Icelandia (Icelandic Mountain Guides) · Base camp, glacier car park
A guided paddle in sit-on-top kayaks on the lagoon at the foot of Sólheimajökull, run by Icelandic Mountain Guides and sold as Icelandia. Pick it for the ice front seen from the water, a view you get neither from the trail nor from the glacier.
You meet at the Icelandic Mountain Guides base camp in the glacier car park. The guide gets you into a drysuit, shows the basic strokes and how to steer, and checks everyone is comfortable before you launch. The kayaks are sit-on-top, single or double, and easy to handle; no kayaking experience is needed. One guest describes a ten-minute walk over black rocks to the water. GetYourGuide lists the trip at 3 hours, and Icelandia's own page at 2.5.
You paddle on the lagoon, not on the glacier: no crampons and no hike on the ice. The lagoon itself is a product of the retreat. Pupils from Hvolsskóli have measured the ice front every October since 2010, and the distance from their sign to the ice grew from 318 m in 2010 to 726 m in 2021. On some days pieces of calved ice float on the water, and guests have touched them from the kayak. Icelandia gives a weight limit of about 145 kg for a single kayak and about 214 kg combined for a double, in calm conditions, and notes that wind makes the paddle harder.
The minimum age is 14. Icelandic Mountain Guides runs the trip from May to October, so a winter date will show no slots. Wear warm clothes under the drysuit and pack dry socks; Icelandia also asks for sturdy hiking boots and shoes you can cross a stream in. Tea, coffee, water and restrooms are at the base camp. Parking at the glacier costs ISK 750 (2026, paid through the Parka app within 24 hours). Safetravel tells visitors to keep away from the lagoon edges on their own; here the guide picks where to launch and how far to go. Since the Icelandic Met Office warned on 22 July 2026 of a thinning ice ridge and rockfall at the glacier edge, operators decide each day which route is safe, and they have paused or rerouted tours when conditions demanded it. Check your booking the day before; every tour here cancels free up to 24 hours before.
Check in at the Icelandic Mountain Guides base camp in the Sólheimajökull car park.
Suit up over your warm layers, then basic strokes and steering on land.
A short walk over black rocks to the launch point, by one guest's account.
Glide along the ice front with your guide, around any floating ice, with stops to talk and take photos.
Paddle in, change out of the drysuit and warm up at the base camp.
★★★★★Dori was an awesome guide. He led a very pleasant, well-paced kayak tour that was fun and full of great information on Iceland.
★★★★★We had a great experience with Miro who was an excellent tour guide. It was fun to experience seeing glaciers up close. The equipment was top notch and we stayed warm and dry the whole time. Great memories!
★★★★★We kayaked around some floating icebergs. The guide talked about the lagoon and glaciers. Before we went out we got fitted into dry suits with booties and gloves. They even gave me a sock hat to wear. You will wear your coat and warm clothes under dry suit. We walked for ten minutes across black rocks to get to lagoon. My feet did get wet. Take extra pair of socks. Had a great time. Go for it.
★★★★★We had an absolutely epic time kayaking in the glacier lagoon. It was absolutely epic to see the scale of the glacier in a way few will get to see [...] It’s not often you can say you have touched an ice berg with your own hands.
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No. The kayaks are sit-on-top and easy to steer, and the guide teaches the basic strokes before you launch.
Fourteen, per Icelandic Mountain Guides. Weight limits are about 145 kg for a single kayak and about 214 kg combined for a double.
From May to October. Outside that season the hikes and the glacier edge walk still run from the same car park.
Often there are pieces of calved ice, and some guests have touched them from the kayak, but icebergs are not guaranteed. Jökulsárlón, about three hours east, is the lagoon for big icebergs.
Ready to book
Three hours on the glacier lagoon below the snout in a drysuit, May to October, for ages 14 and up.
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