Skaftafell Glacier Explorer - Uitgebreide trektocht met kleine groep

Absolutely amazing experience! Thanks in part to our lovely guide (lady with 2 braids 😉), we look back on a wonderful adventure!!

This tour far exceeded our expectations. We went high on the glacier and were blessed with very nice weather, but our guide Ivo was positive and happy and spirited and did a great job keeping us safe but keeping us moving. The views were superlative, impossible to really describe. I would highly recommend. Of note, we were with a fit, active group, and that probably made a difference as well.

My wife and I booked this tour more than three months in advance and communicated directly with Arctic Adventures by email about appropriate clothing, what to expect, etc. We were particularly excited about this tour because it was advertised as a longer, 5-hour experience, with more time on the glacier and a route that went higher/deeper into the glacier—to the second level and through the crevasses. When we arrived, however, we were told that our tour had supposedly been scheduled for an earlier time—which we had therefore “missed”—and that the tour at the time we had actually booked was full. They initially tried to blame Viator. I then showed them both our booking confirmation and our direct email correspondence with Arctic Adventures, which clearly showed the correct time we had booked and paid for. Despite the error clearly not being ours, we were simply told there was nothing they could do. Our only option was to sit around for several hours and join their regular 4-hour glacier tour later that afternoon. Unfortunately, that experience only made things worse. The regular tour had more than 40 people, including many wearing jeans and some who appeared to be in physical condition unsuitable for even a leisurely hike, let alone a glacier excursion. In fact, several people Arctic Adventures had accepted payment from and brought on the tour couldn't even complete the leisurely 20-minute walk from the bus to the glacier, turning around after approximately 10 minutes. We also quickly discovered that what Arctic Adventures markets as a “4-hour glacier hike” resulted in only about one hour actually on the glacier. More than an hour was spent organizing equipment and watching what appeared to be very young and inexperienced staff struggle to organize the 40+ participants into smaller groups and distribute basic gear. Arctic Adventures' bus also dropped us approximately a 20-minute walk from the glacier, while buses belonging to other tour companies drove to the base/start of the glacier—we literally walked past them on our way in. So be very careful about what you think you're purchasing when Arctic Adventures advertises a “4-hour glacier hike.” In our experience, only a small part of that was spent on the glacier. Once we finally reached the glacier, our “guide” was a young university student from Scotland who told us he was there as part of a co-op/school work-experience semester. He was a nice kid, but given all of Arctic Adventures' emphasis on glacier safety, this was hardly reassuring. After all the safety talk and hype, we were apparently being taken onto a glacier by someone who had only been on that glacier a limited number of times himself. Nobody we saw or interacted with at Arctic Adventures appeared to be Icelandic—or, frankly, over the age of 25. Our 40+ person group was eventually divided into four smaller groups, but even those groups did not receive the same experience. One group was taken higher into the crevasses while others simply walked around the first level of the ice. The most astonishing and infurating moment came when our guide was preparing to take us toward the start of the crevasses. The young guide leading the group that had already gone up told him that she wanted her group to “feel special,” so our guide turned our group back. Our entire group heard the exchange and understood exactly what had happened. Apparently making one group “feel special” required deliberately giving another group an inferior experience. It was an almost perfect summary of how poorly organized the entire operation felt. Throughout the day, we saw other guides and tour operators working on the glacier. The difference was striking. They appeared to be seasoned, experienced adults operating much smaller groups and providing what looked like a significantly better experience. I believe one of the companies we saw was Local Guide. Overall, Arctic Adventures was the most disorganized and misleading tour operation I have encountered in all my travels. If you're simply looking for a large-group excursion and don't mind being moved around in what felt to us like a cattle operation, with a substantial portion of your advertised tour time consumed by waiting, (dis)organizing, transportation and equipment distribution, Arctic Adventures may suit you, but even then, I suspect the other operators will do a better job. But if you're traveling to Iceland hoping for a once-in-a-lifetime experience actually hiking and exploring a glacier, my advice is very different: Stay as far away from Arctic Adventures as you can! Book with another operator. Better yet, based on what we saw on the glacier, spend a bit extra money for a private guide (or at worst a very small-group tour). For an experience this special—and an environment where the quality and experience of your guide actually matter—I wish we had done exactly that.

The meeting point space did not seem right to me for so many people. It was raining, I rented a jacket and I got wet anyway.

The experience was incredible. Annya was super attentive, fun, and gave us a lot of security. Highly recommend

Thank you to Marketa for the nice guide. She was excellent. The experience to glacier was so good as well. Thank you.

The guide, Christian, made the experience fantastic!

Great experience all around. Was easy to find the meet up, guides were excellent and hike was amazing. This was my son’s number one activity in our trip, and guides helped me along even with my bad knees slowing the group up. Thank you for a wonderful tour!

Absolutely worth doing if you're in the area or even in Reykjavik. We had a wonderful time from start to finish–Vero was brilliant in ensuring we had a great time, continuously checking up on us, leading us along the glacier, and helping our group grow closer together. Her relentless energy inspired us to keep going, and this honestly felt like such a different experience than any other operator, with our group venturing to parts of the glacier seemingly untouched by other groups. We never felt rushed, and this excursion was definitely one of the highlights of our time in Iceland. An absolute must-try.

Absolutely one of the highlights of our trip to Iceland and an experience I can gladly check off my bucket list! Our guide, Veronica, was amazing from beginning to end. She speaks English, but she is also fluent in Spanish, which made the experience even more special for us as Latinos. Being able to connect with her in Spanish made us feel right at home, even while standing on a glacier in Iceland! Vero truly went out of her way to give us the best possible experience. She shared her knowledge, took us to some of her favorite secret spots, and made sure we had plenty of opportunities to stop, explore, take pictures, and really enjoy the glacier instead of feeling rushed. You can tell she genuinely loves what she does and wants you to experience the glacier at its best. The whole process was also incredibly easy. They offer a pickup service, or you can meet them directly at their office, which was super accessible. And don’t worry if you don’t have glacier equipment — they provide almost everything you need for the experience. Walking on a glacier in Iceland was already a bucket-list item for me, but having such a great guide made it even more memorable. I would 100% recommend this experience as a MUST-DO while visiting Iceland. And if you can… ask for Vero! 🇮🇸🧊