In a nutshell
- A guided 45-minute walk inside Vatnshellir, a lava tube in Snæfellsjökull National Park on the Snæfellsnes Peninsula.[1]
- Tickets for the Snæfellsnes: Vatnshellir Lava Cave Tour start at US$46 per person, with reserve now and pay later.[1]
- The guided cave tour lasts 45 minutes. Check availability to see starting times for the date you want.[1]
- Free cancellation is listed up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund on this tour.[1]
- Rated 4.70 from 270 reviews, with guide scores at 4.8 and value for money at 4.5.[1]
| Cave tour only | Full-day peninsula tour | Half-day from Grundarfjörður | |
|---|---|---|---|
| From | from US$46[1] | from US$145[2] | from US$208[3] |
| Duration | 45 minutes[1] | 11 hours[2] | 5 hours[3] |
| Guide | Live guide in English[1] | Live guide in English[2] | Live guide in English[3] |
| Free cancellation | Up to 24 hours before[1] | Up to 24 hours before[2] | Up to 24 hours before[3] |
| Pay later | Reserve now, pay later[1] | Reserve now, pay later[2] | Reserve now, pay later[3] |
Guided by Summit Adventure Guides , the sole licensed operator of Vatnshellir Cave tours, you'll embark on a 45-minute journey into this natural wonder.
Our Verdict on the Vatnshellir Lava Cave Tour
Know before you go
What the Vatnshellir Cave Tour Is
Vatnshellir is a lava tube in Snæfellsjökull National Park, near the western end of the Snæfellsnes Peninsula. It began as a channel of molten lava running beneath a crust that had already cooled and hardened. When the eruption stopped, the lava drained away and left a hollow tunnel behind. You enter through a small opening, step down into the tube and follow it with a guide, past rough walls, ledges and rippled rock that was once liquid. The guided cave tour lasts 45 minutes.[1]
The Snæfellsnes: Vatnshellir Lava Cave Tour is a cave visit rather than a full peninsula circuit, which makes it easy to add to a self-drive day. A live tour guide leads the group in English[1], and skip the ticket line is listed for this tour.[1] Tickets start at US$46 per person, you can reserve now and pay later, and free cancellation applies up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund.[1] As a Snæfellsnes lava cave you can reach by road and walk into with a guide, it suits travellers who want a short, strange stop between mountain viewpoints.
How Long the Cave Visit Takes
The cave tour itself is short: 45 minutes with a guide.[1] That fits neatly into a self-drive day, where the driving between stops takes up most of your time. Check availability to see starting times before you map out the rest of your route, and build the day around the slot you choose.[1] The stop on this listing is described simply as a hidden gem, which is a fair description of a place tucked away under a lava field.
Treat the cave as your fixed point and the coast as the flexible half of the day. If you are coming from Reykjavik, the round trip takes most of a day, and it is better to give yourself room either side of your departure time than to squeeze the cave in at the end of a long drive.[6] Travellers who stay on the peninsula have an easier time of it, with time for a beach, a church and a waterfall in the same afternoon.
Lava tunnels, black sand and a glacier-capped volcano on one peninsula.
Getting to Vatnshellir from Reykjavik
The Snæfellsnes Peninsula sits 136 km (85 mi) from Reykjavík, roughly a 2-hour drive via Route 1 and Route 54.[6] From the peninsula's main road you continue west and south towards the national park, where the cave entrance sits close to the coast road. Driving yourself gives you the freedom to stop at waterfalls, beaches and viewpoints on the way, and to walk the cliffs and coves around the cave before or after your slot.
If you would rather not drive, guided day tours from Reykjavik run the peninsula with pickup available, and you can check availability for pickup options when you book.[2] Their itineraries are built around coastal and mountain stops. For the cave itself, a dedicated departure is the straightforward choice, and you can pair it with a wider tour on another day. Coach, minibus and small-group versions of the peninsula route all exist, with different group sizes and prices.
What to Wear and How to Prepare
Underground, the air stays cool and damp and there is no daylight, so dress as you would for a cold, breezy walk rather than a heated building. Warm layers, a windproof outer jacket, gloves and a hat are sensible. Shoes or boots with a good grip help on uneven lava rock, steps and narrow stretches, and a small torch never hurts if you want to look closely at the walls.
