Iceland · Mýrdalsjökull · open all year
Blue ice and black volcanic ash, a Super Jeep ride from Vík. Three hours from €158 — or a full day from Reykjavík from €239.
Quick answer
A Katla ice cave tour is a guided Super Jeep trip from Vík onto the Kötlujökull glacier, open all year. From Vík it takes 3 hours and starts at €158; day trips from Reykjavík take 10–12 hours from €239. Helmet and crampons are always included.
Updated Nov 2026 · prices checked Nov 2026 · 15 tours compared
Key takeaways
Six tours that really differ, each the best at one thing. All include a guide, helmet and crampons, and all can be cancelled free up to 24 hours before.
1 / 2Lowest priceGravel Travel
“Gunnar was a knowledgeable guide who made the whole adventure fun.”Nancy, Nov 2026
Free cancellation 24 hReserve now, pay laterGear included
1 / 3The safe defaultArctic Adventures
“The guide was the best one I have ever met in Iceland.”Thaner, Nov 2026
Free cancellation 24 hReserve now, pay laterGear included
1 / 2More of the glacierTroll.is
“Syra is a really knowledgable guide and a nice photographer.”Chang, Oct 2026
Free cancellation 24 hReserve now, pay laterGear included
1 / 2Longest on the iceTroll.is
“The caves and glacier were amazing.”Traveller, Jul 2026 · 4★
Free cancellation 24 hReserve now, pay laterGear included
1 / 3Travelling with childrenLocal operator
“Did with 6 and 9 yo children and they were able to enjoy do everything.”Jill, Aug 2026
Free cancellation 24 hReserve now, pay laterGear included
1 / 3No car neededArctic Adventures
“The ice caves are truly unmissable, and you can only get there with the super jeeps.”Fernando, Nov 2026
Free cancellation 24 hReserve now, pay laterGear included
Source · GetYourGuide · per person · checked Nov 2026
The cave is the same on every tour; the choice is where you start. If you sleep in Vík or drive the south coast, a three-hour tour from the village is the cheapest and most flexible option, from €158 with several start times a day.
Without a car, a day trip from Reykjavík covers the 187 km each way and adds Seljalandsfoss and Skógafoss, but it takes 10–12 hours and starts at €239. Private tours suit families and groups: one price covers the vehicle and guide, from €1,199 per group.
A popular middle way: rent a car, spend a night in Vík and join a morning tour — whichever Iceland Katla ice cave tour you choose, the hour in the ice is the same.
From Vík
From Reykjavík
Private
Answer three questions — where you start, who is coming and what matters most — and the tour that fits appears on the right, with the reason. It draws on the same 15 tours compared on this page, with prices checked on GetYourGuide in November 2026.
1 · Where do you start?
2 · Who is coming?
3 · What matters most?
Your match
The lowest price from Vík — €158 off-peak, €193 on peak slots.
Free cancellation 24 hReserve now, pay laterGear included
Want more glacier? Troll.is adds a real walk across the ice, €239.
Six tours that really differ. Most-booked is the Arctic Adventures Super Jeep tour; the cheapest is the small-group tour; the Reykjavík day trips trade time for a door-to-door ride. Every row shows the price, rating, length, group size and minimum age, and each leads to its own booking page with free cancellation up to 24 hours before.
Swipe the table → for length, group and start
| Tour | Price | Rating | Length | Group · age | Start | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | €158per person i | 4.41,442 reviews | 3 h | Small groupAge 8+ | Meet in Vík | Check availability |
| €176per person i | 4.62,659 reviews | 3 h | Max 14Age 6+ | Meet in Vík | Check availability |
| €239per person i | 4.71,524 reviews | 3 h | Group size not statedAge 8+ | Meet in Vík | Check availability |
| €260per person i | 4.88 reviews | 4 h | Group size not statedAge not stated | Meet in Vík | Check availability |
| €249per person i | 4.71,378 reviews | 12 h | Max 14Age 6+ | 27 pickup points | Check availability |
 | €239per person i | 4.7812 reviews | 10 h | Small groupAge 8+ | 20 pickup points | Check availability |
Drive yourself to Vík187 km · about 2.5 h each way from ReykjavíkTours from Vík | Then join any 3-hour tour from Vík, from €158 — usually the cheaper way if you already have a car. | Tours from Vík | ||||
Source · GetYourGuide · prices per person, ratings and review counts checked Nov 2026
Live availability
Pick a day to see real start times and prices for the most-booked tour.
The full story behind each pick — where it starts, what it costs, who it suits and the catch. Each one names the operator, the meeting point and the minimum age, so you can rule a tour out as quickly as you rule it in.
1 / 23 h · from VíkLowest price
Gravel Travel
If price decides, start here. Gravel Travel’s small-group tour leaves from Austurvegur 20 in Vík and costs €158 on off-peak departures (10:30 or 14:00 in winter, 8:30 or 16:00 from March to October) or €193 on peak slots. You get the same Super Jeep ride, helmet and crampons as on dearer tours. The catch is the rating: 4.4 from 1,442 reviews, the lowest of the three big Vík tours. Minimum age 8.
