“A glacier tour in Iceland” can mean three different glaciers, and they are not interchangeable. Which one you reach decides how long you sit in a vehicle, what you do on the ice, which months it runs and what you pay. This guide sets Sólheimajökull, Vatnajökull and Langjökull side by side so you can pick the Iceland glacier day tour that fits the trip you have already planned, rather than rebuilding the trip round a glacier.
Sólheimajökull is an outlet glacier of Mýrdalsjökull on the South Coast, about two hours from Reykjavík by road. It is the glacier the Reykjavík hiking days reach, and the one you can drive to and back in a day without strain.
Vatnajökull is the ice cap in the south-east: around 7,500 km² in 2023 and Europe’s largest by volume. You meet its outlet glaciers at bases around Skaftafell and at the lagoon, 4.5 to 5 hours from the capital. This is where the ice caves, the ice climbing, the lagoon boats and most of the hiking are.
Langjökull is Iceland’s second-largest glacier, 820 km² in 2023, inland from the Golden Circle. The tours that go there sell one thing: a snowmobile ride on the ice cap.
Distance is the first filter, because it decides whether a glacier fits a day trip at all. Read the table as travel time before the tour starts, not the length of the tour.
| Glacier | From Reykjavík | What you do | When it runs | Fares | Youngest |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sólheimajökull | About two hours, 165 km | Hike, or hike and climb | Hikes all year | $121 to $211 at the car park | 8; climbing 14 |
| Vatnajökull | 4.5 to 5 hours | Hike, climb, ice cave, lagoon boat or kayak | Hikes all year; caves in the cold months | $96 to $256 at a base | 8 to 14 by tour |
| Langjökull | About 1 hour 40 to the base, or via the Golden Circle | Snowmobile | Ask the operator for winter | $217 to $337 | 5 to 8 by tour |
The Vatnajökull row is the one that surprises people. A day trip from Reykjavík to the Skaftafell bases and back means nine or ten hours on the road before anyone clips on a crampon. Most people who hike there sleep nearby; our page on where to stay for a glacier tour covers the options by distance.
Sólheimajökull is a hiking glacier. The standard product is a guided walk of about three hours on the ice, with crampons, harness, helmet and axe, from a meeting point at the glacier car park. A longer version adds an introduction to ice climbing, and you need to be 14 for it.
Vatnajökull carries everything else. Hikes run from three hours to the seven and a half hours of the climbing-and-trekking day, several with a 4x4 ride to the foot of the ice. Ice climbing, ice caves, a kayak among icebergs and an iceberg boat all start here. Our glacier hike tours page compares the hikes.
The two hiking glaciers look different underfoot. Sólheimajökull carries bands of dark volcanic ash through the ice; one traveller described a dusting of it across the whole surface. Vatnajökull’s outlets are larger and more broken, with the icefalls and crevasse fields you see in the photographs. Its national park joined the World Heritage List on 5 July 2019.
Both are shrinking. The park records that Vatnajökull lost more than 15% of its volume in the last century, and that Iceland’s glaciers could lose half their volume by 2100. The hike you book this year crosses different ice from the one a friend did five years ago.
Langjökull is snowmobiles only. You ride about an hour on the ice cap, two people to a machine as standard, and the driver needs a valid licence. See the snowmobile tours for the ways up.
Every ice cave tour in Iceland that we list starts on the Vatnajökull side. That is not chance. The national park contracts ice-cave and glacier-walk operators on three glaciers: Breiðamerkurjökull west and east of the lagoon, the pair above Skaftafell, and Skeiðarárjökull. The contracts set the rules for guides, group sizes and equipment.
The caves themselves form and collapse with the melt, so they are a cold-months product, roughly October to April, confirmed by the operator on the day. Nothing on Sólheimajökull or Langjökull in our listings is a cave visit. Our ice cave season guide explains what the park decided in 2024 and why.
Sólheimajökull, clearly. The South Coast hiking day collects you from a Reykjavík bus stop, stops at two waterfalls, gives you a guided hike on the ice and returns by the black beach, in about twelve hours for $197.
Langjökull also works without a car. The Golden Circle snowmobile day leaves from the BSÍ terminal, and a second snowmobile day collects you from Reykjavík bus stops and drives to the base in about 1 hour 40 minutes.
Vatnajökull without a car means one very long day: the lagoon coach runs about fourteen hours for a boat ride, with no walk on the ice at all. If you want to hike there, you need wheels or a night in the south-east.
Either hiking glacier suits a beginner; the choice is which part of Iceland you are in. On Vatnajökull, the three-hour hike from the airfield car park is rated for beginners with moderate fitness, and one traveller called it perfect for first-timers. The three-hour hike from the Tröll base takes children from 8 and costs $112.
On Sólheimajökull, the four-hour hike from the car park caps the group at twelve and also starts at age 8.
Age limits are set tour by tour, and they are firm. The youngest anyone can hike on the ice here is 8, on the Tröll hikes on both glaciers and on the easiest Vatnajökull ice cave. The Mountain Guides cave takes 10-year-olds, one youth per adult. Climbing is 12 or 14.
The snowmobiles go younger: the Golden Circle day takes children from 5 and the Húsafell day from 6, riding behind an adult. Only an adult with a licence drives. The full list is in our glacier tour FAQs.
Per person, Vatnajökull is the cheapest glacier to walk on and the dearest to reach. Hikes at a base start at $96; the priciest day there is the ice climb at $256. Sólheimajökull hikes start at $121 at the car park and about $197 with the Reykjavík transport and three coast stops thrown in. Langjökull snowmobiles run from $217 to $337, the top of that range being the whole Golden Circle day.
Add the regional fee at Skaftafell and the lagoon if you drive, and boot rental if you have no ankle-support boots. Our glacier tour prices guide works through the extras.
In one trip, easily; in one day, not usefully. A ring-road week passes Sólheimajökull on the first day out of Reykjavík and the Vatnajökull bases on the second or third. Hike the first, then do a cave, a climb or the lagoon on the second.
Langjökull lies inland, beyond the Golden Circle, in the other direction from the South Coast. Put it at the start or end of the trip, when you are near Reykjavík anyway.
| If you are | Go to | Because |
|---|---|---|
| In Reykjavík with no car | Sólheimajökull | A full hike and back the same evening |
| Driving the ring road | Vatnajökull | The most choice, the lowest hike fares |
| Travelling October to April | Vatnajökull | The only place with ice caves |
| After speed, not a walk | Langjökull | Snowmobiles, and nothing else |
| With a child under 8 | Langjökull | Snowmobiles take riders from 5 or 6 |
| Short of time | Sólheimajökull | Two hours from the capital |
Still torn? Read the calendar by activity next, because the month you travel rules some of these out on its own.
Twelve hours from a Reykjavík bus stop in a minibus of 18 at most, with a guided hike on the ice between two waterfalls and a black beach; from age 8.
From $197 per person
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Three hours from the operator's base in Öræfi with a certified guide, a helmet, a harness and an ice axe, and coffee and chocolates when you come off the ice.
From $112 per person
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Ten hours from the BSÍ terminal around the Golden Circle, with an hour on a snowmobile on the ice cap, two riders to a machine; from age 5.
From $337 per person
Check AvailabilityNext: Plan the ring-road day in the one-day itinerary, or weigh the coach against your own car in tour or self-drive. Every fare sits side by side on Iceland Glacier Tours.