Crystal Ice Cave Tour in Vatnajökull Glacier With Super Jeep Ride

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Top Attractions:

Vatnajökull Glacier National Park

Overview

Experience one of Iceland’s most unique day trips with a guided visit to a natural ice cave in Vatnajökull Glacier. Departing from Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon, this tour takes you by super jeep to the glacier’s edge, followed by a short walk to reach the cave. Formed by meltwater and winter freeze, each season’s cave is different—filled with deep blue ice, smooth walls, and surreal textures. It’s an easy, safe, and fascinating way to see the natural forces shaping Iceland up close!

Tour Snapshot

Duration

2-3 hours

Level

Easy

Availability

january - april, october - december

Group

Small (14)

Starting point

Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon

End point

Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon

Languages

English

Trip style

One-day tours

Minimum age

6 years

What to expect

On tour

Transfer to and from the ice cave
Guided visit to a natural ice cave
All necessary glacier gear
Safety equipment included
English-speaking licensed adventure guide

Transportation

Meet on location
Meet us at the starting point in Jokursarlon glacier lagoon
Pick up & drop-off in Reykjavik

Accommodation & Meals

Accommodation
Meals
We recommend you bring your own snacks

Route map

Check the itinerary to find out the details of your adventure.

2-3 hours

Itinerary Overview

This unforgettable day tour begins at Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon in Southeast Iceland. From there, you’ll hop into a modified super jeep and head out with your expert glacier guide to one of Vatnajökull’s outlet glaciers. After a short walk, you’ll arrive at the entrance to a naturally formed ice cave.

Once inside, you’ll explore the shimmering blue ice up close—layers that have been compressed over centuries, creating vivid colors and otherworldly textures. These caves form anew each winter, so the one you visit will be entirely unique. Your guide will explain how these formations develop and share fascinating insights into Iceland’s glacial landscapes.

After the cave visit, we return to Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon, where the tour ends. Don’t forget your camera—this is one of the most photogenic experiences you’ll find in Iceland!

Starting point

Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon

End point

Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon

What makes Ice Caves blue?

The stunning blue color inside ice caves comes down to time, pressure, and nature’s own filtering process. Over centuries, as glacial ice compresses and travels downhill, air bubbles are pushed out and the ice crystals grow larger. This creates incredibly clear, dense ice beneath the surface.

While the outer layers of the glacier may look white due to exposure to sunlight and weather, the older ice hidden beneath is where the deep blue hues appear. You’ll often see the same effect on freshly flipped icebergs, where the underside glows with that same striking color.

What to Expect

Every ice cave is different—and that’s part of the magic. Your guide is a certified glacier expert who carefully chooses which cave to visit each day, based on conditions, safety, and accessibility. Most caves are found on the southern side of Vatnajökull and its outlet glaciers, and their shapes, colors, and size change from year to year.

Some caves are massive and open; others are smaller and shine in the right light. Certain caves require below-freezing temperatures to be accessible, especially when the ground inside needs to be fully frozen. While we can’t promise a specific cave in advance, every visit reveals something unique.

Keep in mind: ice caves are natural wonders. What you see may differ from photos depending on the season, light, and weather—but that’s exactly what makes each visit special!

Important Information

Meeting Point
- This tour departs from Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon.
- Please be ready at the meeting point 15 minutes before departure.
- Pick-up and drop-off are at Jökulsárlón only. Transportation to/from Reykjavík is not included.
What to Wear
- Dress warmly in layered, water-resistant clothing.
- Sturdy hiking shoes with good grip are strongly recommended.
- A helmet is provided, so bring a hat that fits underneath comfortably.
Safety & Conditions
- Ice caves are natural formations and change constantly. The cave visited may vary depending on weather, light, and safety conditions.
- The tour may be cancelled or adjusted if conditions are not safe on the day.
- Check the road and weather forecast in winter. Driving from Reykjavík can take 5 hours or longer depending on conditions.
- Staying overnight near Vatnajökull is recommended.
Other Notes
- We also run multi-day tours that include a Crystal Ice Cave visit—perfect if you’re looking for a longer adventure.
- The exact ice cave is selected based on the best available option on your tour date.

Arctic Adventures

Arctic Adventures is a top Icelandic tour operator known for its small-group experiences. Since 1983, they’ve specialized in guiding travelers through Iceland’s wild terrains, from glaciers to volcanoes. Their tours are all about adventure and sustainability, led by expert guides who make sure every trip is safe, fun, and memorable. Arctic Adventures combines deep local knowledge with a strong commitment to nature, making them a trusted choice for anyone looking to explore Iceland up close and responsibly.

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Packing list

Get ready for your trip, here are some items, you should not forget.

What to bring (Required)

Waterproof jacket
Rent with us, +29 USD per person
Waterproof pants
Hiking boots
Rent with us, +29 USD per person
Headwear
Gloves

We're here to answer your questions

Iceland is known for unforeseeable weather. It is likely that you can see all 4 seasons in one day.

Dressing for that kind of weather can always be demanding, so we suggest dressing in layers. 3 or 4 upper layers are highly recommended, for example, 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 are not suitable for the weather conditions, they become very heavy, cold and uncomfortable to wear when they get wet.

Lightweight hiking pants, track pants or long cotton pants are convenient and wear wind/waterproof pants over them. There is high UV and sunlight reflecting off on the glacier so we highly recommend using sunglasses and sunscreen even if it is cloudy.

