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Take in the majesty of Seljalandsfoss and Skogafoss waterfalls, hike up to the top of the most famous glacier in Iceland, and cross the Northern Lights off your bucket list.
Take to the road to see the greatest landmarks of south Iceland and will create memories that will last a lifetime. You’ll embark on the most exciting glacier hiking tour of your life, hunt for treasure at Skógafoss Waterfall, capture the incredible panorama of the black Reynisfjara beach and, when darkness falls, soak up the luminescent colors of the Northern Lights.
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Get the best value for money by booking a combo tour for up to 10% less!
Your adventure of south Iceland will begin at 8:00 a.m. We’ll pick you up from your hotel or at a nearby pick-up point. Once at the waterfall, you’ll take a short hike, where a unique photo opportunity of the waterfall awaits. The waterfall is 196 feet (60 m) tall, consequently, you will encounter occasional water spouting, so make sure you have waterproof clothes.
Traveling onwards through the stunning scenery of southern Iceland, we’ll arrive at Sólheimajökull glacier. Glacier hiking should definitely be on everyone’s bucket list, and there is no better place to do it than Solheimajokull. Once there, your certified glacier guide will get you geared up and instruct you on the safety guidelines. Together, we’ll become glacier explorers and make our way across the glacier tongues–take note to listen for the ancient crackling sounds of the ice on the way.
Next, we’ll be heading to Reynisfjara – the world-famous, iconic black sand beach. The beach is considered to be the most beautiful beach in Iceland because of the majestic basalt columns just off the shore, the roaring waves of the Atlantic ocean, and the unusual black sand. Local legend says that the basalt columns looking at you from the ocean were once trolls pulling ships to the shore. Once the dawn gleamed over them, they turned into these magnificent rock formations. Don’t forget your camera, as the scenery here is remarkably picturesque.
Once you have a picture of Reynisfjara’s magnificent trolls, we’ll drive on to the majestic and one of the tallest waterfalls in Iceland – Skógafoss. A pathway of 527 steps leads up to the crest of the waterfall, giving you a front-row view of the South Coast lowland below. According to another legend, the first Viking settler, Þrasi Þórólfsson, buried a treasure chest in the cave behind Skógafoss, so it’s definitely worth the visit. Once we find the treasure, we’ll head back to Reykjavik, have dinner and get ready for our next experience – the Northern Lights.
The Northern Lights phenomenon heavily depends on the weather conditions, so the exact place we’ll go to is unknown until the last minute. The moment you spot the first hint of glimmering bright colors in the dark sky is always spellbinding. Red auroras, from luminescent orange to flaming rose, and lustrous violet auroras are more common in Iceland than anywhere else in the world, so get your camera ready and prepare to experience something out of this world.
After the unforgettable light show, we will take you back to Reykjavik around midnight.
Please note: Since the spectacle of the Northern Lights is very much weather-dependent, if no aurora is seen, you’ll have unlimited re-tries valid for up to 3 years. That’s right, you’ll be able to re-join the chase of Northern Lights until it’s a successful one!
What to do in this case? Our Customer Care is ready to help you and book your next re-try.
Please keep in mind that refunds are not issued when a tour takes place but no Northern Lights are seen. During a re-try, the tour is operated on a minibus.
Pick-up is at 08:00 am from your hotel or a nearby meeting point in Reykjavík. Picking everyone up can take up to 30 minutes, your patience is much appreciated.
For the Northern Lights adventure, pick-up is at either 20:30 (8:30 p.m.) or 21:30 (9:30 p.m.), depending on the season. You’ll find the actual pickup time on your final voucher. Picking everyone up can take up to 30 minutes, your patience is much appreciated.
Available pick-up points: Arctic Adventures’ pick-up list.
These are two separate tours and if one of the tours gets canceled, the other will still be available for you to join.
Iceland is known for colourful weather. It can sometimes show you all 4 seasons in one day.
Dressing for this sort of weather can be a challenge so we always recommend dressing in layers. 3 or 4 upper layers are highly recommended such as a light t-shirt (preferably wool) next to the skin, then a fleece or heavy wool garment, topped off with a waterproof windbreaker.
Jeans are not recommended for our trips as they become very heavy, cold and uncomfortable to wear when they get wet.
Lightweight hiking pants, track pants or long cotton pants are best and then wind/waterproof pants over. We also recommend using sunglasses and sunscreen even if it is cloudy due to the high UV and sunlight reflecting off of the glacier.
You will need sturdy hiking boots that fit crampons for the glacier hiking tours. If you do not own a pair then we rent out good hiking boots as well as a waterproof raincoat and trousers.
We recommend bringing your own backpack on our full day or 1/2 day tours. It’s great to carry a small lunch and some extra clothing.
You can bring your camera along, and you should definitely bring one since the setting on the tour is full of amazing, scenic views.
This is, of course, a personal choice, we have often had pregnant women on our trips. We recommend you take a close look at our trip description and difficulty rating, they will hopefully give you a better idea. It is also good to contact your physician, pregnant women’s health can be quite different. Feel free to contact us if you have further questions or concerns.
We do not provide lunch on any of our trips, so we recommend you bring your own lunch (for the longer trips), snacks and a bottle of water (you can refill it on the trip).
Crampons are metal spikes that we attach to the soles of your hiking shoes, these enable you to walk on the glacier ice without slipping.
Yes, there is a specially trained and certified glacier guide on every glacier tour that we offer.
When glacier hiking you will be provided with an ice axe, crampons, harness and helmet. This will help you to complete the tour safely. The minimum shoe size to attach crampons is EU 35.
When snow stays long enough in one place it turns to ice. Over long periods of time, the ice layers up becoming huge blocks called glaciers. As there is a lot of snow in Iceland, it forms to create ginormous glaciers that sweep across huge masses of land. Iceland is home to Europe’s largest glacier named Vatnajökull. This Glacier Guide will also tell you everything you may want to know about Glaciers.
Rain is not uncommon in Iceland. However, we do not let the rain stop our tours. This is why having appropriate clothing is very important to keep you warm and dry. Nature is not something that we can control and therefore we need to adapt to the weather. If your safety is compromised by going on the tour, we will cancel and you will be fully refunded.
This guide to Glacier Hiking includes all the information you might need when preparing for a glacier hike.
