For the last few years, the Ice Cave tours in Iceland have been insanely popular, and people go to great lengths to include them in their Iceland itineraries. Too great lengths sometimes, if you ask me, but I guess that’s all relative. It’s not hard to understand why though, the photos you can see all over the internet are amazing and cause a serious case of FOMO (fear of missing out for all you old timers out there – don’t worry, I had to look it up too).

There are a lot of things to consider before booking an ice Cave tour which is why I wanted to write this post and share some thoughts based on my own experience and the information we’ve received both from our guests and our partners in the hope it will help you choose the right tour for you.

A few things you need to know about ice caves in Iceland

The weather plays a big role

Ice cave tours are very weather dependent. Both because you can only access the ice caves when it’s cold enough, which is why we usually talk about the ice cave season being from the middle of November to the middle of March when it’s usually coldest in Iceland, and because of their location on the glaciers.

In most cases, you will need a specialized “monster truck” type vehicle to get to the glacier and even though they have crazy big tires – sometimes the conditions just get the best of them. The ice caves can also fill up with water if it’s too warm or when it rains a lot for a few days or they can fill up with snow when the snowfall is heavy. Heavy winds and storms can also play a part.

Because of this, it’s not uncommon that ice cave tours get canceled and sometimes with little notice.

All is not what it seems

Another thing that you should keep in mind is that the photos you see of the ice caves often don’t match reality because the camera and your eyes don’t see things the same way. The same can actually be said about the northern lights.

Sometimes, the northern lights are so faint that you can’t see them but if you use the correct settings on your camera they will show up in pictures. Similarly, the blue color in the ice caves is much more vivid on camera than in real life. This is not a problem if your main objective is to get a photo with the blue ice but it’s just good to keep this in mind to avoid disappointment.

You should also keep in mind that photographers often go to great lengths to get the perfect photo of a place and will use wide-angle lenses to make things seem bigger and more magnificent than they really are. It’s understandable, they’re trying to sell a photo and photos of a cramped cave probably don’t sell.

Most ice caves are smaller in real life than on photos which may cause some dissatisfaction if you’re not aware of it.

Things are constantly changing

Finally, most of the photos floating around the internet are from an ice cave that’s called the Crystal Ice cave which was the most popular ice cave for a while. Its popularity had a lot to do with how easy it was to access, its size and the vivid blue color of it.

What you need to know is that most of the photos you’ve seen of the Crystal Cave were taken 2-3 years ago when it was at its peak. Last year, I’ve been told, the blue color had faded a lot and this winter the crystal ice cave was full of water and was therefore inaccessible.

This can’t be helped. Nature does its own thing and the ice caves change like the glaciers.

What does this mean? Should you just forget about the ice caves?

If you have never seen a glacier, visiting one can be an amazing experience and ice cave tours are one way to do that (glacier walks and snowmobiling tours are some other examples and they all offer something different). What I particularly like about the ice cave tours is that you get to see a different side of the glacier as you are basically seeing it from the inside. There’s something very interesting about touching the ice, seeing how the landscape and water have shaped and carved it and where it’s visible the blue color is a beautiful sight. A cool selfie to make your friends jealous is not a bad bonus.

If you keep your expectations in check and you approach this as an interesting experience and an opportunity to get up close and personal with something as magnificent as a glacier, it’s definitely a worthwhile experience. You might even get surprised by how much you like it.

If you book an ice cave tour, expecting to see exactly what you’ve seen in all those photos that we now know are most likely old and not necessarily an accurate representation of what the experience will be like, chances are that you’re going to get disappointed. Especially if you’ve planned your whole itinerary around it.

A guide to the different ice cave experiences around Iceland

Before we go any further,  please remember that this is not an exhaustive list of ice cave tours that are available in Iceland (far from it).

These are, however, the main locations where you can do ice cave tours and suggestions for tours in each area that you can do with our handpicked partner companies.

If you know which ice cave tour you’re most interested in, or which area you will be visiting,  you can use the links below to jump straight to what most piques your interest. 

