The main points
- The Reykjavik day tour lasts 14 hours, is from US$232, and lists Hvolsvollur, Kirkjubaejarklaustur, Jokulsarlon, Vik and Seljalandsfoss as its stops.[1]
- A guided glacier walk is its own booking: the easy level glacier hike from Jokulsarlon is from US$132 and runs 3 hours.[2]
- Ice caves in the Vatnajokull region are only accessible during the winter months, from November and usually throughout March, depending on the weather.[3]
- Amphibian boats run May to Nov and take 30 to 40 minutes, and the Zodiac Boat Tour is priced from 16,900 ISK with a total duration of about 2 hours.[4][5]
- Jokulsarlon is 236 miles (380 kilometers) east of Reykjavik along Route 1, a five-hour direct drive or seven to eight hours with South Coast stops.[6]
- Top choice Jokulsarlon & Diamond Beach from US$232 Duration14 hours[1]Rating4.67 from 3,935 reviews[1]GuideLive guide in English[1]Drop-off points30 drop-off locations[1] Check availability
- Lagoon Tour from Reykjavik from US$232 Duration14 - 15 hours[7]Rating4.55 from 1,424 reviews[7]GuideLive guide in English[7]Drop-off points36 drop-off locations[7] See this tour
- Lagoon Boat Ride Day Tour from US$288 Duration14 hours[8]Rating4.61 from 268 reviews[8]GuideLive guide in English[8]Drop-off points23 drop-off locations[8] See this tour
The ice caves are only accessible during winter months, from November and usually throughout March, depending on the weather.
Take the day tour, then add the ice on its own
The day tour, in short
Ice add-ons and extras
What the Reykjavik day tour actually covers
The Reykjavik: Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon & Diamond Beach Tour is a long coach day rather than a series of activities. It lasts 14 hours, and the listed stops run from the starting point by coach to Hvolsvollur, then Kirkjubaejarklaustur, Jokulsarlon, Vik and Seljalandsfoss, ending with 30 drop-off locations.[1] It is from US$232, with pickup options shown when you check availability, a live tour guide in English, the choice to reserve now and pay later, and free cancellation up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund.[1]
The shape of the day is driving, waterfalls, a lunch stop, the lagoon and the beach. Plan for a lot of coach time between short walks, with two big waterfall stops and a long stretch of black sand coast going past the window. Pack warm layers, waterproofs and shoes that handle wet gravel, plus food and water for the hours between stops. The south coast weather turns quickly, and the coach is your shelter when it does.
Nothing in that stop list is a glacier activity in itself. Glacier walking, ice cave visits, boat rides and snowmobile rides around the lagoon are separate products with their own operators, meeting points and prices, booked around this day rather than inside it.[2][10] Knowing that before you book is the difference between a great day and an afternoon spent wondering where the crampons are.
A Jokulsarlon glacier hike is a separate booking
A Jokulsarlon glacier hike usually means walking on Breidamerkurjokull, the Vatnajokull outlet glacier that feeds the lagoon.[11] The easy level glacier hike from Jokulsarlon is from US$132 and runs 3 hours, with a live tour guide in English, free cancellation up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund, and 4.57 from 33 reviews.[2] It is the gentlest of several walks on the same ice.
Longer options mix walking with cave time. The glacier hike to a remote ice cave is from US$285 and takes 6 hours, and the blue ice cave tour with a glacier walk is from US$242, also 6 hours.[12][13] A photoshoot package that combines a glacier hike and an ice cave is from US$436 over 5 hours.[14]
On the ice you walk in crampons over a surface that shifts from hard ice to slush, grit and crevasse edges as the season moves on. Guides set the line and carry the safety kit, and the listings here show a live tour guide in English.[2][12] Bring gloves, a hat and sunglasses for the glare, and expect to be moving on the glacier for a couple of hours at least, with stops for photos and for the guide to read the route.
Ice calved from Breidamerkurjokull drifting out toward the Atlantic.
Ice cave tours follow a winter calendar
Ice caves in the Vatnajokull region are only accessible during the winter months, from November and usually throughout March, depending on the weather.[3] That is the calendar to build a cave visit around, and operators confirm exact days closer to the time because the caves themselves are reshaped by meltwater and cold each year. The light through those months is low and long, which suits slow photography.
Prices cluster in a band. The three-hour Vatnajokull ice cave guided tour is from US$164 and the crystal ice cave super jeep tour is from US$173.[10][15] The original ice cave tour on Vatnajokull is from US$161 over 3 hours, and the Vatnajokull blue ice cave tour from Jokulsarlon is from US$195 over 3 hours, limited to 14 participants.[16][17] A crystal blue ice cave super jeep tour from Jokulsarlon is from US$173 over 3 hours.[18]
If you want the ice and the walk together, combinations start at US$242 for 6 hours, US$275 for 5.5 hours, and US$299 for 6 hours in a group of no more than 6.[13][19][20] The Vatnajokull ice cave guided tour meets at Jokulsarlon and travels out to the national park by jeep.[10] Book the cave first if it matters to you, then fit the drive from Reykjavik around those dates.
Boat trips on the lagoon, and what they cost
Boat rides are the easiest add-on because they leave from the lagoon car park. The amphibian boat tour season runs May to Nov and the trip takes 30 to 40 minutes.[4] These boats sit low on the water, the icebergs slide past close enough to touch, and the whole trip fits inside a normal stop. The lagoon is sheltered by the glacier, so even a breezy afternoon feels calmer on the water than it does on the beach.
