Glacier Hike from Skaftafell - Extra Small Group
Recommended by 100% of travelers
Skaftafell, Iceland
- 3 hours (approx.)
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
Many glacier tours in Vatnajökull National Park require travelers to walk from the parking lot to the glacier terminus, eating into their time on the ice. On this tour, maximize your time on Falljökull glacier by traveling as near as possible in a four-wheel-drive vehicle. Explore moulins, crevasses, and other formations in the company of an Association of Icelandic Mountain Guides-certified guide.
- Enjoy an exhilarating glacier hike in Vatnajökull National Park
- Certified guides share safety information and insights
- Avoid the crowds with an evening departure (June–August only)
- A small group ensures personalized attention
What's Included
- Helmets, Harness, Crampons & Ice Axe
- Weather dependent clothing
- Hiking boots (Minimum size needed for our crampons is size 34 EUR)
- Sunglasses
- Backpack with extra clothing layers, bottle of water and small snacks.
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- Skaftafell Terminal - Tour CenterFlugvallarvegur 5, 785 Öræfi, Iceland
The meeting point is at Skaftafell Terminal Tour Center (Skaftafell Airport). Skaftafell Terminal Tour Center is OUTSIDE of the National Park. Please arrive 10 minutes prior to starting time. Bring clothing according to weather.
End point
This activity ends back at the meeting point.Itinerary
1
Falljökull
3 hours • Admission Ticket Free
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Not wheelchair accessible
- No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
- Most travelers can participate
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 8 travelers
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Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Featured review
Matthew_B
Our tour began the morning after a bad storm of wind and rain all night. We arrived and found that my wife and I were the only two people going as the others had canceled from the bad weather with traveling.
Our tour guide was Uri, and he was absolutely excellent. He gave us the rundown on the plan and was very efficient with getting all the gear sized and equipped.
We drove in an old school Range Rover right to the base of the glacier, and we're the first ones to arrive. We got a very generous amount of time on the glacier by ourselves! And Uri was extremely happy to answer any and all of our questions about the glacier and the land formations around it.
Though he told us he was not a glaciologist, he's definitely got an honorary title from us, because his knowledge and excitement to talk about it, and educate us had no bounds.
He made sure to stop and give us tips on making it across some challenging stretches of terrain, keeping us confident and enjoying the beauty of Skaftafell.
We were even lucky to get to climb through a small ice tunnel on our ascent, which he was more than happy to film for us!
And before beginning our journey back down, we asked if there was a place to try that famous Icelandic Glacier Water.
He took us to just the place and it was flawless, and quite refreshing.
On top of knowledge about the glacier, Uri was overall an excellent conversationalist; and a very nice guy to get to know for the time we were there.
We had the most amazing time, and I would recommend Uri to anyone hoping to see, and climb Skaftafell, we will never forget it!
Reviews
5.0
based on 497 reviews
Sort by: Most insightful
Arthur_H, Aug 2026
Fantastic experience! This is the company to go with. Only 6 people in our group and they drive you to the base of the glacier while others are hiking in. So you get to spend the majority of your time hiking on the glacier rather than getting there. Excellent guide was very helpful! Best experience of our Iceland vacation!
Sue_H, Aug 2026
Small tour with only our family of four (max of 8). Jeep took us to the base of the glacier, so we could spend more time on the glacier. Willy was an excellent guide who taught us about the glacier and took us to special features like a newly forming waterfall.
Shauna_T, Jul 2026
Such a unique, fun, and educational experience! Especially happy we booked the this tour because we did not have to trek back to the vehicle in the rain!
Kendra_H, Jul 2026
This hike was amazing! Seeing the glacier up close was fantastic. Our tour guide was knowledgeable and very attentive to our safety.
Genelle_G, May 2026
Took the first hike of the day and with the extra small group. So glad we did as large groups were pouring in as we were ending our hike. Jose was a great guide, informative and took us all around before the large groups arrived. Very memorable and so glad we were able to do this on a great weather day.
