Crystal Ice Cave Super Jeep Tours from Jökulsárlón
Two operators drive super jeeps from the Jökulsárlón lagoon to the clear-ice caves on Breiðamerkurjökull, and both charge $170.51. They take children from six, which the walking tours do not, because the vehicle covers the ground your legs would otherwise cover. Crystal is a description rather than an address, and knowing that before you book saves the disappointment that fills the one-star reviews. Prices for every option sit on the full Vatnajökull ice caves comparison.
About the Tour
The shortest cave tour on this glacier, door to door from the lagoon
Per person. The same price as the second super jeep tour, to the cent
Tyres deflated for moraine and outwash; the drive is part of the trip
All glacier safety gear supplied at the meeting point
Split further inside the cave so the chamber is not crowded
No wheelchair access, and not suitable with mobility impairments
Check Super Jeep Dates
Live availability for the 2.5-hour departure. Short cave tours fill first over the Christmas fortnight and at February half-term.
Which Super Jeep Tour to Book
They cost the same, so choose on time and group
Both are $170.51. One runs 2.5 hours with a maximum of 14 guests per guide; the other runs 3 hours. That half hour is the only structural difference, and it usually goes into a slightly longer stop inside the ice.
The 2.5-hour tour carries 4.2 from 1,751 reviews. The 3-hour tour carries 4.5 from 604. Both numbers are built across several winters of wildly different caves.
If you have a tight afternoon at the lagoon, take the 2.5. If you are making a day of it and want the longer stop, take the 3.
Why a super jeep instead of walking
The walking tours from this same car park cover one to five and a half kilometres on foot. A super jeep does most of that on modified tyres over moraine, which changes who can come: these tours take children from six and suit anyone who would struggle with a long approach on uneven ice.
You still walk. The last stretch to the cave mouth is on foot with crampons on, and the ground there is rubble and old snow rather than a path.
The drive is not filler either. It crosses outwash plain and glacier track with the ice front ahead of you, and it is the part most people photograph on the way out.
What Crystal actually means
Crystal describes clarity, not a location. It is the name guides have used for years for whichever cave that season has the clearest, least bubble-filled ice, and it moves.
The chamber that carried the name two winters ago may have collapsed. Operators keep using it because it is what people search for, and because the description is accurate about the ice even when the address has changed.
So book the operator, the vehicle and the date. Treat the name as a category.
Both Super Jeep Tours
Same price, same lagoon, same glacier. Half an hour and a slightly different route separate them.
from $170.51 
from $170.51 Inside the Clear Ice
What the colour depends on
The listing for the 2.5-hour tour puts it plainly: colours run from bright blue to pure white depending on the light, the snowfall and what nature built that season.
Fresh snow on the roof cuts the light coming through and mutes everything. A clear day after a windy week, with the snow blown off, is when the walls read deepest. Guides know which chambers hold colour in flat light and route accordingly.
One visitor described eating a piece of the glacier and tasting how clean it was. Guides encourage that, and it is the closest thing to a souvenir you can take out.
- Deep blue where the ice is thickest and oldest
- Near-transparent where meltwater has polished the surface
- White where fresh snow or trapped air breaks up the light
- Black bands are volcanic ash from eruptions under the ice cap
- Headlamps come out for the back of the chamber
How long you are actually inside
Twenty to thirty minutes on a 2.5-hour tour, once the drive and the walk have taken their share. That sounds short and reads differently in person, because there is not much to do in an ice cave beyond look at it, photograph it and put a hand on it.
Guides stage the group so you get the chamber to yourself for a stretch. On the busiest February weekends two operators may be inside the same feature at once, which is the one time the maximum of 14 per guide becomes noticeable.
How the Tour Runs
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15 min before
Jökulsárlón lagoon
Meet at the glacier lagoon car park on Route 1. The second tour meets at the Tröll Expeditions desk at the same lagoon.