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 suitable hiking boots as well as a waterproof raincoat and trousers.

It is good to bring your own backpack on our full day or half day tours. It’s the best carry-on for a small lunch, extra clothes and other necessary items.

The scenery on the tour is full of stunning, scenic views that are photographable so you should definitely bring your camera along.

This is surely a personal choice, we do not deny pregnant women on our glacier trips but we highly recommend you to take a closer look at our trip description and difficulty ratings, they will hopefully give you a better idea. We also recommend you to contact your physician, as pregnant women’s health can be quite different. If you have any further questions or concerns then feel free to contact us.

Lunch is not provided on any of our trips, therefore we recommend you to bring your own lunch especially for the longer trips, snacks and a bottle of water (you can refill it on the trip).

Crampons make you enable to walk on the glacier ice without slipping. They are metal spikes that we attach to the soles of your hiking shoes.

Yes, we have specially trained and certified glacier guide on every glacier tour that we offer. And for our 3rd party tours we only partner with operators that meet our quality and safety standards.

Yes, we provide you with all the necessary glacier gear for our glacier hiking tours. Ice axe, crampons, harness, and helmets are provided. This will help you to complete the tour safely. The minimum shoe size to attach crampons is EU 35.

Iceland is known to have a lot of snow and when the snow stays long enough in one place than it turns to ice. Over long periods of time, the ice layers up becoming huge blocks called glaciers. It forms to create ginormous glaciers that sweep across huge masses of land. Iceland is home of the largest glacier in Europe that is called Vatnajökull. The Glacier Guides can tell you more about and everything you need to know about the Glaciers.

Rain is common in Iceland but we never let the rain be in our way to go forward with our tours.
That’s why we highly recommend appropriate clothing so you can be warm and dry on the tours.
Nature is out of our control and therefore we need to adapt to the weather. Your safety is our first priority so if your safety is compromised by going on the tour then we will cancel it and you will get full reimbursement.

You can book almost all of our trips here on our website. You will find a booking window on each tour page and the best and safest way is to book and pay is directly through our website.

1. You can pay directly through our website. That is the easiest, safest and fastest way to reserve and pay for your adventure. If you choose this way then you will receive a voucher as a confirmation via email. Which you will need to bring with you on your trip.

2. You can pay via phone, our phone number is +354 562 7000. Please be noted, however you pay, you will always get a voucher. It is important to have your voucher ready for your tour so please remember to print it out or make sure that you can show it through your electronic device.

You will receive a confirmation email after you have made the booking. If you think that you have made a booking and haven’t received an email confirmation then you may please contact us via email with an inquiry through our contact form, and we will figure it out together.

All charges are made in the tour operators currency: For tours in Iceland it's Icelandic krona, ISK, but for tours in Canada/Greenland it's either USD or CAD.

On Adventures.com you can view an estimate of prices in EUR and other currencies. This is only to help you understand the approximate price.

Your credit card will always be charged in the operators currency.

Keep in mind that your card issuer may charge you a foreign transaction fee.

We do not require minimum participants on most of our tours but there is a minimum of 2 people for a few of our trips. If you are traveling solo and interested in a tour that requires more than 2 participants than we can take down your information and contact you if more people book the tour.

We can arrange private departures as per customer request. Almost all of the tours that we offer can be arranged as a private tour. If you prefer to have a private tour arranged than you may feel free to contact us through email info@adventures.com

Unfortunately, we don’t have any waiting list for our tours. Availability is found on our website in the availability sheet where all updates will automatically be made to the sheet listed in each tour description. We have a variety of different adventure tours around Iceland so there is a big chance that you find a similar version of the tour that you were originally looking for.

If your tour that you have booked is canceled on our behalf than you will receive a 100% refund. The refund process is different depending on the way you booked the tour.

If you booked the tour through our website then we will start the refund process as soon as we know if you will not be rescheduling and you will receive a separate email with a confirmation about that your refund has been processed.

If you booked the tour via booking agent than you will need to contact them directly to receive the refund. We will confirm with them about your canceled tour and then the refund process will start on their end. Extreme Iceland only receives the payment when the tour has finished, that means that your payment still remains with the booking agent and therefore, the refund can only be processed directly from their end.

The minimum age requirement is decided by our operational managers and is dependent on each activity and its difficulty ratings and can, therefore, vary between tours We put great value towards safety for our customers and the minimum age policy falls under this. Therefore we can not accommodate a person that has not reached the age limit on the tour.
We ask you to try to understand that this is based on safety procedures and we can therefore unfortunately not make any exceptions on this rule.

We can unfortunately not accommodate you and your group if the number of your group extends the number of available seats left on the tour. Our website shows the correct number of available seats left. It is impossible to squeeze additional participants onto sold out departures as we have really strict policy measures as to how many participants are assigned to each guide on our tour departures. Therefore we hope that you understand as this is of course done with our customer's safety in mind.

Still not convinced?

Customer Care

For Iceland, Scandinavia & Baltic tour

Open daily from 6:00 AM to 10:00 PM GMT

Address

Köllunarklettsvegur 2

104 Reykjavík

+354 562 7000

What Our Travelers Are Saying About Crystal Ice Cave Tour

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