Guide to Iceland · Jökulsárlón, Vatnajökull National Park
You meet the guide by the Jökulsárlón car park, ride a super jeep onto the moraine below Vatnajökull and walk into a natural ice cave with a helmet and crampons. Pick it if you're already in the area and want to stand inside the glacier, not look at it from a boat.
This is not a trip from Reykjavík. The tour starts at Jökulsárlón, about 390 km east of the capital, so you drive yourself or stay nearby. At the car park, find the sign that says "Crystal Cave Tours" at least 10 minutes before your slot. The guide checks your clothes and shoes, hands out helmets and crampons, and loads up to 28 people into modified 4x4 super jeeps. Guests report about 30 minutes of bumpy track to the glacier.
Then you walk. The itinerary gives about an hour at the ice, and guests describe a hike over rocky moraine to the cave, short for some groups and longer for others. Inside, the walls can be deep blue or streaked dark with ash, depending on the cave and the month. The guide chooses the cave every day for safety, and the caves change every year. Guests taste ice the guide says is a thousand years old.
Expectations matter here. The blue caves in the photos are a winter thing, roughly November to March. The listing runs outside that window too, and some autumn and summer guests found smaller or darker caves than they hoped for. If the cave can't be entered on the day, you choose at the meeting point: a glacier hike with 30% refunded, or cancel with a full refund. Bring your own hiking shoes: there's no rental, and you won't go in without them.
Find the "Crystal Cave Tours" sign next to the main car park at Jökulsárlón.
A rough ride across the moraine toward Breiðamerkurjökull.
Crampons and helmet on, then a walk over rock and ice to the cave.
Time inside and around the cave with the guide, and photos.
The super jeep returns you to the car park.
★★★★★Great experience! 3h is perfect for elderly like my parents! We saw several blue caves and the hiking was very easy. Our tour guide has a beard braid, he is very knowledgeable and funny
★★★★★Great experience. Worth it! There was 10 of us total. The tour was a great experience. They provided us with helmets and crampons. We got to try a piece of the ice which the tour guide said was 1000yrs old.
★★★★★This one was really blue and large, plus another open end to see the full spectrum of colors. [...] Robert was great. Very friendly and knowledgeable. Stopped along the way back to look at reindeer off to the side even made the jeep ride fun.
★★★★★Our guide, Axel, was great. He explained how the caves are formed, how the guides scout out the caves, and was an excellent photographer so the entire family was in the pictures.
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The natural blue caves are a winter thing, roughly November to March, when the meltwater freezes. This listing also runs outside those months, and guests then report smaller or darker caves. See our winter guide.
Not on this tour: there's no transfer, and the meeting point is about 390 km from Reykjavík. Drive, stay nearby, or book the 3-day tour, which includes an ice cave.
The guide tells you at the meeting point. You can join a glacier hike to the cave area and get 30% back, or cancel on the spot with a full refund.
Warm, waterproof layers and stiff hiking boots. Helmets and crampons are provided. Our what to wear guide has a full list.
Ready to book
A super jeep from the lagoon car park into a natural blue ice cave, with all the gear.
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