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0:00
Gear fitted
Helmet, crampons and a headlamp handed out and fitted before boarding. Waterproof boots above the ankle are yours to bring or rent.
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0:10
Super jeep across the outwash
Tyres deflated at the edge of the tarmac, then glacier track toward Breiðamerkurjökull with the ice front ahead.
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0:40
Short walk to the mouth
Crampons on for the last stretch over rubble and old snow to the cave entrance.
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1:00
Inside the cave
Twenty to thirty minutes in the chamber, staged so groups are not stacked on top of each other for photographs.
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2:30
Back at the lagoon
Return drive and drop-off at the car park. The 3-hour tour puts its extra half hour into the ice rather than the road.
Before You Book
What the $170.51 covers
The vehicle, the guide and the technical gear. Not the drive to Jökulsárlón itself, which is five hours from Reykjavík and the single biggest cost most people forget.
- Included: super jeep transfer, certified glacier guide
- Included: helmet, glacier crampons, headlamp
- Not included: waterproof hiking boots above the ankle
- Not included: food, drink, and transport to the lagoon
- Not included: a guarantee of any particular cave
Not suitable for
Both tours take children from six, which makes them the family option among the cave tours here. The limits are about ground rather than age.
- Children under 6
- Wheelchair users, and anyone with a mobility impairment
- Anyone who cannot walk on rubble and old snow in crampons
- Jeans and trainers, which crampons will not hold
Season and cancellations
November to March, weather permitting. Wind closes the glacier track before it closes the cave, so a cancellation here is often about the drive rather than the ice.
Both tours refund in full when the operator cancels, and both let you cancel free up to 24 hours ahead with nothing paid at booking.
Where You Meet
Questions About the Super Jeep Tours
How much is the Crystal ice cave tour?
$170.51 per person on both super jeep tours from Jökulsárlón, one running 2.5 hours and the other 3. That covers the vehicle, a certified glacier guide, helmet, crampons and a headlamp. Neither takes payment at booking, and both cancel free up to 24 hours before departure.
Is the Crystal ice cave a real place?
It is a real cave, but not a fixed one. Crystal describes ice clear enough to see through, and guides apply the name each winter to whichever chamber on Breiðamerkurjökull has that quality. The feature that carried the name in one season can collapse before the next. Book the operator and the date rather than the name, and expect the guide to take you to whatever passed inspection that morning.
Can you take young children to the Crystal ice cave?
Yes, from age 6 on both super jeep tours, which is the lowest minimum age of any cave tour on Vatnajökull. The jeep does most of the distance, leaving a short walk over rubble at the end. The walking cave tours from the same lagoon start at 10, and the Skaftafell tours at 8.
What is the difference between a super jeep tour and a glacier hike to the cave?
Distance on foot. The super jeep drives moraine and glacier track to within a short walk of the cave mouth, so you spend twenty to thirty minutes walking. The hiking versions from the same car park cover one to five and a half kilometres on the ice before you reach anything. Same cave, same glacier, different amount of effort and a different minimum age.
Do you need special clothing for the super jeep cave tour?
Waterproof hiking boots above the ankle are required, because crampons need a stiff sole and an ankle to clamp onto. Rentals are available at the meeting point. Otherwise: layers, a waterproof shell and trousers, gloves and a hat. Jeans are the standard mistake, and wet denim on a glacier stops being funny within the hour.
What Recent Guests Wrote
Me and my family recently went on an expedition to the Blue Ice Caves, and it was honestly one of the most unforgettable experiences of our life. From start to finish, everything was well run.
It was an incredible experience to walk on a glacier and discover its caves. It was unimaginable to eat a bite of the glacier and taste its purity. Excellent explanations from the guide.
David was a great tourguide! He showed us around and took pictures. He was very knowledgeable about the glaciers, ice caves and the surroundings.
Quotes reproduced from the GetYourGuide listings for these two tours, shortened with an ellipsis where marked.