Skaftafell: Ice Cave & Glacier Hike with Certified Guide

4.78

(227 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

"That’s the cave? Seriously?" I asked, squinting at what just looked like a blue crack in the glacier. Our guide, Kristján, grinned and shrugged like he’d heard it a hundred times. We’d started out from Skaftafell early, boots squeaking in the cold, everyone fumbling with harnesses and crampons. There was this weird hush over everything—like even the wind was holding its breath. I kept sniffing the air because it smelled so clean it almost burned.

The hike up Vatnajökull wasn’t easy but not as brutal as I’d feared (I mean, I’m not exactly an athlete). Kristján stopped now and then to show us these wild ice formations—one looked like frozen waves mid-crash. He told us how the glacier moves every year, carving new paths. There was this moment when my foot slipped a little on the crunchy snow and he just calmly pointed out how to dig in with the crampons—no drama, just Icelandic chill. And then suddenly we were at that blue crack.

Inside the ice cave…honestly, I still can’t describe that color. It’s not just blue—it glows somehow? My breath fogged up my glasses and I nearly tripped over my own feet staring up at the ceiling. Someone laughed behind me; maybe it was nervous energy or just awe. The air felt colder but also kind of alive in there. Afterward Kristján handed out coffee and chocolate (which tasted way better than usual), and we all stood around grinning like idiots while snowflakes started falling outside again.