How hard is it
How hard is a glacier hike in Iceland? An honest grade-by-grade answer
Operators use easy, moderate, advanced and extended, and none of the listings explains what those words cost you in effort. Here is what each grade actually asks, who gets turned round, and the part of the day that is harder than the ice.
Quick answer
An easy glacier hike in Iceland is easier than most people expect and needs no experience at all. If you can walk for three hours on uneven ground, you can do it. The grades above that are longer and steeper rather than more technical, and the hardest part of any of them is usually the loose moraine before you reach the ice.
The grades, at a glance
- Easy
- No experience neededthree hours, flatter lower ice
- Moderate / standard
- Some walking fitnessfour hours, a little more ascent
- Advanced
- Regular walkerfive hours, steeper and further up
- Extended
- Regular walkerfive hours, longer line across the ice
- XTreme
- Fit and confidentseven and a half hours, with a climb
- The crampon lesson
- About two minuteson every grade
- Hardest part
- The moraine, not the iceloose rock, before and after
- Minimum age
- Set per listingusually 8 to 12 on the easy routes
- Turned round
- For weather, not fitnessguides decide on the day
- Cancellation
- Free on all seventeenbooked through GetYourGuide
What each grade asks
In plain terms, with no marketing in it
Easy means easy. Advanced means longer and steeper, not technical.
Easy. A short approach, a route on the flatter lower part of the tongue, and a pace set by the slowest person. Three hours door to door, about two on the ice, very little ascent. If you walk to the shops and can manage uneven ground, this is within you. The easy Falljökull route at $101 has 1,674 ratings, which tells you how many ordinary people do it without difficulty.
Standard or moderate. Four hours, a bit further up, and usually a small group. Still nothing technical, just more of it.
Advanced. Five hours, further up into the broken part of the tongue, with real ascent and a group that keeps moving rather than stopping every few minutes. You should be someone who walks. Not someone who climbs — there is no technique here you will not learn on the day.
Extended. Also five hours, but the extra is distance across the ice rather than height. Easier on the legs than advanced, longer on the feet.
XTreme. Seven and a half hours, a full route and a climb on blue ice. This is the only listing here that genuinely asks for fitness, and it is priced and described accordingly.
The part nobody warns you about
The moraine, not the glacier
The ice is the easy ground. The rubble in front of it is not.
Almost everybody who finds a glacier walk hard finds the approach hard, not the ice.
Between the car park and the glacier there is a stretch of moraine: the rubble the ice has bulldozed ahead of itself and left behind as it retreated. It is loose, uneven, often wet, and there is no path in the proper sense — just a line worn by previous groups. Fifteen to thirty minutes of it, in each direction, usually with wind.
The ice itself, by contrast, is good ground. Crampons grip completely, the surface is solid, and the guide picks a line that avoids anything awkward. Many people say the glacier felt safer underfoot than the car park did.
The moraine also grows every year. These glaciers are retreating and the walk in gets longer each season, which is why a route described as a ten-minute approach five years ago is now twenty-five.
Every trip, current fare
Every walk, by length
Length is the fairest proxy for effort here. The grade tells you how steep; the hours tell you how much.
| Hike | Length | Price | Glacier | Cost per hour | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vatnajokull: Skaftafell Glacier HikeThe cheapest guided walk on the ice | 3 h | $91 | Vatnajökull | $30.33 | 4.5 · 93 |
| Skaftafell: Falljokull Glacier Easy Group HikeThe easy Falljökull group hike, 1,674 reviews | 3 h | $101 | Falljökull | $33.67 | 4.6 · 1,674 |
| Sólheimajökull: Guided Glacier HikeThe closest glacier to Reykjavík | 3 h | $107 | Sólheimajökull | $35.67 | 4.6 · 3 |
| From Reykjavík: Waterfalls, Black Beach & Glacier Day TripWaterfalls, black beach and a glacier, rated 4.9 | 12 h | $136 | Sólheimajökull | $11.33 | 4.9 · 502 |
| Jökulsárlón: Vatnajökull Glacier Guided Hiking TourVatnajökull from the lagoon side | 4.5 h | $140 | Vatnajökull | $31.11 | 4.8 · 1,054 |
| Skaftafell: Half-Day Vatnajökull National Park Glacier HikeHalf a day in the national park, small group | 4 h | $153 | Vatnajökull | $38.25 | 5.0 · 143 |
