Included:

• • An experienced, certified local glacier guide for each tour
  • Full glacier safety gear—crampons, ice axe, harness, and helmet—fitted and demonstrated by your guide
  • Glacier tour of your choice
    • Glacier Wonders: a 4-hour easy glacier hike, including about 1.5 hours on the ice
    • Glacier Explorer: a 5.5-hour moderate glacier hike, including about 3 hours on the ice
    • Crevasse Labyrinth: a 4-hour easy glacier hike through an exclusive crevasse track, including more than 1.5 hours on the ice

Add-ons (pricing shown at checkout):

• • Equipment rental

Not included:

• • Transportation to Skaftafell — there’s no pickup, so you’ll need your own way to the meeting point
  • Parking at Skaftafell — a fee applies (from around 1,040 ISK for a standard car)
  • Food and water
  • Accommodation
  • Anything not mentioned in the “Included” section above
  • Insurance — recommended, available to add at checkout
  • Guide gratuities — optional

The main difference is how far you go and how much time you spend on the ice.

Glacier Wonders (4 hours) is ideal if you want a shorter experience. You’ll hike to the lower part of Falljökull and spend about an hour on the glacier. It’s easier, less physically demanding, and still gives you great views of the icefall.

Glacier Explorer (5.5 hours) goes deeper into the glacier and includes around 3 hours on the ice. You’ll explore more dramatic terrain, including crevasses and ice formations near the Öræfajökull icefall.

Crevasse Labyrinth (4 hours) covers similarly easy ground, but instead of a broad overview of the glacier, it heads into an exclusive stretch of Falljökull shaped by narrow, twisting crevasses and hidden blue-ice corridors—choose this one if striking ice formations matter more to you than distance covered.

All three tours include a short drive from Skaftafell and a 25–30-minute hike to the glacier. Ice caves are sometimes seen on the tours, but never guaranteed. If you’re up for more walking and a tougher trail, go with Glacier Explorer. For a quicker but still stunning experience, Glacier Wonders is a great pick. And if it’s dramatic ice formations you’re after, Crevasse Labyrinth is worth a look.

Depends on the glacier hike you select.

• • Glacier Wonders: Basic fitness is enough—this is an easy hike suitable for most people in fair condition. You’ll walk around 3 km (1.8 mi), with 200–250 m (650–820 ft) of elevation gain, over about an hour on the ice.
  • Glacier Explorer: Good fitness is required—you’ll cover up to 8 km (5 mi) with up to 400 m (1,300 ft) of elevation gain, over about 3 hours on the ice.
  • Crevasse Labyrinth: Also an easy hike, open to most people in fair condition, with more than an hour and a half spent navigating the crevasse track.

All three tours include full safety gear, and your guide will demonstrate how to use crampons and an ice axe before you set out—no glacier experience is necessary on any of them. Icelandic weather can change quickly, and rain doesn’t cancel a tour—only unsafe conditions do.

Want to see what else is there in the area? Discover more Iceland adventures here!

Here’s a list of the equipment you need to bring:

• • Warm outdoor clothing and layers
  • Waterproof jacket and pants rental — rental available
  • Warm gloves and a hat
  • Sturdy hiking boots with ankle support — rental available
  • Sunglasses
  • A small backpack (recommended)
  • Personal food, snacks, and water — lunch isn’t provided
  • A camera — optional (but recommended)

Dress comfortably and for the weather in clothes you can move in. We suggest bringing clothing appropriate for the season. Layers are best and don’t wear jeans.

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No experience or personal glacier gear is necessary—crampons, an ice axe, a harness, and a helmet are provided and fitted by your guide before you set out, and all of it is included in the tour price.

Crampons matter because Vatnajökull’s ice is often slippery and uneven; they’re metal spikes that attach to the sole of your boot and bite into the ice, giving you the grip you need to walk safely. One thing to note: crampons are only available from EU shoe size 35 upward, so if yours is smaller, you’ll need to bring appropriate backup footwear. All gear gets returned to your guide at the end of the tour.

Group sizes and pricing:

• • For Glacier Wonders, the usual client-to-guide ratio is 15:1.
  • For Crevasse Labyrinth and Glacier Explorer, the usual client-to-guide ratio is 12:1.
  • These run as scheduled small-group departures rather than private bookings, so there’s no fixed minimum or maximum headcount beyond the guide ratio above.

Min. age requirements:

• • If you’re older than 18, you’re good to go.
  • Glacier Wonders and Crevasse Labyrinth are open to hikers 8 years and older, with adult supervision.
  • Glacier Explorer requires a minimum age of 14, also with adult accompaniment.

If your group has younger children, contact us prior to booking to make arrangements.

Yes—Glacier Wonders and Crevasse Labyrinth are both open to hikers 8 years and older with adult supervision, which makes them the better choice for families with younger kids. Glacier Explorer requires a minimum age of 14, given its longer distance and elevation gain. All three tours are guided, include full safety gear, and don’t require any prior glacier experience.

The starting point of all three tours is the Skaftafell Booking Center, inside Vatnajökull National Park, about 327 km (203 mi)—roughly a 4.5- to 5-hour drive—east of Reykjavík. To get there, most people fly into Keflavík International Airport (KEF), then rent a car or take a bus toward Skaftafell. There’s no pickup included, so you’ll need your own transportation to the meeting point.

Parking at Skaftafell isn’t included—a fee applies (from around 1,040 ISK for a standard car, payable online or on-site), valid until midnight the same day.

You will meet your guide at the booking center, a wooden hut at the edge of the Skaftafell parking area, at the departure time confirmed with your booking.

We highly recommend that you cover all your bases with insurance. To make your booking and traveling experience as carefree as possible, you’ll be offered to simply insure your trip with Redpoint at checkout.

Redpoint—the official 57hours insurance partner—tailors protection packages for adventure travel, offering a comprehensive travel program, even in remote locations! Trip cancellation, natural disasters, pandemic coverage, medical evacuation, primary medical expenses—regardless of the travel interruption that may happen, Redpoint will have you covered.