Epic Travel → Europe → Iceland → Southern Iceland → Ice Caves

♦ Intrepid Top Pick!

Location: Vatnajökull area, Southern Iceland

Time Required: 3 hours – 1 day

Red Tape/Notes: Virtually all ice caves are accessible only in the winter season, though there may occasionally be a cave that can be visited year-round (this is/was true for the 2018 summer season). Ice caves aren’t permanent and reform in varying locations every year, so the ice cave you saw one year won’t be the same as the cave you could see the following year. Tours of varying lengths and various locations are generally available, and they typically book up early so plan ahead. We love Glacier Trips as an option for tours, since they’re a local company.

What’s Nearby?: Svartifoss, Vatnajökull, Skaftafellsjökull, Black Sand Diamond Beach, Jökulsárlón, Fjallsárlón

Vatnajökull isn’t the only place that ice caves occur, so this location description is somewhat misleading, but it is the area where the most popular tours are found, and seems to consistently produce a number of ice caves allowing various opportunities for exploration. We did several tours when we were in the area, of various lengths and various activity levels, and all of them were completely different. One cave you might be crawling through a narrow ice maze, stemming over flowing water, in another you could be in a chamber of magnificently sculpted blue crystal walls, and in another you might be in a massive tunnel lit by gaping holes in the ceiling above. You don’t know what you’re going to get, but it’ll definitely be fabulous. Our favorite caves had to be reached by trekking several kilometers across a glacier, which is a fun experience on its own. Add lunch at the base of a glacier lagoon and a couple of ice caves to the mix and you’ve got one amazing day.

Epic Travel → Europe → Iceland → Southern Iceland → Ice Caves