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[ps2id url=’#jokulsarlon’]Ice cave tours from Jökulsárlón (available from approx. November to March)[/ps2id]
[ps2id url=’#skaftafell’]Ice cave tours from Skaftafell (available from approx. November to March)[/ps2id]
[ps2id url=’#vik’]Ice cave tours from Vík (available all year)[/ps2id]
[ps2id url=’#into-the-glacier’]Into the Glacier in Langjökull (available all year)[/ps2id]
[ps2id url=’#snowmobile’]Ice caves and snowmobiles from Gullfoss (available approx November to May)[/ps2id]
[ps2id url=’#2-day’]2-day south coast tours from Reykjavík that include an ice cave[/ps2id]

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Ice cave tours from Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon (ish)

Shorter easier tours perfect for quick self-drive trips

The Vatnajökull region is where this ice cave craze started and is also the home of the famous Crystal Ice cave. As I mentioned before, the crystal ice cave was out for this season so the operators in the area have been exploring other options. 

When Hrannar and I visited a few ice caves this winter, we did two different tours that both left from Jökulsárlón. One went to an ice cave called the Anaconda (because it’s long and slinky like an anaconda) and it usually includes a stop at a crevasse or moulin called Gin&Tonic. Unfortunately, on the day we did this, the conditions were really difficult so we didn’t have time for Gin&Tonic. The other tour took us to a cave in the same area called the Blue Diamond. 

Both tours are operated in supersized vehicles and the drive is as much a part of the experience as the ice caves themselves. Because of the weather, the vehicles were getting stuck left and right and for a big part of the first tour, our driver was halfway out the window because he just couldn’t see anything. 

The guides we did tours with that day had very different approaches but were both very nice. The guide who took us to the Anaconda talked more but a lot of what he was saying was just silly (and not necessarily true) things to make the tour more fun. The guide who took us to the Blue Diamond said less and kept to the facts but did his job well. 

The Anaconda, although it’s long and quite big is not very blue. It’s quite far from the photos you’ve seen of blue ice caves but it was kind of interesting to see none the less. Gin&Tonic apparently has some beautiful blue ice so it’s a shame that the weather stopped us from seeing that as I think it would have made the tour that much better. 

The tour that took us to the Blue Diamond was my favorite of all ice cave tours I’ve done. Although the cave itself is quite small it was the bluest out of all the ice caves I’ve visited and it was the closest to the experience I expected. If you have enough time to do an ice cave tour in this area, this is the tour I would recommend you do. 

Do keep in mind, though, that it depends on the day and the conditions which ice caves are accessible. The operator who does the Blue Diamond tour will try to find the best possible ice cave for any given day and if the hard work I saw the day we did our tour is any indication, I totally believe that.

A small personal anecdote (and possible TMI situation): 

The guide who took us to the Blue Diamond used to be the resident DJ at the bar where Hrannar and I met and both frequented at the time. Although neither of us remembers, it’s not unlikely that he was DJing that night.

On the way back from the ice cave, he put on some music for everyone in the car to enjoy and it was from a playlist of all the songs he used to play during his sets at the bar. So this drive from the ice cave suddenly and unexpectedly turned into a trip down memory lane for us now married lovebirds. 

Who knows, if he had been a terrible DJ, we both might have fled the bar without ever meeting each other.

Longer more demanding tours (with added benefits)

If you have a bit more time and you plan to spend some time in the area, you could consider doing one of the longer ice cave tours that take you to more remote ice caves. 

These tours usually cost more money but the groups are also smaller so you won’t need to share the ice caves with quite as many people. 

The one thing to keep in mind for the longer ice caves is that there’s a considerable amount of hiking involved and the difficulty level is moderate to hard. You will need better equipment and you can expect to hike from 1.5 hours to 2 hours one way on uneven terrain. Sometimes on ice or you might need to cross unbridged streams. So if that doesn’t sound like a good time to you, these tours are not for you. 

If you’re up for the adventure (and you have the time for it), however, you will be rewarded with amazing sights. 

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Glacier walk and ice cave tours from Skaftafell

I have sadly never done a glacier walk from Skaftafell and it has a lot to do with the fact that Sólheimajökull, where I have done glacier hikes, is closer to Reykjavík and I don’t often have time to go further east than Vík. When I do have the time, I usually only have time for one or possibly two activities and I tend to aim for something I haven’t done before to widen my scope. 

As much as I enjoyed my time on Sólheimajökull, I have been told that the hikes in Skaftafell are really nice because the ice is a bit bluer there and the scenery more striking.

I’ve seen all of these glaciers, by the way, I just haven’t hiked on the ones around Skaftafell. 

