Glacier Hike and Ice Cave Tour
Vatnajökull
General Information
Our day long glacier hike and exploration of possible ice cave
In this tour our goal is to hike on one of the largest glacier outlet of Vatnajökull, in search for natural ice caves and spectacular views over a rugged glacier landscape, such as glacier calving, terminal face of a glacier, crevasses, moulins and all possible features the glacier has to offer, including all possible shades of blue!
Our guides are AIMG* certified, and have lived in the area for many years, which guarantees our guest a good local knowledge.
We aim at providing our participants with the most complete experience as possible.
The tour starts with a drive towards the trailhead, with a modified 4x4 vehicle, through a rugged dirt country road; After that a short (15 to 30 minutes) approach walk on gravel will get us all the way to the edge of the glacier (its terminal front).
This is where we get fully equipped and prepared for our 3 to 4 hours hike on the actual ice.
The hike on the glacier is moderate, does not involve technical knowledge;
This tour is a great opportunity to spend time exploring the wonders of Vatnajökull glacier, one of the largest ice cap in the world, and will include getting to check closely the depth of such a glacier, through its crevasses, moulins, caves or tunnels.
We try our best to get to places where others aren't, in order to make this experience a remote one, and so our guests fully feel the wilderness and immensity of nature.
Included is all necessary glacier gear, including crampons, helmet, and harness. Your guide will evaluate each time which gear is necessary.
The customer to guide ratio for this tour is only 8 guest for 1 guide, which enables to provide quality personal service in the realm of Vatnajökull.
What to bring
- Base layer (shirt and long johns) synthetic or wool, mid layer such as good sweater,wool or fleece
- Mid layer such as fleece jacket,thick wool garment, primaloft jacket or similar. Second midlayer can be added for colder days. Hiking pants, fleece or softshell or similar
- Waterproof breathable jacket like Gore-tex jacket and pants or similar
- Good thermal headwear and gloves
- Socks, synthetic or wool
- Small backpack (Can be handy to carry camera, rain gear and all extras).
- Good hiking boots are essential.The boots should be high enough to provide good ankle support.
- Regular street shoes or sneakers are not appropriate shoe wear for this trip!
- Jeans are not accepted for our Ice cave tours!
What is included
- Helmet
- Crampons
- Harness
- Ice axe
Trip difficulty: Moderate/Difficult
Natural Ice caves and other Glacier features have become very popular in Iceland and can be very easily accessible. Some of the places we'll visit in the area are likely to be visited by several tour operators and groups every day and at the same time as our tours.
