Iceland Glacier ice cave tours walk you across Vatnajökull to a cave inside the ice, with a guide who checks it is safe that day. They run in the cold months, roughly October to April, and the cave you visit changes from winter to winter.
Hike a Vatnajökull outlet to an ice cave from the Tröll base, with free parking, crampons, harness, helmet and axe, then coffee and chocolates. It runs in the cold months, and the cave changes every winter.
From $163 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Three and a half hours from the Mountain Guides camp beside the visitor centre: a vehicle to the ice, a hike and a natural ice cave. Crampons, axe and helmet included; from age 10, one youth per adult.
From $160 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
The gentlest cave tour: a 4x4 bus from the park car park, then about 3 km on the ice to a natural ice cave. Crampons, walking axe, harness and helmet are included. From age 8, shoe sizes 35 to 50 EU.
From $159 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Starts at the lagoon car park: a jeep ride of about 30 minutes, some 75 minutes on foot across the ice and about an hour in a blue ice cave. Eight guests at most, rated moderate to hard, from 14.
From $242 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Cave tours start at $159 and every one refunds in full up to 24 hours ahead. Pick your date and see the meeting time and group size before you pay.
Check availabilityA glacier hike with a cave at the far end. You meet at a base near Skaftafell or at the glacier lagoon, you are fitted with crampons and a helmet, and a vehicle takes you towards the ice. Then you walk, for most of the tour, to whichever cave the guides have judged safe that week.
The national park contracts cave operators on named glaciers, and in 2024 it made a daily ice assessment by operators and mountain guides part of those contracts. You do not choose the cave; the ice does. Our ice cave season guide explains the rules behind that.
A hike shows you the surface. A cave tour takes you under it, into blue light, with a guide who has checked the roof. Nothing else sold on the glaciers does that.
In the cold months the caves are what the south-east does best. If your trip falls between October and April, this is the day to build it round.
Every cave tour walks you across the glacier to reach the cave: about 3 km on the gentlest, and about 75 minutes of hiking on the lagoon tour. You get the crevasses and the ridges on the way.
If a cave is the point, book the cave. If you are unsure, read this first.
| An ice cave tour | A glacier hike | |
|---|---|---|
| When it runs | The cold months, roughly October to April | All year |
| Fares | $159 to $242 | $96 to $256 |
| Youngest | 8, 10 or 14 by tour | 8 on the easiest hikes |
| Group size | Eight on the lagoon cave | Up to 18 on the coach day |
| Where | Vatnajökull only | Sólheimajökull and Vatnajökull |
| The catch | The cave may be small | No cave |
Travelling outside the cold months? Take one of the glacier hike tours: the longer ones pass moulins and crevasses in the same blue ice.
You get a trained guide, crampons and a helmet on every tour, plus a harness and an axe on most. The lagoon tour adds a headlight if needed and a jeep ride each way. The Tröll cave ends with coffee and chocolates.
You do not get a guarantee of size. One traveller on the Tröll cave wrote that it was so small a partner could not get in; another on the Arctic Adventures cave found a hole in the ice. Another was taken into two extra caves. You do not get boots or warm clothing on most tours, either, and our FAQs say what to wear.
| What to expect | |
|---|---|
| Season | The cold months, roughly October to April, confirmed on the day |
| Fares | $159 to $242 per person |
| Length | 3.5 to 6 hours |
| Youngest | 8 on the gentlest, 10 with one youth per adult, 14 at the lagoon |
| Cancellation | Free up to 24 hours ahead |
Book the base that suits your bed. The Skaftafell starts suit a night to the west, the lagoon start a night towards Höfn; the meeting-point map shows each one. In midwinter an afternoon tour ends in the dark, so bring a headlamp or take the morning.
Keep a hike as your fallback. In autumn 2024 the park allowed no cave entries during an October extension of the contracts, and a warm spell can close a cave at short notice.
About 75 minutes on foot across the ice and an hour at a blue ice cave, from the glacier lagoon, eight guests at most. See the dates before you pay.
Check availabilityNext: Read the ice cave season guide before you book, or plan the day in the one-day itinerary. Every fare sits side by side on Iceland Glacier Tours.