Sólheimajökull Gletscherwanderung & Eisklettern Intro - Kleine Gruppe

This was one of the most disappointing tours I have ever taken, especially compared to what was advertised. The website describes this as a “Blue Ice - Ice Climbing Adventure” with “three hours of pure ice exploration,” glacier hiking through crevasses, ridges, ice walls, moulins, blue-hued frost, and a knowledgeable guide explaining the glacier’s history and geology. That is not what we experienced. The tour started out of an old, dilapidated American school bus that was leaking from the roof. The condition of the bus immediately made the experience feel cheap and poorly maintained, and the equipment did not feel much better. For the price of this tour, I expected a professional adventure operation, not something that felt thrown together with outdated gear and a leaking bus. The biggest issue was the boot situation. The website clearly states that guests need “sturdy hiking boots with ankle support that fit crampons” and says boots are available to rent if you do not own a pair. We did own and wear sturdy hiking boots, but we were still forced to rent their boots for 30,000 ISK. It was not presented as optional, and nowhere on the website did it say that boot rental would be mandatory even if you showed up with appropriate hiking boots. That felt like an undisclosed extra charge and a bait-and-switch. The actual glacier experience was also nowhere near what was promised. We hiked roughly one kilometer onto the glacier, reached a crevice, and were told to stand in one small designated area while the guides set up the climbing rope. We then waited around an hour just standing there. We were not allowed to walk around, explore, or even move to look at anything else. When I moved briefly out of boredom to try to actually see something on the trip, I was told to get back to the spot. I understand glacier safety matters, but this did not feel like a serious safety issue. Another tour had school-age children in the same general area. The issue seemed to be that the group size was too large for the setup. There were 13 guests and only two guides managing the rope, which meant most of the tour was spent standing around waiting instead of hiking, exploring, learning, or climbing. After waiting about an hour, I got one climb that lasted maybe 30 seconds. Then we moved about 100 meters to another crevice, waited over an hour again, and climbed there twice. Two of the three climbs were on the same wall. After that, we walked back to the bus and returned the gear. So for a five-hour experience, we walked about a kilometer onto the glacier, stood in place for most of the tour, and climbed only three times total. There was very little exploration, very little instruction, very little movement, and very little of the glacier education that was promised in the description. The website sells this as an exciting ice-climbing adventure and glacier exploration experience. In reality, it felt like an overpriced waiting session with a few short climbs attached. The glacier itself was beautiful, but the tour did not deliver what was advertised. Between the leaking bus, old equipment, undisclosed mandatory boot rental, excessive waiting, limited climbing, and lack of meaningful glacier exploration, I would not recommend this tour. It felt like a waste of both time and money.

Daniel (our guide) and the team onsite are excellent. He is very good with people, very patient, and very instructive. He also is very safety conscious. The experience itself is limited by a couple things. Boots should be mandatory and included in the price if you intend to climb. There is too much time wasted trying to get ready to go, with people deciding they don't want boots and then regretting it once they are on the ice. This also takes away from the climbing experience later when people don't have the right boots. I would suggest that this be divided into two groups - those who want to go on the glacier and maybe try climbing and those who actually want to go out and climb and learn more about climbing. The team is excellent but they are limited by the variance in skills and interests of the customers, and they can and should be able to do more.

Franco was the best guide! He was flexible on a variable weather day and really customized the tour to the abilities of our group. It was our first time trying ice climbing and he was the perfect person to teach us. We felt incredibly safe with his guidance and he gave us enough sense of adventure to push ourselves. His love of Iceland, the land, and the glacier is clearly evident. 10/10 recommend this activity for anyone wanting something a little more adventurous and challenging.

We began our tour from Reykjavík, so we got to see the breathtaking waterfalls! Our guide gave us good time to explore the falls and witness their powerful glory. For the next highlight of the tour (glacier / ice climbing), Lukas and Franco were incredible guides who made it super easy to learn the ropes in ice climbing. We felt safe and comfortable around them, especially given their helpful and enthusiastic attitudes. The ice climbing itself was an unforgettable experience, and walking all over the glacier offered some crazy views.

The glacier hike was a brilliant experience and Daniel was a such a great wealth of knowledge and has a friendly demeanour to match, a great guide!

Thanks to Daniel and Lucas--our terrific coaches and Glacier Climbing Guides--we had a once in a lifetime adventure! It was a challenging experience for sure (we are 50 and 57 years old), but absolutely doable for anyone relatively fit. Our gear was perfect to suit our needs and we enjoyed our time on the glacier. Again, Daniel and Lucas were fabulous!

10/10 experience. Daniel was a fantastic guide and went above and beyond to be sure everyone in the group was comfortable and got climbs in

Such a unique experience! I would honestly recommend glacier climbing to everyone — it was one of those moments that feels really unforgettable. Daniel was a great guide 😀Super funny & relaxed and made us feel safe the whole time. The group was small, which made the experience even more personal. Overall, just do it! You will not regret it:)

We had an amazing glacier climbing experience! The scenery was breathtaking, and the whole tour was very well organized. A special thank you to Daniel, who made the experience even better. He was friendly, funny, and full of positive energy throughout the hike. The only thing I disagree with is his assessment of my climbing skills. He gave me a 6/10, but luckily I get the final say in this review — and Daniel gets a well-deserved 10/10 from me! 😄 Highly recommended!

Daniel was a phenomenal guide! He provided Great instructions, had a great sense of humour and shared good tips for restaurants! Great intro to the ice climbing experience! Felt actually more involved than the simple walking tours on the glacier - very happy they provide this option as many other tours are just simple walking on the surface.