Sarah_L, May 2026
This was a true bucket-list experience with Mikhail. He was very knowledgeable and adjusted the hike based on our ability levels (high) so we fit a lot into the three hours. Absolutely recommend!!
Rachel_B, May 2026
This was really cool and absolutely a must-do experience. We were able to drive right to the base of the glacier and spent over two hours hiking around on it, exploring crevasses, taking pictures, and learning a lot of interesting glacier info from our guide (shoutout to Mikhail who was amazing!). It was great having a small group (there were 7 of us), so we were able to spend all our time hiking instead of waiting around. Would definitely do this again!
Donna_R, May 2026
Antoine was a great guide. He was very knowledgeable and accommodating. He went above and beyond during the tour experience. He made the experience more enjoyable.
Wilfred_v, Apr 2026
We wanted to do a glacier walk and choose for merakki because they do small groups and they were very helpfull in the chat. We went up the glacier around 9.00 AM with a 4x4 and at the bottom of the glacier we started putting on the clampons. The hike was beautiful, we were there alone, enjoying the enormous ice sheets and beautiful caves and crevasses in the glacier. Our guide took the time to explane everything about the glacier we wanted to know and he was really patiënt. After a 2 hour hike we returned at the base.
Matthew_B, Apr 2026
Our tour began the morning after a bad storm of wind and rain all night. We arrived and found that my wife and I were the only two people going as the others had canceled from the bad weather with traveling.
Our tour guide was Uri, and he was absolutely excellent. He gave us the rundown on the plan and was very efficient with getting all the gear sized and equipped.
We drove in an old school Range Rover right to the base of the glacier, and we're the first ones to arrive. We got a very generous amount of time on the glacier by ourselves! And Uri was extremely happy to answer any and all of our questions about the glacier and the land formations around it.
Though he told us he was not a glaciologist, he's definitely got an honorary title from us, because his knowledge and excitement to talk about it, and educate us had no bounds.
He made sure to stop and give us tips on making it across some challenging stretches of terrain, keeping us confident and enjoying the beauty of Skaftafell.
We were even lucky to get to climb through a small ice tunnel on our ascent, which he was more than happy to film for us!
And before beginning our journey back down, we asked if there was a place to try that famous Icelandic Glacier Water.
He took us to just the place and it was flawless, and quite refreshing.
On top of knowledge about the glacier, Uri was overall an excellent conversationalist; and a very nice guy to get to know for the time we were there.
We had the most amazing time, and I would recommend Uri to anyone hoping to see, and climb Skaftafell, we will never forget it!
Julie_B, Sep 2025
Best tour ever. Havi was such a good guide! We were safe, but also had fun and learned a lot. Small group.
Debra_T, Sep 2025
I loved our small group! Only 4 of us with our guide. We went at our own pace. But what I am thankful for is that this company drives to the base of the glacier, where we saw other companies and everyone was hiking in to get to our starting point. After being at base, it is still a hike getting to the point of actually being on the ice. It is quite a steep hike at times. It was a great experience but you do need some physical capabilities... this hike is not for everyone. They say it's easy in advertisement but easy is different for everyone. I highly recommend - do the adventure!
Steve_B, Aug 2025
Great experience! Everyone in our entire family enjoyed all aspects of the trip. Kate was a fabulous guide.
Rosanna_S, Jul 2025
This was an incredible experience. Our guide was knowledgeable, safety conscious, and connected really well with our child, making her feel welcome and kept her involved the whole tour.
Melissa_B, Jun 2025
Wonderful tour with a terrific guide! Kate was delightful. The small group was perfect. Strongly recommend the first tour of the morning.
Michelle_M, Jun 2025
Amazing time and Javi was incredible! He was very knowledgeable and had a great sense of humor! The view was spectacular and it was so much fun! A must do! The jeep ride was a blast too!
Hana_K, Apr 2025
We had a great time in a small group, lead by Javi. It was not only stunning, but also very informative. Javi took us off the beaten path to show us a place where no one else goes. Slightly adventurous, but managable.