When asked by guests whether they should choose Sólheimajökull or Skaftafell I always tell them that if they have a choice, Skaftafell is probably a bit nicer but Sólheimajökull is beautiful too. So whatever fits your schedule. 

Another nice thing about the tours from Skaftafell is that they have found natural ice caves and moulins there which upon til recently were just kept as an added bonus to the glacier hikes. Now, I guess they have found bigger more stable ice caves so they’ve started offering special tours to see them. 

To me, it makes perfect sense to combine a glacier hike and ice caves because you get a fuller glacier experience that way. I also have it on good authority, since I haven’t done these tours myself, that the ice caves there are pretty nice and because they don’t require a specialized vehicle to get to, these tours tend to be cheaper than the ice cave tours from Jökulsárlón. Especially if you plan to do a glacier walk too anyway.

One thing to keep in mind though is that the tours that combine glacier hikes and ice caves are more physically demanding than some of the other options. They are often rated easy to moderate but are probably more on the moderate side. Anyone in good health that is used to doing some exercise should be able to do them but if you went straight from the couch to Iceland, your lungs and legs might burn a bit. If you’re very out of shape or if you have some issues that would prevent you from hiking on the glacier for a few hours, I would opt for some of the other tours. 

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Ice Cave Tours from Vík

From Vík you can go do a tour to an ice cave that has many names. Some called it the Secret Ice Cave while for others it’s the ice cave under the volcano or Katla ice cave. Whatever it’s called, it’s always the same cave.

What is good about this cave is that it’s in an easy driving distance from Reykjavík and it can be quite easily added to a self-drive day tour around the south coast. especially if you have more than a day to explore. Another thing that a lot of people appreciate about it is that it’s accessible all year.

I visited this ice cave a year ago and at the time I hadn’t been to the ice caves in the Vatnajökull region so I had little to compare it with. Like many people, I had only seen the Crystal ice cave on photos so that was my point of reference.

This cave is quite different from the caves you see further east. First of all, you don’t travel on the glacier but the entrance is more on the ground at the edge of the glacier. Only a part of it has a ceiling and there’s a hole in it so it doesn’t have the same cave-like feeling as the ones in Vatnajökull. 

I have also heard from guides that travel around the region regularly that the cave is slightly blacker this year and has changed quite a bit from last year. I have not done this tour in summer yet so I can’t say what it looks like in that season. 

I would recommend this tour if you really want to see a natural ice cave and you don’t have time to go all the way out east to the other ice caves but I think I would only do it as an addition to a self-drive adventure. 

I did it as a day tour from Reykjavík and because it was such a long day and I know what we were skipping in the region to fit all of this into one day, I didn’t think it was time particularly well spent.

I should mention though that the conditions were extremely difficult the day I did this tour so everything took extra long and we had car trouble at the beginning of it so maybe I didn’t get the best tour. It is telling though that the company I did it with, and some others, have stopped offering this as a day tour from Reykjavík and are now only offering the self-drive option. 

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The Ice Tunnel in Langjökull (Into the glacier)

A few years ago, a bunch of farmers and some investors decided that it would be a great idea to dig a tunnel into Langjökull glacier and give people a chance to explore a glacier from the inside. I’m sure people were not at all convinced when they first started pitching this idea but in the end, they finished what they set out to do and the Into The Glacier experience became a reality. 

What you need to know about the Into the Glacier Tour is that it’s not a natural ice cave but a man-made glacier tunnel. There is a big difference and if you visit one expecting it to be like the other, you’re probably going to walk away disappointed. 

If you, however, know what you’re getting yourself into there’s no reason why you couldn’t enjoy either. 

The Into the Glacier experience has a few things going for it: 

1: It’s available all year round and the experience is similar enough year round that it’s worth considering for your summer visit too. Of course, the landscape around it is vastly different but the tunnel itself isn’t as dependent on the conditions as the natural ice caves.

2: It’s accessible and suitable for almost anyone as long as they can walk. It’s not difficult to get in and out of the vehicle and although the ride can be a bit bumpy, it’s not so uncomfortable that you need to worry about it. The ground inside the tunnel can be slippery but you will be provided with traction cleats for your shoes that really help and they even provide sleighs for kids.

