Winter in Iceland

Winter tours in Iceland

Ice caves that only exist while the glacier is frozen, northern lights, and the short bright days that make the South Coast look like nothing else.

The short version

  • 1629 tours from 193 vetted operators.
  • From €12 a person.
  • This is a filter over operator data, not a hand-picked list. What it does is spelled out below.

The facts

Tours
1629from 193 operators
Cheapest tour
€12also 8 admission tickets from €4
Winter only
247cannot run in the other half of the year
Run all year
1382available whenever you come

How this list was built

Tours our catalogue marks as winter-only — ice caves, which are only safe when the glacier is frozen, and the aurora tours that need darkness. These genuinely do not run in July. They are listed first, followed by the 1382 tours that run all year, because those are equally bookable in winter and it would be misleading to leave them out. The season on each tour comes from the operator's own selling calendar, not from our guess about the weather.

Daylight in Reykjavík at the winter solstice is four hours and seven minutes. Plan one thing a day, not three.

1629 tours

More filters
Priceper person; priced-on-request tours drop out while a range is set
Length
Starts
Effortthe operator's own rating

Try Iceland Tours

Golden Circle Afternoon & Northern Lights

from €204 per person4.8· 25 Google reviews of the operator

27% above the €161 typical for northern lights tours

pickup included

10 h · from Reykjavík

  • Book the night before

The most iconic historical and natural attractions of Iceland : The Golden Circle. Combined with the chase of the fascinating natural phenomenon of Northern Lights, the dancing colors and shapes in the dark arctic sky…

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Imagine Iceland Travel

(RS) Northern Lights 4x4 Tour from Akureyri

from €244 per person4.70· 59 Google reviews of the operator

51% above the €161 typical for northern lights tours

pickup included · evening

2 h 30 · from Akureyri

Go Northern Lights hunting with our expert and top rated Northern Lights Guides. Experience the magic of the Northern Lights and Icelandic tales in the winter wonderland of the North.

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Ice Guardians Iceland

The Ultimate Glacier Exploration (Full Day Hike, Ice Climb & Ice Cave*)

from €439 per person5.00· 115 Google reviews of the operator

103% above the €216 typical for glacier hikes

Challenging · from age 15

8 h · from Skaftafell

  • Age 15+
  • Challenging
  • Gear included

This is the most adventurous hard ice glacier experience in Iceland full-stop. Hike, Ice Climb & Ice Cave* through Vatnajökull's crevasse fields, icefalls and ice caves*.

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All 1629 winter tours in Iceland, A–Z

Why book with us

  • One checkout, any number of operators

    Book a glacier hike from one company and a whale boat from another in a single payment, with one booking reference.

  • Rankings are not for sale

    We sort by rating, never by what an operator pays us. No supplier can buy a higher position here.

  • 206 operators vetted, and not all of them accepted

    We don't list everything in Iceland, on purpose. Every operator here is one we would book ourselves.

  • If it falls short, we fix it

    Free cancellation up to 24 hours before most tours — and if an operator lets you down, tell us and we sort it out.

Winter tours: questions people ask

How much do winter tours in Iceland cost?

From €4 to €1906 a person, with a typical price of €169. That is the median of 767 per-person day-tour fares we currently sell. Multi-day packages and private charters are priced differently and sit outside those figures.

What is the cheapest of the winter tours in Iceland?

Kerið Admission with Arctic Adventures, at €4 a person. Read what it actually is before booking on price alone — the cheapest line is sometimes an admission ticket rather than a guided trip, and a large coach costs less per seat than a small-group minibus because it gives you less time at each stop.

Why do some winter tours in Iceland not show a price?

23 of the 1629 are priced on request rather than published, which almost always means a private charter where the cost depends on group size and pickup point. Ask us and we will get a quote from the operator.

How many winter tours in Iceland do you sell, and who runs them?

1629 of them, from 193 operators: Protour.is, KFJ Luxury Tours, Try Iceland Tours, Imagine Iceland Travel, Icelandic Roamers, Snaeland Travel and 187 more. Every one is a company we hold a contract with — we do not list everything in Iceland, on purpose.

