The main points
- A 14-hour day from Reykjavik to Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon and Diamond Beach, with pickup available and a live English-speaking guide.[1]
- The lagoon 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.[2]
- Pickup, Hvolsvollur, Kirkjubaejarklaustur, Jokulsarlon, Vik, Seljalandsfoss, then the run back to Reykjavik and 30 drop-off locations.[1]
- Public toilets and a cafe are available at Jokulsarlon, so the biggest stop of the day is also the easiest place to reset.[3]
- Free cancellation up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund, and you can reserve now and pay later when you book.[1]
- Top choice Jokulsarlon & Diamond Beach from US$232 Duration14 hours[1]Rating4.67 from 3,935 reviews[1]GuideEnglish[1]Key stops namedJokulsarlon, Vik, Seljalandsfoss[1] Check availability
- South Coast to Jokulsarlon from US$231 Duration14.5 hours[4]Rating4.54 from 1,494 reviews[4]GuideEnglish[4]Key stops namedSkogafoss, Jokulsarlon, Diamond Beach[4] See this tour
- Glacier Lagoon & Boat Tour from US$232 Duration14 - 15 hours[5]Rating4.55 from 1,424 reviews[5]GuideEnglish[5]Key stops namedJokulsarlon, Diamond Beach[5] See this tour
The lagoon sits 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.
Our verdict on the 14-hour Jokulsarlon day
Prepare for the day
- Book a seat with pickup, then check availability for the starting time on your date.[1]
- The tour is listed from US$232, and you can reserve now and pay later.[1]
- Free cancellation up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund.[1]
- Pack layers, a waterproof shell and shoes you do not mind getting wet or gritty.
On the day
- The day runs 14 hours, so keep the evening after your return clear.[1]
- Expect long coach legs between stops; a book, offline maps and a power bank help.
- Seals are sighted on a regular basis at Jokulsarlon, often from the shore.[6]
- Summer gives the longest daylight, while winter trips run in low light, so charge your camera.
What time does the tour start and finish?
The tour is listed as a 14-hour day from Reykjavik, and starting times are not printed on the page: you check availability for your chosen date to see them.[1] Once the coach pulls away you are out for the whole of that day, so it is worth saying out loud to anyone travelling with you, especially if they are planning dinner back in the city.
Pickup is available, and the listing asks you to check availability for pickup options, so sort out your nearest collection point when you book.[1] The route opens at the starting or pickup location, heads east by coach, and finishes with 30 drop-off locations, which means the day ends with the coach bringing you back into the city rather than leaving you to make your own way home.[1]
Treat this Jokulsarlon excursion as a day given over to the South Coast. Eat properly before you leave, charge your phone and camera, and keep the evening after your return free of anything you cannot move. Free cancellation up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund, plus the reserve now and pay later option, makes it easier to hold a seat while your plans settle.[1]
How much time is spent driving versus at each stop?
Start with the distance. Jokulsarlon sits 236 miles (380 kilometers) east of Reykjavik along Route 1, which the same source gives as a five-hour direct drive or seven to eight hours with South Coast sightseeing stops.[2] The tour itself is a 14-hour day.[1] The rest of the clock goes on the stops, on getting a coach full of people on and off, and on the walk from the car park down to the water.
The final leg is long as well: Vik and Jokulsarlon are 192 kilometers (118 miles) apart one way.[7] Much of that run is open country with glaciers on one side and the sea on the other, and it passes more easily than the map suggests. Bring a book, download a playlist and keep a power bank in your bag. How long to spend at glacier lagoon is not something you can plan to the minute on a day this long.
People ask about Jokulsarlon: how much time at the lagoon, whether there is room for a boat trip, how far the walk to the ice really is. The listed route names Hvolsvollur, Kirkjubaejarklaustur, Jokulsarlon, Vik and Seljalandsfoss as its stops, with 30 drop-off locations at the end,[1] and with a five-hour direct drive in one direction,[2] the lagoon is the anchor of the day rather than an afternoon of wandering.
Clear ice on the black sand at Diamond Beach, south east Iceland.
Where can you take bathroom breaks?
Public toilets and a cafe are available at Jokulsarlon, along with a souvenir shop, a parking area and accessible parking spaces.[3] That makes the lagoon the most comfortable stop of the day and the obvious place to reset properly before the long drive back towards Reykjavik.
Earlier in the day the coach pauses at Hvolsvollur and Kirkjubaejarklaustur, both listed stops on this route.[1] Village stops are where you stretch your legs, top up a water bottle and use whatever facilities are open, and they break up the long middle hours of the drive.
On a day this long it pays to travel as if the next facility might be closed: a little cash or a card, hand sanitiser, tissues and a spare layer in the rucksack. Viewpoint car parks are for the view, not for a guaranteed stop, so take the chances that come.
When and where can you buy food and drinks?
The cafe at Jokulsarlon is the clear food stop of the day, sitting alongside the toilets, the souvenir shop and the parking area.[3] It arrives late in the day, so eat a proper breakfast before pickup and carry something for the middle of the drive, since a 14-hour day on coach seats is no time to start hungry.[1]
Food stops vary by listing. Some South Coast day tours name a local restaurant among their stops, including the South Coast, Diamond Beach and Jokulsarlon tour and the Glacier Lagoon Boat Ride and Diamond Beach tour.[4][8] Whichever listing you choose, its stop list is the honest guide to when a proper meal is possible, and it is worth reading before you book rather than on the morning.
