Vatnajokull Glacier Hike from Skaftafell: Blue Ice Discovery

★★★★★ 4.9 (662 traveller ratings)

Glacier hike on VatnajökullMeets by the visitor centreAbout 3 hours at the glacierMax 15 guests

You drive to Skaftafell, walk to a wooden lodge by the bus park, and are fitted with crampons and an ice axe. A short bus ride takes you to the foot of the ice. From there a certified guide walks your group of 15 at most up an outlet glacier of Vatnajökull, among crevasses and ice arches.

Hours, prices and access verified by the Vatnajokull Tours team — last checked 2026-09-23.

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A bus to the foot of the ice, then the ice itself

What $107 buys on an ice cap with no ticket booth

Nobody sells a ticket to Vatnajökull. You can park at Skaftafell, pay the park’s parking fee of 1,110 ISK for a car, and walk to where the ice begins. What you cannot do safely is step onto it. The park tells visitors to go onto Falljökull only with a guide who has experience of glacier walks, and with proper safety gear. Your fare buys exactly that: the guide, the crampons, the ice axe and the harness.

After a safety briefing at the lodge, the guides fit your gear and a bus drives you to the start of the hike. Kate_M noticed that the off-road vehicle went right to the bottom of the glacier, which many tours do not do. Evangeline_D put it simply: more time on the ice, less time walking to it. You practise walking in crampons on the first slope, then the guide leads the group up.

Falljökull: crevasses, ice arches and glacier mills

The outlet you walk on is Falljökull, which spills down from the caldera of Öræfajökull, the volcano under the ice, whose caldera rim stands 1,800 metres high. On the tongue, the guide picks a route among crevasses, under arches of ice and past moulins, the shafts meltwater drills down through the glacier. The park’s glaciologists note that the deepest crevasses can pass 30 metres, which is why the guide goes first.

Gwen_S found the guide chose the route by the ice that day and the group’s pace, and used a rope to take people up and down steep bits. On a clear day you may see Hvannadalshnjúkur, Iceland’s highest peak, in the distance. The blue in the ice is not a trick of the light: glacier ice reflects blue light and absorbs the red and yellow.

How hard the walk is

Kimberly_R called the hiking moderate. Crampons take a little getting used to, but frequent stops to look and take pictures kept it easy. Neil_B found it harder than expected and warmed up fast, so wear fewer layers than you think. If you want to know more about the ice before you go, the national park page explains how the outlet glaciers formed and why they are retreating.

There is no car-free way to reach this base; the fare assumes you drive. If you are based in Reykjavík with no car, the lagoon day by coach is a different kind of day, and how to get there sets out every road and base.

Your three and a half hours at Skaftafell

1. Check in early. Be at the lodge well before your start time; groups leave on the dot.
2. Safety briefing. A guide explains the ice, the route and how to walk in crampons.
3. Gear up. Crampons, ice axe, helmet and harness are fitted; rent boots if needed.
4. Bus to the ice. A short drive takes the group from the lodge to the foot of the glacier.
5. First steps in crampons. You practise walking up and down before the hike begins.
6. Walk the glacier. Crevasses, ice arches and moulins, with stops to look and explain.
7. Bus back to the lodge. Gear comes off where it went on, next to the visitor centre.

Who this suits: drivers new to glacier walking

What’s included

Boots are the thing people forget. Bring hiking boots with ankle support, because crampons strap onto a stiff sole. If yours are trainers, boots and rain gear can be rented at the lodge; Kimberly_R found the rental cheap. Food, drinks and gratuities are not in the fare, and neither is transport, so plan the drive and the 1,110 ISK parking fee.

The wooden lodge by the Skaftafell bus park

The meeting point is Icelandic Mountain Guides’ Skaftafell base camp: a wooden sales lodge beside the bus parking. You can see it from the national park visitor centre, Skaftafellsstofa, so park, pay the fee and walk the short path to the lodge. Toilets are in the larger visitor centre across the way.

Skaftafell is on Route 1, about 4.5 to 5 hours by car from Reykjavík. The nearest towns with beds are Kirkjubæjarklaustur, 70 km west, and Höfn, 130 km east. Where to stay matches each base to a night nearby, and the visitor guide covers the parking fee and the visitor centre’s hours.

Know before you go

• Arrive 20 minutes before your start. Aneesh_A came at the booked time and the group had gone; the gear fitting happens first.
• Wear ankle boots, or rent them. Crampons need a stiff sole; boots and rain gear rent at the lodge.
• Dress in layers you can shed. You warm up fast on the ice; bring gloves, a hat and a waterproof.
• Bring children from ten. The minimum age is 10, and every child comes with an adult.
• Watch the forecast. The hike needs good weather; if it is cancelled you get a new date or a refund.
• Cancel a day ahead and pay nothing. The full fare comes back up to 24 hours before the start.

What hikers say after Falljökull

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Questions about this Skaftafell hike