Jökulsárlón Ice Cave Tours
Ice cave tours from Jökulsárlón: the 4x4 ride to Breiðamerkurjökull, the national park's contracts and guide rules, ages and gear, and doing it on a two-day trip from Reykjavik.
The ice caves are not at the lagoon itself but in Breiðamerkurjökull, the glacier that feeds it. Ice cave tours meet at Jökulsárlón, ride in a modified 4x4 towards the ice and walk the last stretch with crampons and a helmet; only companies under Vatnajökull National Park’s contracts may take groups there. From Reykjavik the practical way is a two-day trip, but note its cave is a different one: Troll .is’s South Coast Iceland: 2-Day Blue Ice Cave & Jokulsarlon Tour visits the lagoon and then walks into a cave on Falljökull, in Skaftafell, from the Hof meeting point; in months without a cave it runs a longer glacier hike. It is from $683 a person (checked November 2026), with a night in a hotel and the glacier gear included.
The calendar above is the two-day tour from Reykjavik, with 96 reviews (checked November 2026).
Who may take you in
Vatnajökull National Park decides who can guide on the glacier. Its contracts for ice cave tours and glacier walks on Breiðamerkurjökull, west and east of Jökulsárlón, run from 1 October 2025 to 30 September 2027. In a notice of 26 September 2024 the park closed all access to the ice caves until new contracts took effect on 1 November that year, and restated that guides need “Jökla 3” training or equivalent and “must always conduct an assessment” of the ice before taking a group through. So the cave you visit is chosen on the day, for safety.
What the tour is like
The tours that start at the lagoon follow the same pattern. Local Guide of Vatnajokull’s *Jökulsárlón: The Original Ice Cave Tour on Vatnajökull*, from $169 in current promotion (usually $178) (checked November 2026), takes three to four hours: a 4x4 ride onto Breiðamerkurjökull, then a guided walk of about 1 to 5.5 km to an ice cave, a tunnel or another blue ice feature, depending on the conditions. Helmet and crampons are provided; you bring warm layers, a waterproof shell and over-the-ankle hiking boots. There is no hotel pickup, and no children under 10.
Check dates for the two-day tour
The catch for a visitor based in Reykjavik is the clock. The lagoon is 380 km by road from the city, so a three-hour ice cave tour needs a night in the region or a very long drive; that is what the two- and three-day tours solve, although their caves are on Falljökull, in Skaftafell, not at the lagoon. vatnajokullicecave.com covers the ice caves themselves in depth, season by season.
Pick your ice cave trip
South Coast Iceland: 2-Day Blue Ice Cave & Jokulsarlon Tour
Troll .is's minibus: the south coast, Skaftafell, Jökulsárlón and a guided walk into a blue ice cave on Falljökull (not at the lagoon); a night in a 3-star hotel with breakfast.
Check dates →Jökulsárlón: The Original Ice Cave Tour on Vatnajökull
Three to four hours from Jökulsárlón with a 4x4 ride and a guided glacier walk to the cave; drive there yourself, minimum age 10.
See the ice cave tour →Iceland 3-Day Tour Golden Circle, Glacier Lagoon, & Ice Cave
Arctic Adventures: Thingvellir, Geysir and Gullfoss, the south coast, the lagoon and the Diamond Beach, and in winter a natural ice cave on Falljökull in Skaftafell (not at the lagoon).
See the 3-day tour →Prices, ratings and review counts from the listings (GetYourGuide checked November 2026). Operators price by date and season, so treat the figures as the shape of the market, not a quote.
More Operators to the Lagoon
Jökulsárlón Tours with Open Dates
Day trips and lagoon activities with live availability. Times, what is included and cancellation terms are on each listing.
Two Days, One Ice Cave
Troll .is's two days from Reykjavik with the lagoon, Skaftafell and a guided walk into a blue ice cave on Falljökull.
Check dates