Guide · From the capital

An ice cave tour from Reykjavík: what is realistic

An ice cave tour from Reykjavík can mean a 12-hour south coast day, a short hop to the Langjökull tunnel, or a multi-day tour to the lagoon caves. Here is how the distances shape the choice.

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Editorial team, blue-ice-cave-iceland.comUpdated October 25, 20266 minutes to read29 sources

Bookable here: the tour Reykjavik: Katla Ice Cave & South Coast Tour 4.7 (1,331 reviews) 12 hours from$288per person Check availabilityFree cancellation up to 24 hrs before

The short version

01Lagoon caves: About 370 km east of Reykjavík; the operator advises against driving out on tour day.¹ ²
02Katla in a day: A 12-hour coach and super jeep tour with 27 pickup options.
03Nearest ice: The Langjökull tunnel meets at Húsafell, about 2 hours away.
04Overnight: 2-day and 3-day tours combine the lagoon caves with the south coast.
05Day trip price: The Katla day tour sold here starts from $288.

How far the ice caves are from the capital

Iceland's ice caves are not close to Reykjavík, and the distance decides almost everything about your trip. The lagoon caves of Breiðamerkurjökull start from Jökulsárlón, which Ice Explorers places around 370 km east of Reykjavík; another operator gives about 390 kilometers for the same lagoon café.¹ That is a full day of driving each way in winter light.

The Katla cave near Vík is much closer, which is why it dominates the day trips from the capital, and the Langjökull ice tunnel is closer still. Its operators meet at Húsafell, about 2 hours from Reykjavík, and Into the Glacier says its tunnel is just 2.5 hours from the city.³ Those are the realistic answers to the question of an ice cave tour from Reykjavík.

Ice Explorers, which runs the lagoon tour this site sells, puts the drive from Reykjavík at about 5 hours and does not recommend travelling from the capital on the day of the tour.² If the lagoon caves are your goal, plan at least a night nearby. If you only have Reykjavík as a base, read on: Katla and Langjökull are built for you.

The day, step by step

A Katla day from Reykjavík, stop by stop

Morning

Pickup in the city

Choose from 27 pickup location options.
1.5 hours

Coach to Hvolsvöllur

A 20-minute break before the south coast.
30 minutes

Skógafoss

Photo stop at the waterfall on the way east.
2.5 hours

Mýrdalsjökull by super jeep

Off-road to the glacier and into the Katla cave.
25 minutes

Seljalandsfoss

The last waterfall stop on the way back.
2 hours

Coach to Reykjavík

Drop-off at the same choice of locations.

The Katla day trip, hour by hour

The tour this page sells is a long south coast day with the Katla ice cave at its center. It lasts 12 hours, is limited to 14 participants and offers 27 pickup location options in Reykjavík. It starts from $288 and is rated 4.68 from 1,331 reviews.

The itinerary is honest about the road. A coach drives 1.5 hours to Hvolsvöllur for a 20-minute break, then the group stops at Skógafoss for 30 minutes and continues to Vík. From there a super jeep spends 2.5 hours on Mýrdalsjökull, including the walk into the Katla cave, before a 30-minute break in Vík, Seljalandsfoss for 25 minutes and a 2-hour coach ride home.

Choose it if the cave and the classic waterfalls in a single sweep appeal, and skip it if long coach rides wear you out. Other operators sell very similar days: a small-group version lasts 10 hours, and others run 11 or 12 hours. Compare the pickup options and group size rather than the waterfalls, which are much the same.

Hours on tour

How long the day trips from Reykjavík last

hours

Durations as each GetYourGuide listing states them, door to door with pickup.

Options from the capital

Ice cave trips that start in Reykjavík

Tour	Cave	Length	From
Katla & south coast	Katla	12 hours	from $288
South coast & Katla, small group	Katla	10 hours	from $276
Langjökull tunnel day	Man-made tunnel	11 hours	from $281
Snowmobile & ice cave	Langjökull	10 hours	from $400
2-day south coast & blue ice cave	Breiðamerkurjökull	2 days	from $736
3-day winter south coast	Breiðamerkurjökull	3 days	from $957

Lengths from the GetYourGuide listings of the capital's tours; a from-price marks the cheapest option and dates vary.

