This is a winter tour only! Explore some of Iceland's highlights. Starting with a tour of Snæfellsnes Peninsula in West Iceland, with beautiful and diverse scenery. Return to Reykjavik for one night before exploring South Coast key attractions including Jokulsarlon Lagoon and Diamond Beach. Followed by a visit to a natural blue ice cave in Vatnajokull National Park, found only in the cold winter months.
Duration: 5 days/4 nights
Pick-up: 9 a.m. from Reykjavik pick up points
Group maximum: 18 participants
Available: October 1st - April 30th
Age limit: 8 years
Difficulty: Easy
Tour Highlights:
- Natural ice cave
- Northern Lights *
- Skaftafell
- Vatnajokull National Park
- Jokulsarlon Lagoon
- Diamond Beach
- South Coast of Iceland
- West Iceland
- Snæfellsnes Peninsula
- Small group experience
- Golden Circle
- Thingvellir National Park
- Geysir geothermal area
- Gullfoss Waterfall
- Mount Kirkjufell view
Pick up: 9 a.m. from Reykjavik pick up points
Included: Five day tour with a knowledgeable guide with pick up and drop off in Reykjavik. A visit to a natural ice cave in Vatnajokull National Park and all necessary glacier gear. Accommodation in a hotel for four nights and breakfast at the hotels.
Not included: Meals, other than breakfast at the hotels, are not included in the tour price. Participants can purchase meals at restaurants and shops/cafés on the way.
Bring with you: Warm outdoor clothing, waterproof jacket and pants, sturdy hiking boots, headwear and gloves.
Note that you can rent sturdy hiking boots, waterproof jacket and waterproof pants in the booking process.
BOOK WITH 10% DEPOSIT
Worried that your travel plans might change? Book your tour more than 21 days in advance with a 10% deposit & pay the rest 14 days before departure. Alternatively, you can pay full price and get a 5% early bird discount! Choose the deposit or full payment option in the third step of your checkout.
Tour Description
The beautiful natural blue ice cave in Vatnajökull.
This small group tour is a combination of the very popular 2 day Snæfellsness and Northern Lights and 3 day Golden Circle and South Coast tours. We will be visiting multiple highlights in the West of Iceland as well as on the South Coast.
West Iceland and Snæfellsnes highlights include Hraunfossar and Barnafoss waterfalls, Deildartunguhver hot spring, Borgarfjörður fjord, Reykholt and optional lava tube caving tour in Vatnshellir Cave. We return to Reykjavik for one night before heading south.
The second part of our tour starts with a visit to the Golden Circle sights of Gullfoss Waterfall, Geysir and Þingvellir National Park (Thingvellir). We then head for the South Coast key attractions including Seljalandsfoss waterfall, Skógafoss waterfall, Reynisfjara black sand beach, Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon, Vatnajökull glacier, glacier hiking and a visit to a natural ice cave. All glacier activities are done with a certified Glacier Guide, so you are in safe hands. We provide all necessary glacier equipment so all you need to bring are good hiking boots (or rent a pair from us).
If we're lucky - we get the chance to see Northern Lights!
See the mesmerizing Northern Lights
Day 1 - Jewels of West Iceland
We head west out of Reykjavík into Borgarfjörður to the graceful Hraunfossar waterfall, one of Iceland´s more unusual natural wonders. Thousands of rivulets stream straight out of the Hallmundarhraun lava field, creating the elegant and wide crescent-shaped falls. You will see Barnafoss, another stunning waterfall and learn the folklore about its name which means ‘Children´s Falls’. Today the highlights include Deildartunguhver, the most powerful hot spring in Europe and Reykholt where you will see Snorralaug, the pool where Snorri Sturluson, the famous saga writer is said to have bathed. Your accommodation will be on the Snæfellsness peninsula. If the conditions are good a *northern lights watch is on!
Day 2 - Delights of Snæfellsnes
We show you the best of Snæfellsness peninsula, sharp mountains, craggy inlets, black pebble beaches, charming villages and the shimmering glacier, made famous by Jules Verne´s novel, Journey to the Centre of the Earth. Today you explore under the earth on a caving tour into the 8000 year old Vatnshellir lava tube cave, your guide will explain how it was formed and show you some amazing lava formations. Visit Arnarstapi and Hellnar, magical fishing villages, see the crazily shaped cliffs at Djúpalónssandur and hike over the black pebble beach - try the lifting stones, used to test the strength of the fisherman in the past. Stop at the photographer’s favorite, Mount Kirkjufell, and so much more. Your hotel will be in the Reykjavík area. A *northern lights watch could be on!
Búðir Church in the Snæfellsnes Peninsula
Day 3 - Golden Circle and South Coast Pearls
We head south to the attractions of the Golden Circle: Þingvellir, site of Iceland´s historic parliament, Alþingi, and the place where the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates have been edging apart, creating a fabulous rift valley. Visit Geysir to see Strokkur, the most active hot spring, erupting scalding water skywards every few minutes. Stand in awe at the power of Gullfoss waterfall, as the roaring glacial torrent powers through the falls, dropping 32 m in two stages. See the elegant 60 m high Seljalandsfoss and Skógafoss waterfalls, the black sand beach with roaring waves and black basalt columns at Reynisfjara and the Reynisdrangar peaks emerging above the Atlantic. Your hotel will be in the Vík area, hopefully, the *northern lights forecast is good!
Day 4 - Glacier Magic at Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon and Ice Caving
Today, you go into the glacier, exploring a natural ice cave with a certified glacier guide who will issue all necessary equipment. You will see astonishing ice forms and learn how brilliant blue ice is formed and other fascinating glacier facts. The ice caves are constantly changing and the glacier is always on the move, which *Vatnajökull ice cave you visit is decided near the time - they are all stunning. Onwards to Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon to see magnificent icebergs of all shapes and sizes, floating in a surreal procession towards the ocean. These glossy ice-sculptures are a mystical sight when they float onto the black sand of the Diamond Beach, never more so than at twilight. Your hotel will be in the Skaftafell area. We hope for a good *northern lights forecast!
Day 5 - Glacier Hiking and South Shore Sightseeing
On your final day you set foot on the glacier, for an easy hike with a certified glacier guide. You will be issued with crampons and everything else you need, then it is just your little group and the majesty of the glacier. Walking for an hour you will see stunning glacial features, such as moulins penetrating deeply through the ice, networks of crevasses and ice ridges. The glacier is never still, it is always evolving and changing, your guide will share lots of information above this amazing ice-world, if you have any questions, don’t be shy about asking! On the journey back to Reykjavík you will see more south coast sights, return to the city is scheduled between 20:00 and 23:00, the weather is somewhat in charge! You will be dropped off where we picked you up.
Regarding Northern Lights, views and the natural ice cave. This tour is available all year and the ice cave, certain views and Northern Lights are weather and season dependent.
Winter
In winter, we search for the Northern Lights and visit the Crystal Ice Cave or one of the natural ice caves in Vatnajokull glacier. If it's not possible to enter one of the Vatnajokull ice caves, then we will go to Katla Volcano Ice Cave, a different but equally unique and beautiful ice cave in Myrdalsjokull glacier.
Summer
In summer, it's not possible to see the Northern Lights due to brightness, however, during this time period, we have the magical Midnight Sun. Also, we will visit the Katla Volcano Ice Cave in the summer since it's accessible all year.
Icebergs floating in the glacial lagoon
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