Weather on Snæfellsnes is overall quite good throughout the year, but it can change quickly, and having a flexible travel plan is a good idea, especially in winter.[7] A cave visit is a useful card to play when the forecast turns, because the whole tour happens under rock, out of the wind and rain. Free cancellation is listed up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund[1], and reserve now and pay later is also listed on the same tour.[1]
from US$46
The Vatnshellir Lava Cave Tour lasts 45 minutes with a live English guide, and you can cancel free up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund.[1]
Pairing the Cave with the Best of the Peninsula
Vatnshellir sits inside a national park packed with short, rewarding stops. Djúpalónssandur, a little way along the coast, is known for its four historic lifting stones, the remains of the British trawler Epine GY7 wrecked here in 1948, the natural rock arch Gatklettur, and its black pebble beach at the foot of Snæfellsjökull glacier.[8] Arnarstapi has a small, easy hiking trail that starts very close to the Bardur statue and takes about 2 hours return along the coastline, past basalt columns, rock arches and seabirds.[5]
Further round the peninsula, Kirkjufell stands at 463 meters (1,519 feet) and is one of the most photographed mountains in Iceland.[9] Búðakirkja is a small wooden church on the south side of the peninsula.[10] At Londrangar, puffins, guillemots, fulmars and kittiwakes nest from late spring to summer.[11] Several full-day itineraries also call at Ytri Tunga, Ólafsvík, Arnarstapi and Búðir.[2] A cave slot in the middle of the day still leaves time on either side for the coast.
Other Ways to See the Cave and the Peninsula
If you want the coastline and the cave on the same trip, full-day tours from Reykjavik cover the peninsula in about 11 hours, with prices from US$145.[2] Similar departures run from US$138[12] and from US$161[13], and one small-group version stretches to 12 hours.[12] These trips solve the driving and the logistics. The cave visit itself is a separate booking, so you can choose your time under the lava without giving up the rest of the coast.
There is also a two-hour ATV tour that heads into Snæfellsjökull National Park over lava fields, from US$160.[14] Whale watching runs from Ólafsvík on the peninsula,[15] and the Ólafsvík whale watching tour lasts 3 hours, from US$116.[16] If you have more time to spare, a 2-day west Iceland tour starts at US$553[17] and a 7-day ring road trip that includes Snæfellsnes starts at US$2198.[18]
Snæfellsnes Planning: Weather, Beds and Booking
Staying on the peninsula turns the cave from a dash into part of a slower loop. Hotel Snæfellsnes sits in the middle of the peninsula, 32 km from Stykkishólmur, 38 km from Grundarfjörður, 57 km from Ólafsvík, 35 km from Búðir, 54 km from Arnarstapi and 58 km from Hellnar.[19] From a base like that, the cave, the beaches and the mountain viewpoints all sit within an easy day of driving, and you are not racing the light back to the capital.
There is more than rock here. Lýsulaugar has two geothermal hot tubs, a large geothermal swimming pool and a cold tub.[20] Stóri-Kambur runs horse riding tours that head into the heart of Snæfellsnes.[21] For the cave, check availability to see starting times and lock in the departure that suits your route.[1] An early slot leaves the rest of the day for the coast, while a later one lets you drive out from Reykjavik first.
Snæfellsnes tour ratings on GetYourGuide
What each Snæfellsnes option costs from
From-prices per person as listed on GetYourGuide. Check child pricing at booking.[1][2][3][13][16]
When to book and when to go
How to plan your cave visit
Book your slot
Check availability to see starting times and pick a departure that leaves room to explore the coast afterwards.[1]
Drive to the national park
Snæfellsjökull National Park was established in 2001, and the glacier-capped volcano rises to 1,446 meters.[4]
Dress for underground
Wear warm layers and shoes with grip. The cave air is cold and the floor is uneven lava rock.
Follow your guide
A live guide leads the group in English through the tube, pointing out the rock formations along the way.[1]
Add the coast
Afterwards, drive on to Djúpalónssandur, Arnarstapi, Kirkjufell or Búðakirkja, all on the same peninsula.
Book the Vatnshellir Lava Cave Tour
from US$46
