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Skaftafell Glacier Hike: Ice Cave Adventure and Demanding Half-Day Tour
4.8
68 Ratings
Skaftafell
Embark on a demanding half-day tour to the Skaftafell Glacier, where you will explore a unique and natural ice cave. Traverse the glacier, marvel at its stunning formations, and capture unforgettable photos. Limited group size ensures a personalized experience.
Duration:
5 hours, 30 minutes
Cancellation:
24 hours
Highlights
- Skaftafell National Park - The tour departs from Skaftafell National Park, where the Glacier Bus will transport travelers to the glacier.
- Falljökull - Here, you will go on a glacier walk and visit a natural ice cave.
What's Included
- Certified glacier guide
- Use of glacier gear
What's Not Included
- Snacks
- Hotel pick-up and drop-off
- Gratuities
- Parking fees
Additional Information
Please be mindful that this is an arduous journey involving a 5-hour hike. Reaching the Ice Cave entails considerable effort, but rest assured, the payoff is equally grand!
This tour lets you venture further than other glacier walks. Your path will run through the Falljökull outlet glacier and bring you to a distinct and natural ice cave, which is only accessible when accompanied by a knowledgeable glacier guide.
With a cap on the group size at 8 participants, we assure you an extraordinary and intimate glacier experience.
The journey begins at Skaftafell Base Camp, from where you will board the Glacier Bus that takes you till the glacier’s terminal face. You will be supplied with all essential glacier gear at no extra cost. The first leg of your journey begins with a brief hike to the glacier’s fringe, from where you initiate your traverse across the awe-inspiring glacier tongue, filled with expansive crevasses, fascinating ice formations and deep cauldron-like waters.
Upon reaching the cave, you will be granted ample time to capture as many photos as you wish, after which you will return across the glacier to the bus.
- This is not suitable for travelers with average/moderate fitness levels
- Not recommended for travelers with moderate physical fitness level
Location
Skaftafell
Be at location 20 minutes before departure.
The meeting point is at the Icelandic Mountain Guides Base Camp, located on the campsite in Skaftafell, next to the visitor centre.
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.8
(68 Ratings)
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Anniesl809kn
Oct 9, 2024
Phenomenal glacier hike - My husband and I chose this tour hoping for a vigorous hike with gorgeous scenery and a small group and that's exactly what we got. Our guide, Mark, was expert in guiding us safely across the glacier and took time to teach us about the landscape. Not only did he emphasize safety but went out of his way to create opportunities for us to truly experience the glacier up close - we repelled down a short segment of ice, got to peer deep into a moulin and climbed the wall of a crevasse with ice axes. He went above and beyond to give us an amazing day and we are so grateful for the lifelong memories we have as a result. Can't recommend enough. One thing to note - this is a physically-challenging experience and a baseline fitness level is required. The guides appropriately reserve the right to decline a tour member if they don't feel their participation is safe for them and for the group (this happened on the day of our tour). Just make sure to book the right tour for you!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
I3732uwjoannaj
Sep 24, 2024
Heini best guide, great experience - We loved our pro and fun guide, Heini. She's so charming and lively, smiles and jokes a lot. She really cared for our group, we felt safe, excited and noticed.
Her English is incredibly good! Thank you <3
Review provided by Tripadvisor
D6062bllukep
Sep 18, 2024
Glacial Hike- Anything but Cold - I cannot overstate how incredible this experience was. Our guide Brook Woodman was very informative throughout the entire hike and taught us a good amount of basic glacial hiking techniques and facts about the glaciers in general. While we could not enter the cave due to the climate, which is perfectly understandable. We were able to still see the cave and look into it from a safe distance which honestly was enough for us. The whole experience was greatly enhanced with him as our guide.
What also contributed to this experience was that it was only 8 people plus the guide. Compared to the other tours we saw that had 12-20 people, we were on our own glacial outfall and there was no one else there which was perfect. 10/10 would recommend
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Andreas
Sep 17, 2024
Extensive hike in a small group - Very nice hike.
On our tour we went way up to the glacier tongue with a great view.
On the classification of the title "demanding hike", since we were also unsure what to expect: The group is kept smaller, so you can go further and longer up the glacier.
I rate this tour as somewhat unsuitable for children, very unsportsmanlike or very old people.
Our group was between 20 and 40 years old, normal sporty and could master the tour without much effort.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
644melissal
Sep 13, 2024
Only The Brave tour - Even though our visit to the ice cave fell through due to safety reasons, Fir made sure to give us an unforgetable experience. Full of passion, she shared some interesting knowledge about glaciers and Iceland in general. She made us feel safe, took her time to teach us the techniques and made us do things I would've never believed we could on a first try. So thank you Fir for making this experience even better than we could've ever imagined!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Carolinerossi4
Sep 6, 2024
Amazing Glacier Hike! - Lucian was a fantastic guide. The trip was not only beautiful, but educational. The only unfortunate thing is that we were unable to enter the cave, but it was not the fault of the tour company.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Amanda_w
Sep 1, 2024
Great guide. Fi from... - Great guide. Fi from Denmark was amazing. She was knowledgeable and very helpful. Fantastic experience even though it was cut short due to weather!
Review provided by Viator
Suejeanc2024
Aug 19, 2024
Skaftafell half day hike - Had an amazing experience. Brook really took care of us and ensured everyone was safe! This was a great excursion, separate from the other tour groups, we had our hike all to ourselves
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Rainermx6430jz
Aug 10, 2024
Breathtaking Glacier Adventure - Esther was super nice and led us very competently through the glacier. We learned a lot - how to move and behave in this breathtaking location. We felt safe at any time and even an extra peak on the upper step of Virkisjökull.
Thank you and all the best for your future!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Maggyk26
Oct 5, 2024
5 Star Beginner and 1 Star Advanced Tour - 5 star beginner tour and 1 star advanced tour, as advertised. You don’t have to be above average fit for the tour, nor have to have huge endurance. You walk along the glacier, if it gets very slightly steep, you are immediately secured and carried out / pulled up individually. It bothered me a lot that the tour is advertised as strenuous and only for people with above-average fitness, but is done as an absolute beginner tour. Finally, I paid extra a higher price compared to other tours.
Plus point and that's why I awarded 2 instead of 1 star: you are all alone on the glacier - all other tours are together on another glacier. Besides, if this "hiking" tour was already such a walk, what did the beginner tours do??
Conclusion: the tour is absolutely not what it is advertised as, but a nice walk with beautiful views. If the description were not so excessively exaggerated for fitness level (after all, I expect a climb to the glacier and not a walk at the lower part of the glacier) then I would give the tour more stars.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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