Private Hiking Tour on a Glacier

Conquer a glacier, at your own rhythm, away from the crowds

A private glacier hike to experience the glacier the way you want.

(The price is for the whole group)

A private glacier hike on a volcano ash-covered glacier: Sólheimajökull

Iceland is the home to more than 30 active volcanic systems, and roughly 11% of Iceland surface is covered with ice. Therefore, quite often our volcanos are located under our glaciers, hence Iceland’s nickname: The Land of Fire and Ice.

Sólheimajökull is a glacier outlet, coming down from the glacier of Mýrdalsjökull. If Mýrdalsjökull harbors one of the most famous volcanos of Iceland: Katla, there are no active volcanos under Sólheimajökull. However, Sólheimajökull displays in the most elegant manner the traces of the past eruptions in the area, especially from the volcano located under the glacier of Eyjafjallajökull. This is the volcano that erupted in 2010 and made air traffic come to a complete stop all over Europe.

The contrast between the dark volcanic ashes and the bright white and blue ice, is truly what makes this glacier absolutely unique, and today, you get to go hiking on it!

Description of your glacier hiking tour

Welcome to one of the most exclusive experience one can get in Iceland.

Getting ready for the glacier

When you arrive at the glacier’s site, in the parking lot, you cannot yet see the glacier. As it happens, you will have to be a bit more patient, as the first step will be to gear up! Your guide will show you how to put a harness on, will help you adjust your helmet, and will fit the crampons to your shoe size.

Reaching the glacier

Once you are all geared up and ready, we will start walking towards the glacier, after just a few minutes, you will be surprised by the beautiful sight of a glacier lake with icebergs floating in it. Only a few meters further, the glacier will be in sight, this is your destination.

Once you have passed the viewpoint where your guide will tell you everything about the glaciers of Iceland and take the most beautiful pictures of you, you will walk all the way to the edge of the glacier.

Time to go!

There, your guide will give you safety and technics instructions about how to hike on the glacier. Then comes the best part, you will be hiking on the ice for about one hour. Your guide will do his best to take you away from all the other groups. We want you to feel like you have the glacier to yourself.

Hiking on a glacier should be on every traveler’s bucket list when coming to Iceland.

• Your guide will pick you up at your hotel in Reykjavík or meet you directly at the glacier parking lot. Please email us for more details.
• You will be properly geared up. Please note that we only supply glacier equipment. All personal equipment, such as (but not limited to) Hiking boots, gloves, and weatherproof clothing are not supplied by Lilja Tours.
• You will walk to the glacier and get a safety/technics briefing.
• Glacier Hiking time!
• Walk back to the parking lot
• Eventually, drive back to Reykjavik and drop off at your hotel

Click here to discover our other private hiking tours and South Coast Tours

What to know before you go and bring with you on this private glacier hiking tour

What to know about the glacier hike:

Because providing good and reliable information is the first step to guaranteeing a safe and enjoyable experience:

The hike to the glacier takes about 20 minutes. The first half is on flat, very easy terrain, the second half is done partly on downhill rocky terrain. This is the same path that we will take on the way back, after hiking on the glacier.

The glacier hike itself takes about one hour on various types of terrains. There will be both uphill and downhill, but nothing very steep and never for a long time. The distance we cover is up to you, and also depends on how many pictures you want to take!

Overall, if you are able of doing light hikes of one to two hours, you will find this experience rather easy. If you have any condition that makes you doubt about your ability to do the glacier hike, reach out to us, we will assess it together.

What to bring with you for the glacier hike:

As mentioned above, we only provide you with the gears you need to hike on a glacier. You must come properly dressed for any kind of weather, as it can change very suddenly in Iceland. We will also ask you to have appropriate footwear. If you have any questions regarding equipment, do not hesitate to contact us.

• Proper hiking boots.
• Warm clothes, but most importantly: windproof and rainproof clothes. On you or in your backpack
• Water
• Beanie, gloves etc …

Weather conditions and cancellation

The hike on the glacier is totally weather dependent. Subsequently, Lilja Tours ehf. might cancel the tour and provide a refund if:

• Weather conditions make it unsafe to hike in the area
• The guide assesses that the customer is not properly equipped for the hike. Safety first.

Add some sightseeing of the South Coast of Iceland to the tour

Do you want to take advantage of being on the glacier of Sólheimajökull to also visit the Icelandic South Coast? We offer a tour that combines both South Coast and Glacier Hike.

Do not hesitate to have a look at our TripAdvisor page. No one talks about us better than our clients.

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