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Breiðamerkurjökull ice caves: season, rules and what changed after 2024

Breiðamerkurjökull glacier in south-east Iceland
Breiðamerkurjökull glacier, as described on Wikimedia Commons (file name dated July 2024). This is the glacier surface, not an ice cave. Photo: Jakub Hałun, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (resized).

Breiðamerkurjökull is an outlet glacier of Vatnajökull, inside Vatnajökull National Park. In the park's count for September 2023 – August 2024, about 88% of roughly 286,806 ice cave and glacier walk guests went there [1]. The region can be reached all year via Route 1 [2].

Season

1 October – 30 April for traditional ice cave tours, under the park's draft 2025–2027 contract terms Draft document. The agency (Náttúruverndarstofnun) reserves the right to ban tours earlier in spring if conditions change [3]. Náttúruverndarstofnun took over the park's operations on 1 January 2025 [4]. For why other sources give a shorter season, see ice caves by month.

Who may run tours

  • The park advertised contracts for Breiðamerkurjökull east and west, Falljökull/Virkisjökull and Skeiðarárjökull for 1 Oct 2025 – 30 Sep 2027. It said commercial activity in the park without a contract is unlawful [5] [6].
  • Conditions in the advert included:
    • a Ferðamálastofa (Icelandic Tourist Board) licence and insurance;
    • safety plans reviewed by Ferðamálastofa;
    • guides trained to the standards of the Association of Icelandic Mountain Guides (AIMG), with lead guides holding at least Jökla 3;
    • at most 30 contracts [5].
    The government application page names the lead-guide minimum as AIMG "Hard Ice 3" or comparable [7].
  • Iceland Review reported in September 2025 that 30 companies had been granted contracts, with 8–16 guests per guide depending on the trip [8].
  • The park lists its current contract holders on its website [6]. You can check your operator there.

The daily safety check (draft terms)

  • At the start of each day, an assessment group checks every ice cave and overhanging ice formation. The group includes the chair of the professional council (fagráð) or a deputy [3].
  • If a site is judged unsafe, contract holders may not take guests there that day. A breach means immediate termination of the contract [3].
  • The council has nine members nominated by FASK, SAF and AIMG. Each must have Jökla 3 or equivalent and at least three years' experience [3].
  • Each operator still bears full responsibility for its guests' safety and must make its own assessment [3].

Rangers at Breiðamerkursandur are on duty every day of the year and are responsible for the ice caves in Breiðamerkurjökull. The ranger phone listed by the park is 842-4355 [2]. In an emergency, call 112 [9].

The August 2024 collapse

  • On 25 August 2024, part of an ice cave at Breiðamerkurjökull collapsed during a guided tour [10] [11].
  • The BBC reported that an American man died and his partner was injured. The group had 23 people (first reported as 25), and more than 200 responders took part [12].
  • According to the police chief, the group was standing in a ravine between cave mouths when an ice wall collapsed [12].
  • Heimildin reported that the tour was run by Ice Pic Journeys. A month later, the investigation was at its final stage with no suspects, and a working group from four ministries had been set up [11].
  • Afterwards, the park prohibited all access to ice caves while contracts were extended to 30 October. Tours under ice were banned until 31 October 2024. The park said that at that time of year, all formations with a roof, overhang or arch are extremely dangerous [13].

We have not found or cited the final investigation report Unverified.

Hazards named in official documents

The park's 2024 draft report lists these hazards from the 2017 risk assessment:

  • collapse, mostly around the cave mouth;
  • water flow and sudden releases of stored water;
  • moulins, where slush flows can occur;
  • falls on slippery, uneven ice [1].

The report adds that risk in winter rises with warm spells, rain and wind [1].

Example tour Operator claim

As one example, Glacier Mice lists:

  • season October–April;
  • a 2–3 hour Winter Tour (age 8+, max 14 people, 21,900 ISK);
  • a 5–6 hour Odyssey (age 16+, max 8, 35,000 ISK);
  • certified glacier guides, with helmet and crampons provided;
  • glacier hikes instead from May to September [14].

Prices are as listed on 2026-10-23. This is not an endorsement, and we haven't compared operators yet.

FAQ

When can I visit the Breiðamerkurjökull ice caves?

The park's draft 2025–2027 contract terms allow traditional ice cave tours from 1 October to 30 April, and the agency can stop them earlier in spring if conditions change [3].

Can I go into the ice caves without a guide?

Commercial tours in the park need a contract with the park [5]. For individuals, the park's 2024 draft report says going onto the glacier on your own is not banned but is strongly warned against [1]. The regional tourism site says ice caves should never be entered without a glacier guide and safety gear [18].

Sources

  1. Íshellaferðir og jöklagöngur: Greinargerð um stöðu og þróun (DRÖG / draft, 1 Oct 2024)
    Vatnajökull National Park (draft report, hosted by Ferðamálastofa) · in Icelandic · official DRAFT document · published 2024-10-01 · accessed 2026-10-23 · via curl + pdftotext (PDF)
  2. Jökulsárlón (area page)
    Vatnajökull National Park · accessed 2026-10-23
  3. Samningsskilmálar (drög): contract terms for ice cave tours and glacier walks, DRAFT
    Vatnajökull National Park / Náttúruverndarstofnun · in Icelandic · official DRAFT document · published 2025-07 · accessed 2026-10-23 · via curl + pdftotext (PDF)
  4. Náttúruverndarstofnun tekin til starfa
    Vatnajökull National Park · in Icelandic · published 2025-01-02 · accessed 2026-10-23
  5. Auglýst er eftir umsóknum um atvinnutengda starfsemi í Vatnajökulsþjóðgarði
    Vatnajökull National Park / Náttúruverndarstofnun · in Icelandic · published 2025-07-04 · accessed 2026-10-23
  6. Current contracts with private businesses
    Vatnajökull National Park · accessed 2026-10-23
  7. Application for occupational activities: glacier cave tours and glacier walks
    Ísland.is (Government of Iceland) · accessed 2026-10-23
  8. Vatnajökull ice caves set to welcome visitors back next month
    Iceland Review · news report · published 2025-09-15 · accessed 2026-10-23
  9. Safetravel.is home page
    Safetravel / ICE-SAR (Slysavarnafélagið Landsbjörg) · accessed 2026-10-23
  10. Ice cave collapses at Breiðamerkurjökull
    RÚV English · news report · published 2024-08-25 · accessed 2026-10-23 · via headline only (page is JS-rendered; body not retrieved)
  11. Rannsókn á lokastigi
    Heimildin · in Icelandic · news report · published 2024-09-24 · accessed 2026-10-23
  12. American killed in Iceland ice cave collapse
    BBC News · news report · published 2024-08-27 · accessed 2026-10-23
  13. Ice cave tours and glacier walks (news, 2024)
    Vatnajökull National Park · published 2024-09-26 · accessed 2026-10-23
  14. Ice cave tours (Breiðamerkurjökull)
    Glacier Mice (tour operator) · tour operator (commercial claim) · accessed 2026-10-23
  15. Travel conditions (alerts)
    Safetravel / ICE-SAR · accessed 2026-10-23
  16. Travel plans
    Safetravel / ICE-SAR · accessed 2026-10-23
  17. Vatnajökull National Park (English home)
    Vatnajökull National Park · accessed 2026-10-23
  18. Ice caves in Vatnajökull
    Visit Vatnajökull (regional tourism association) · accessed 2026-10-23