Before any glacier trip: check Safetravel alerts and leave a travel plan. Emergency: 112.

How to choose an ice cave or glacier tour: what to check

These are questions you can check yourself before booking. Each one is based on an official requirement or on terms an operator publishes. We do not rank operators.

  1. Is the tour inside Vatnajökull National Park? If so, does the operator have a contract? Commercial activity in the park without a contract is unlawful [1]. The park publishes its current contract holders [2].
  2. Who leads the group? For park contracts, lead guides need at least Jökla 3 / AIMG "Hard Ice 3" or a comparable qualification [1] [3]. Under the draft contract terms, guides also need a first aid course [4].
  3. How many guests per guide? Published limits vary. Iceland Review reported 8–16 per guide under the park's 2025 contracts [5]. Operators list their own limits, for example up to 12 per guide (Katla Track) [6] or a maximum group of 14 (Arctic Adventures Katla) [7].
  4. Is it in season, according to an official source rather than the sales page? In the park, traditional cave tours are permitted 1 Oct – 30 Apr (draft terms) [4]. For summer cave tours outside the park, read the scientists' warning [8]. See ice caves by month.
  5. Natural cave or man-made tunnel? Into the Glacier on Langjökull is man-made and high on the ice cap [9]. The same operator notes that natural ice caves typically form at glacier edges [9].
  6. Age limits and fitness. Examples:
    • Glacier Mice Winter Tour: age 8+ [10]
    • Katla tours: age 6+ [7] [6]
    • Into the Glacier Classic: no age limit [9]
    • Sólheimajökull Glacier Discovery: age 10+ [11]
  7. Cancellation terms. Weather cancellations are common in published terms [6] [12]. Free-cancellation windows differ, for example 24 hours (Arctic Adventures Katla) [7] and 48 hours (Katla Track, 5% fee) [13].

Whatever you book, check Safetravel alerts on the day [14]. Under the park's draft terms, cancelling a visit after the morning assessment is part of the system [4].

Where the areas are

Map of Iceland with the glaciers covered on this siteMarkers: Reykjavík, Vík, Breiðamerkurjökull, Mýrdalsjökull (Katla tours), Sólheimajökull, Langjökull (Into the Glacier). Circles are glaciers, squares are towns for orientation.ReykjavíkVíkBreiðamerkurjökullMýrdalsjökull (Katla tours)SólheimajökullLangjökull (Into the Glacier)
Circles mark the glacier coordinates listed on Wikidata [15][16][17][18][19][20]; squares are towns for orientation. These are not meeting points or cave locations, and the map is not for navigation. Coastline: Natural Earth, public domain [21].

Sources

  1. Auglýst er eftir umsóknum um atvinnutengda starfsemi í Vatnajökulsþjóðgarði
    Vatnajökull National Park / Náttúruverndarstofnun · in Icelandic · published 2025-07-04 · accessed 2026-10-23
  2. Current contracts with private businesses
    Vatnajökull National Park · accessed 2026-10-23
  3. Application for occupational activities: glacier cave tours and glacier walks
    Ísland.is (Government of Iceland) · accessed 2026-10-23
  4. 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)
  5. Vatnajökull ice caves set to welcome visitors back next month
    Iceland Review · news report · published 2025-09-15 · accessed 2026-10-23
  6. Katla Fast Track Ice Cave Tour
    Katla Track (tour operator) · tour operator (commercial claim) · accessed 2026-10-23
  7. Katla Ice Cave Tour: Under the Volcano
    Arctic Adventures (tour operator) · tour operator (commercial claim) · accessed 2026-10-23
  8. Minnisblað: jöklaferðir (memo on glacier/ice cave trips)
    Icelandic Met Office & University of Iceland glaciology group (hosted by Ferðamálastofa) · in Icelandic · published 2024-09-04 · accessed 2026-10-23 · via curl + pdftotext (PDF)
  9. FAQ
    Into the Glacier ehf. (tour operator) · tour operator (commercial claim) · accessed 2026-10-23
  10. Ice cave tours (Breiðamerkurjökull)
    Glacier Mice (tour operator) · tour operator (commercial claim) · accessed 2026-10-23
  11. Glacier Discovery: 3.5-hour Sólheimajökull Glacier Hike
    Icelandic Mountain Guides (tour operator) · tour operator (commercial claim) · accessed 2026-10-23
  12. Into the Glacier Classic Tour
    Into the Glacier ehf. (tour operator) · tour operator (commercial claim) · accessed 2026-10-23
  13. FAQ
    Katla Track (tour operator) · tour operator (commercial claim) · accessed 2026-10-23
  14. Travel conditions (alerts)
    Safetravel / ICE-SAR · accessed 2026-10-23
  15. Reykjavík (Q1764): coordinate location (P625)
    Wikidata · accessed 2026-10-24 · via Wikidata API (wbgetentities)
  16. Vík í Mýrdal (Q685369): coordinate location (P625)
    Wikidata · accessed 2026-10-24 · via Wikidata API (wbgetentities)
  17. Breiðamerkurjökull (Q907049): coordinate location (P625)
    Wikidata · accessed 2026-10-24 · via Wikidata API (wbgetentities)
  18. Mýrdalsjökull (Q214818): coordinate location (P625)
    Wikidata · accessed 2026-10-24 · via Wikidata API (wbgetentities)
  19. Sólheimajökull (Q1405353): coordinate location (P625)
    Wikidata · accessed 2026-10-24 · via Wikidata API (wbgetentities)
  20. Langjökull (Q737657): coordinate location (P625)
    Wikidata · accessed 2026-10-24 · via Wikidata API (wbgetentities)
  21. Natural Earth: Terms of Use (1:50m admin-0 countries outline used for our Iceland map)
    Natural Earth · accessed 2026-10-24 · via curl
  22. Travel plans
    Safetravel / ICE-SAR · accessed 2026-10-23
  23. Vatnajökull National Park (English home)
    Vatnajökull National Park · accessed 2026-10-23
  24. Safetravel.is home page
    Safetravel / ICE-SAR (Slysavarnafélagið Landsbjörg) · accessed 2026-10-23