Free cancellation 24 hReserve now, pay laterGear included
Source · GetYourGuide product pages · Nov 2026
The Katla ice cave is a natural ice cave in Kötlujökull, an outlet glacier of Mýrdalsjökull, above the Katla volcano — 30–60 minutes by Super Jeep from Vík. What sets it apart is the colour: blue glacier ice cut through with black bands of volcanic ash from past eruptions.
Because it is a living cave, it changes from week to week. Meltwater reshapes the tunnels in summer, frost hardens them in winter, and guides pick the safest, best-looking section on the day — so what you find will not match last year’s photos exactly.
That is also why nobody visits it alone. The approach crosses glacial rivers and loose ash ground, and the cave is entered only with a guide, a helmet and crampons. For most visitors the result is the easiest real ice cave in Iceland to reach: three hours from Vík, open in every month, with a short walk rather than a glacier hike.
Sources · Guide to Iceland, Arctic Adventures · Nov 2026
Every Katla ice cave tour runs by Super Jeep, because ordinary cars cannot cross the rivers and black sand between Vík and the glacier. From your meeting point the drive takes 30–60 minutes, and most guests count it as part of the adventure.
At the glacier edge the guide fits helmets and crampons, then leads a walk of about a kilometre over uneven ice to the entrance. You get 45–60 minutes in and around the cave before the drive back — about three hours in all.
The walk is short, so footwear matters more than fitness: ankle boots with a stiff sole hold crampons best. The Troll.is tour adds a longer walk across the glacier, and the extended tour adds a fourth hour.
One of four meeting points in the village.
Across black sand and glacial rivers.
Fitted at the glacier edge; short, uneven walk.
Blue ice, black ash, time for photos.
Same route across the sand.
Time for lunch or Reynisfjara the same day.
Based on the Vík tours on GetYourGuide · Nov 2026
The cave is open in all 12 months. Winter (Nov–Mar) brings the bluest ice and short days; summer (Jun–Aug) easy roads, long light and the clearest ash stripes — but water drips from the ceiling. Tap a month to see the daylight, the typical temperature in Vík and the start times that apply.
Bar and hours: daylight (Reykjavík average) · °C: average high in Vík · drop: rainy days in Vík · bar colour: winter (blue), shoulder (grey), summer (amber)
Winter returns: the ice turns blue again and short days start — about 5 h of light by late November.
Winter start times begin on the small-group tour.
Daylight · Reykjavík · icelandtours.is, adventures.is · Climate · Vík averages 1991–2012 (climatestotravel.com) · Cave by season · gocampers.is, Arctic Adventures · Start times · Gravel Travel on GYG · Nov 2026
Pick a tour and the number of people. Prices are per person on GetYourGuide; private tours are priced per group, so the share each person pays falls as the group grows. The total is our arithmetic on the prices we checked; the booking page shows the final figure.
Your estimate
Private tour for 2: €2,148 per group = €1,074 per person.
Check availabilityEstimate from “from” prices · GYG · Nov 2026 · ISK at ECB rate
Four meeting points, all within a few minutes’ walk in the village. Your booking says which one; arrive 15 minutes early to park and change into boots. Vík is 187 km from Reykjavík, about 2.5 hours by car on Route 1, so a morning start means an early departure from the capital.
Addresses · GetYourGuide product pages · Nov 2026
Bus parking lot behind the Icewear Magasin building, facing the sea
Super Jeep tour · day tripsVíkurbraut 26
Super Jeep & glacier walk · extended tourAusturvegur 20
Small-group tour · Mýrdalsjökull tourAusturvegur 16
FastTrack ice cave tourPlan three hours if you start in Vík: about an hour of driving in total, 45–60 minutes at the cave and the gear-up in between. The extended Troll.is tour stretches this to four hours. From Reykjavík the day lasts 10–12 hours with pickup and waterfall stops.
From Reykjavík the same visit becomes a 10–12 hour day, because Vík is 187 km away — about 2.5 hours each way without stops — and most tours add the waterfalls. Private tours run 8–11 hours depending on pickup.
In winter daylight is the limit: in December Reykjavík gets only 4–5 hours of light, so a midday start from Vík makes the most of it. In summer tours run from early morning to late afternoon, and the long light leaves time to see Reynisfjara beach or the Vík church the same day.
Travellers left 8,500+ reviews across the rated Katla tours on GetYourGuide. Praise goes to the guides and the ice; complaints go to fog on the jeep ride and the length of the Reykjavík day. Each quote below comes from a verified GetYourGuide booking made in 2026.
The guide was the best one I have ever met in Iceland.”
Thaner · Nov 2026 · verified booking
Exceeding the expectations!! Syra is a really knowledgable guide and a nice photographer.”
