Vatnajökull ice cave tour with glacier hike – FAQ in 2024

Table of Contents

• Vatnajökull ice cave tour with glacier hike – FAQ in 2024
  • • Can you go to the ice cave without a tour?
    • When is the best time to visit an ice cave in Iceland?
    • What is the best ice cave to visit in Iceland?
    • Where are the ice cave tours in Iceland?
    • Why do Iceland’s Ice Caves Constantly Change?
    • Are Ice Cave Tours operational during Christmas time?
    • Is a glacier hike included in the ice cave tours?

We get many questions about ice caves every year. People are very curious about the glaciers, ice caves, and everything about Iceland. In this article, we will answer frequently asked questions we get when people ask us about ice cave tours in the Vatnajökull glacier. We would love to hear from you if you have other questions that would fit well into this writing. Doing our best to inform people is something we love to do.

Can you go to the ice cave without a tour?

In Iceland, you have very high rights to travel and see the whole island with almost no restrictions. Of course, it does not mean you can do everything that you want for example you can not do anything that ruins nature like driving offroad. This does also apply to the glacier, you can travel on the glacier yourself or go into an ice cave.

However, we can never recommend you do it without a guide, except if you are experienced in glaciers. Even if you are experienced in some glaciers elsewhere, the weather and conditions could differ in Iceland, so we would always recommend a local guide or company. It could also be more fun and a better experience to go with a guide who knows the area very well and could show you the best spots 🙂

When is the best time to visit an ice cave in Iceland?

In our opinion, choosing the best months and even the best time of departure is crucial. If you are okay with being in big groups and visiting the ice cave when it is crowded, then this question is easily answered. You can go on almost any tour at any time and on any date when the tours are available.

Ice cave tour in vatnajökull is very popular now and it can be really hard to control the crowd, there are big companies that have many departures and it depends often on them when it is crowded. The good thing, though, is that we can try to be in between their tours, which we always try to do or at least try our best to do so.

Our recommendation

The best dates to go are November to December 10th and January 10th to 25th. These are the dates when the ice cave conditions are usually very good, and there are fewer travellers in Iceland.

The best departure time is between 11:00 and 12:00 because we can try to be between the more prominent groups and usually have the ice cave by ourselves or with a few others.

What is the best ice cave to visit in Iceland?

This is hard to answer cause this all depends on what you are looking for, the time you have, location and money. If you plan on basing in Reykjavík and only take ice cave day tours from there, you don’t have many options. At least one option is to tour Langjökull, which has a man-made ice cave. That ice cave is beautiful but will not show you the natural blue ice that I am sure you are looking for. Most of the time people want to see blue ice and we can understand it very well, there is something about the colors that is just “WOW” even if you have seen it many times it just feels something like seeing the northern lights there is always something that happens inside of us.

Natural blue ice cave in Vatnajökull

If you want to see this natural ice cave with a blue color, you will most likely find your tours around Jökulsárlón. This will always be our recommendation because we know this area very well and it is beautiful. If you have seen a very blue ice cave photo from Iceland, it is very likely it was taken on Breiðamerkurjökull.

Where are the ice cave tours in Iceland?

About 10% of Iceland is covered with glaciers. There are many individual glaciers, the largest one being Vatnajökull. Therefore, we assume that Iceland has many ice caves, but most of them are located where it is very hard to get to them and are not accessible.

We know of four locations where you can go on ice cave tours: Langjökull, Myrdallsjökull, and two areas in Vatnajökull (Falljökull and Breiðarmerkurjökull). For the past years, Breiðarmerkurjökull has been known for many beautiful blue ice caves. It is also known for the amazing Jökulsárlón (Glacier Lagoon), where the glacier carves into the lake, and you can see floating icebergs.

Why do Iceland’s Ice Caves Constantly Change?

This is one of the reasons it is so amazing to see an ice cave: It is almost always unique. We have to find a new cave every year because the glacier is melting, so it is also very sad because you know that the glacier is melting very fast.

We all know the planet is getting warmer due to climate change. Research has shown that this affects glaciers, and they have been melting faster than ever.

Watching the documentary “After Ice” by Kieran Baxter, Þorvarður Árnason, and M Jacksons would be best. They are all known in our home town, Höfn, the town of Lobster and Glaciers, for their research on Vatnajhökull glaciers, and we have had the privilege of helping a little with their research.

You can also find more about projects from Kieran Baxter on his website https://www.climatevis.com/

Are Ice Cave Tours operational during Christmas time?

The answer is easy it is YES.
Christmas is the busiest time. Over 1,200 people a day want to see the ice caves at Christmas. So, if you want to stay away from the crowd or if you are a photographer, we would always recommend choosing a different date to visit the ice caves. You can follow the guidelines written above: “When is the best time to visit an ice cave in Iceland?”

But if this is your only chance to visit Iceland and see the ice caves, we would recommend choosing the best time of departure; it could help.

Is a glacier hike included in the ice cave tours?

Vatnajökull ice cave tour with glacier hike is something we would recommend. With most companies, the groups’ size is smaller, and you would be able to explore that glacier and ice cave. What can go wrong there?

The glacier walk in the winter can be very beautiful, and it is very different from the summer. The summer glacier has crunchy ice, but in the winter, it is more glassy and clearer. Often, we can go into some blue water paths/tunnels, and when I say blue, I mean very blue. Many of our participants liked that more than the ice caves.

You can book an ice cave, and glacier walk with us at “Adventures Dream” https://glaciertrips.is/ice-cave-adventures-dream/