Breiðamerkurjökull

About Breiðamerkurjökull

Breiðamerkurjökull is an outlet glacier of Vatnajökull in Southeast Iceland, inside Vatnajökull National Park, and every iceberg floating in Jökulsárlón breaks off its tongue. In winter it is also where most travelers go for a Breiðamerkurjökull ice cave tour, walking into tunnels of blue ice that meltwater carved the summer before.

The glacier spills off the ice cap onto the Breiðamerkursandur plain. Its tongue ends in Jökulsárlón, which sits beside Route 1 about five hours east of Reykjavík and roughly an hour west of Höfn, while Breiðárlón, a smaller and quieter lagoon, lies at another part of its edge.

Breiðamerkurjökull has been shrinking for about a century. As the ice pulled back from the coast in the early 1900s, meltwater filled the hollow it left, and Jökulsárlón began to form in the 1930s. The lagoon is still growing, and from the shore you can see how far back the Breiðamerkurjökull glacier tongue now sits.

You can only go into the caves with a licensed guide. After a fatal ice collapse on the glacier in August 2024, the national park closed the caves from May through September. A team of guides now checks each cave every day, and any cave judged unsafe stays off-limits, which leaves an ice cave season of October to April. Even then, tours can be canceled for weather or ice conditions.

Most tours meet at the Jökulsárlón parking lot and drive out to the ice in a super jeep, and a cave visit usually takes two to three hours. A longer option adds a Breiðamerkurjökull glacier hike, with crampons and gear supplied by the guide. Book ahead for trips between December and March, then pair the tour with the Diamond Beach and Fjallsárlón, both within about 15 minutes by car.