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Get ready to explore icebergs and glaciers on this adventurous day tour. First, the Zodiac boat tour on the iceberg-filled Fjallsárlón glacier lagoon awaits you. Zodiac boats are the type of boats that are made to operate under harsh Arctic conditions. That’s why you’ll get as close to the floating ice as possible!
Next on, you’ll travel to the Vatnajökull National Park, where another adventure awaits you. Vatnajökull glacier is the largest glacier in Iceland, covering an area of around 7,900 square kilometers. During the glacier hike, you’ll have an opportunity to explore one of its most scenic outlets.
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Located close to the other famous glacier lagoon, Jökulsárlón, Fjallsárlón glacier lake belongs to the Fjallsjökull outlet glacier. It is filled with shimmering icebergs that float in the water. What’s unique about Fjallsárlón is that the background of this glacier lagoon is very steep and you can get much closer to the lakeshore than, for example, in Jökulsárlón. Also, you can admire a view of Iceland’s tallest mountain, Öræfajökull volcano, towering above the lake.
By being less popular than Jökulsárlón, Fjallsárlón glacier lagoon has the advantage of having smaller crowds. Here you can really appreciate the scenery and not get distracted by anything else.
After a boat ride, you’ll need to drive independently to Skaftafell Nature Reserve for a thrilling glacier hike. You’ll step onto Falljökull, an outlet glacier for Iceland’s largest ice cap, Vatnajökull. Falljökull translates from Icelandic as the “falling glacier,” and you’ll be able to see why during the glacier hike tour. The massive icefall drops impressively down the mountains towards the ocean.
Arriving at the glacier’s edge, we’ll strap our crampons on and prepare for a glacier hike. Your professional glacier guide will take care of you every step of the way and tell you more about the ice formations and crevasses you’re seeing. Finally, you’ll approach the awe-inspiring icefall from up close and see how the ancient ice falls hundreds of meters from the mountaintop and slowly moves toward the ocean. This is a sight you won’t forget for a long time!
You’ll have to travel between meeting locations at Fjallsárlón and Skaftafell independently, as transport isn’t provided. Upon booking, you’ll receive all the important information, such as your meeting points and exact meeting times.
Skaftafell is located about 330 kilometers from Reykjavík. See map for directions.
The main difference between these trips is that they take you to different locations on the glacier.
Our Glacier Explorer (5.5 hours) trip spends approximately 3 hours on the ice, exploring the magnificent ice-fall where it falls down from the Öræfajökull caldera.
The Glacier Wonders (4 hours) trip explores the easier part of the glacier which is lower and you will spend approximately 1 hour on the ice, giving you a fantastic but brief encounter to the highlights of Falljökull glacier.
Both trips start about 15 min driving away from our Skaftafell base camp. After the drive, we continue on foot following the retreat of the glacier for about 25-30 minutes where we set foot on the ice. Once there the 3.5-hour walkers spend their time exploring the features of the lower glacier and seeing spectacular views of the icefall. The 5.5-hour walkers explore the glacier more thoroughly and experience majestic pinnacles and deep crevasses. Both trips sometimes come across spectacular ice-caves but due to the nature of glaciers, this is not always the case.
The 5.5-hour walk requires a higher level of fitness and agility as you will be on your feet for a longer period of time and the terrain is more challenging.
Meet on location means traveling to the location of the tour yourself and then meeting our tour guides rather than being picked up and taken to the location.
Iceland is known for its colorful 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 with ankle support 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. Get to know how to put crampons.
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.
