Blue Ice Maze Crevasse Tour on Vatnajökull
A crevasse is a cave with the roof taken off, and the Blue Ice Maze on Falljökull is a run of them wide enough to walk into. You go between walls of blue ice two storeys high with the sky above instead of a ceiling, which is the closest thing to an ice cave that exists in July. It costs $125.50, runs four hours from the Skaftafell base camp with twelve guests per guide, and needs no cave season to work. See how it prices against the Vatnajökull ice cave and crevasse tours.
About the Tour
Base camp to base camp, with the maze in the middle of the route
Around forty dollars below a cave tour, twenty-five above a plain hike
The outlet glacier above Skaftafell, where the ice breaks up as it falls
All glacier safety gear provided at the base camp
The corridors are narrow, so group size shows more here than on open ice
Beginner friendly; not suitable with mobility impairments
Check Maze Dates
Live availability for the $125.50 crevasse tour on Falljökull. This one runs year round, so summer weeks book up alongside the winter cave season.
What the Maze Actually Is
Crevasses you walk into, not over
Falljökull pours off the ice cap through a gap and breaks apart on the way down, which is where its crevasses come from. Most glacier tours walk you to the edge of one and let you look in.
This tour walks you inside. Where the ice has split wide and the floor has filled with rubble and old snow, the result is a corridor: walls of compressed blue ice rising on both sides, a gravel floor underfoot, and daylight coming straight down from above.
The operator calls it exclusive, meaning they are the ones running it, and the route changes as the glacier moves. What was a walkable slot last season may be closed this one, and something new opens somewhere else.
The colour, without a roof
Ice reads blue because centuries of compression have squeezed the air bubbles out, so light travels deep, loses its red, and comes back blue. In a cave that happens under a ceiling and needs a headlamp for the back of the chamber.
In the maze the light falls straight down the slot. The walls are lit from above rather than from a doorway, which makes the blue more even and the photographs easier. It is also colder underfoot and windier, because a crevasse funnels air.
The payoff: no cave season. This works in July.
Where it sits between a hike and a cave
$125.50 puts it between the Skaftafell hikes at $97 to $103.44 and the cave tours at $161 and up.
Against a plain hike, you get the corridors and about twenty-five dollars more on the bill. Against a cave, you lose the roof and the chamber, and save forty dollars, and you can book it any month of the year.
It carries 4.4 from 210 reviews. Guests write about the guides more than the ice, which is the pattern on every tour from this base camp.
What Else Is on the Route
Four hours is not all maze
The corridors are the centrepiece, not the whole walk. Getting there crosses the same crevassed, ridged ice as any Falljökull hike, and the guide reads the surface on the way.
- Crevasse fields where the glacier bends over bedrock beneath it
- Meltwater channels cut into the surface, loud in summer
- Moulins where surface water drops through into the glacier
- Ash bands from eruptions under the ice cap, folded through the blue
- The maze corridors themselves, walked in single file
Harness on, and why
This is one of the few tours here that issues a harness as standard along with the helmet and crampons. Near crevasse edges the guide clips the group in, and in the narrower corridors it is there in case the floor turns out to be less solid than it looks.
None of that makes it technical. The tour is sold as beginner friendly with a minimum age of 8, and the harness is a precaution rather than a skill requirement.
What it does mean is that the guide sets the pace and the group stays in line. There is no wandering off to get a better photograph.
How the Four Hours Run
-
30 min before
Skaftafell base camp
Check in at the Arctic Adventures base camp at Skaftafell on Route 1, about four hours east of Reykjavík.
-
0:00
Gear fitted
Helmet, harness and glacier crampons issued and fitted. Waterproof boots above the ankle are required and rentable here.
-
0:20
4x4 bus to the glacier foot
Short transfer from the base camp to where the moraine meets Falljökull.
-
0:45
Onto the ice
Crampons on and the technique briefing at the edge, then the walk up across the crevassed lower glacier.
-
1:45
Into the corridors
Single file between the blue walls, with stops for photographs and for the guide to explain how the slot opened.
-
4:00
Back at base camp
Return route, crampons off at the ice edge, gear handed in at the base camp.
Before You Book
What $125.50 covers
Guide, gear and the transfer to the ice. Nothing else.
- Included: certified glacier guide, maximum 12 guests per guide
- Included: helmet, harness and glacier crampons
- Included: 4x4 bus from the base camp to the foot of Falljökull
- Not included: waterproof hiking boots above the ankle, rentable on site
- Not included: food, drink, and the drive to Skaftafell
Not suitable for
Narrow corridors and uneven floors set the limits here rather than distance.
- Children under 8
- Anyone with a mobility impairment
- Anyone uncomfortable in a confined space with walls on both sides
- Trainers and jeans, which crampons and wet ice deal with badly
The one real advantage over a cave tour
It does not need the season. Natural ice caves on Vatnajökull open in November and close at the end of March, so half the year has no cave to enter at any price.
The maze is open ice. Summer melt reshapes the corridors and the guides re-scout the route, but there is no month where the answer is simply no.
If you are here in July and want blue ice with walls around you, this is what exists.
If the risk side is what you are weighing, our honest look at ice cave safety covers the rules operators work under.
Where You Meet
Questions About the Blue Ice Maze
What is the Blue Ice Maze on Falljökull?
A run of wide crevasses on the Falljökull outlet glacier that have opened far enough to walk into, forming corridors with blue ice walls on both sides and open sky above. It is not a cave: there is no roof, and no headlamp is needed. The tour costs $125.50, runs four hours from the Skaftafell base camp, and takes a maximum of twelve guests per guide.
Is the Blue Ice Maze the same as an ice cave?
No, and the difference works in its favour half the year. A cave has a roof, which is why it only exists between November and March, when the meltwater has stopped and the ice has refrozen. The maze is open crevasse, so it runs every month. You lose the enclosed chamber and gain a route that does not depend on the season.
How much is the Blue Ice Maze tour?
$125.50 per person for four hours, including a certified glacier guide, helmet, harness, crampons and the 4x4 bus from the Skaftafell base camp to the foot of Falljökull. That sits about twenty-five dollars above a standard Skaftafell glacier hike and about forty below a natural ice cave tour.
Is the crevasse tour safe for beginners?
It is sold as beginner friendly with a minimum age of 8, and no prior glacier experience is assumed. A harness comes as standard alongside the helmet and crampons, and the guide clips the group in near crevasse edges. What it asks of you is four hours of walking on uneven ice and a willingness to move in single file at the guide's pace.
Can you photograph inside the maze?
Yes, and the light is easier than in a cave. Daylight falls straight down the slot rather than in through a single entrance, so the walls are evenly lit and you do not need a headlamp or a long exposure. Guides stage the group so the corridor is empty for a stretch. Keep the camera on a strap: the floor is rubble and old snow.
What Recent Guests Wrote
Great guides, Fraser and Jamie made the tour a really fun and interactive experience. 10/10 recommend.
Fun hike! Our guide, JB, was very friendly and knowledgeable. Would absolutely do this again!
Amazing trip! Beautifull glacier and very kind experienced guide!
Quotes reproduced from the GetYourGuide listing for this tour, shortened with an ellipsis where marked.