The Zodiac Boat Tour is priced from 16,900 ISK, and the boat tour lasts 1 hour 15 minutes with a total duration of about 2 hours.[5] It covers more water and gets closer to the ice wall than the amphibian boats. Seals are sighted on a regular basis at Jokulsarlon, at a distance from the shore and nearer from out on the water.[21]
If you would rather have the ride built into the day from Reykjavik, the Glacier Lagoon Boat Ride & Diamond Beach Day Tour is from US$288 and lasts 14 hours.[8] The separate Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon and Diamond Beach listing is from US$232 and runs 14 to 15 hours.[7] Both keep the South Coast stops, so what changes is how much time you spend on the lagoon itself.
from US$134
The easy level glacier hike from Jokulsarlon is a separate booking from the Reykjavik day tour, 3 hours with its own live guide in English.[2]
Snowmobiles, kayaks and other glacier add-ons
Kayaking is allowed on Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon during the summer season, and the kayaking tour there runs 1.5 hours from US$159.[22][23] A second kayaking option at Vatnajokull National Park is from US$167 for 1.5 hours, in a group limited to 6.[24] Paddling between the bergs is quiet, close to the water and completely different from looking down from the shore.
Further west, kayaking by the glacier at Solheimajokull is from US$167 and takes 3 hours.[25] At Fjallsarlon the ice floating tour, where you zip into a dry suit and float among the bergs, is from US$127 and lasts 1.5 hours in a group of no more than 8.[26] These are sitting-down activities, which suits anyone who would rather not strap on crampons.
Snowmobile rides on the ice cap belong to the same family of standalone glacier adventures, with their own operator, kit and guide. Plan any snowmobile ride as its own half day: the Reykjavik day tour's stop list is Hvolsvollur, Kirkjubaejarklaustur, Jokulsarlon, Vik and Seljalandsfoss.[1] Ice cave and glacier products work the same way, sold and priced separately from the coach tour.[10]
Hikes near Vik, and the long drive east
The day tour calls at Vik. The distance from Vik to Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon is 192 kilometers (118 miles) one way along the Ring Road, which is the stretch of coast still ahead of you after that stop.[1][27] Any walking around Vik, on the cliffs above or the black sand below, fits inside the stop rather than being a guided hike of its own.
For anything around Skaftafell, think about where you sleep. Jokulsarlon is 236 miles (380 kilometers) east of Reykjavik along Route 1, a five-hour direct drive or seven to eight hours with South Coast sightseeing stops, and that is one way without a single glacier step.[6] Hotel Jokulsarlon is an accommodation option in the Icelandic countryside near the lagoon if you would rather base yourself out east.[28]
Longer tours spread the driving out. A two-day South Coast, blue ice cave and Jokulsarlon tour is from US$704, and a three-day Golden Circle, Glacier Lagoon and ice cave tour is from US$968, both in groups limited to 18.[29][30] That is the shape to choose if you want a glacier hike, an ice cave and the lagoon without one very long day in a coach seat.
Guides, safety and the ice at Diamond Beach
Diamond Beach is a black volcanic sand beach in Southeast Iceland, scattered with clear glacial ice that breaks off from Breidamerkurjokull, drifts through Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon, and washes ashore along the coast.[31] The pieces look like props and behave like boulders: heavy, slick and moving with the swell. Stay back from the waterline, watch the sea rather than your screen, and never climb on ice the tide is still working.
The glacier and ice cave tours here run with a live guide in English, including the easy level glacier hike and the Vatnajokull ice cave guided tour.[2][10] Guides read the ice daily and carry the kit, which matters on a surface that changes through the season. The lagoon in front of you is 248 meters (814 feet) deep and is the deepest lake in Iceland.[32]
Practical bits help on the day. There are public toilets and a cafe at Jokulsarlon.[9] The lagoon has been a film location too: A View To A Kill, Die Another Day and Lara Croft: Tomb Raider all used it.[33] Fill a flask at the cafe, keep a dry bag for phones near the water, and leave the beach shoes in the coach.
From-prices for the day tour and the glacier add-ons
From-prices in US dollars: Reykjavik day tour[1], glacier hiking tour[2], Vatnajokull ice cave guided tour[10], boat ride day tour[8].
What each part of the trip costs from
From-prices in US dollars for the tour booked on this site and for the glacier add-ons: day tour[1], glacier hiking tour[2], ice cave tour[10], boat ride day tour[8].
When each glacier activity runs
Planning the extras
Check the day tour stops
The Reykjavik day tour lists Hvolsvollur, Kirkjubaejarklaustur, Jokulsarlon, Vik and Seljalandsfoss, with 30 drop-off locations.[1]
Book the glacier walk
Glacier hiking from Jokulsarlon is its own tour, from US$132 over 3 hours with a live guide in English.[2]
Pick a winter cave day
Ice caves in the Vatnajokull region are only accessible during the winter months, from November and usually throughout March.[3]
Add a boat ride
The amphibian boat tour runs May to Nov and takes 30 to 40 minutes, and the Zodiac tour is priced from 16,900 ISK.[4][5]
Plan the long drive
Jokulsarlon is 236 miles (380 kilometers) east of Reykjavik along Route 1, a five-hour direct drive or seven to eight hours with stops.[6]
Book the day tour, then plan the ice separately
from US$233Reserve now & pay later
