Join our partners Glacier Adventure for a Vatnajökull Glacier cave tour and enjoy a personal experience from a local company. During this Vatnajokull ice cave tour, you will explore a stunning natural blue ice cave in Breiðarmerkurjökull, an outlet glacier from Vatnajökull, the largest glacier by volume in Europe.
Our most beginner-friendly ice cave tour – this tour still requires you to spend 2 hours out in the elements, walking through most of it, but it’s easier and takes less time than the other two options. If you’d like a slightly tougher option that visits this cave and takes you on a glacier hike, consider the Blue Ice Cave Adventure. If you’d like the biggest, most comprehensive Vatnajökull ice cave tour, consider our Full-day Hidden Ice Cave & Glacier Hike.
Standing inside an ancient glacier surrounded by picturesque blue ice will make you feel like you are in a fairytale. This is a truly unique experience!
Certified glacier guides lead you on your journey into the glacier. Along the way, they will share facts about this enormous ice formation and the history of the region, and take you to the best spots for those Instagram photos! Check out the following tutorial material on how to take the perfect photo on your Vatnajökull Glacier Ice Cave Tour:
Blog: Taking good ice cave photos with a smartphone
YouTube: How to take Ice cave photos with mobile phone
After meeting at their Hali base camp, Glacier Adventure will transport you to the glacier in modified jeeps.
The 30- to 40-minute drive leads to a parking lot, from which you will walk for a further 30 to 40 minutes through a lunar-like landscape. The retreating glacier has shaped these spectacular surroundings over many years.
This Vatnajökull ice cave tour has a total duration of between three and four hours, including around 45 minutes inside the ice cave. This tour is easy and suitable for families. However, the minimum age for participants is 10 years old.
Please note: You will not walk on the glacier during this tour. Check out our Iceland Glacier Walks if this is the experience you want.
Other companies operate in the same area. We take all precautions to avoid crowds on this tour but, inevitably, with the short daylight hours, it is likely you’ll bump into other groups and have to queue at times. For less crowded tours and more remote glacier trips email info@ice-guardians.com or book our full-day Iceland Glacier Tours.
Quick Facts
Distance Approx.3-5 km
Group min: 2 persons
Group max: 13/14 persons
Cave Status: (October 2023), the Crystal Ice Cave (aka Sapphire Cave) is in an early stage of development, as such, it is not possible to go very deep into the cave just yet, and we can only go in to see the back. If you’re up for it, we recommend doing the slightly longer trip which will include an additional blue ice feature, to make the most of your trip.
Price Includes
The meeting point is located at the Glacier Adventure Base Camp, a few steps from the Hali Country Hotel.
This is located 13 km east of the Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon and 67 km west of Höfn. We recommend arriving at least 20 minutes before the departure time.
We have marked the Glacier Adventure meeting point on Google Maps here
Driving in the wintertime can take much longer than expected. We recommend staying somewhere close to Hali the night before the tour. Find our accommodation suggestions here.
You can find useful information about the weather at the Icelandic Met Office and live road conditions at the Icelandic Road Administration.
Disclaimer: All glacier trips are taken at the responsibility of the participants. Glacier Adventure does not take responsibility for accidents which are caused by their customers or can be traced to their own actions.
Glacier Adventure reserves the right to refuse the participation of clients if they are not dressed according to the weather as this will put them at risk. In such circumstances, no refunds shall be given.