How long do winter tours in Iceland take?

Day tours run from 1 hour to 16 hours, most commonly about 4 hours. Pickup and drop-off are usually inside that figure, so a three-hour tour from Reykjavík can mean closer to four door to door.

Are there cheaper options than a full winter tours in Iceland tour?

34 of these are admissions or tickets rather than guided tours — Reindeer Park - Admission from €15, for instance. Worth knowing if you are driving yourself and only need entry.

Do winter tours in Iceland include hotel pickup?

1133 of 1629 (70%) offer pickup. The rest ask you to meet on location. Pickup is the single most common cause of a missed tour in Iceland: it runs to a window rather than a time, and the bus will not wait long.

Can I book a private version of the winter tours in Iceland?

650 of the 1629 are private, the other 979 are shared departures. Private costs more in total but is priced per vehicle, so for four or more people it often works out close per head — and you set the pace.

When can I do the winter tours in Iceland?

Across the next 360 days of live availability we hold departures in October, November, December, January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September. That is a rolling window rather than the whole year, so a month missing from that list is not necessarily a month with nothing running.

Are the winter tours in Iceland seasonal?

247 of 1629 run only part of the year; the other 1382 run all year round. In Iceland that is usually about daylight or ice rather than demand.

How late can I book winter tours in Iceland?

Cutoffs run from 1 to 24 hours before departure, and 766 of them accept bookings inside 24 hours — so booking the night before is often possible. Popular winter tours sell out days ahead regardless of the cutoff.

Can I cancel a winter tours in Iceland booking?

1156 of 1629 (71%) allow free cancellation at least 24 hours before departure. The exact window is on each tour page and comes from the operator's own policy, not ours. If the operator cancels for weather you are refunded in full.

How fit do I need to be for winter tours in Iceland?

Operators rate them: 1098 easy, 268 very easy, 220 moderate, 37 challenging, 6 demanding. Iceland's ratings assume weather — an easy walk in still air is a different proposition in 15 m/s of wind.

Is there a minimum age for winter tours in Iceland?

618 of the 1629 set one, ranging from 1 to 20 years. The rest have no stated minimum, which usually means infants are allowed but not that the tour suits them.

Are winter tours in Iceland suitable for children?

1059 of 1629 are marked family-friendly by the operator. That is their judgement rather than ours, and it usually means the walking is short and the vehicle has a toilet.

Are any winter tours in Iceland accessible?

Operators have flagged accessibility on some: 162 for prams and strollers, 107 for wheelchair users, 80 for limited mobility, 41 for limited sight. Ring us before booking rather than relying on the flag alone — Icelandic sites vary enormously and a flag does not describe the terrain at the stop.

What is included in winter tours in Iceland?

Varies by operator. Across these: wi-fi on board on 269, parking fees on 175, admission fees on 159, food and drink on 94, fuel surcharge on 71. Anything not listed as included is not included — Icelandic operators are literal about this.

Are winter tours in Iceland guided, and in what language?

1237 of 1629 are guided in person, with guiding offered in Arabic, Chinese, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch and 22 more. English is standard on every shared departure in Iceland; other languages usually mean a private guide.

Where do winter tours in Iceland start from?

They start from Capital Region (Reykjavík), Akureyri & the North, Vatnajökull (Skaftafell, Höfn), South Coast (Hella, Hvolsvöllur, Vík), Borgarfjörður (Húsafell), Reykjanes & Blue Lagoon and 6 more. Where a tour starts matters more in Iceland than how long it lasts: the same tour from Reykjavík and from Vík are different days entirely.

What happens to winter tours in Iceland in bad weather?

The operator cancels and refunds you in full — Icelandic operators cancel readily, and that is a good sign rather than a bad one. What they will not do is refund you for a tour that ran and simply had poor visibility. Wind cancels more tours here than rain or cold.

The other half of the year

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