top of it.

What is free and what is not

Walking costs nothing here beyond the parking. What you pay for is anything that needs a guide, a kayak or a bed.

Asked about the trails and lagoons

Where these facts come from

The trails, lengths, grades, geology and services are the national park's own, read 23 September 2026. The stop times on the day trip come from its itinerary, saved 23 September 2026.

• Skaftafell: access, history and trails (national park)
• The black-column waterfall and trail S2 (national park, in Icelandic)
• Trail S1 to the glacier front (national park)
• The glacier lagoon: services, trails and wildlife (national park)
• The smaller lagoon to the west (national park)
• Heinaberg and the eastern glacier tongues (national park)
• Pricelist: the regional fee and camping (national park)