3: They offer a good discount for families by offering a 50% discount for teenagers 12 to 15 years old and children under 11 go for free. 

4: The guide I did this tour with offered some info on different phenomena that you can find inside a glacier (crevasses, moulins etc) and explained a lot about how glaciers come about and such so the tour was about more than just walking through the tunnel. 

5: Just the idea of digging a tunnel into a glacier (which took 14 months, by the way) and the challenges they were faced is an interesting aspect of this tour for anyone interested in how things are built. 

What the inside the Glacier is not, however, is blue. Parts of it, as you get deeper into the tunnel, have a faint blue color which they use artificial lighting to magnify (because it’s a tunnel and no natural light can find its way in) but there’s nothing very natural about it. Apart from the fact that you’re standing inside of Iceland’s second largest glacier of course!

I’m not sure Into the Glacier is my favorite of all the experiences I’ve had in Iceland (please keep in mind that I’m SUPER spoiled though because I get to try so many things without ever having to worry about time constraints or the cost because I live here and it’s a part of my job) but I can say that it was better than I thought it would be. I’ve always been skeptical about this tour but after I did it, I think if you just don’t mix or compare it with the natural ice caves and approach it for what it is, it’s an interesting family-friendly experience. 

You can do the Into the Glacier Tour as a day tour from Reykjavík or you can add it to your self-drive adventure. If you do the latter, the driver on my tour told me that he would always recommend people do the tour at 15:00 because they usually have fewer bookings for that departure, so smaller groups,  and the weather is usually nicer. Do what you will with that. 

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Snowmobile and ice cave in Langjökull

The Snowmobile and Ice Cave tour in Langjökull is one of the few options in this post that I have not tried myself so I have no first-hand knowledge of the ice cave. I have, however, done a snowmobile tour in Langjökull so I have a good idea about everything else on this tour. 

From what I can see from photos and from my conversations with the people who operate these tours, I think this particular ice cave could be a nice addition if you’re doing a snowmobile tour anyway but it’s maybe not the best option if all you’re after is an ice cave. Both is it more expensive than most of the ice cave tours (snowmobile tours tend to be costly) but you also spend less time at this ice cave than most of the others.

If you’re doing a snowmobile tour anyway, it costs about 5000-7000 ISK extra to add the ice cave. On the ice cave snowmobile tour, you spend about 45 minutes on the snowmobile and 15 minutes in the cave while if you were doing a plain snowmobile tour you would be spending about an hour on the snowmobile which usually includes a 5-10 minute photo break. As the person that I talked to when I called my partner (for the 5th time) to ask about this said: The main activity here is the snowmobiling. 

Snowmobiling on a glacier is fun though. 

So, if you’re willing to pay a bit more to see this ice cave, then it might be worth considering this. You can do the snowmobile and ice cave tour as a self-drive option from Gullfoss or you can do it with a transfer from Reykjavík. Just keep in mind if you choose the latter that altogether the day is 7-8 hours but the snowmobiling is only about an hour of that. 

As a side note to this –  if you plan to do tours from Reykjavík and you want to do both snowmobiling and an ice cave, I think you would spend your time wisely and get the most for your money if you would do the Golden Circle and Snowmobile small group tour and a 2-day tour around the south coast that includes glacier walk and an ice cave. 

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2-day south coast tours from Reykjavík that include an ice cave

If you want to visit the ice caves on a tour from Reykjavík but you don’t want to rent a car, your best bet is to do a 2-day tour from Reykjavík that includes accommodation on that south coast. That way you don’t have to sacrifice other sights as you need to do on a day tour to Katla Ice Cave, for example. 

This 2-day tour is available year-round and because of that, they usually visit the Katla Ice cave since it’s available year round. 

Last winter, we started offering this 2-day tour because it offers the best price out of all the 2-day tours (and we like the operator) and they usually do the glacier walk and ice cave from Skaftafell but because they operate tours in Jökulsárlón and Katla too, they use those as backup if Skaftafell is not available due to unfavorable conditions. They only go to the Katla cave if the other two are unavailable. 

Finally, we will be offering this 2-day tour for the first time next winter. It’s a bit more expensive than the other two option but it includes one of the longer more remote ice cave tours and smaller groups plus it offers slightly better accommodation. Just keep in mind that the difficulty level of this longer ice cave tour is moderate so you need to be in decent shape for this one. 

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