Take a scenic helicopter ride over Europe’s biggest glacier – Vatnajokull – and get amazed by the sparkling crystal blue colors of our secret glacier ice cave.
Highlights
- Skaftafell Nature Reserve
- Crystal Blue Secret Ice Cave
- Skeiðárjökull glacier
- Vatnajokull National Park
About Tour
Ice Cave & Helicopter tour from Skaftafell
Climb into a helicopter and get ready for a thrilling Ice Cave Tour. You’ll go up to the largest glacier in Europe, Vatnajökull, before descending into a natural crystal blue ice – one of the world’s most unique underground structures. The ice cave is not accessible by foot so it’s our hidden ice cave.
Here is a snapshot of your travel itinerary for this exhilarating helicopter & ice cave tour.
Itinerary
Fly over the vast ice-capped landscape for an ice cave tour with this tour starting from Skaftafell Nature Reserve.
Arrive at the Skaftfell Terminal
The tour departs from Skaftafell in south Iceland. Skaftafell is considered to be one of the most beautiful places of Iceland. When you arrive in Skaftafell, you’ll meet your flight captain and an expert glacier guide. The pilot will brief you about the flying route and provide a small safety training session. Whether you love the roaring sound of a helicopter or want to put a noise-canceling headphone to immerse yourself in the magical view completely, the tour operator ensures a comfortable journey for both.
Fly over Europe's largest glacier, Vatnajokull
Once seated in the helicopter, you will have a scenic view of the vast glacier that takes almost 8% of Iceland’s landmass. The glacier insight is Vatnajokull. Instead of climbing or doing strenuous hiking in the cold environment, you will measure the vastness with your eyes—the helicopter heads for a glacier outlet of Vatnajokull, Skeiðarárjökull glacier.
You’ll disembark and trek a short distance to the entrance of our secret ice cave after landing.
Put your gear on for an ice cave tour
The ice cave guide provides all of the necessary glacier gear (such as helmets, crampons, and harnesses) to ensure that you have everything you need. In addition, the guide will ensure you have the proper safety and walking equipment for a safe and enjoyable ice tunnel exploration.
Visit the Skeiðarárjökull glacier
Sine you will be traveling to the glacier in a helicopter, you are able to get much better view than if you are glacier hiking. You’ll be able to stand upright in the ice cave as your guide takes you further along the freezing path through the cave’s mouth. Sapphire blue’s glittering crystalline colors are adorned with brilliant patterns and structures that resemble ice crystals. The tour guide does everything to convey the serenity and awe the feel while exploring inside the glacier, but it isn’t easy to put into words. The views from the glacier over the surrounding area is also magnificent.
Once the ice-cave exploration is complete, ride once again in the helicopter to reach the Skaftafell Terminal.
Included
- Helicopter tour with a professional pilot.
- Ice Cave tour to a 100% natural crystal ice cave.
- Noise cancelling headsets during the helicopter ride
- All necessary glacier equipment – helmet, crampons, harness, ice axe, etc.
- Professional glacier guide.
- Free parking at Skaftafell terminal.
Highlights
What to bring
- Synthetic or wool for the base and mid layers.
- Warm sweater.
- Waterproof jacket and pants.
- Headwear and gloves.
- Warm socks.
- Hiking boots.
- Regular street shoes, sneakers or jeans are not recommended on this trip.
Good to know
- The minimum age for this tour is 14 years.
- The tour guide provides all the necessary equipment and gear for glacier visit
- We have a minimum of 4 people to book the tour so it will be operated. However, fewer people can book the tour and we will do our best to combine you with other bookings at the same time.
- We recommend that you come well prepared for the tour and dress according to the weather – see what to bring below.
- The tour guide will do everything that they must do to make sure that the tour is operated safely.
- Since the ice cave that you will be visiting is 100% natural it can change over time. This means that the ice cave might not look exactly the same as on the photos you see before the tour. The ice caves are always beautiful and unique, natural, and crystal blue in color.
- The duration of the tour is around around 1,5 hours.
- This is a self drive tour, which means that you will have to meet your tour guide at Skaftafell Nature Reserve – see map below.
- The driving time from Reykjavik to Skaftafell is approximately 4 hour 15 minutes – see the route here.
- We can recommend interesting things to explore on the way and accommodation in the area. Send us email to info@icelandtravelguide.is
- A certified helicopter and glacier guide will be with you on this tour.
- For this helicopter tour we have a cancellation fee of 10% if cancelled 14 days or less before the tour and 50% if cancelled 3 days or less before the tour. The cancellation fee is 100% if you cancel less than 1 day before the tour.
