Duration: Approximately 5 hours
Start Time: 13:00pm
Meeting Point: Glacier Lagoon Parking Lot
Group: 2-10 People

You will meet your guide for this Summer Ice Cave + Glacier Hike journey at the Glacier Lagoon parking lot in Vatnajokull National Park. The official address for this location is: í Hornafirði, Jökulsárlón, Glacier Lagoon, 781 Höfn or you can simply type in "Ice Pic Journeys" in Google Maps and we will come up. Your guide will be right across from the restrooms in the bus parking lot. You can look for the "Ice Pic Journeys" logo on our 4×4 vehicle amongst the other companies. Departure will be precisely at the scheduled time so it is important to arrive on time or you may miss the tour.
  
Tips:
* It is best to arrive 15 minutes before your scheduled tour so you can use the restrooms since there will be none at the glacier. 
* It is important to be aware that this is a 5-hour drive from Reykjavik so it is always recommended to stay at an accommodation closer to this meeting point.
* The tour offers additional services such as pickup/drop-off out of Reykjavik, additional photos, and rental of hiking boots. For details and pricing, please contact our customer service.
* All photographs taken from the tour will be processed by a professional editor after the tour. Processing time will take an average of 14 days. This is just an average and it could take slightly less or even a few more days. This is because we amass hundreds of photos per day/thousands per week and are working to make sure every one of our guests gets the best photos possible.  Once completed, your photos will be uploaded into a downloadable gallery. There you can access them to download and even order your favorite print too!
* Editor selects and edits the photo package based on what we feel are the best shots from the day. If additional photos are available outside of the package count they may be available for 1,000 ISK per but not guaranteed.
* Also be aware that if there is a request to have specific photos from the day, advance notice via email is required before the editing process begins.
  
From the Glacier Lagoon parking lot, you will hop aboard one of our 4×4 vehicles and head towards the glacier. About 10 minutes into your journey, you will turn off onto an F-Road and make the bumpy journey toward the glacier. From the road to the glacier parking lot, this will take roughly 20-30 minutes to reach. As you drive, your guide will teach you the history of the surrounding area as you enjoy a scenic ride through an ancient glacier plain.
Once you arrive at the glacier parking lot, your guide will begin handing out your gear for the tour. This includes crampons, an ice axe, a harness, a helmet with a headlamp, and hiking boots (if you rented them).
Next, once everyone has their gear, you will take a 30-minute hike to the edge of the glacier nearing the Iceland Summer ice cave area. The hike is relatively easy for most and will have you walking on flat, yet slightly rocky ground the entire way. We will always go at the pace of our guests so you can take your time and enjoy the walk as your guide leads the way.
However, be aware we will not know what specific ice cave will be available until a few weeks / days leading up to your tour date. Why? Because the glacier and ice caves are always evolving. Therefore, we always reserve the right to change the tour dynamic if needed (IE, meeting location change, tour inclusions, or providing you with other thrilling glacier feature options to discover). This could mean you explore a stunning ice valley, crevasse, tunnel, sinkhole, or cave. Regardless of the feature, know you will walk away with braggable glacier photos of your journey!
  
Furthermore, upon arriving at the edge of the glacier, you will be greeted with a massive cavern in front of you with a river running underneath it. You have finally reached our Summer Ice Cave! Our ice caves vary each year in its shape, location, and size. This is because the cave is always melting away and reforming naturally during the summertime. That is why you will always get a unique experience when going into it because it will never be the same as it was on that day.  Additionally, this means your Summer ice cave experience will be unique!
Before entering the cave, your guide will help you put on your crampons. After your guide instructs you on how to put them on, your guide will go over a safety briefing about walking on the glacier and exploring the cave. It’s important to understand and follow these rules and to ask any questions that you may have before stepping foot on the ice. 
Entering the ice cave will be an unreal and otherworldly experience for most people. Your eyes will slowly adjust to the crystal walls of the cave and showcase its hidden beauty. As your guide leads you deeper into the ice cave, they will take their camera and photograph you in the best locations and angles. Having explored and photographed these caves hundreds of times, they will have the best insight at getting you amazing photos while you relax and enjoy the cave without worry.
As you are enjoying the ice cave, your guide will teach you about its formation and composition. You will spend roughly an hour inside the cave, exploring all of the different areas. Normally, these caves will have multiple chambers that you will be able to explore as you go deeper into the cave, however, this can vary from year to year. After everyone is happy with their photos and experience inside the cave, we will exit and make our way onto the glacier.  
  
Next, you will put your crampons into the ice and make your way onto Breiðamerkurjökull Glacier. Hiking on the ice is definitely a unique feeling and may take some getting used to but by the end of the tour, you won’t want to take your crampons off! As you hear the crunch below you, you will march forward and follow your guide up the glacier toward the direction of our beautiful crystal crevasses. Throughout this, your guide will show you different formations on the glacier known as moulins or deep glacial holes. All while admiring the barren landscape around you, you will feel like you are in a different world. 
  
From seemingly out of nowhere, you will come upon a slope in the ice leading down into a massive ice canyon. This is where you will find out crystal crevasses. You will soon understand why it is called this as you make your way into the deep icy labyrinth. The best part is that the deeper you go into it, the more crystal blue it gets until you get to a point where you are in a world entirely made of blue. This is a major highlight of the tour and you will need a good amount of time to take it all in.
After about an hour of exploring the crevasse formations, you will head back up the slope and off the glacier knowing that you are one of the few that got to experience something so special here in Iceland.
You will finish the tour with a hike back to the glacier parking lot and a 30-minute drive back to the Glacier Lagoon where you will say goodbye to your guide and have memories of an amazing day inside of Vatnajokull National Park.