What you get
- Local glacier guide
- 4×4 transfer from our base
- Small group sizes
- full day ice cave tour
Departure time: 9:30 Duration: 5-7 hours Meeting place: Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon (next to Diamond Beach)
Difficulty Level: Moderate – Hard Season: 15th October – 31st March Age limit: 16 years old What to bring: Hiking boots with ankle support, good outdoor clothes are important (no cotton), including fleece and waterproof jacket, gloves, hat, socks and a small backpack with some drink and lunch/snacks for the day. Let us know if you don’t have hiking boots, you can rent them from us on location for 1,000 ISK
Experience an ice cave on Vatnajökull glacier!
This is an early season chance to visit one of the stunning blue ice caves that starts to form in the summer months in the outlet glaciers of the biggest glacier in Iceland. This is an incredible experience that many people won´t have in their lifetime and we are excited to take you to this ice cave.
It is more difficult to access and more adventurous then on our normal ice cave tour so we can only take max 8-9 clients per guide on this departure.
On this trip we will drive to a glacier in the local area to visit the ice cave. From the parking area we hike across glacial moraine and then on gravel or glacier**, depending on conditions, until we reach the glacier ice cave. Once at the ice cave you will have time to explore, take in the deep blue ice and to take photos.
* This tour does involve walking on uneven terrain and is reasonably physical, so we rate this trip moderate to difficult. It depends on the conditions, you can expect to hike up to 1 – 1 1/2 hour each way to the ice cave location**.
As for the ice cave we visit on this tour, we do not only look at the size of the ice cave but the beauty and colours, the ice caves are normally from 30-100 meters long.
*We cannot guarantee that other independent companies will not be operating in the same location.
What to bring:
Good boots or hiking shoes are essential, as we sometimes need to put on crampons and sometimes the ground can be very muddy in or on the way to the ice cave.
You can rent hiking boots from us on location for 1,000 ISK.
Please wear warm and waterproof outdoor clothing, hat and gloves.
Your safety is of the utmost importance. Ice Cave tours are weather dependent. Sometimes tours have to be cancelled with short notice due to weather conditions or other safety concerns. After periods of adverse weather, the caves can become flooded or unsafe to enter. If this happens we will always do our best to offer an alternative such as a glacier hike if weather conditions allow. However if this is not suitable we will also always offer a full refund or a rescheduled date for your tour.
Please contact info@localguide.is if you feel like you need more information about this tour or any of our other tours.
About travelling in Iceland in winter:
We are located 370 km east of Reykjavík, which is just under a 5 hours drive (in good conditions) via road number 1.
Please note that in icy and wintery conditions (snowy, windy and stormy) the travel time can be much longer. We recommend that you stay in a hotel or guesthouse in southeast Iceland the night before the trip.
ATT! Always make sure to follow current weather conditions when travelling in Iceland during the winter – http://en.vedur.is/
In addition to current road conditions – http://www.road.is/
Some more up to date travelling tips – https://safetravel.is/
WINTER season, mid OCTOBER – MARCH for ICE CAVING tours:
Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon (next to Diamond Beach)
370km east of Reykjavík, located by the main highway road number 1. When driving the ring road you will see a big lagoon with floating ice bergs, we are there at the main parking lot next to the cafeteria.
Google maps: Jökulsárlón, Glacier Lagoon or Diamond beach
GPS: 64.0478597, -16.1789879
