Sólheimajökull
Sólheimajökull glacier hike: the one every day tour uses
If you booked a glacier walk from Reykjavík, this is almost certainly where you are going, whether or not the listing named it. Sólheimajökull is the only glacier close enough to the capital for a day trip, and that single fact shapes everything about the tours that go there.
Quick answer
Sólheimajökull is an outlet glacier of Mýrdalsjökull, about 160 kilometres from Reykjavík on the south coast. Six walks on this site use it, from $107 for the walk alone to $191 for a twelve-hour day with the waterfalls and the black beach included. The ice here is heavily streaked with black volcanic ash, which surprises people expecting white.
Sólheimajökull, at a glance
- Which ice cap
- Mýrdalsjökullthe same one Katla sits under
- From Reykjavík
- About 160 kmroughly two and a half hours
- Why every day tour uses it
- Distancethe only glacier that fits inside a day
- Walks here
- Six on this sitefrom $107
- The walk alone
- $107three hours, private option available
- Full day with transport
- $136–$191twelve hours
- With ice climbing
- $199 and $273a rope on a blue wall
- The ice
- Heavily ash-bandedgrey and black rather than white
- Season
- All yearshorter routes in midwinter
- On the way
- Seljalandsfoss, Skógafossand Reynisfjara black sand beach
Why this glacier and not another
Two and a half hours, and nothing else comes close
160 km versus 330. That is the whole reason this glacier is the famous one.
Iceland has plenty of glaciers. It has very few that a coach can reach from Reykjavík, put a group on, and return from inside a working day.
Sólheimajökull is about 160 kilometres out on the main road, with a short gravel spur to a car park and a walk of fifteen to twenty minutes to the ice. Skaftafell, the other main glacier-walking base, is 330 kilometres. That difference — roughly three hours of driving each way — is why one of them appears in every day-tour itinerary and the other does not.
It also explains the shape of the tours. A twelve-hour day from the capital is about five hours of coach, three stops on the south coast, and about two hours on the ice. If you look at that and think most of it is not glacier, you are right — and the three waterfalls and the black beach are genuinely worth the day. But if the glacier is the point, a walk that meets at the car park costs $107 and gives you the same two hours.
One more consequence: Sólheimajökull is busy. It is the most-walked glacier in Iceland by a distance. Guides manage it well and the routes spread out, but if solitude is part of what you want, Skaftafell is the answer.
What it looks like
Grey, black and blue — not white
Grey and black from volcanic ash, with blue where the ice has been cut.
People arrive expecting a white glacier and find something closer to a slag heap with blue in the cracks. That is not a disappointment once you know why.
Mýrdalsjökull sits on top of Katla, an active volcano. Ash from past eruptions lands on the ice and is buried by the next winter’s snow, and as the glacier flows down and melts at the front, those layers come back to the surface. The result is a tongue streaked grey and black, with clean blue ice exposed wherever a crevasse or a runnel has cut through the dirty surface.
It photographs far better than it sounds, and it is more interesting to walk on than clean white ice: you can read the eruption history under your feet. The blue, when you find it, is the same blue as anywhere in Iceland — old, dense, air-free ice.
The other thing to know is that the glacier is retreating quickly. Every guide on Sólheimajökull will show you where the ice was ten years ago, and the walk from the car park to the snout gets a little longer every season.
Every trip, current fare
Every walk, with the six Sólheimajökull ones
Six of the seventeen walks on this site use Sólheimajökull. Three of them are twelve-hour day tours from the capital; three meet at the glacier.
| 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 |
Choosing between them
Six questions that settle it
The walk is much the same on all six. What differs is what surrounds it.
- Do you have a car?
If not, the twelve-hour day tours are the answer and they are good ones. If you do, meeting at the glacier saves you most of the price.
- Do you want the waterfalls too?
Seljalandsfoss, Skógafoss and Reynisfjara are on the same road and all three are worth stopping for. The day tours bundle them; on your own you can take longer at each.
- Do you want an ice axe?
Two of the six add a climb on blue ice. Neither assumes experience, and one of them is the introduction most people should start with.
- How much daylight is there?
In December there are about four usable hours on the south coast. A twelve-hour tour in midwinter does much of its driving in the dark.
- Do you mind the crowds?
This is the most-walked glacier in Iceland. The guides handle it, but Skaftafell is quieter if that matters to you.
- Are you continuing east?
If Jökulsárlón is in your plan, walk at Skaftafell instead — it is on the way, and the routes are longer.
Common questions
Sólheimajökull, answered
Where is Sólheimajökull?
On the south coast, about 160 kilometres from Reykjavík, between Skógafoss and Vík. It is an outlet glacier of Mýrdalsjökull, the ice cap that sits over the Katla volcano.
Can you walk on Sólheimajökull without a guide?
You can walk to the viewpoint by the lagoon at the snout. Going onto the ice needs crampons, a rope and a guide who knows the crevasse field, and it is not something to attempt alone.
Why is Sólheimajökull black?
Volcanic ash. Mýrdalsjökull sits on an active volcano, ash from past eruptions is buried by later snow, and the layers reappear at the surface as the glacier melts at the front.
How long is the walk from the car park to the ice?
Fifteen to twenty minutes, and it gets a little longer every year as the glacier retreats.
Is Sólheimajökull worth it?
Yes, and it is the only realistic glacier walk from Reykjavík in a day. If you are driving further east anyway, the routes at Skaftafell are longer and quieter for less money.
What else is near Sólheimajökull?
Skógafoss is fifteen minutes west, Seljalandsfoss another twenty beyond it, and Reynisfjara black sand beach about twenty-five minutes east. The day tours take all three.
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.
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.
South coastThe south coast glacier day
Twelve hours, three waterfalls, a black beach and a walk on the ice.
