Glacier Hikes & Ice Cave Tours

Natural blue ice caves are a winter product, roughly November to March. They are meltwater channels inside a glacier that only become safe once the ice has frozen hard, and because the glacier keeps moving they are surveyed fresh every season — no two winters offer the same cave. Almost all of them are reached by super-jeep from Jökulsárlón on Vatnajökull, with the Katla cave under Mýrdalsjökull the closest option to Reykjavík.

Glacier hikes run year-round and are the opposite trade: less spectacle, more time on the ice. Entry-level walks on Sólheimajökull or Falljokull take two to three hours on the glacier, with crampons, harness, helmet and axe supplied and fitted at the trailhead. Neither activity needs prior experience; both need waterproof layers and sturdy ankle boots that crampons can grip.

The Katla ice cave under Mýrdalsjökull is the one that works as a day trip from Reykjavík, usually bundled with south coast waterfalls and a black sand beach. It is a dark, ash-streaked cave rather than a glowing blue one, and it runs later into spring than the Vatnajökull caves do.

The classic blue caves are on Vatnajökull, reached from Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon — about five hours’ drive each way, so either an overnight trip or a very long day. Sólheimajökull, an outlet of Mýrdalsjökull two hours from the city, is where most short glacier hikes happen and where hikes get combined with the south coast.

Operators supply the technical kit and fit it for you. You bring waterproof jacket and trousers, warm layers, hat and gloves, and stiff waterproof boots with ankle support — crampons will not stay on trainers, and most operators hire boots out if you arrange it when booking rather than on the morning.

Minimum ages vary by route and are enforced because the gear has to fit: ice caves usually accept younger children than glacier hikes, and ice-climbing routes ask for more again. You do not need experience, but you do need to be steady on uneven ground for a couple of hours in cold, exposed conditions.