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Vatnajokull, Vatnajokull National Park

4.8
#3 of 10 in Parks in Vatnajokull National Park
World heritage site · Geologic Formation · Nature / Park
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Go for a hike on Vatnajokull, and visit the ice caves with blue ice and views of the glacier from the inside. Under the ice cap of the biggest glacier in Europe lie several active volcanoes and an ice cavern system that is several kilometers long. The surrounding landscape is dotted with black volcanic rocks showing through the white snow. Try ice climbing, or sail up to the glacier and around the icebergs in a speedboat. Watch seals swimming around the ice blocks, which are moving down the channel to the sea. Wear ice shoes with spikes, and bring a hot-water bottle with you. For Vatnajokull and beyond, use our Vatnajokull National Park trip itinerary builder app to get the most from your Vatnajokull National Park vacation.
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Vatnajokull reviews

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303 reviews
Google
4.8
TripAdvisor
  • Recently came here to visit and see some of the glaciers. Very beautiful views, very nice experience! There was a lot of cold wind, which is normal. Highlt recommended 
    Recently came here to visit and see some of the glaciers. Very beautiful views, very nice experience! There was a lot of cold wind, which is normal. Highlt recommended  more »
  • This glacier is huge! The best way to see it is a flightseeing tour which I took. The pilot flew over top the glacier to the highest points of the volcanoes underneath the ice sheet then down to... 
    This glacier is huge! The best way to see it is a flightseeing tour which I took. The pilot flew over top the glacier to the highest points of the volcanoes underneath the ice sheet then down to...  more »
Google
  • My favorite experience in Iceland. The Blue Lagoon comes in at a close second, but nothing can compare to walking through these ice caves as the rapids that carved them rush past you. The meeting point was across from Diamond Beach, and had a cute little mini hike up and down some hills to overlook a lagoon. As we waited for the tour, we saw a few seals swimming about! 🦭 The tour started with jumping in these giant jeeps which made for an incredibly fun off roading adventure to the start of the hike. (See the 7th picture). Our tour guide's father started this ice cave tour company originally when him and his buddies made these cars in their garages for off-roading on the weekends. Then there sparked interest in these cars as a business. They started giving tours to hard to get to places (like the ice caves). Today they even use the cars to drive actors and movie production teams around Iceland for filming! A lot of movies in space or other worlds were filmed in Iceland, like The Martian and Game of Thrones 👑 . The jeeps could only drop us off so far, so we had to hike to the ice cave. (See last photo). It was about a mile away, but the views of the glacier getting larger and looming over us as we approached made it all the more impressive. Actually entering the ice caves, well have a look at the photos above ☺️. The first two pictures are towards the entrance of the cave. The 3rd picture was of our guide, Finn 🤣. The next photos are as we got deeper in the cave. The 6th photo was one of my favorites as it's in the deepest part of the cave with the rapids rushing by.
  • Ever wondered how amazing it would feel to sail across Europe's biggest glacier??? The most best part of the visit to this glacier was spotting 3 cute seals napping on a small log of ice and sailing away at their own pace🥺 Spotted a few puffins😍 This place is a must visit for all those beautiful shades of blue ice!! Was very sad to know though that the glacier is retreating every year by 200-300 meters !!

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