Jökulsárlón or Fjallsárlón

Which is better, Fjallsárlón or Jökulsárlón?

Neither, on its own. Jökulsárlón is bigger and deeper, with two boat types and Diamond Beach; Fjallsárlón, 10 km west, is smaller and quieter, with Zodiac-only tours, free parking and the glacier face closer.

For a first visit, Jökulsárlón is the one. It is the lagoon in the photos: wide, deep and crowded with icebergs that drift out under the bridge to the beach. Seals are often seen there. Fjallsárlón feels more like a mountain lake with a glacier falling into it. The Vatnajökull National Park describes it as popular with travellers who want nature with fewer crowds.

Our view: if you can only do one boat, do it where the boat you want runs. The amphibian and the long Zodiac are on Jökulsárlón. The short Zodiac to the glacier wall, the Zodiac with a glacier hike and the ice floating are on Fjallsárlón.

How far apart are Jökulsárlón and Fjallsárlón?

About 10 km, or 10 minutes by car on Route 1. Fjallsárlón is the western one, so you reach it first coming from Reykjavík.

The turn-off to Fjallsárlón is signposted from Route 1; look for the big sign for the iceberg boat tours. The Fjallsárlón operator notes that its lagoon cannot be seen from the Ring Road, so you have to turn in. A short gravel walk leads from the car park to the water.

Hikers can walk between the two on trail B3, Breiðármörk: about 15 km one way, 4 to 5 hours, with about 390 m of climbing and no drinking water on the way. It starts at the Vestri-Fellsfjara car park or at Fjallsárlón. From Fjallsárlón it is about 40 minutes to Skaftafell and an hour to Höfn, per the operator. The rest of the drive is in the guide to getting here from Reykjavík.

What boat tours are there on Fjallsárlón?

Zodiacs run by the Fjallsárlón operator: a 75-minute iceberg boat tour from age 5, plus private and luxury boats. On GetYourGuide you can book the Zodiac with a glacier hike, and ice floating.

The main trip is the Iceberg Boat Tour: about 75 minutes in total with about 45 minutes on the water, up to 12 passengers per open Zodiac, from age 5 (children under 14 with an adult), 11,300 ISK (2026 listing), April to November. You get a warm flotation jacket and a life vest, a guide in English and a taste of glacier ice. The dock is about a 10-minute gravel walk from reception. The operator sells it directly.

On GetYourGuide there are two Fjallsárlón trips. The Zodiac and glacier hike (4 hours, from age 14, $235) crosses the lagoon by Zodiac, walks on Fjallsjökull with crampons and comes back by boat; the operator runs it from June to September. The ice floating tour (1.5 hours, ages 15 to 75, $129) puts you in the water itself, in a thermal suit, among the ice, all year. Non-swimmers, pregnant women and people with heart or breathing problems should not join it.

Cross Fjallsárlón by Zodiac, then hike the glacier with crampons, helmet and harness, and ride back across the ice. Free parking.

★ 4.8 · 4 hours · from $235

Explore the Fjallsárlón Zodiac and glacier hike → Tour details

Which lagoon gets you closer to the glacier?

Fjallsárlón. Its glacier wall rises straight from a small lagoon, and the boats go as close as is safely possible to it. On Jökulsárlón only the Zodiac heads for the glacier, which is much further out.

The Fjallsárlón operator puts it this way: unlike larger lagoons where the ice face is far away, its tours bring you right up towards the towering walls of the Fjallsjökull glacier tongue. That is the operator's claim, but the geography backs it: Fjallsárlón is much smaller, so the wall is never far.

Jökulsárlón wins on icebergs. Its glacier front is far from the shore, and the lagoon is full of big floating ice, white, blue or striped with ash, which drifts out to Diamond Beach. On the Zodiac there you get both, given the time and the weather.

★★★★★

I was also worried about the boat ride because I get seasick, but it was super smooth and I felt fine.

What does each lagoon cost, and what is there on site?

Jökulsárlón parking costs 1,110 ISK per car (2026); Fjallsárlón parking is free. Both have toilets and food: a café at Jökulsárlón, the FROST restaurant at Fjallsárlón.

Neither lagoon charges entry. At Jökulsárlón, Vatnajökull National Park collects the parking fee with number-plate cameras; pay by the Parka app or at the machines, and the fee covers the day until midnight. The café by the lagoon serves the lobster soup, sandwiches, cakes and hot drinks, and the viewing areas and café are accessible.

At Fjallsárlón the car park is free, with toilets and FROST next to it. Tour check-in is at the reception behind the restaurant in summer and in FROST itself from October to April; arrive 15 to 30 minutes early. Trail B4 starts behind the restaurant: a 1.5 km loop of about 45 minutes to a viewpoint over the lagoon and its glaciers. There is no petrol station at either lagoon, so fill up before you come.

Can you visit both lagoons in one day?

Yes, easily with a car. Give Fjallsárlón an hour or two with a boat, then drive 10 minutes to Jökulsárlón for the amphibian and Diamond Beach.

A good order from the west: Fjallsárlón first for the Zodiac or the walk to the shore, then Jökulsárlón, then the 500 m path under the bridge to Diamond Beach. Allow at least two hours at Jökulsárlón with the beach. In autumn check the boat seasons: the Jökulsárlón Zodiac stops at the end of October, the amphibian around mid-November, and the Fjallsárlón iceberg boat runs from April to November (2026 listing).

Without a car, the day trips from Reykjavík on this site go to Jökulsárlón and Diamond Beach, not to Fjallsárlón. The most booked day tour is the usual pick. To do both, stay in the area and add the Fjallsárlón Zodiac and hike in summer or ice floating at any time of year.

Where else can you see icebergs in Iceland?

Mostly on Breiðamerkursandur: Jökulsárlón, Fjallsárlón, Breiðárlón and Diamond Beach, where lagoon ice washes up on the black sand.

Breiðárlón is the third of the big lakes on Breiðamerkursandur, also fed by a calving glacier. Diamond Beach (Fellsfjara) is the easiest place to see ice up close without a boat: walk from Jökulsárlón under the road bridge, keep back from the waterline and never climb on the ice. Our Diamond Beach guide covers it.

Which lagoon in Iceland is best depends on what you want. Icebergs and seals: Jökulsárlón. A glacier wall over quiet water: Fjallsárlón. Warm water: that is a different place. Jökulsárlón is not the Blue Lagoon, a geothermal spa on the Reykjanes Peninsula about 50 minutes from Reykjavík.

What is the best glacier to see in Iceland?

It depends on the day you want. Around the lagoons you have three outlets of Vatnajökull, Iceland's largest glacier: Breiðamerkurjökull, Fjallsjökull and Falljökull at Skaftafell.

• Breiðamerkurjökull feeds Jökulsárlón. See it from the boats in season and, in winter, from inside on an ice cave tour from the lagoon, roughly October to March or April.
• Fjallsjökull falls into Fjallsárlón. See its wall by Zodiac, or walk on it on the Zodiac and glacier hike from June to September.
• Falljökull at Skaftafell, about 45 minutes west of Jökulsárlón, is the place for a blue ice hike with crampons, from age 8.

Vatnajökull National Park, which covers all three, has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 2019. Winter visits are in our Jökulsárlón in winter guide.

A guided hike on Falljökull from Skaftafell: crampons, axe, helmet and harness, a 4x4 to the ice and the park fee included.

★ 4.7 · 4 hours · from $102

Explore the Skaftafell blue ice hike → Tour details

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