Glacier hiking on Sólheimajökull

6 min read Updated October 2026 Compare all tours

Sólheimajökull is an outlet glacier about 11 kilometres long and 1 to 2 kilometres wide, flowing down from the southwestern side of Mýrdalsjökull. Katla Geopark records how it has moved: between 1930 and 1969 it retreated by about 977 metres, then advanced again for a while, and by 2010 its front lay about a kilometre further back than in 1930. A lagoon 60 metres deep has formed in front of the ice, and it grows as the glacier shrinks.

The meeting point for every tour on this page is the Sólheimajökull car park, about 25 minutes by car west of Vík. Several companies keep a base there. Icelandic Mountain Guides has a base camp with toilets and hot drinks, Arctic Adventures parks a yellow school bus, and Troll Expeditions and David the Guide meet at their own spots on the same site. Parking is charged, and reviewers often say they were not warned, so allow for it when you arrive.

The walk before the ice

Because the glacier has retreated, the hike starts with a walk to the ice, and this is the part reviewers underestimate most. Troll Expeditions now walks 2.3 kilometres each way, compared with 1 kilometre on its old route, and warns that the final section near the glacier access gets steeper. One September reviewer called the uphill walk of about 40 minutes the toughest part of the day. Arctic Adventures goes through a moss-covered valley and covers about 6 kilometres in total, and its reviewers mention an approach of about an hour.

Hyperborea takes a route behind the mountain through a canyon, about 2.5 kilometres and 40 minutes to the ice, and rates it moderate rather than easy. David the Guide walks around the glacier lagoon to reach the tongue. The ice climbing tour by North Ice Expeditions has the shortest approach, about 15 minutes on a gravel road. Troll Expeditions adds that rain makes the walk harder.

Reviewers also mention waiting time at the start while gear is handed out, and guides who set a fast pace. If you walk slowly, a small group helps.

Hikes on the ice

The standard tour lasts about three to four hours with crampons, harness, helmet and ice axe. The blue ice hike by Arctic Adventures takes four hours on site and accepts walkers from 8, and the crampons fit shoe sizes 35 to 50. Icelandic Mountain Guides offers a 3.5-hour and a 5.5-hour version from its base camp, with tea and coffee, and notes that each adult can accompany only one young person. Troll Expeditions serves coffee and chocolates and takes children from 8.

Shorter and smaller options exist too. Glaciers and Waterfalls keeps you outside for about 2.5 hours, of which about an hour is on crampons, and sets a weight limit of 95 kilograms. Gravel Travel runs a three-hour hike, and Nordur Travel guides in English or Spanish. Reviewers of the shorter hikes sometimes found the time on the ice brief, and one June review of the Icelandic Mountain Guides tour complained of covering only a few dozen metres of glacier.

The weather can be rough. A reviewer of the Troll hike in June 2026 walked in wind of about 60 kilometres per hour, and an Arctic Adventures reviewer described the uphill section in strong wind as harder than expected.

Ice climbing

Ice climbing adds a rope and a short wall of ice to the hike. Troll Expeditions runs a four-hour climb for groups of up to six, with climbing boots included, and takes climbers from 12. Reviews since 2024 contain no criticism, and several come from people who had never climbed before. Arctic Adventures combines a hike of up to 8 kilometres with an optional climb on a natural ice wall, over 5.5 hours, from 14 years. Icelandic Mountain Guides runs a five-hour version from its base camp, also from 14.

North Ice Expeditions climbs at two or three different spots on the glacier and needs at least two participants; with fewer, it offers another day or a refund. For a private session, Iceland Adventures takes up to four people onto the plateau to climb a vertical wall, a moulin or a crevasse, from 10 years, and you rent boots at a nearby company if yours are not suitable. A second private climbing tour accepts children from 6 or shoe size 36, the lowest limit for climbing in this list.

Blue ice caves and the glacier edge

From autumn to spring, Icelandic Mountain Guides combines the hike with a visit to a cave inside Sólheimajökull, formed by meltwater in summer. The tour lasts 4.5 hours, starts at the base camp 20 minutes before departure for fitting, and takes children from 10. One reviewer expected larger caves, and on one day in February 2026 the cave was replaced by abseiling because of the weather. The caves at Katla, east of Vík, are reached by Super Jeep and are covered on our page on ice cave tours.

The glacier's edge walk by Arctic Adventures does not go onto the ice. It covers 2.5 to 3 kilometres on mostly flat paths to the lagoon and the glacier front, with hot chocolate and cookies, and it has no minimum age. Pushchairs are not suitable, so bring a carrier for small children.

Seasons and what to bring

The hikes run all year; reviews of the Troll Expeditions, David the Guide and Glaciers and Waterfalls tours come from every season. Boots matter more than anything else. Arctic Adventures and Icelandic Mountain Guides rent them on site, and Troll Expeditions too. David the Guide says hiking boots are required, and some reviewers found that the promised rental boots were not available. Rain gear is also worth packing, because one reviewer was not given any. Our what to wear page covers layers for wet days on the south coast.

The car park is also the starting point for the walk to the glacier front on your own and lies close to the plane wreck on Sólheimasandur; see Sólheimajökull and the plane wreck. Stay on the marked trail if you walk without a guide, as Katla Geopark asks.