Vatnajokull Glacier Guided Hike from Jokulsarlon

Jokulsarlon, the glacier lagoon where the hike begins

The meeting point for this glacier hike is the main parking area at Jokulsarlon, beside the toilets and cafe. The lagoon is one of the most striking sights in Iceland: icebergs that broke off Breidamerkurjokull float slowly towards a short river that carries them under the Route 1 bridge and out to sea. Some of the ice is said to be around a thousand years old, compressed from snow that fell on Vatnajokull long ago.

Arrive early and you can walk along the shore, watch seals resting on the floes and cross the road to Diamond Beach, where pieces of ice sparkle on the black sand. Is Jokulsarlon worth visiting even without a tour? Absolutely, but stepping onto the glacier that feeds it gives the lagoon a whole new meaning.

Breidamerkurjokull, the glacier you walk on

Breidamerkurjokull is a broad outlet glacier that flows down from Vatnajokull to the lowlands of the south-east coast. Long dark stripes run down its surface: these are medial moraines, bands of rock and ash carried from mountain ridges that stick out through the ice higher up. In the nineteenth century the glacier reached almost to the sea, and since then it has retreated by several kilometres, leaving the lagoon behind.

The jeep ride of about 40 minutes takes you across the glacier forefield, an area of gravel, meltwater streams and young moraines, to the spot where the guides start the hike that day. From there a walk of about 15 minutes brings you to the edge of the ice. Because the surface changes every week, the exact route is chosen on the day.

Vatnajokull, Iceland's largest ice cap

Vatnajokull covers roughly 7,700 square kilometres, about a tenth of Iceland, and in places its ice is close to a kilometre thick. Beneath it lie several active volcanoes, and eruptions under the ice have spread ash that you can still see as dark layers in the glacier. Around thirty outlet glaciers, including Breidamerkurjokull, spill down its edges towards the coast and the highlands.

The ice cap and the land around it form Vatnajokull National Park, created in 2008 and inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2019 for its interaction of volcanoes and ice. A Vatnajokull glacier hike is one of the safest and most rewarding ways to experience the park up close, with a guide who reads the ice and shows you how fast the landscape is changing.

On the ice: crevasses, moulins and blue ice

Once your crampons are on, the glacier becomes a playground of shapes. You walk over ridges of white and grey ice, look into deep crevasses that open as the glacier bends, and peer into moulins, vertical shafts where meltwater pours into the glacier. Black cones and patches of ash show where volcanic dust was trapped in the ice, and on some days you reach clear blue ice where air bubbles have been squeezed out.

On some tours the guide covers more distance across the glacier; on others the group may step into small moulins or crevasses when they are safe. Along the way you learn how glaciers form, why they move and how their retreat affects the land around Jokulsarlon. The hike is rated medium: you walk 4 to 6 kilometres on uneven ice and gravel, in any weather.

How to get to Jokulsarlon and the best time to visit

Jokulsarlon sits beside Route 1 on Iceland's south-east coast, about four and a half to five hours' drive east of Reykjavik and about an hour west of Hofn. Many travellers stay overnight nearby, in Hofn or around Skaftafell, so they can arrive rested for the morning departure. The parking area at the lagoon has toilets and a cafe.

Glacier hikes run through the year. Summer brings long days and more meltwater features such as streams and moulins, while winter offers crisp light, fewer visitors and harder, cleaner ice. Whatever the best time to visit Jokulsarlon is for you, dress for the weather: the glacier is usually no colder than the lagoon, but wind and rain are common.