Iceland Glacier tours from Reykjavík can reach two glaciers in a day: Sólheimajökull on the South Coast for a hike, and Langjökull inland for a snowmobile. Vatnajökull is a fourteen-hour round trip with no walk on the ice, and one popular day stops at a glacier without ever setting foot on it.
Minibus pickup at Reykjavík bus stops, two waterfalls, then a guided hike on Sólheimajökull and the black beach on the way home. Harness, axe, helmet and crampons are included; 18 people at most. From age 8.
From $197 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Þingvellir, Geysir and Gullfoss from the BSÍ terminal, plus an hour riding Langjökull, two to a machine. Protective clothing is supplied, hotel pickup is not, and you need a driving licence to drive.
From $337 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Pickup at Reykjavík bus stops, about 1 hour 40 minutes to the base, a super jeep to the edge of the ice cap and an hour on a snowmobile. Overalls, helmet and gloves supplied; 14 guests at most.
From $265 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Hotel pickup for a fourteen-hour day to the lagoon: a 30-minute ride among the icebergs by amphibian boat and about 30 minutes on the black beach. Nobody walks on the ice. From age 6.
From $286 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Ten hours along the South Coast with two waterfalls, the black beach and 45 minutes at the snout of Sólheimajökull. You look at the glacier; you do not walk on it. Pickup is an option. From age 2.
From $131 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Up to 8 km on Sólheimajökull with an optional first go at ice climbing, eight guests per guide, from the yellow bus in the glacier car park. From age 14, shoe sizes 35 to 50 EU.
From $211 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
The South Coast hiking day is $197 with pickup at a Reykjavík bus stop, and every day here refunds in full up to 24 hours ahead. Pick your date before you pay.
Check availabilityA long day in a coach or minibus with the glacier in the middle. You are collected at a bus stop or a hotel, you stop at sights on the way, you spend part of the day at or on the ice, and you are back in the evening. The day runs five and a half to fourteen hours.
What you do at the glacier is the thing to check. The South Coast hiking day puts crampons on you for a guided hike on Sólheimajökull. The snowmobile days put you on Langjökull. The lagoon day is a boat ride. The cheapest South Coast day stops 45 minutes at the Sólheimajökull snout and does not walk on the glacier. The Sólheimajökull climbing hike sells a Reykjavík pickup grade, dearer than its $211 car-park fare, that adds two waterfalls.
You never drive. If you have no licence, or no wish to drive Route 1 in the dark months, the coach solves it.
The hiking day stops at Seljalandsfoss and Skógafoss and returns by Reynisfjara. The snowmobile day runs the Golden Circle. You see more in one day than a hike alone gives you.
If you have three days based in the capital, a day trip is the only way onto a glacier that does not cost you a night elsewhere.
The real alternative is a car and a night near the Vatnajökull bases.
| A day from Reykjavík | Driving to Skaftafell | |
|---|---|---|
| Glaciers you reach | Sólheimajökull, Langjökull, the lagoon by boat | Vatnajökull |
| Fares | $131 to $337 | $96 to $256 |
| Your driving | None | 4.5 to 5 hours each way |
| Nights away | None | At least one |
| Ice caves | None | In the cold months |
| Flexibility | Fixed stops and times | Your own day |
Compare the glacier tours from Reykjavík
For a ring-road trip, the Vatnajökull glacier tours give you more ice for less. For a stay in the capital, the day trip wins. Our tour or self-drive guide does the sums.
You get the transport, a guide on the coach and whatever the glacier part includes: the full hiking gear on the hiking day, overalls and helmet on the snowmobile days, the boat ticket on the lagoon day. The Golden Circle day and the South Coast hiking day both have Wi-Fi on board.
You do not get lunch on any of them. The Golden Circle snowmobile day leaves from the BSÍ terminal and excludes hotel pickup. On the cheapest South Coast day, pickup is an option you choose at booking. On the hiking day, boots rent at 1,750 ISK.
| What to expect | |
|---|---|
| Fares | $131 to $337 per person |
| Length | 5.5 to 14 hours |
| Pickup | Bus stops, the BSÍ terminal or hotels, by tour |
| Youngest | 2 on the sightseeing day, 8 on the hiking day |
| Cancellation | Free up to 24 hours ahead |
Book the hiking day for a dry-looking day if you can, and bring waterproofs anyway. The long days can feel tight at the stops; one traveller found the time at a busy lunch stop too short. The glacier weather page has the months.
Pickup times are early. The Húsafell snowmobile collects between 08:00 and 08:30 for the morning ride, and the lagoon day is fourteen hours door to door.
Pickup at a Reykjavík bus stop, two waterfalls, a guided hike on the ice and the black beach on the way home. Pick your date before you pay.
Check availabilityNext: Compare the three glaciers in which glacier fits your trip, or the coach against a car in tour or self-drive. Every fare sits side by side on Iceland Glacier Tours.