About Vatnajökull National Park
Vatnajökull National Park is Iceland's largest protected area, reaching from the glacier lagoons of the south coast to the river canyons of the north. It was formally established on June 7, 2008, by joining the Vatnajökull ice cap with the older Skaftafell and Jökulsárgljúfur national parks, and it now covers more than a tenth of the country.
UNESCO added the park to the World Heritage List on July 5, 2019, for the way fire and ice keep building and reshaping the land. Active volcanoes lie under the ice cap, and their eruptions and glacial floods spread the black sand plains you cross on Route 1.
Most visitors start on the southern side. Skaftafell, about four and a half hours' drive east of Reykjavík on Route 1, is the main hiking base, and Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon lies about 45 minutes farther east. In the north, the Jökulsárgljúfur area holds Dettifoss and the horseshoe canyon of Ásbyrgi, while Askja, Lakagígar and Eldgjá sit in the highlands.
Those highland areas are reached on F-roads that usually open only in summer and require a 4x4, or on a guided tour. Check road.is for openings before you plan a day around them.
The park runs several visitor centers around its edges, including Skaftafellsstofa in Skaftafell, Gljúfrastofa in Jökulsárgljúfur, Skaftárstofa and Snæfellsstofa. Skaftafellsstofa is open all year, from 09:00 to 19:00 in June through August, with shorter hours the rest of the year. Rangers there can tell you which trails are open and what conditions to expect.
There is no entrance fee for Vatnajökull National Park, but regional fees apply at Skaftafell and Jökulsárlón. A car with up to five seats pays 1,110 ISK, valid until midnight on the day you pay, and cameras read license plates. You can pay at machines in the lot or online through Parka, and the fee is half price if you already paid at another fee area of the park that day.
Summer is the season for hiking and the highland roads, while winter brings guided ice cave trips on the southern outlet glaciers. You can see one corner of the park in a day from the south coast, but covering its main regions takes a week or more.
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