Jökulsárlón
Ice caves at Jökulsárlón: where they are and how the day works
The glacier lagoon is the meeting point for most of the crystal cave tours in Iceland, and it is also a destination in its own right with a black beach full of icebergs across the road. This page is how far it is, what the car park is actually like, which tours meet there, and what else to do with the rest of the day.
Quick answer
Jökulsárlón is a glacier lagoon on the Ring Road in south-east Iceland, about 380 kilometres from Reykjavík. Eight tours on this site meet in its car park, from $149. The caves themselves are not at the lagoon: they are in Breiðamerkurjökull, the glacier that calves into it, and every tour drives you across the outwash plain in a super jeep to reach them.
Jökulsárlón, at a glance
- What it is
- A glacier lagoonwhere Breiðamerkurjökull calves into water
- From Reykjavík
- About 380 kmfour and a half to five hours, more in winter
- From Skaftafell
- About 60 kmroughly an hour west
- From Höfn
- About 80 kmthe nearest town of any size, east
- Tours meeting here
- Eight on this sitefrom $149
- Where the caves are
- Across the outwash plainreached by super jeep, not on foot
- Diamond Beach
- Two minutes awayacross the Ring Road, and free
- Facilities
- A cafe and toiletsand not much else
- Boat trips
- Summer onlythe lagoon freezes and the boats stop
- Cancellation
- Freeon every tour on this site
What the lagoon actually is
A lake that did not exist a century ago
A lake left behind by a retreating glacier. The caves are upstream of it.
Breiðamerkurjökull is an outlet glacier of Vatnajökull that flows south towards the sea. For most of recorded history its snout sat close to the coast. As it retreated it left a deep basin behind, the basin filled with meltwater, and the result is Jökulsárlón: a lagoon of cold fresh water with icebergs floating in it, calved off the glacier face at the far end.
The lagoon drains to the sea through a short channel under the Ring Road bridge. Icebergs that make it out are pushed back onto the black sand by the surf and sit there melting, which is Diamond Beach — a two-minute drive from the car park, free, and on the list of almost everyone who comes for a cave tour.
What the lagoon is not is the location of the caves. The caves are in the glacier upstream, reached by driving away from the water and across the outwash plain: a broad flat expanse of black sand and braided meltwater channels that the glacier has been dumping there for centuries. Hire cars are not allowed on it. That is why every cave tour here includes a modified super jeep, and why the drive itself is one of the things people remember about the day.
Every trip, current fare
Every tour, with the eight lagoon departures
Eight of the sixteen tours on this site meet in the Jökulsárlón car park. They differ on group size, how long they spend under the ice, and how far you walk.
| Tour | Length | Price | Inside the ice? | Cost per hour | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Skaftafell: Blue Ice Glacier Hike on VatnajökullThe blue ice of Vatnajökull on foot, most reviewed here | 4 h | $100 | No — on top | $25.00 | 4.7 · 1,501 |
| Skaftafell: Blue Ice Maze Glacier Hike on VatnajökullBetween crevasse walls rather than under a roof | 4 h | $133 | Crevasse, no roof | $33.25 | 4.4 · 275 |
| Iceland: Vatnajokull Glacier Hike and Ice Cave TourA walk on the glacier and a cave, cheapest inside | 4 h | $149 | Yes, natural | $37.25 | 4.6 · 21 |
| Jökulsárlón: Vatnajökull Glacier Ice Cave Tour by Super JeepStraight to the cave with the shortest walk | 3 h | $151 | Yes, natural | $50.33 | 3.4 · 6 |
| Skaftafell: Blue Ice Cave & Glacier Hike on VatnajökullA glacier walk and a cave under it, small group | 4 h | $152 | Yes, natural | $38.00 | 4.6 · 849 |
| Jökulsárlón: The Original Ice Cave Tour on VatnajökullThe longest-running cave tour from the lagoon | 3 h | $159 | Yes, natural | $53.00 | 4.6 · 1,131 |
| Jökulsárlón Ice Cave Tour - Inside Vatnajökull glacierThe shortest cave tour on this page | 2.5 h | $163 | Yes, natural | $65.20 | 4.7 · 65 |
| From Jökulsárlón: Crystal Blue Ice Cave Super Jeep TourThe crystal cave, reached by super jeep | 3 h | $164 | Yes, natural | $54.67 | 4.5 · 605 |
| Jökulsárlón: Breiðamerkurjökull Glacier Ice Cave TourThe glacier that calves into the lagoon | 3.5 h | $171 | Yes, natural | $48.86 | New |
