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Have the experience of a lifetime as you witness crystal blue ice unlike any other in Iceland. This tour is a must-see for people who want to witness the country’s bluest, most captivating ice cave in recent years. Get up close and personal to incredible shades of icy blue while you walk right up to the base of mighty Vatnajokull, Europe’s largest glacier. Don’t miss your chance to capture the magic and take home unforgettable memories!
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Date not available? Crystal Ice Cave is seasonal. Check out Katla or Into the Glacier instead!
Your adventure begins at Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon, one of Iceland’s most stunning natural wonders. Formed by meltwater from Breiðamerkurjökull, an outlet of Vatnajökull Glacier, the lagoon has been growing rapidly as the glacier retreats. Icebergs break off the glacier’s edge—known as “calving”—and float slowly across the water before drifting into the Atlantic Ocean. This ever-changing landscape is a photographer’s dream, so have your camera ready!
From Jökulsárlón, you’ll hop into a super jeep for an off-road ride to the edge of the glacier. After a short walk, your guide will lead you into a naturally formed ice cave—a surreal world of deep blue ice. You’ll explore the cave at your own pace while learning how these seasonal structures form from meltwater tunnels and freeze into magical shapes. The tour ends back at the lagoon, where you were picked up, after roughly 2–3 hours of total experience.
Tip: Jökulsárlón is about 379 km (235 mi) from Reykjavík, roughly a 5-hour drive in good conditions. Winter weather can affect travel times, so staying nearby before or after your tour is strongly recommended.
A visit to a natural ice cave is one of Iceland’s most unforgettable winter experiences. These caves are formed by meltwater streams carving tunnels through the glacier, creating passageways that freeze solid as temperatures drop. New caves appear in different locations each winter, shaped by the ever-changing conditions inside Vatnajökull, Europe’s largest glacier.
The real magic happens inside the ice. Centuries-old glacier ice has been compressed under extreme pressure, squeezing out air bubbles and increasing clarity. That’s why the ice appears in shades of deep, electric blue—the denser the ice, the bluer it gets. This vibrant color, combined with beams of natural light filtering through the ice, gives each cave a surreal glow that can’t be found anywhere else on Earth.
No two caves are alike, and the one you visit will depend on the conditions at the time of your tour. Whether it’s the popular Crystal Ice Cave or another naturally formed gem, you’re in for a once-in-a-lifetime encounter with one of nature’s most spectacular creations.
A Super Jeep is a highly modified vehicle equipped with 38" to 50" tires and a robust suspension system, uniquely designed to handle Iceland's diverse terrains and conditions. Dive deeper into the world of Super Jeep Tours.
A 4x4 is a vehicle with four wheels that drive together, suitable for mild off-roading. An SUV is a spacious vehicle designed for light off-roading and various terrains. A Super Jeep is a heavily modified vehicle, built for challenging terrains with features like large tires and snorkels. A Super Truck is a large vehicle modified like a Super Jeep but designed to carry up to 58 passengers. Explore the distinctions in our Super Jeep Tours section.
Yes, Super Jeeps are designed and modified to handle the challenging terrains of Iceland, ensuring safety during tours. For a secure adventure, check out our Super Jeep Tours.
A Super Jeep can accommodate up to 19 riders, making it ideal for large families and small tour groups. Discover group adventures with our Super Jeep Tours.
The Into the Glacier tour departs from the Glacier Guides booking hut in Skaftafell National Park and is up to 4 hours in duration. After gearing up for our glacier adventure, we jump on a bus for a short drive to Falljökull glacier (approx. 15-20 minutes). This tour is perfect for those looking to try hiking on a glacier, exploring the crevasses and fascinating ice formations as well as experience what it’s like to be inside a glacier ice cave. This tour is rated easy (2 / 5) and no prior glacier experience is needed to participate on the tour. Participants need to be in good walking condition and be able to walk for 1.5 – 2 hours at a low pace with short breaks.
Your guide will take the time to explain to you the scenery that you are seeing and tell you all there is to know about glaciers.
The into the Glacier tour is a combination tour of glacier hiking and ice cave exploring.
The Crystal Ice Cave tour departs from Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon and is up to 3 hours in duration. A large off-road jeep will take you to an ice cave located in Breiðármerkurjökull Glacier, an outlet glacier from Vatnajökull. This tour offers you the chance to venture inside one of Vatnajökul’s beautiful crystal ice caves and take photos of its picturesque crystal surroundings. You will then jump back on the super jeep which will return you safely back to Jökulsárlón.
This tour is rated easy and no prior glacier experience is needed to participate on the tour. You will not need to walk as much on this tour as it only includes a short walk to, in and around the glacier for up to approx. 20-30 minutes.
This tour doesn’t include much hiking, it includes exploring the ice cave and offers you the opportunity to take photographs from inside the cave. The ice cave is very beautiful, which makes it very popular with many other operators and tourists, for this reason very reason it is therefore likely that you will be sharing the location with other groups.
If you are looking for a tour that combines a visit to an ice cave with glacier hiking then Into the Glacier is the tour for you.
If you are looking for a tour that will take you directly to an ice cave for some great photo opportunities inside an ice cave then the Crystal Ice Cave tour is the tour for you.
Meet on location means travelling to the location of the tour yourself and then meeting our tour guides rather than being picked up and taken to the location.
Jökulsarlon is situated in the South East of Iceland on the edge of a glacier called Breiðamerkurjökull. It is about a 4.5-hour drive from Reykjavik.
The caves are in a constant change so they might look different from what you see in the picture. Air temperature, sunshine, precipitation, geothermal activity, and many other factors cause significant changes in the formation of the ice caves and this process is exclusively controlled by Mother Nature.
We will visit the best available naturally formed ice cave during this tour and the cave we visit is chosen based on conditions and safety each time.
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 ice cave tour that we offer.
The Ice Caves in Iceland are truly magical. If you want to learn more about them this information page on Ice Caves will be a great help.