If you would rather not face the drive home, Hotel Jokulsarlon is an accommodation option in the Icelandic countryside near the lagoon.[9] Staying out east turns the long return into a gentler next morning and puts you close to the water for the quiet early light, when the ice and the reflections are at their best and the car park is nearly empty.
from US$232
Reykjavik's Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon and Diamond Beach tour, with an English-speaking guide and a 14-hour day.[1]
In what order do you visit Seljalandsfoss, Vik and the glacier lagoon?
The listed order for this tour runs from the starting or pickup location by coach to Hvolsvollur, then Kirkjubaejarklaustur, then Jokulsarlon, then Vik, then Seljalandsfoss, and finally back to Reykjavik and 30 drop-off locations.[1] So the lagoon is the far point of the day, and Vik and Seljalandsfoss come afterwards on the way home.
Other listings on the same coast order things differently. The South Coast, Diamond Beach and Jokulsarlon tour lists Skogafoss, a local restaurant and Diamond Beach among its stops,[4] and the Glacier Lagoon Boat Ride and Diamond Beach tour names Stjornarfoss as well as Seljalandsfoss.[8] Reading the stop list before you book tells you more about how your day will run than any photograph.
Seljalandsfoss is the waterfall you can walk behind, so a waterproof shell earns its space in the rucksack and the path under the rock is often wet and slippery. By the time you reach it the long eastern run is behind you and the light is usually at its softest, which is a fine way to close a big day before the coach turns for Reykjavik.
Why the day can feel long, and how to pace it
A 14-hour day is a real commitment.[1] Add a five-hour direct drive in one direction, or seven to eight hours with sightseeing stops,[2] and the coach becomes the main character of your day. Pace yourself the way you would on a long flight: water, snacks, layers, and something to read or listen to for the empty stretches between the sights.
Weather and road conditions on Iceland's South Coast change quickly, and a squall, a closed viewpoint or slow traffic can shift the rhythm of a day like this. Build slack into the evening rather than squeezing something in afterwards: no tight dinner booking, no flight the same night, and no early alarm the following morning if you can avoid one.
Season matters for what you can add around the lagoon. Ice caves in the Vatnajokull region are only accessible during the winter months, from November and usually throughout March, depending on the weather.[10] In summer, kayaking is allowed on Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon during the summer season,[11] and the amphibian boat tours run May-Nov with trips of 30-40 minutes.[12]
What is not on this route: Skogafoss and Skaftafell
Skogafoss and Skaftafell are not in the listed stops for this tour, which runs Hvolsvollur, Kirkjubaejarklaustur, Jokulsarlon, Vik and Seljalandsfoss before the return to the city and 30 drop-off locations.[1] If those two names are the reason you are coming to Iceland, look instead at the South Coast, Diamond Beach and Jokulsarlon tour, which lists Skogafoss among its stops,[4] or at a multi-day trip with room for more of the east.
Around the lagoon there is enough for a second day. The water is 248 meters (814 feet) deep and is the deepest lake in Iceland,[13] and seals are sighted there on a regular basis.[6] Ice cave tours, glacier hikes and summer kayaking all run from this corner of the country,[11] so a lagoon day and a glacier day fit neatly together if you have the time.
The ice itself has a story for the drive home. It breaks off Breidamerkurjokull, drifts through the lagoon and washes ashore along the coast as Diamond Beach.[14][15] Film crews have shot here for A View To A Kill, Die Another Day and Lara Croft: Tomb Raider.[16] If you want more time on the water, a Zodiac boat tour lasts 1 hour 15 minutes with a total duration of about 2 hours, from 16,900 ISK.[17]
How long the day tours from Reykjavik take
Durations as listed on each GetYourGuide day tour: 14 hours[1], 14.5 hours[4], 14 hours[8], 15 hours[18].
Day tours from Reykjavik, from-prices in US dollars
US dollar from-prices as listed:[1][4][5][8][18].
When to book and what to sort out first
Your day, step by step
Pickup in Reykjavik
The route opens at the starting or pickup location and heads out of the city by coach. Check availability for pickup options and starting times.[1]
Hvolsvollur and Kirkjubaejarklaustur
Two listed stops on the way east, useful for a stretch and a quick break before the long middle section of the drive.[1]
Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon
The deepest lake in Iceland at 248 meters (814 feet), with icebergs drifting towards the sea and seals often seen from the shore.[6][13]
Diamond Beach and the ice
Clear glacial ice washes ashore on the black volcanic sand after drifting out of the lagoon, fed by Breidamerkurjokull.[14]
Vik and Seljalandsfoss
Both appear later in the listed stop order on the way home, before the coach returns to Reykjavik and its 30 drop-off locations.[1]
Back in Reykjavik
The 14-hour day ends where it began. Cancel up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund if your plans change.[1]
Ready for the Jokulsarlon glacier excursion? See the day, hour by hour
from US$233Reserve now & pay later
