Kayaking on the Sólheimajökull Glacier Lagoon

Lucky to have a private tour with Jose Andres and spend extra time in this extraordinarily serene (albeit sad) lagoon. His kindness, knowledge and video skills made this highlight of our trip extra special!

We did this tour recently and it was honestly one of the best things we have ever done in our lives. We were based in Reykjavik and had hired a car so it was easy to get to and you saw amazing scenery along the way. On the day of our tour we met with our guide, Jose, at the agreed meeting point and he was super friendly from the start. He took us (there were 7 of us) to a container so we could all get changed in to our protective suits and other bits of equipment to made sure we were all safe and secure. He gave us a fun and informative pre-tour safety briefing on what to expect, how to act in the water and what to do if we got in to any difficulties. He was easy to understand, very knowledgeable and happy to take any questions. He then took us down to the kayaks on the edge of the lagoon (it was only a 10 minute walk) and showed us how to get started before leading us on an hour long kayaking adventure. It was amazing from start to finish - very relaxing, amazing views of the bergs and glacier and nice that we could get up close to such beautiful scenery. Jose would stop regularly to tell us the history of the glacier and how the bergs were formed etc. and clearly knew his stuff. He also took pictures of us throughout the tour on our own phones which was really nice. Afterwards he helped us out of our gear and had a nice chat with us all about what we'd just done. All in all, a fantastic once-in-a-lifetime trip. We can't recommend this company highly enough, very safe, very capable and very friendly. Don't hesitate to book with them! They are also known as Arcanum tours.

Kayaking on the Sólheimajökull Glacier Lagoon was a fabulous experience! It was so quiet and peaceful, not to mention humbling, as we paddled by massive icebergs in the lagoon and the even more massive Solheimsjokull glacier. This is the only company that offers kayaking on this glacier lagoon, so we were the only five kayaks on the whole lake (4 two-person kayaks plus our guide, who was in a single-person kayak), and there are no motorized boats at all. In addition to paddling around the icebergs and along the “front” of the glacier, we got to paddle to the far side of the glacier where no one is allowed to go on foot. Our guide, José Andrés, was terrific! He explained all the safety protocols clearly, demonstrated how to put on and use the waterproof gear, and provided lots of interesting information about the glacier and the lagoon as we paddled around—all with a great sense of humor. He made an already memorable activity an absolute pleasure from start to finish! My 23-year-old daughter and I absolutely recommend this unique activity to make your visit to South Iceland a more fun and memorable experience!