Skaftafell Glacier Tour

For most travelers, the Skaftafell: Blue Ice Glacier Hike on Vatnajökull operated by Arctic Adventures. It runs from ~$106 per person over four hours, includes a certified glacier guide, crampons, ice pick, helmet and harness, the 4x4 transfer to the edge of Falljökull and the Vatnajökull National Park fee. Roughly an hour and a half of that is spent on the glacier itself. It holds a 4.7/5 rating from 1,495 reviews — with guiding scored at 4.9 — and offers free cancellation up to 24 hours before departure.

Prices on this page range from about ~$106 to ~$244 per person. The four-hour Blue Ice Glacier Hike starts at ~$106, the Blue Ice Cave and Glacier Hike at ~$161, the five-hour Falljökull Advanced Hike at ~$165, the small-group blue ice walk at ~$227, and the seven-and-a-half-hour Glacier XTreme ice climbing day at ~$244. All prices are per person and can vary by season and departure date.

Not the five on this page. Every one of them meets on site — at the Skaftafell base camps beside the Vatnajökull National Park Visitor Center, or at the Troll Expeditions hut nearby. Skaftafell is roughly 330 km east of Reykjavík along Route 1, about four and a half hours of driving without stops, so you will need a rental car, a scheduled bus down the south coast, or a bed somewhere nearby the night before. There are separate multi-day tours from Reykjavík that bundle a glacier hike, but they are a different kind of trip.

Less than the tour duration suggests, and this is the single most common surprise. On the four-hour Blue Ice Glacier Hike the published itinerary allows about 1.5 hours on Falljökull, with roughly 20 minutes by 4x4 bus and 30 minutes walking in each direction. The five-hour Falljökull Advanced Hike gives you around three hours on the ice. Glacier XTreme runs seven and a half hours and spends most of the day up there.

Yes, and this is not a suggestion. Crampons need a rigid sole and a supported ankle to clamp onto, so sturdy hiking boots with ankle support are mandatory on every tour here. Sandals, flip flops and open-toed shoes are explicitly not allowed. Boots are available to rent on site — the Blue Ice Glacier Hike lists rental at around 1,500 ISK — but the rental is not in the headline price, so factor it in if you are travelling light.

The easy routes are designed for exactly that. The Blue Ice Glacier Hike is graded easy, states that no experience is required, and involves about 3 km of walking over uneven terrain. Your guide teaches you how to walk in crampons before you step onto the ice. The Falljökull Advanced Hike and Glacier XTreme are meaningfully harder — longer, steeper and higher on the glacier — and are better suited to people who are comfortable on a long day out.

It varies by tour. The Blue Ice Glacier Hike sets its minimum at 8 years, and also requires a minimum shoe size of 35 EU because the crampons only fit sizes 35 to 50. The ICELANDIA small-group hike does not accept children under 10 and is not suitable during pregnancy. Glacier XTreme, the ice climbing day, has a minimum age of 14 and does not accept travelers with mobility impairments.

In the cold months only. Natural ice caves are carved by summer meltwater draining through the glacier and are only stable enough to enter once winter has frozen them. They are re-scouted every autumn, each one is different, and none of them lasts through the melt — which is why the operator describes every cave as a limited edition. The Blue Ice Cave and Glacier Hike on this page is the Skaftafell option; check its booking calendar for the dates it is actually running when you travel.

On the Blue Ice Glacier Hike: the guided hike itself, a certified glacier guide, glacier crampons, an ice pick, a helmet and a harness, the 4x4 bus transfer from Skaftafell to the edge of the glacier, and the Vatnajökull National Park fee. Food, drinks and hiking boots are not included. Glacier XTreme additionally provides professional ice-climbing boots and ice axes. Inclusions differ by operator, so check the specific listing before you book.

Warm layers under a waterproof jacket and trousers, plus a hat and gloves. It is always colder and windier on the ice than in the car park, and the glacier generates its own weather. The Blue Ice Glacier Hike asks for warm clothing, a hat, gloves and hiking shoes. Glacier XTreme asks for warm outdoor clothing, waterproofs, headwear, gloves, a water bottle and snacks, and rents waterproof jackets and trousers if you arrive without them.

Falljökull, whose name means "the falling glacier". It is one of the outlet tongues flowing south off Vatnajökull, the largest ice cap in Europe, and it ends a short 4x4 drive from the Skaftafell visitor centre. All five tours on this page walk on Falljökull. Its icefall — the steep, broken section where the glacier tumbles down the mountain — is the feature the advanced hike and the ice climbing day both head toward.

Yes. The Blue Ice Cave and Glacier Hike on Vatnajökull combines both in four hours from ~$161, with Arctic Adventures and a maximum of 12 guests per guide. You meet at Skaftafell Base Camp, take a 20-minute 4x4 bus to the foot of Falljökull, hike across frozen ridges and crevasses to the cave, spend time inside it, then hike back past moulins and ice shafts. It is rated 4.6/5 from 849 reviews, and it only runs in the cold season.

Yes. Glacier XTreme is built for it — the listing states the challenge is tailored to you whether you are a beginner or have climbed before, and your guide teaches the technique for using ice axes and crampons on vertical walls. It runs seven and a half hours with a maximum of six guests per guide, and professional ice-climbing boots, crampons, helmets, harnesses and axes are all provided. The minimum age is 14. Note that at 83 reviews its 4.9/5 rating rests on a much smaller sample than the hikes on this page.

All five tours featured here list free cancellation up to 24 hours before departure, and all five offer a reserve-now-pay-later option. Given how quickly weather and ice conditions change in southeast Iceland, that flexibility is worth using rather than admiring. Cancellation terms are set by each provider and can differ by tour and by date, so always confirm the specific policy shown at checkout. All bookings, payments, changes, refunds and customer support are handled directly by the tour operator or booking platform, not by this site.