Svinafellsjokull Glacier - Jaw Dropping Glacier Views You Need to Add to Your Icelandic Adventure

Welcome to the land of surprises! After planning how much vacation time in Iceland we need and reviewing our list of things to do in Iceland we thought we had our itinerary down to a T! (Scratch that! I thought I had it down to a T, I am more of a planner and Igal goes with the flow.) Then we arrived in Reykjavik Iceland, picked our campervan rental and embarked our a journey on Iceland’s Ring Road. All along thinking that we were going to be ticking off bucket list items one by one.

 
The moment we set off, plans were in a way thrown out of the window, because of the Ring Road. No matter how much planning you do, it will throw some surprises your way in that there is so much beauty and many stops you may not have thought you would want to include in your Iceland itinerary. One such surprise was Svinafellsjokull glacier. The beautiful glacier tongue that you can spot from across the Ring Road. The call is so loud you just cannot ignore the sight. Just like Godafoss waterfall, we actually hadn't considered, it but stumbled on it on the drive to our pinned map sights, not knowing just how easily accessible some of the natural wonders in Iceland are. Svinafellsjokull can be seen from the Ring Road. The road leading up to it is a gravel road but easily accessible. Although I imagine during winter months be maybe quite difficult to get as close as we did.

Vatnajökull or Vatna Glacier as its sometimes called is Iceland's largest ice cap and is among Europe's largest glacier caps. The ice or snow that flows away from the main trunk of the glacier is what is referred to as glacier tongues. Svinafellsjokull is one of may glacier tongue flowing from Vatnajokull. Although the pace of the fall of ice and snow is one that may not be visible to the naked eye.  Svinafellsjokull is such a breathtaking sight. You can see the beautifully shaped ice cups and the deep crevasses of the glacier and in the distance, glacier ice slowly melting into the water like marshmallows in a mug of warm milking tea and glacier walkers in the distance meandering through ice ridges on the many glacier walking and hiking tours on offer in Iceland. 

Such a beautiful sight. The beauty of this place is just how easily accessible is if you are on a self-guided tour of Iceland. When we arrive here we had the place all to ourselves until the tour buses flowed in and left one by one. You can walk around the rocky side of the mountain next to the Glacier. You need to come prepared with hiking shoes or a decent pair of trainers or walking shoes. If you only have loafers or shoes of that type you can still walk around but would advise going too far out as some parts require a bit of an uphill climb on slippery rock faces. As beautiful as this place is, just remember how remote it is and don't over do it for the ‘gram and hurt yourself. I have linked to some tours above but you can also compare prices with other glacier tours found here. Many tours will take you closer and onto the glacial ice and the crevasses. They will provide you will give you and show you how to use equipment crampons, and ice axes used for hiking such terrain. If you planning on doing the majority of the exploring on your own then pack accordingly and only walk around the mountain and don't attempt to get anywhere near the crevasses without a guide as glaciers tend to have parts that drop off into bottomless pits so just don't do walk around that without a guide that knows the area.

We visited in the summer but as you may know that Icelandic weather can change without warning, so pack accordingly. Reykjavik, although cold, gave us summer midnight sun and the south of Iceland had mysterious low hanging clouds, rain, hale and all sorts. You don't have to pack everything under the sun, but picking clothes you can layer up as well as items suitable for all weather as well is my advice. I came layered up in thermals, a jumper dress, and my trusted lightweight Mountain Equipment jacket. I bought this jacket a long time ago and it has seen me through hikes in Snowdonia, Norway, and a few other places. It's waterproof, keeps body heat well and can handle pretty much all the mountain can throw at it without being bulky or weighty and can fold into a nice little ball.  Below is also a few items you might want to pack on your trip.

I am Wearing

Mountain Equipment - Gore-Tex Waterproof Jacket / Similar here

Thermal Leggings / Similar here

Keen Hiking Shoes / Similiar here

Very Jumper dress / Similar here and here

What to Pack

Socks/ Thermals / Jumper / Hat / Hiking Boots / Waterproof Jacket / First Aid Kit

Coming from a hot country, where the temperature can soar into the 40s. Sights like these are just so hard to imagine. I have never seen anything like this in my entire life. Then again unless you live here it's always a first for anyone. This is one of the reasons why I love combining my city travels with adventures that take you so close to nature like this. Nature and sights like this let “You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world.” Whatever worries and cares in the world are suddenly forgotten and you are just left speechless and in awe of just how wonderful this world is and how much more of it you just need to see while you are still here.

How To Get to Svinafellsjokull

Svinafellsjokull Glacier, much like many places in Iceland has been part of a movie set. Joining the ranks of Jokuluson featured in not only one but two James Bond movies, Batman Begins and Tomb Raider. The likes of Thor, Star Wars - Rogue One, Prometheus have all been filmed in Iceland. Svinafellsjokull is where Interstellar was filmed. Getting to this beautiful movie set couldn't be easier. You can see Vatna ice cup and its glacier tongue that is Svinafelllsjokull from the Ring Road. You will see the signage in the image below from the Ring Road and once you turn into the road, it leads to a dirt road with a small parking lot right at the end of it. There is a little gate with an entrance to a walking path to explore. You can walk around and hike up the rocks for a better view but bare in mind that you will need suitable shoes to go further on the path and even better gear for the glacier walks but do not attempt the glacier walks without a guide. There are safe paths around with the area providing great views of the glacier that putting yourself in danger for the 'gram would be a bit of an overkill. See what I did there :) 

Exploring Svinafellsjokull Glacier

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