Barbara_B, Oct 2024
We loved our hike. We got clear instructions on use of the crampons and what to expect on the glacier. We especially liked looking into the crevasse. One of our favorite activities in Iceland.
Ling_S, Sep 2024
Kallia was our guide for this tour. She was wonderful and gave us so much insight on the glaciers. We didn’t have a large group like the other tours we saw which gave us a more personalized experience. We had a great time exploring the beautiful glacier, taking time to take in the scenery, trying the refreshing glacial water. It was a memorable experience, highly recommend.
TAHEREH_F, Sep 2024
Love the guide , she was very knowledgeable, took her time to explain everything. Love the small groups. Unfortunately I’m not good with names 🫣 our guide she’s from Greece and her name starts with K.
Denise_H, Sep 2024
Kate was an amazing guide. This small group tour is definitely the way to go. She chatted with all of us, gave super interesting facts, made sure we were super comfortable and gave us a "Viking" drinking experience if glacier water. Think push ups on ice ax over glacier water. It was an absolutely amazing experience. Highly recommend
Ekaterina_B, Aug 2024
The hike is really worth it. We truly had a very small group comparing to other providers on the glacier. Small group means more attention and more tailored experience! Our guide Funny was really great too - informative, attentive and kind. We spent quite a lot of time on the ice and managed to do some entertaining stuff
Percy_B, Aug 2024
It was an awesome 3 hour hike. Kate, our guide was wonderful. Weather is very important and we were lucky to have a sunny TShirt day. The total members in group were seven. First you try the equipment. Then a small jeep ride all the way to the base of the glacier saving 20 minutes of additional hike each way. Then you begin the hike, put on the crampons a little further in. Kate helped with the pictures, made sure all in the group were doing fine and was very good. She took us to the right points on the glacier. There is a longer tour but we felt 3 hours was ideal for us. There is free WC at the checkin office. Their prices are fair.
Mandy_W, Aug 2024
Awesome tour of the glacier in Iceland! We had a great time together as 8 adults/family traveling together through Iceland. This was a bit intimidating to some members in our group, but our guide did a great job making everyone feel comfortable and created a memorable experience hiking on a glacier. 10/10 would recommend!
Kimman_L, Aug 2024
The coach is very professional and experienced, therefore I felt safe walking around. We had lots of fun reaching up the glacier. We all enjoyed tasting the glacier water and could see the amazing view of the glacier when standing there.
Yuko_H, Aug 2024
What an amazing experience we had! Our guide, Javi, was a wonderful guide. He made sure that we feel safe, was knowledgeable, engaging, passionate, fun and kind. What a great tour we had! Thank you, Melrakki Adventures!
Paul_A, Aug 2024
Had a fantastic time. Our guide was really friendly and knowledgeable. Would really recommend this experience.
Rob_Z, Aug 2024
Great tour and hike on the glacier! Jose was an excellent guide. This was our first time on a glacier and Jose was very in explaining how to equip and use our gear. It was also especially nice having a very small group (there were only 6 of us) and being able to drive so close to the glacier rather than hiking for 20 minutes from the bus parking area.
Tanya_S, Jul 2024
Just book it, no question! We had an amazing experience and a great time. Kallia was wonderful. She was very knowledgeable and educated us about the glaciers past and present day. Kept it lively. She also instructed us on how to be safe during our hiking adventure.
Christine_K, Jul 2024
Our guide, Kallia, was very informative and helpful. I learned so much about our surroundings. She made sure to show us many different features of a glacier, made sure everyone was comfortable and enjoying their time. The tour was pretty tame, so most folks with any physical ability could participate. I was on a 9am tour and highly recommend this since we were the first ones on the glacier. By the time we came down around 12, there were many tour groups on the glacier. I also appreciated the small-group experience because some groups are 12 or more people and having only 6 (our tour wasn’t full - that would be 8) was great!
From $156.00
per personup to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
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Glacier Hike from Skaftafell - Extra Small Group
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