| From Húsafell: Into the Glacier Ice Cave AdventureSix hundred metres cut into Langjökull, open all year | 4 h | $176 | Yes, cut | $44.00 | 4.7 · 857 |
| From Jokulsarlon: Crystal Blue Ice Cave Discovery TourA crystal cave tour with a low group cap | 3 h | $178 | Yes, natural | $59.33 | 5.0 · 1 |
| From Jökulsárlón: Vatnajökull Glacier Blue Ice Cave TourA small-group run to whichever cave is holding | 3 h | $184 | Yes, natural | $61.33 | 4.6 · 962 |
| From Jökulsárlón: Ice Cave and Glacier Exploration TourFive and a half hours, and more than one cave | 5.5 h | $259 | Yes, often two | $47.09 | 4.7 · 225 |
| From Reykjavik: Into the Glacier Ice Cave TourThe Langjökull tunnel with the coach from Reykjavík | 11 h | $305 | Yes, cut | $27.73 | 4.6 · 202 |
| Reykjavík: Langjökull Glacier Snowmobile Tour with Ice CaveA snowmobile across the ice cap, then the cave | 10 h | $340 | Yes, cut | $34.00 | 4.6 · 154 |
| From Reykjavik: 3-Day South Coast Winter Tour with Ice CaveThree days, with beds, meals and the aurora | 3 days | $906 | Yes, natural | $37.75 | 4.8 · 208 |
The day around the tour
Six things to do with the rest of it
You are five hours from Reykjavík. Do not drive all that way for three hours.
- Diamond Beach
Two minutes across the Ring Road. Icebergs on black sand, washed back up by the surf. Free, open always, and at its best in low winter light.
- The lagoon itself
Walk the shore. In winter the seals are usually visible and the ice is packed tight at the outflow. The boat trips only run in summer.
- Fjallsárlón
A smaller lagoon ten minutes west, with a fraction of the people and a closer view of the glacier face. Most coach itineraries skip it.
- Skaftafell
An hour west, with the national park visitor centre and the walk to Svartifoss. Many people do a cave one day and a blue ice walk here the next.
- Höfn
Eighty kilometres east, the nearest town with restaurants and a supply of beds. Known locally for langoustine.
- The aurora, if the sky is clear
There is almost no light pollution here. Ice cave season and aurora season are the same months, which is not a coincidence — both need long, dark, cold nights.
Ice cave season and northern lights season are the same five months. Several tours on this site put both in one booking.
Ice caves and northern lights→Common questions
Jökulsárlón ice caves, answered
Where exactly is the blue ice cave at Jökulsárlón?
Not at the lagoon itself. The caves are in Breiðamerkurjökull, the glacier that calves into it, reached by driving across the outwash plain in a super jeep. The exact location changes every year.
How far is Jökulsárlón from Reykjavík?
About 380 kilometres, four and a half to five hours in good conditions and longer in winter. It is an hour east of Skaftafell.
Can you drive to the ice cave yourself?
No. The route crosses an outwash plain closed to hire cars, and the super jeep is part of every tour for that reason.
Is Diamond Beach worth visiting?
Yes, and it costs nothing. It is two minutes from the car park where the cave tours meet, and icebergs on black sand in low winter light are one of the better sights in Iceland.
What is there to do at Jökulsárlón besides the cave?
Diamond Beach, the lagoon shore, and Fjallsárlón ten minutes west. Boat trips on the lagoon run in summer only, when the caves are shut.
Where should I stay for a Jökulsárlón ice cave tour?
Höfn to the east or Hof and Kirkjubæjarklaustur to the west. All three turn a five-hour drive into a short morning one, and all three fill up early in winter.
Go deeper
More on walking into an Icelandic glacier
What an Iceland ice cave tour costs
Sixteen tours priced per person and per hour, from $100 to $906.
Blue iceThe blue ice cave in Iceland
Why the ice is blue, where the caves are, and what a tour actually shows you.
VerdictThe best Iceland ice cave tour
Sixteen tours ranked for one decision, with a straight answer at the end.
Crystal caveThe crystal ice cave
The cave behind most of the photographs, and why it is never the same one twice.
SkaftafellIce caves and blue ice at Skaftafell
The other meeting point, an hour closer to Reykjavik than the lagoon.
VatnajokullIce cave tours on Vatnajokull
Europe's largest ice cap, its outlet glaciers, and which caves sit in which.
