In summer
Most people assume glaciers are a winter activity and book accordingly. It is the wrong way round. Summer strips the snow off the ice and exposes everything that makes a glacier worth walking on, and the days are long enough to do it properly.
Quick answer
Summer is the better season for the ice itself. From roughly May to September the previous winter’s snow has melted off the surface, exposing bare glacier: crevasses, runnels, moulins, ash bands and blue meltwater channels, all visible. In winter the same glacier is under snow, which is beautiful and hides all of it. Every walk on this site runs in summer.
Why summer shows you more
Winter covers the glacier. Summer exposes it. Both are good; they are not the same.
A glacier has two very different appearances and they alternate annually.
In winter, snow accumulates on the surface. It fills the runnels, bridges the smaller crevasses and covers the ash bands, and what you walk on is a smooth white field with the glacier somewhere underneath. It looks magnificent in photographs and it hides the structure completely. It also means guides keep routes shorter and more conservative, because a snow-bridged crevasse is exactly the hazard they are paid to avoid.
In summer, that snow melts off and the bare ice is exposed. Now you can see how the glacier is built: the parallel runnels cut by meltwater, the blue channels running through them, the black ash bands from past eruptions, and the crevasses open and visible with their blue depths. Guides can take longer lines because they can see what they are walking on.
That is the whole argument, and it surprises people every time: if the ice is what you came for, come in summer. If the aurora and the ice caves are what you came for, come in winter and do a shorter walk while you are there.
Month by month
The differences inside the season are smaller than the difference between summer and winter, but they are real.
Jun – Jul
The longest days of the year, with usable light around the clock and the sun barely setting in June. Bare ice fully exposed, every route running, and the longer walks at their best. Also the busiest weeks, and the capped small groups fill up a week or more ahead.
Aug – Sep
Still bare ice, still long days, and noticeably fewer people than July. By September the nights are dark enough for the aurora to start appearing, which makes this the one window where you can have both the exposed ice and a chance of a green sky.
May
Snow melting off the surface through the month, so the ice gets better week by week. Fewer people, cheaper accommodation, and a genuine chance of being on a route with nobody else on it.
Oct
The bare ice is still exposed for much of the month and the aurora season has begun, but the days shorten fast and weather cancels more often. The long routes start disappearing from the schedule.
Every trip, current fare
Prices do not change by season here. What changes is how much of the glacier you can see and how long the routes can be.
| 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 |
The one thing summer does not have is an ice cave. Those are winter-only, and one listing here pairs a walk with one.
Skaftafell in full→Summer practicalities
Same walk, different day.
On the ice in July it is around five to ten degrees and the wind is the issue. A waterproof shell does more than a thick coat, and you will probably carry the fleece rather than wear it.
Bare ice under a high sun is genuinely dazzling, and in June that sun is up for twenty hours. This is the one piece of kit people forget most often.
Eight walks here limit numbers and July and August fill them. Free cancellation means an early booking costs nothing.
With light until midnight, an evening walk is entirely practical and far quieter than the midday slots.
None of the driving on this page is difficult in summer. Skaftafell is four straightforward hours from Reykjavík on a main road.
Not on the ice, but at some of the car parks and lakes in still weather. A head net costs very little and takes no room.
Common questions
Yes. Every walk on this site runs in summer, and summer is the better season for the ice itself because the winter snow has melted off and the bare glacier is exposed.
Summer, if the glacier is the point: you can see the crevasses, runnels and blue channels that snow hides. Winter, if you want an ice cave and the aurora as part of the trip.
Around five to ten degrees, colder than the car park because the glacier makes its own wind. A waterproof windproof shell matters more than insulation.
Yes, and that is exactly the point. In winter they are often bridged with snow and invisible; in summer they are open and blue and the guide can show you one safely.
Yes, particularly July and August. Book the capped small groups a week or more ahead, and consider an evening departure — with light until midnight they are entirely practical.
Not meaningfully on this page. What changes is availability of the small groups and how much of the glacier you can see.
Go deeper
Seventeen walks priced per person and per hour, from $91 to $1,803.
SkaftafellFalljokull and Vatnajokull from the national park, and which route is which.
VerdictSeventeen walks ranked for one decision, with a straight answer at the end.
SolheimajokullThe closest glacier to Reykjavik, and the one most day tours actually use.
Glacier walksWhat a guided walk on the ice involves, and how it differs from a hike.
FalljokullEasy, advanced and extended on the same tongue of ice — the real difference.
Skaftafell: Ice Cave Tour and Glacier Hike
★ 4.5 · 1,962 reviews · Free cancellation 24 h