Day Tour to Jökulsárlón
My guide to Jökulsárlón Day Tours will help you choose from the best of the private and bus tours on offer. The route along Iceland’s South Coast to the Glacier Lagoon at Jökulsárlón is packed with incredible nature. I have driven the route over a thousand times.
The drive from Reykjavik to Jökulsárlón and back in a single day is not an easy task. It is 10 hours of driving time, but in the winter, this can almost double if the roads are very slippery. However, the same trip is an amazing day out if someone else is doing the driving.
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Private Day Tours
These private Jökulsárlón day tours are 14 hours long with a 24-hour cancellation policy. They will visit all the top sites along Iceland’s south coast. Hotel pick-up at 8:00 is included. From Reykjavik, you will see the South Coast waterfalls, black sand beaches, and the glacier lagoons around the Vatnjokull glacier.
Small Group Tours
These Jökulsárlón Day Tours have small group policies, so you can avoid the crowds. They offer pick-up at several pick-up points in Reykjavik. The first-day tour offers live commentary, and the other two have wi-fi on board.
- All these Jokulsarlon tours have a 24-hour cancellation policy.
South Iceland Locations
The main locations along Iceland’s South Coast start with two impressive waterfalls: Seljalandsfoss and Skogafoss.
After these stops, you will see the black sand beaches around Vik with the famous sea stacks (Reynisdrangar). This is the half-way point from Reykjavik to Jokulsarlon. (On longer tours you could visit the sea cliffs at Dyrholaey and some of the secret waterfalls.)
Further east, you drive through Eldhraun (lava fields of fire) and past the Fjadrargljufur Canyon. Then the Vatnjökull ice cap comes into view, along with Iceland’s highest mountains and Skaftafell National Park.
The final leg reveals even more of the Vatnjökull glacier, along with the glacier lagoons and Diamond Ice Beach at Jökulsárlón.
Glacier Lagoons
Glacier lagoons are formed when a glacier retreats. The famous glacier lagoon at Jökulsárlón is unique because it is the only lagoon in Iceland that connects directly to the ocean. Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon was formed just 100 years ago, but the floating icebergs are as old as 1000 years.
South Coast Waterfalls
The South Coast features some of the most impressive waterfalls in Iceland. For photographers, Skogafoss Waterfall works especially well in winter. The soft afternoon light makes rainbows in the spray. All the Jökulsárlón day tours make stops at Skogafoss waterfall. Be aware, though, that in the mid-winter you could be visiting Skogafoss in the dark. This is because the priority of the day tour is to be at Jokulsarlon during the daylight hours.
Black Sand Beaches
Almost the entire south Iceland coastline features black sand beaches. Some of them go on for miles and miles. The Jokulsarlon day tours usually visit 2 or 3 of the well know black sand beaches. The town of Vik clibrates it’s Reynisdrangar sea stacks. Either side of the sea stacks are black sand beaches with plenty of photo oportunities. My favourite is the Diamond beach with chunks of blue glacier ice sitting in the black sand like diamonds.
