A must-visit wonderland in a lifetime！ Winter-exclusive Icelandic attractions & the dreamlike "Blue Ice Caves"

Text and photos by /Kavanah

(2017.01.26) The Blue Ice Cave (Ice Cave) is a winter-exclusive attraction in Iceland and the very reason this trip came to be. I think I’ll never forget January 26, 2017—on this day, I fulfilled a year-long obsession, realized my dream of entering a blue ice cave, and even witnessed what seemed like a goddess appearing in the sky over the Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon that evening... It was undoubtedly the most spectacular and unforgettable day of my trip to Iceland.

Several guide companies offer tours to the Blue Ice Cave (Ice Cave). This time, we joined Guide to Iceland’s “Inside the largest glacier in Europe” (Explore Inside Europe’s Largest Glacier), whose basic details, rules, and fees are as follows:

Tour period: November to March each year.
Duration: 3 hours and 15 minutes.
Departure times: 10:00, 13:30, and 16:30 daily.
Cost: 19,500 ISK.
Equipment provided: crampons, protective helmets.

Official website:Explore Blue Ice Caves - Journey Inside Europe’s Largest Glacier | Guide to Iceland.

While preparing for the trip, I found that tours to the Blue Ice Caves basically fall into two types: one is a dedicated Blue Ice Cave tour, and the other combines glacier hiking with a Blue Ice Cave visit (such as this 4x4 Super Jeep & Glacier Explore Tour - Glacieradventure.is). When faced with such options, many might choose the “two-for-one” (and possibly more economical) Blue Ice Cave plus glacier hike option.

At the time, I didn’t look into it too carefully—I just really wanted to go on a longer glacier hike and spend more time inside the Blue Ice Cave, so I signed up for two separate tours. Later, after returning, I read an article from an Icelandic travel group and realized that the glacier hike plus ice cave guided tour doesn’t visit the largest Blue Ice Cave but rather a smaller one. That smaller cave was nowhere near as impressive as the big ones, and I’m really glad I didn’t opt for the combined glacier hike and ice cave tour just to save money.

Tours that focus solely on the Blue Ice Caves come in two types:

1. A more affordable, shorter option that visits the “crystal” Blue Ice Cave near Jökulsárlón Lake (which is the one I went on).

There are several companies that offer trips to “crystal,” such asGuide to Iceland’s Explore Blue Ice Caves - Journey Inside Europe’s Largest Glacier | Guide to Icelandor Glacier Adventure’s Ice Cave Tour Vatnajökull | Natural Ice Cave - Glacier Adventure.

2. A pricier, longer tour that visits ice caves in the more central area of the Vatnajökull ice cap, such asGlacier Adventure’s Blue Ice Cave tour in Iceland - Glacieradventure.is.

The Blue Ice Caves to be visited are located beneath the Vatnajökull ice cap, and the meeting point is at the Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon.

After arriving at Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon (Jökulsárlón), I initially thought the meeting point would be at the Jökulsárlón visitor center. But after going inside and not finding any Guide to Iceland staff, we panicked and started searching everywhere. Eventually, we spotted a car with the Guide to Iceland logo parked in the lot, so we quickly approached and asked. They told us we were indeed in the right place, but it wasn’t our group yet—our ride would arrive shortly.

Relieved to have found the right spot, we first went to the shore of Jökulsárlón to take some photos and returned to where we’d seen the Guide to Iceland vehicle when it was almost time to meet.

This high-clearance jeep was our ride for the day!

Once everyone had arrived, we set off Up！ We drove across the bridge spanning Jökulsárlón and continued onward before soon turning right onto a small side road.

The road was incredibly bumpy—not something you’d want to drive on in anything but a specialized off-road jeep like this one！

Along the way, we passed a glacial lake. At first, I thought it was the Fjallsárlón Glacial Lagoon we had visited that morning, but then I realized this one was much larger. Later, after checking the map, I found that this glacial lake doesn’t even show up on Google Maps.

Topographic map of the area near Jökulsárlón. The larger one on the right is Jökulsárlón, and the smaller one on the left is Fjallsárlón Glacial Lagoon, but you can't see the glacial lake we passed by.

However, if you look at the satellite view, you’ll notice there’s actually another lake between Jökulsárlón and Fjallsárlón Glacial Lagoon. This lake seems to be connected to Fjallsárlón Glacial Lagoon by a small river, but Google Maps doesn’t label this lake. For convenience, I’ll refer to the glacial lake we’ll be seeing throughout as the “nameless glacial lake.”

The road conditions here are extremely poor and very bumpy (our guide later told us we were actually driving on gravel accumulated on the glacier), so you have to be careful not to bite your tongue while talking.

After driving for over twenty minutes, we gradually approached the edge of Vatnajökull glacier. In the distance, you could see a few cars and a group of people — it looked like that was our destination.

Looking back at the “road” we had just driven on, it turns out we were actually driving on top of the glacier itself. No wonder the road surface was so bad. Locals say it’s not hard to find, but don’t risk driving here by yourself.

After getting out of the car, the guide asked us to put on protective helmets, then demonstrated how to put on the crampons.

Unlike glacier hiking tours, which involve long periods of walking on glaciers, the ice cave tour only requires short time on the ice, so the crampons provided are simplified — you just slip them on.

Once we had all put on the crampons, the guide gathered everyone to explain the precautions and meeting times. He said, “I have to say this now because once we get inside the ice cave, everyone will just go ‘wow wow wow!’ and no one will listen to me!” XD.

Sign before entering the ice cave, reminding everyone that proper gear is mandatory for entering the ice cave.

Then it was a short walk before we entered the ice cave. Up we go !

Wow ! Wow ! Wow !

Wow ! Wow ! Wow ! Wow ! Wow ! Wow ! Wow ! Wow ! Wow !

Just as the guide said, everyone was incredibly excited, dancing around just like I was.

How could you not be excited, right?

The deepest part of the ice cave.

The only downside might be that there were just too many visitors that day — no matter how you take the photo, there’s always someone in it.

This one’s my favorite, because the sense of enclosure in the ice cave is so strong !

After some time, the guide gathered everyone who had finished their “wow wow wows” and taken enough photos, and explained the formation of the blue ice cave. He also told us that the meltwater here is drinkable, and that it has anti-aging effects. But be careful not to drink too much, or you’ll turn into a baby ( ??? ).

After visiting the ice cave, we still had some time, so we went for a walk outside the cave.

Walking on the glacier above the ice cave — this is the edge of Vatnajökull, the largest glacier in Iceland.

The mountains in the distance were incredibly beautiful, and the weather had turned out really nice. It felt truly lucky to enjoy the glacier’s beauty in such good weather.

Let’s try a different angle.

The guide shouted, “There’s a rainbow!” and told us to go take a look quickly XD.

Time was running out, so we slowly left the glacier and the entrance of the ice cave, and headed back to the car.

After taking off our gear and getting back in the car, we prepared to return to Jökulsárlón glacial lagoon.

Along the way, the guide let us off near the nameless glacial lake to enjoy the beautiful sunset.

This was the best-weather day of the five we’d spent in Iceland. To be able to visit the blue ice cave in such great weather was truly, truly lucky.

The weather was super nice !

Magical hour — truly dreamlike.

Scenery seen along the way back from Jökulsárlón glacial lagoon.

After seeing the blue ice caves and the beautiful sunset over the glacier lagoon, we were completely satisfied, but little did we know that this beautiful day wasn't over yet. The later it got, the more beautiful it became, and the night brought even more excitement.

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