| Skaftafell: Ice Cave Tour and Glacier HikeA glacier walk and an ice cave, most reviewed here | 4 h | $153 | Falljökull | $38.25 | 4.5 · 1,962 |
| Skaftafell National Park: Falljokull Glacier Advanced HikeThe advanced Falljökull route | 5 h | $155 | Falljökull | $31.00 | 4.8 · 1,181 |
| Skaftafell Glacier Explorer - Extended Small Group TrekFive hours and a longer route on the ice | 5 h | $158 | Vatnajökull | $31.60 | 4.8 · 375 |
| From Reykjavik: South Coast & Glacier HikeThe south coast day with a glacier walk in it | 12 h | $186 | Sólheimajökull | $15.50 | 4.8 · 504 |
| Reykjavík: Glacier Hike, Waterfalls, & Black Sand BeachGlacier, waterfalls and Reynisfjara in twelve hours | 12 h | $191 | Sólheimajökull | $15.92 | 4.7 · 120 |
| Reykjavík: Sólheimajökull Glacier Hike & Ice Climbing IntroA walk plus a first go at ice climbing | 5.5 h | $199 | Sólheimajökull | $36.18 | 4.8 · 458 |
| Skaftafell: Glacier XTreme - Hike & Ice Climbing AdventureThe longest day on the ice here | 7.5 h | $230 | Falljökull | $30.67 | 4.9 · 83 |
| Sólheimajökull Ice Climbing TourIce climbing on Sólheimajökull, no walk | 4 h | $273 | Sólheimajökull | $68.25 | 4.8 · 52 |
| Glacier Hike, South Coast Iceland, Black Beach & Sky LagoonGlacier, black beach and a hot lagoon to finish | 10 h | $287 | Sólheimajökull | $28.70 | 5.0 · 5 |
| From Reykjavik: Fire And Ice Helicopter Tour with 2 LandingsTwo glacier landings by helicopter | 2 h | $913 | Two landings | $456.50 | 4.7 · 158 |
| Reykjavík: South Coast Glacier Private ExpeditionA private twelve-hour south coast expedition | 12 h | $1,803 | South coast | $150.25 | New |
Who should book which
Six honest answers
Nobody is going to stop you booking above your level. It is worth stopping yourself.
- If you have never been on ice
Book easy. It shows you exactly the same glacier, the same crevasses and the same blue, and you will spend the time looking rather than concentrating.
- If you walk regularly
Advanced or extended. Five hours, more ground, and a group that moves. This is where the walk stops being a photo opportunity and becomes a day out.
- If you have knee trouble
The moraine is the problem, not the ice. Ask the operator how long the approach is this season — it changes yearly and they know it precisely.
- If you are not sure about heights
Nothing here is exposed in the climbing sense. You walk beside crevasses, not across them, and the guide keeps the group well back from anything with a drop.
- If you are travelling with a mixed group
Easy, and a small-group listing if you can. Capped groups move at a more forgiving pace than full ones.
- If you want to be pushed
XTreme at Skaftafell: seven and a half hours and a climb. It is the only listing here that is genuinely demanding.
Common questions
Glacier hike difficulty, answered
How hard is a glacier hike in Iceland?
The easy grade is easier than most people expect: three hours, very little ascent and no experience needed. Advanced and extended are longer and steeper but still not technical.
Do you need to be fit for a glacier hike?
For the easy routes, no more than for a three-hour walk on uneven ground. For the seven-and-a-half-hour XTreme route, yes.
What is the hardest part of a glacier hike?
The moraine before the ice: fifteen to thirty minutes of loose rubble with no real path. The glacier itself is better ground because crampons grip completely.
Is a glacier hike scary?
Not usually. You walk beside crevasses rather than across them and the guide keeps the group well back from anything with a drop. The first fifty metres in crampons feel strange and then stop.
What is the minimum age?
Set per listing rather than by law, usually between eight and twelve on the easy routes and higher on the climbing ones. Check the specific tour.
Can you turn back if it is too much?
Guides will accommodate it, but on a small group it affects everyone, so be honest about the grade when you book rather than on the ice.
Go deeper
More on walking on an Icelandic glacier
What a glacier hike in Iceland costs
Seventeen walks priced per person and per hour, from $91 to $1,803.
SkaftafellThe Skaftafell glacier hike
Falljokull and Vatnajokull from the national park, and which route is which.
VerdictThe best glacier hike in Iceland
Seventeen walks ranked for one decision, with a straight answer at the end.
SolheimajokullSolheimajokull glacier hike
The closest glacier to Reykjavik, and the one most day tours actually use.
Glacier walksGlacier walks in Iceland
What a guided walk on the ice involves, and how it differs from a hike.
FalljokullThe Falljokull glacier hike
Easy, advanced and extended on the same tongue of ice — the real difference.