Chang · Oct 2026 · verified booking
Gunnar was a knowledgeable guide who made the whole adventure fun.”
Nancy · Nov 2026 · verified booking
The ice caves are truly unmissable, and you can only get there with the super jeeps.”
Fernando · Nov 2026 · verified booking
“Low cloud and rain hid the view on the jeep ride — the caves and glacier were still amazing.”
Source · GetYourGuide verified reviews · Nov 2026
For most people, yes. Katla is the ice cave you can visit in any month, it sits close to the Ring Road, and the trip from Vík takes half a day rather than a whole one. The price buys the jeep, the guide and the gear, and every listed tour can be cancelled free up to 24 hours before.
The trade-off is the look: the ice is streaked with black volcanic ash, and in summer meltwater drips from the ceiling, so it is less glassy than the crystal caves of Vatnajökull. Those open mostly from November to March and lie about 380 km from Reykjavík.
If your trip falls outside winter, or you are already on the south coast, Katla is the obvious choice. In midwinter, if clear blue ice is the whole point, consider a Vatnajökull cave as well — many people do both on a three-day south coast trip.
| Katla | Vatnajökull | |
|---|---|---|
| Season | All year | Mostly Nov–Mar |
| From Reykjavík | 187 km | ~380 km |
| Look | Blue ice + black ash | Clear blue ice |
€158–260 from Vík, €239–285 from Reykjavík, €1,199–2,847 for a private group. The gap is transport, not the cave: the hour in the ice is the same. Prices were checked on GetYourGuide in November 2026 and are per person unless marked per group.
€158 ≈ 21,700 ISK · €249 ≈ 34,200 ISK · ECB rate, Nov 2026. GetYourGuide charges in the currency you choose.
The guide supplies a helmet and crampons on every tour, and some add a headlamp; clothing and boots are yours, and Arctic Adventures notes there is no rental at the glacier. Plan for waterproof layers, gloves and ankle boots with a stiff sole, because the crampons strap onto them.
Tour pages agree on the basics. Ten of the 15 tours ask for hiking shoes, seven for warm clothing, and three each for rain gear and weather-appropriate clothing. Open-toed shoes are not allowed on the Arctic Adventures tours.
Food is not included on most tours. On the Reykjavík day trip there is a lunch break in Vík; on the 3-hour tours from Vík, eat before you go. Pack for wet cold in every season: Vík averages 225 mm of rain in January and 160 mm in July, and temperatures stay between about −1 and 14 °C through the year.
Our tips · not from tour pages
What tour pages ask you to bring
0 / 9 packedSupplied: helmet and crampons on every tour · gloves and head-wear on the Mýrdalsjökull tour
Not allowed: open-toed shoes
Source · “What to bring” on 15 GetYourGuide tour pages · Nov 2026
Each start point, every price and three tours reviewed in depth.
Live availability
Pickup from 27 points — check the days that still have seats.
From Vík it takes about 3 hours: 30–60 minutes each way by Super Jeep and 45–60 minutes in and around the cave. The extended Troll.is tour takes 4 hours. Day trips from Reykjavík take 10–12 hours because of the 187 km drive each way.
Yes. The cave sits on a glacier tongue reached across glacial rivers and rough ash ground, so it is visited only with a guide in a modified Super Jeep. Helmet and crampons are part of every tour.
Yes — it is one of the few natural ice caves open all year. In summer the black ash layers show best, meltwater drips inside and the cave can feel darker; in winter the ice looks bluest.
6 on the Arctic Adventures tours and the FastTrack tour, 8 on the Troll.is, small-group and most Reykjavík tours. Check the tour page before you book.
Every listed tour has free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start. Operators also cancel for safety; in a Guide to Iceland study, ice cave tours were called off on 2.9% of bookings.
No, on almost every tour. Bring water and snacks; on Reykjavík day trips there is a break in Vík to buy lunch.
Yes. Vík is 187 km from Reykjavík on the Ring Road, about 2.5 hours without stops. From there the 3-hour tours start at four meeting points in the village.
Pick a tour with minimum age 6 — the Arctic Adventures Super Jeep tour or the FastTrack tour from Vík. The walk is short but icy, so children need proper boots.
At four points in the village: the bus lot behind the Icewear store (Arctic Adventures), Víkurbraut 26 (Troll.is), Austurvegur 20 at the Ice Cave Bistro (Gravel Travel and the Mýrdalsjökull tour) and Austurvegur 16 (FastTrack). Your booking confirms which one.
No. The walk is about a kilometre over uneven ice with crampons, with no climbing. Some tours list heart or back problems and limited mobility as reasons not to join, so check the tour page if that applies to you.
Sources
How we checked: every price and rating comes from the tour’s own GetYourGuide page; other facts from the sources below. We do not invent departures or dates — live availability is in the booking widget.
Most people book the 3-hour Super Jeep tour from Vík — from €176, free cancellation up to 24 h before.
