Ice Caving in Iceland
So, I recently went to Iceland for 10 days. I booked two tours — Ice Caving was one of them. Let’s start off by saying what I thought of it:
It was absolutely amazing.
After going through countless different tour company websites online, I booked the Katlatrack ice cave tour due to their outstanding TripAdvisor reviews.
The meeting spot was at Vik’s N1 gas station at 11am (there is only 1 N1 in Vik, you won’t miss it). There is a giant Icewear/Souvenir shop/grocery store right next door to the meeting point so we got there early and did some shopping while we waited. We bought some snacks and drinks for our drive after the tour.
At 11am, the superjeeps rolled up and they took roll call. We got split into two cars (each holds about 11 people) and off we went!
For anyone who is prone to motion sickness — sit in the front or as close to the front as you can. You’ll be able to take better pictures and you won’t want to puke. However, the ride was so bumpy in such an adventurous way, I didn’t feel sick at all despite sitting in the back seat.
Our tour guide Bessi is an Icelandic local, born and raised in a small village near Vik. On the way in, he told us funny jokes to keep us entertained and also shared a few folk stories about the rugged landscape we were driving through. He talked about the naming origin of the Katla Volcano, a bit about huge plots of land for sale, and about weather conditions and hazards in the area. All things we wouldn’t have learned on our own, naturally.
When we made it out of the plains and suddenly into the slush and snow, he named a bunch of movies that were filmed in Iceland, such as Interstellar, Batman, Star Wars, and James Bond… and then promptly turned on the 007 theme song as we approached our parking destination. It was quite fitting — we were in the middle of nowhere and it’s just white in all directions.
We got out of the car and they handed out helmets and crampons.
There are small streams we have to cross on the way to the ice cave. The guides made sure everyone crossed safely.
Approaching the ice cave. You can see the entrance just to the right of Bessi.
Safety first!
Bessi goes through some safety rules before we head in. It’s going to be wet, slippery, and it’s going to drip water on you the whole time. Hold the rope while going up the stairs and definitely cover your camera if you don’t have a shell.
Inside the cave facing out towards the entrance. Surprisingly not any colder in here, but definitely much more wet.
I could stare at this all day. The black specks you see are all the volcanic ash in the ice.
After a brief stop inside, they brought us through the other side to show us a smaller ice cave that had just formed. We had to crouch over to get inside and those with claustrophobia had to sit it out.
These ice caves are constantly changing, much like the weather in Iceland. Bessi mentioned that even just a week ago, the smaller ice cave’s opening was so small that they had to crawl in. You can see the entrance here:
Once we all had our fill of seeing the ice caves, Bessi gathered everyone around and poured each person a mini shot of Brennevin, the Icelandic Spirit also known as Black Death. It’s traditionally made out of potatoes, with caraway seeds for flavor (some versions may be made differently). I personally thought it tasted quite sweet. B mentioned that while he usually tastes alcohol first before flavor, Brennevin was opposite.
Glacier ice for Brennevin on the rocks.
Some more free time to take pictures before leaving:
On Our Way Out
The seats in the back of the super jeep are the bounciest seats, but are also called the “most fun” seats. No matter what seat you’re in, buckle up otherwise your head WILL hit the ceiling of the van. I’m not a very tall person, and I’m sure my head would’ve smacked it 20+ times if I didn’t have my seat belt on. The superjeep made it’s way back to the way we came, with water and ice splashing onto our windshield while we had the sweet guitar riffs of ACDC’s Highway to Hell to really set the adventurous mood.
We got to stop by the Yoda Cave while the drivers re-inflated their tires (they deflated them earlier to get us through the slush). You’ll see why it’s called the Yoda cave if you ever go :)
Black Sand Beach
A short drive through Black Sands Beach. We had about 5 minutes out there to take pictures and explore. The fog that rolled in brought on a very eerie feel. There aren’t a lot of people on this side of the beach either, so we mainly had it all to ourselves.
And that’s our super jeep. The super jeep has seen some shit — it used to be a search and rescue vehicle in Iceland!
One of the most exciting parts was when Bessi drove us through Black Sand Beach by the waves back to the Katlatrack meeting point. After multiple warnings about not getting too close to these deadly sneaker waves of Black Sands Beach, it was so exciting to be blasting past the waves at full speed with Kaleo’s Rock N Roller at full blast through the speakers. I took a video and thought about screenshotting it for this entry, but I think it just won’t do the experience justice. I’ll leave it to you guys to experience on your own if you ever decide to — for me, it is a memory that won’t soon be forgotten.
Katlatrack, this tour was amazing and totally worth it. Next time I’m in Iceland, I’ll be sure to take another tour with them.
Feeling adventurous? Book a tour through here. Katla Ice cave is open all year round!