In 2009, we started Katlatrack with the goal of showing off the hidden secrets around Vík, our hometown. These secrets include the magical Þakgil canyon, the iconic black sand beaches of the south coast and, last but not least, the magical Katla ice caves. We are extremely proud of having been the first company to offer adventure tours to these ice caves, and we hold very tightly to our traditions when it comes to these tours.
Since you’ve found yourself on this page, we can assume that you are interested in exploring some of the magnificient Katla ice caves, located in the south of Iceland. And you should be! The Katla Ice Caves are unique for a couple of reasons.
- They are currently the only natural ice caves that can be explored all 12 months of the year. Most natural ice caves become unsafe during the summertime, but not the Katla ice caves.
- For travelers who only have a short limited time to explore Iceland, they are the closest natural ice caves to Reykjavík and to the Keflavík international airport. That means that adventurers can very easily go on a day tour to visit the caves without having to spend most of their day in a car or a bus.
Visiting the Katla ice caves is an experience no up-and-coming adventurer should miss. We truly believe it’s one of the finest tours in Iceland and we proudly offer two variations of the tour, each coming with their own unique twist. But how do you decide what is the best way for you to experience the ice caves?
The FastTrack Ice Cave tour
Our best selling ice cave tour, and for good reason! This is hands down the fastest way to experience the Katla ice cave! If your ideal ice cave tour involves getting to the glacier as quickly as possible, maximising the time you get to spend exploring the cave itself, this is the perfect tour for you!
You start off in Vík, where you meet our guide and get your first look at our modified super jeep, specially designed to get you safely and comfortably to the glacier. Then you go on a roughly 45 minute drive (depending on the weather and conditions) before arriving at the edge of the massive Katla glacier.
When you arrive at the glacier, we put on our helmets and crampons before hiking a short distance to the caves. Once there, your guide will lead you through the incredible passageways of the natural ice caves, while explaining how they are formed, why they are so supernaturally blue and why they have these seemingly random streaks of black running through them.
After a good while in the caves, we leave through the hidden back door of the caves, hike back to the superjeep and drive back to Vík with a camera full of pictures and enough memories to last a lifetime!
The Katla Ice Cave tour
This one is the first ever tour operated to the Katla glacier, and it’s also our first ever tour. It holds a very special place in our hearts and even though the FastTrack tour has somewhat stolen its thunder we still believe there’s room for both types of glacier exploration tours!
It starts off the exact same way as the FastTrack tour, but we take a longer walk to the caves, exploring the Katla glacier itself more thouroughly. After a similar amount of time in the caves, we once again head to the glacier – This time on the lookout for more caves. This detour gives a much better insight into how natural ice caves are formed, and how they grow in size before becoming explorable like the main cave system.
On the way back to Vík, we take a slightly longer drive to explore a black sand beach that is much less visited than its more famous counterpart, Reynisfjara.
Whether you want to maximise your time in an ice cave, or take a more explorative approach, we have the Ice cave tour for you!
And don’t forget to grab some lunch at our partners at Black Crust Pizzeria while you’re in Vík. You even get a 10% discount by showing them your Katlatrack ticket!
Your Adventure Awaits,