Iceland Glacier Hike and South Coast Day from Reykjavík

★★★★★ 4.8 (863 traveller ratings)

Glacier hike on SólheimajökullReykjavík bus-stop pickupMax 18 guestsCrampons in the fare

You leave Reykjavík in a minibus at eight in the morning, and in the middle of a twelve-hour day you are on the ice. A glacier guide straps crampons to your boots, hands you an ice axe and walks you up an outlet glacier. Two waterfalls and a black sand beach fill the rest of the day.

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

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A hike on the ice, not a view of it

What $197 buys on a glacier with no ticket booth

Nobody sells a ticket to Sólheimajökull. The glacier is an outlet of the Mýrdalsjökull ice cap, and you can drive to the foot of it and look for nothing. What you cannot do safely is walk onto it without a guide, crampons and the training to read the surface. That is the thing your fare buys, and it is why this day is different from a sightseeing coach that stops at the car park.

Your day comes with a driver-guide and a glacier guide. The driver-guide takes you along the South Coast and talks Iceland all the way; at the glacier you are handed to a certified glacier guide who fits the harness, helmet and crampons and leads you onto the ice. The group splits on the glacier, so you walk with a handful of people rather than the whole bus. mollyvarquez13 was nervous on the first steps and says the guide’s tips on the crampons turned it into the best part of the day.

The ice: ash bands, ridges and a tongue that is shrinking

Sólheimajökull is striped. Ash from past eruptions sits in the ice as dark bands, so the surface you walk on is black, grey and white rather than a clean blue. You climb gentle ridges and descents in crampons, and the guide stops to explain what the ice is doing. Kathrina_K came off the ice too hot in a padded suit: dress in layers, because you warm up fast once you are walking.

You are walking on ice that is shrinking. Most of Iceland’s glaciers began to retreat after 1890, and since 2000 their outlet glaciers have pulled back exceptionally fast; the national park expects them to lose half their volume by 2100. The month-by-month weather sets out what the coast is like when you go.

The South Coast around the hike

The minibus stops at Seljalandsfoss, the waterfall with a path behind the water, and at Skógafoss, where a staircase climbs to the lip of the fall. After the glacier you drive on to Reynisfjara, the black sand beach with its basalt columns. Beth_P found the time on the beach short; if the beach is your priority, eat on the bus so the stop is yours. The stops along the coast are described one by one.

There is no set lunch stop, so pack food. Jennifer_W travelled with a ten-year-old and counted no leg longer than two and a half hours on the bus, with a break for coffee and food about an hour out of the city. If you would rather drive and spend longer on the same glacier, the four-hour Sólheimajökull hike starts at the glacier car park for $121.

How your twelve hours on the South Coast run

1. Be at your stop from 08:00. Pickup takes about half an hour across the city's numbered bus stops.
2. Coffee, then the first waterfall. A comfort stop out of the city, then the path behind the falling water.
3. The second waterfall. A short stop at the foot of the fall, with the staircase if you want it.
4. Gear up at the glacier. Harness, helmet, crampons and ice axe are fitted before you walk.
5. Walk on the ice. Your glacier guide leads a smaller group up the tongue and back.
6. The black beach. Basalt columns and the Atlantic, with food to buy and toilets.
7. Drive back to Reykjavík. The longest leg of the day, straight back to the city.

Who this suits: first-timers without a car

What’s included

Boots are the item people miss. Hiking boots with a hard sole and ankle support are recommended, because crampons are strapped to the outside of them. If yours are soft trainers, rent boots at 1,750 ISK when you book; a waterproof jacket and waterproof trousers rent at 1,750 ISK each. Food and drinks are not in the fare.

Your Reykjavík bus stop, and the hotels a bus cannot reach

Pickup starts at 08:00 and can take about 30 minutes, so be ready at your stop from eight. Traffic rules keep buses out of many downtown streets, so you are collected from one of the city's numbered bus stops rather than your hotel door. Look up the stop nearest your hotel on busstop.is, or ask the front desk.

Choose the stop when you book. If you pick one that is further away than it needs to be, the operator may contact you with a closer one. Bridget_K stood at the wrong corner and still got a call and a pickup round the block, which only works if the phone number you give is one that works in Iceland. The meeting-point map shows where every glacier tour starts.

Know before you go

• Wear hiking boots with ankle support. Crampons strap to the outside of a hard sole; rent a pair if you have none.
• Dress in two layers. A warm layer underneath and a waterproof on top; you heat up once you walk.
• Pack lunch and snacks. There is no set lunch stop, and the beach stop is the only real meal break.
• Bring children from eight. The minimum age is 8, and the same gear is fitted to them.
• Plan for weather. The day runs in most conditions, so come dressed for rain and wind.
• Cancel a day ahead and pay nothing. The full fare comes back up to 24 hours before the start.

What hikers say when they come off the ice

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Questions about this glacier day