Vatnajökull Glacier Hike: Explore Beyond the Crowds

Embark on an adventurous full-day glacial hiking tour on Vatnajökull, exploring beyond the crowds. Discover hidden features and tight places, guided by knowledgeable experts.

Duration: 1 day
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Söluskálinn í Freysnesi - This trip operates with a max. of 4 max. per guide.
    We will meet at Freysnes Gas Station where you have the chance to use the bathroom and buy snacks, you’ll follow us for a short drive to a glacier car park, where we’ll get you equipped with the appropriate safety gear.
    From the car park we’ll take a short walk on a trail…
What's Included
  • Pre-trip communication with your guide on Whats-app/Email
  • 1-2 days before your trip, we’ll get in touch to give you a weather & expected conditions report
  • Safety Equipment (Helmet, Harness, Ice Axe/s, Crampons)
  • Tea and coffee
What's Not Included
  • Bottled water
  • Mountain Boot Rental (if you don’t have your own)
  • Transportation (you’ll need your own car)
  • Lunch
Additional Information

On this adventurous day, you will hike beyond the crowds to explore further reaches of an outlet glacier of Vatnajökull.
•Lowest guest to guide ratio (4:1) on the market, meaning we can deliver high quality adventures.
•You’ll venture through more difficult routes than typical tours and get into areas that larger groups cannot.
•You’ll be informed on…

Location
Freysnes
Freysnes Gas Station (Black and Pink building) -Your guide/s will have gold/yellow uniform waiting by the front entrance of the building.
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
5.0
(31 Ratings)
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Maryho7883aa
Jun 6, 2025
Look no further than Ice Guardians Glacier Tours! - Of all the glacier touring companies in Iceland, I am so grateful that we went with Ice Guardians Glacier Tours. Kish, our tour guide, went above and beyond to provide us with a very unique and personalized glacier hiking/climbing experience. It was evident from the start that he truly valued the quality of our experience. It felt like we were going on a once in a life-time adventure with an old friend. He did all of this while making us feel safe to push the limits of our comfort zone. We ultimately chose Ice Guardians due to their focus on quality over quantity with their private and small group tours. Unlike the more publicized glacier touring companies that do upwards of 15 to 20 people per group, which looked to me to be a very underwhelming experience for all involved. This tour was the highlight of our trip Ice Guardians will be our go-to recommendation for family and friends moving forward! No need to second guess or look further. Book with Ice Guardians and you will not be disappointed. Bigger isn’t always better.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Y6372ipnathanh
Jun 6, 2025
Glacier hike and climb!! - From start to finish this tour with Kish from Ice Guardians was beyond exceptional. It was clear he cared about the quality experience and that no tour was the same. Unlike other tours with 12 - 20 people per guide as if on an assembly line at a factory. Kish was extremely knowledgeable, personable, and made the tour an absolute blast while ensuring our safety. There is no other company I will ever book with on my future trips to Iceland. This tour became the absolute highlight of our trip in Iceland and if you are considering Ice Guardians vs other operators I am telling with 100% certainty to book Ice Guardians.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Annecv6301wc
Nov 30, 2024
Amazing Glacier Experience - This hike was the coolest thing we did on our Iceland trip! Richard was a fantastic guide, super knowledgeable and considerate of our ability level. We felt incredibly safe throughout the whole experience. We were able to get up close to so many interesting ice structures, even going into some ice passageways. It was an unforgettable experience and can't recommend it enough.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
H9686wqkaylap
Nov 19, 2024
Amazing Glacier Hike! - This was an amazing experience and was the highlight of our trip to Iceland! Richard was an awesome guide and super knowledgable about the glacier. Being able to go deeper onto the glacier and see the different formations of ice was such a unique and fun experience- definitely recommend booking this hike!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Alejandro_c
Nov 18, 2024
Very good - We had a great time with our guide … away from the big groups …. I highly recommend if you want to have a better experience
Review provided by Viator
C45ffandrewg
Sep 10, 2024
Ice Guardians is your ticket to the glacier trip of a lifetime - This hike with Ice Guardians was the highlight of our trip to Iceland. Kish was an exemplary guide, had great equipment for us to use, and most impressively had an encyclopedic knowledge about all things glacier. If you are visiting Iceland and enjoy venturing into amazing landscapes you MUST make this glacier hike a priority. 10/10
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Belmmj
Aug 17, 2024
great adventure - A++. our family spent 2 days with Rich and Kish these 2 days were the highlight of our trip. did some glacier hiking, ice climbing and canyoning. would definitely look these guys us. we took a bunch of tours in iceland. these guys were BY FAR the best
Review provided by Tripadvisor
L5736qqterrim
Aug 11, 2024
Texans on a Hike - It was an incredible experience. We certainly could not have done it without our amazing guide Kish! He was able to expertly assess the pace needed for everyone in our group of 4 and was very accommodating. We also appreciated his focus on safety at al times! We loved that he was very enthusiastic about his job, and very knowledgeable about geological facts. He is a walking Wikipedia of information. We took away some lovely memories.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Joshua_v
May 27, 2024
Once in a lifetime experience - This review is a year in the making because I forgot to leave it. This was a once in a lifetime experience for us, not only was our guide professional, knowledgeable, and skilled. He was fun, energetic, and personable. He took us up and down the glacier, he showed us some of the ice caves that were forming and even found one in the middle of the glacier that we crawled through. When I come back to Iceland I will definitely be going with them again. They had all the necessary equipment and not once did I feel like anything was out of control or unnecessarily risky. It was fun, breathtaking, and rewarding. During the day we saw several pieces of ice fall and felt the reverberation of the impact in our bones and it was awe inspiring.
Review provided by Viator
Jorrits399
May 13, 2024
Adventurous Vatnajökull Glacier Hike - Kish took us onto the Vatnajökull Glacier on a bit of a cloady day. He fitted us crampons and gave us an ice axe. He showed us a multiple techniques on navigating / walking on the ice. We took the less touristy longer route onto the left side of the glacier. When we got closer to the ice falls he showed us how to ice climb, abseil, shuffle, etc. He is very knowledgable and was able to answer all our questions and even gave us tips for the rest of our Iceland journey.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
From $398
up to 4 guests
1 - Adult
Cancellation: Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start of your experience (local time).