Ways from the city

A day, the tunnel, or an overnight

Sold on this page

Katla & south coast

Day tour

Length: 12 hours
Pickups: 27 options
Price: from $288

See this tour

From Reykjavik: Into the Glacier Ice Cave Tour

Closest ice

Langjökull tunnel

Day tour with pickup

Length: 11 hours
Rating: 4.54
Price: from $281

See this tour

Iceland 3-Day Tour Golden Circle, Glacier Lagoon, & Ice Cave

Natural lagoon cave

3-day lagoon & ice cave

Golden Circle & lagoon

Length: 3 days
Rating: 4.68
Price: from $968

See this tour

Decision helper

Which trip from the capital?

Start from your time and your must-see

I have one free day and want a natural cave I want the shortest trip to any ice I travel with a baby or toddler I want the blue caves of the lagoon I am driving the Ring Road

Katla day trip

The 12-hour tour reaches the Katla cave with waterfalls on the way.

Langjökull tunnel

Húsafell is about 2 hours from Reykjavík.

Langjökull tunnel

The Reykjavík tour accepts infants carried by their parents.

A 2-day or 3-day tour

These include Jökulsárlón and an ice cave with pickup in Reykjavík.

Sleep near the lagoon

Ice Explorers advises against driving out from Reykjavík on tour day.²

Natural ice caves are typically found on the edges of glaciers, carved by glacial rivers, geothermal water, or volcanic activity.

Into the Glacier ehfSource 4

The lagoon caves need an overnight stay

To stand in a Breiðamerkurjökull cave without a car, book a multi-day tour. Several leave Reykjavík with pickup included: a 2-day South Coast tour with a blue ice cave, rated 4.71 from 261 reviews, and a 2-day tour to the blue ice cave and Jökulsárlón limited to 18 participants.

The 3-day winter version adds time: it is rated 4.81 from 208 reviews and its stops include the Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon and an ice caving expedition. These tours start from $704 to $957, so compare what each one includes before you book.

If you drive yourself, the same logic applies. Sleep near the lagoon, in Höfn or around Skaftafell, and the cave becomes a 3-hour outing rather than the climax of an exhausting day. Ice Explorers runs two departures a day, one in the morning and one right after noon, which makes it easy to fit around a drive.⁵

Map

Where Iceland's ice caves are

The lagoon, the glacier and Skaftafell on the south-east coast, then the other ice cave regions between Reykjavík, Vík and Langjökull.

Map of south-east Iceland with Jökulsárlón, Breiðamerkurjökull, Falljökull, Skaftafell and Höfn — Jökulsárlón to Skaftafell

Map of Iceland with Reykjavík, Húsafell, Langjökull, Geysir, Vík, Mýrdalsjökull and Jökulsárlón — Ice cave regions of Iceland

1
Jökulsárlón
The ice cave tours meet at the lagoon cafeteria, which Ice Explorers places around 370 km east of Reykjavík and around 90 km west of Höfn.¹
In Google Maps ↗
2
Breiðamerkurjökull
The outlet glacier where the caves of this site form; the national park rangers of Breiðamerkursandur are responsible for its ice caves.⁶
In Google Maps ↗
3
Falljökull
The Skaftafell hikes climb this outlet glacier of Vatnajökull; one listing spends 2.5 hours on it.
In Google Maps ↗
4
Skaftafell
A national park since 1967, part of Vatnajökull National Park since 2008, with Kirkjubæjarklaustur 70 km to the west.⁷ ⁸
In Google Maps ↗
5
Höfn
The nearest town to the east; Skaftafell lies 130 km from it.⁸
6
Reykjavík
Long day tours to the Katla cave leave from here with 27 pickup location options.
7
Húsafell
The meeting point for the ice tunnel in Langjökull, about 2 hours from Reykjavík.
8
Langjökull
About 953 km2, the second-largest glacier in Iceland, with a man-made tunnel 500 metres long.⁹ ¹⁰
In Google Maps ↗
9
Geysir
Snowmobile tours to a natural ice cave on Langjökull meet behind the visitor centre.
10
Vík
The start of the Katla cave tours, and Iceland's southernmost village.¹¹
In Google Maps ↗
11
Mýrdalsjökull
The ice cap over the Katla volcano, about 535 km2; the cave sits in its outlet glacier Kötlujökull.¹² ¹³
12
Jökulsárlón lagoon
At 248 metres deep, NASA calls it the deepest lake in Iceland.¹⁴
In Google Maps ↗

Open the map in Google Maps

Checklist

For a long day from Reykjavík

Before you go

Confirm your pickup point the evening before
Book with free cancellation
Check daylight hours for your date

In your bag

Warm layers and a waterproof jacket
Stiff, ankle-high boots
Water and snacks for a long coach ride

Calculator

Price a trip from Reykjavík

Choose a tour and enter how many people are going

Katla & south coast12-hour dayfrom $288 Langjökull tunnel11-hour dayfrom $281 Snowmobile & cave10-hour dayfrom $400 2-day blue ice caveWith the lagoonfrom $736

People 2

Total from$575

per participant from $288

Check availabilityfree cancellation

We take the cheapest GetYourGuide price of the ice cave tour you choose, multiply it by your group and convert it with the ECB daily rate; checkout on GetYourGuide has the final figure.

