Vík: Sólheimajökull Glacier Walk & Ice Climbing Tour

Step onto one of Iceland's most dramatic glaciers on this comprehensive 4-hour glacier walk and ice climbing experience at Sólheimajökull, an outlet glacier of Mýrdalsjökull — one of the largest glaciers in Europe. Your expert guide from Troll Expeditions meets you at the glacier car park, and a brisk 30-minute walk across the moraine brings you to the ice itself.

Once on the glacier, you'll encounter millennia-old blue ice formed when oxygen bubbles are compressed deep within the snowpack, and peer into a glacier moulin — a vertical shaft that can descend all the way to the glacier's base. Beneath the ice cap lies the mighty Katla volcano, one of Iceland's largest and most active. On clear days, the neighbouring glacier Eyjafjallajökull — whose 2010 eruption halted European air travel — is visible to the east.

The highlight of the tour is a guided ice climbing session on the vertical crevasse walls of Sólheimajökull. Your guide sets up a climbing rope and teaches you to ascend using ice axes and crampons. No previous glacier or climbing experience is needed — full instruction, safety gear, and glacier boots are provided.

Sólheimajökull was featured in the 2012 climate documentary Chasing Ice, and its visible recession over recent decades makes this tour as thought-provoking as it is exhilarating. This is an ideal experience for active travellers seeking a genuine connection with Iceland's raw natural landscape.

Meet your guide at the Troll Expeditions Sólheimajökull car park — arrive at least 20 minutes before your scheduled start time. From there, the group sets off on a 30-minute walk across the glacial moraine to reach the ice.

• Your guide provides a full safety briefing and fits you with crampons, a harness, and glacier boots before you step onto the ice.
• On the glacier, you'll explore the surreal landscape of blue ice formations and crevasses, and look into a glacier moulin.
• The ice climbing session follows: your guide sets a rope on a vertical ice wall and teaches you to climb using ice axes and crampons.
• The total tour duration is 4 hours, combining the walk, glacier exploration, and climbing.
• Warm, waterproof clothing is strongly recommended. All technical equipment is provided.

This tour is suitable for participants aged 12 years and older. No prior experience with crampons, ice axes, or glacier travel is necessary.

Sólheimajökull offers one of the most accessible yet genuinely wild glacier experiences in Iceland. Unlike tours that only walk on the ice surface, this experience adds a hands-on ice climbing component — giving you a deeper, more physical engagement with the glacier.

• All technical equipment is included, so there is nothing extra to hire or arrange.
• Guides from Troll Expeditions are experienced glacier professionals who tailor instruction to your group's ability.
• The meeting point is directly at the glacier, making logistics straightforward for self-driving travellers in South Iceland.
• Optional pickup from Reykjavík is available at an additional cost, with a scenic route passing notable South Coast landmarks.