Solheimajokull Glacier Hike | 3-Hour Expedition | Small-Groups

An exhilarating hiking tour up the mighty Sólheimajökull glacier, combine a stunning natural landscape with adventures hiking on glacial ice and volcanic ash.
Available: All year
Difficulty: Moderate
Duration: 3 Hours
Minimum Age: 8
Pick Up: Not available
Price From: ISK 10.900
Cancellation Policy: Cancel up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund
Reviews: 7 reviews

Tour Highlights

✅ Hike on Sólheimajökull glacier
✅ Views of ice formations
✅ Small group experience
✅ Certified English speaking glacier guide

Want to add Ice Climbing to your Glacier Hike? Check out Solheimajokull Glacier Hike & Climb

Need transfer from Reykjavik? Check out South Coast & Glacier Hiking Tour

Tour Details

Duration: 3 hours
Minimum age: 8 years
Difficulty: Easy to moderate
Departures: Oct-May: 13:00 / June – Sept: 09:30, 11:00, 13:00, 15:00
What to bring: Warm clothing (first layer), waterproof clothing (second layer), gloves (necessary to protect your hands), a hat & hiking shoes
Included: Experienced glacier guide, safety gear (harness, ice axe, carabiners, crampons)
Meeting point: Sólheimajökull Glacier Parking Lot (see under “meeting point below)

The meeting point is at the Sólheimajökull glacier parking lot (view on google maps here).

Directions from Reykjavík (or any other place further west)

Drive east on road no. 1 until you reach road 221 – Sólheimajökulsvegur. Take a leftturn onto road 221 and drive until you reach the parking lot at Sólheimajökull.

Distance from Reykjavík: 160km.

Directions from Vík (or any other place further east)

Drive west on road no. 1 until you reach road 221 – Sólheimajökulsvegur. Take a right turn onto road 221 and drive until you reach the parking lot at Sólheimajökull.

Distance from Vík: 26km

Tour Description

Welcome to the moon! Join this tour to see and experience natural wonders that are almost out of this world! Sólheimajökull is an outlet of Mýrdalsjökull, the 4th biggest glacier in Iceland. It is known for being the glacier of fire and ice because of all the ashes covering and mixing up with glacial ice, like dragon ice from Game of Thrones. Underneath lies the active volcano Katla, which erupted last time in 1918.

First, you will meet your guide in the Sólheimajökull parking lot and get all the necessary equipment for the hike: crampons, ice axes, harnesses, and helmets. Then you will hike for about 15 minutes to the ice itself to get the blood flowing and warm up for the hike. Arriving at the glacier your guide will explain to you how to put on the crampons, a traction device out of steel which is attached to your hiking boots and he will talk about safety and a few important rules for the tour.

You will stay 60 to 90 minutes on the ice itself and see lots of crevasses, deep cracks in the surface of the glacier, and so-called moulins, often vertical shafts in the ice which are formed by melting water finding it’s way into fissures and cracks. At the beginning of the walk, you will be aware of lots of ash on the ice. Since we have volcanos under every glacier in Iceland it is common that eruptions leave big amounts of volcanic deposit right on the glacier. This ash is shaping the landscape of the glacier.

Your guide will introduce you in detail to the history of the glacier and tell you how the ice is formed on top of the mountains and how global warming is affecting the melting of this glacial outlet. It is featured in detail in the 2012 documentary Chasing Ice, an award-winning investigation of climate change.

Never been on a glacier walk before? Never used crampons or ice axe? No worries! Experienced guides will teach you all you need to know and have you walking safely on the glacier in no time. Safety equipment and briefings are provided before each tour. Nature is best experienced free of worries! 

 

7 reviews

  1. Excellent experience

    Great experience…guide was very knowledgeable.. .enjoyed the glacier
    Hike good value and interesting would recommend it

  2. Great experience

    Great hike on the Solheimajokull gkacier!
    The guide was fantastic and scenery breathtaking. Really glad we did it!

  3. Remarkable short trip

    Great tour. It was so wonderful being able to walk from the car park onto the glacier. Very informative and safe.
    Quite a remarkable thing to do. We enjoyed it emmensly. Not too long. Make sure you wrap up warm. It’s actually colder in the car park than on the glacier.

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