Kötlujökull · Breiðamerkurjökull · Iceland
Ice caves sit past the end of the road, so almost every cave tour in Iceland begins with a modified 4x4. Super jeeps cross black outwash plains and river beds that ordinary vehicles cannot, and the drive is a genuine part of the day rather than dead time.
Choose your trip
Grouped by which cave they reach: the ash-streaked Katla cave above Vík, which runs all year, and the blue caves of Breiðamerkurjökull near the Jökulsárlón lagoon, which are winter only. Prices are per person in US dollars with free cancellation up to 24 hours before departure.
The most reviewed cave tour on the site by a wide margin. A high-clearance jeep crosses Mýrdalssandur from Vík to the cave under Katla, and the same booking can start in Reykjavik as a full day with waterfall stops.
Free cancellation up to 24h
The highest-rated of the short Vík departures, capped at thirteen people. Straight across the black sands and into the cave beneath the volcano, with helmets and crampons supplied.
Free cancellation up to 24h
The cheapest route into the Katla cave, meeting in Vík roughly ten minutes from the glacier and done in three hours. A good fit if you are already driving the South Coast.
Free cancellation up to 24h
A Reykjavik day tour rated higher than any other full-day option here, pairing the Katla cave with the South Coast waterfalls and black sand beach.
Free cancellation up to 24h
A small-group day from Reykjavik capped at fourteen, covering Seljalandsfoss, Skógafoss and Reynisfjara alongside the cave. Twelve hours door to door.
Free cancellation up to 24h
A 4x4 South Coast day from Reykjavik with the Katla cave at its centre, running slightly shorter than the other capital departures.
Free cancellation up to 24h
The best value of the lagoon departures and the most reviewed, running off-road from the Jökulsárlón car park into a natural blue cave. Larger groups than the alternatives, which is what keeps the price down.
Free cancellation up to 24h
Run by a small local operator on the west side of Breiðamerkurjökull, with a genuine twenty to thirty minute glacier walk after the drive. The highest rated of the lagoon tours.
Free cancellation up to 24h
A small-group jeep trip from the lagoon to a natural blue cave, with a short hike in. Reviewers rate it well while noting the cave can be modest in size.
Free cancellation up to 24h
A crystal blue cave tour with optional hotel pickup from Reykjavik built into the booking, so it works without a car on the South Coast.
Free cancellation up to 24h
A cave-first run into the ice canyons of Breiðamerkurjökull with around forty minutes among the blue ice. Note that transport to the meeting point and parking are not included.
Free cancellation up to 24h
Iceland's ice caves are not beside the road. Reaching them means crossing glacial outwash plains, river beds and loose black sand where a normal hire car has no business being — and in most cases would be illegal, since driving off marked roads is banned in Iceland.
A super jeep is a factory 4x4 rebuilt for the job: a lifted body, oversized tyres deflated for flotation on sand and snow, and a raised air intake for water crossings. Operators keep them for exactly these routes, which is why there is no self-drive option to any ice cave in the country.
From Vík, jeeps run out across Mýrdalssandur to Kötlujökull and the Katla ice cave. It is roughly forty minutes each way, the ice there is streaked black with volcanic ash, and the cave is stable enough to visit all year.
From the Jökulsárlón lagoon car park, jeeps head onto Breiðamerkurjökull and the crystal blue caves. These are the famous ones, and they are winter only — carved fresh by meltwater each year and closed once the ice softens in spring.
Bumpy, and that is the honest answer. Reviewers of the lagoon tours describe thirty to forty minutes of rocky off-road driving, and several note it comes as a surprise to anyone who has not driven Iceland's mountain roads before. It is not dangerous, but it is not a smooth coach transfer either.
Most operators advise against the tours during pregnancy or with back or heart conditions for this reason. If that applies, it is worth reading the specific tour's notes before booking rather than assuming.
For the lowest price, the short Vík departures and the National Park tour from Jökulsárlón start at $157 to $180. For small groups, several cap at twelve to fourteen where the cheapest run to twenty-eight. For a day out of Reykjavik without a car, the full-day Katla tours handle everything, at eleven to twelve hours.
Season decides more than anything else. Between April and October the blue caves are shut and the Katla tours are the ones still running, along with the man-made tunnel on Langjökull.
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