Video

A visit to the ice tunnel inside Langjökull

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Ice caves near Reykjavík: the Langjökull tunnel

The ice caves near Reykjavík are not natural caves but a tunnel cut into Langjökull, which its operator describes as Iceland's second-largest glacier at about 953 km2.⁹ The tunnel opened in 2015, and Into the Glacier gives its size as 500 meters long, 3 meters tall and 3.5 meters wide, with 25 meters of ice above and 200 meters below.¹⁵ ¹⁰

You can do it as a day from the city or meet at Húsafell. The Reykjavík version includes pickup and lasts 11 hours; the Húsafell version lasts 4 hours, starts from $180 and is rated 4.63 from 811 reviews. Into the Glacier's own FAQ gives 9-11 hours for its day tours from Reykjavík and 3.5-4 hours for the Classic tour from Húsafell.¹⁶

The ride up is part of the fun. The tunnel sits around 1260 m above sea level and is reached in specially modified vehicles, including an 8x8 truck that the company says was once a NATO missile launcher.¹⁷ ¹⁸ The glacier drive takes about 30 minutes each way in summer and 75 minutes each way in winter.¹⁹

A man-made ice cave in Iceland or a natural one?

Choosing between the tunnel and a natural cave is mostly a question of what you want to feel. A man-made ice cave in Iceland, like the Langjökull tunnel, is maintained year-round and stays accessible, while natural caves, its operator notes, are ever-changing and not managed or maintained.²⁰ ²¹ The temperature inside the tunnel stays around 0°C regardless of season.²²

Natural caves form somewhere else entirely. Into the Glacier itself says they are typically found on the edges of glaciers, carved by glacial rivers, geothermal water or volcanic activity, while its tunnel was dug high on the ice cap.⁴ Building it took the extraction of 5500m3 of ice.²³ The result is long and safe, with lights, but not shaped by water.

For families the tunnel is often the easier choice. The Classic tour has no age restrictions, you need to walk about 500m on snow and ice and stand for about an hour, and the Reykjavík version accepts infants if parents can carry them for up to 1 hour.²⁴ ²⁵ Natural cave tours set minimum ages, such as 7 on the lagoon tour this site sells.

Ice on a Golden Circle day

If you were planning a Golden Circle day anyway, some tours add glacier ice to it. One listing combines the Golden Circle with a glacier truck and an ice cave, lasts 10 hours and offers 22 pickup location options in Reykjavík, with Thingvellir National Park among its stops. It starts from $289 and is rated 4.68 from 63 reviews.

Snowmobile tours do the same with more speed. A Reykjavík listing transfers you to Skjól, between Geysir and Gullfoss, takes a super truck to Langjökull and rides snowmobiles up to 1,450 meters above sea level before a natural ice cave. It lasts 10 hours and starts from $400; anyone driving a snowmobile needs a valid driver's license.

These combinations suit travelers who want a single big day out of the city rather than the deepest ice cave experience. The time in the ice is shorter than on a dedicated cave tour, but you cover the classic sights on the same day. Shorter snowmobile trips start from Geysir or Húsafell instead, without the transfer from the city.

Winter roads and short days

Winter shapes every ice cave trip from Reykjavík. The Icelandic Road and Coastal Administration services roughly 5,000 of the 12,000 km classified as highway in winter, and Safetravel warns that a 4x4 can help but does not remove the risk of skidding on ice.²⁶ ²⁷ Driving yourself in the dark months asks for patience and spare time.

Daylight is short in the cave season. Near the lagoon, mid-December brings only about 4.3 hours between sunrise and sunset and 5.4 hours at mid-January, so a long drive eats most of the light.²⁸ That is one more argument for letting a tour company do the driving, or for splitting the trip over more than one day.

Safetravel's general advice applies too: stay flexible and be prepared to change or cancel plans if conditions become unsafe.²⁹ Book cave tours with free cancellation, check the road and weather reports in the morning, and keep a buffer day in your itinerary if the cave is the highlight of your trip.

This winter's cave