Skaftafell Glacier sits in the Skaftafell area of Vatnajökull National Park, 327 km east of Reykjavík along Iceland's Ring Road. Most visitors drive here in 4 to 4.5 hours, turning off Route 1 onto road 998, where the parking lots and visitor centre wait at the end of the road.
Skaftafell (end of road 998, off Route 1), Öræfi, Vatnajökull National Park, Iceland
Take Route 1 (the Ring Road) east out of Reykjavík for 327 km, passing Vík before the road crosses Skeiðarársandur, the vast glacial outwash plain. Skaftafell is signposted where road no. 998 branches off Route 1; parking is at the visitor centre. Entry to the park itself is free — you pay the regional parking fee instead, collected by automatic licence-plate photo and payable via the Parka app, the machines, or online. The fee is valid until midnight, and if you visit Jökulsárlón the same day you get 50% off the second area, so pairing the two saves real money.
Strætó route 51 runs from Reykjavík's Mjódd terminal to Höfn via Vík and Skaftafell — a 22-fare-zone journey that stops right at the park. It runs daily in summer, making a car-free trip genuinely doable, and kids under 12 ride free. The catch is the timetable: service is seasonal and thins out outside summer, so check straeto.is before committing to dates. You'll want to build your whole South Coast plan around the schedule, since a missed bus can mean an unplanned overnight.
From Höfn, drive Route 1 west for 130 km; from Vík, head east and allow 2.5 hours. Either way you finish on the same short hop: the signposted turn onto road no. 998 just off the Ring Road. Kirkjubæjarklaustur sits 69 km to the west, which makes Skaftafell an easy mid-journey stop if you're basing yourself there. This is the sensible option if you're overnighting in the region — Höfn, the langoustine capital, works well as a base for both Skaftafell and the Jökulsárlón lagoon.
Numerous operators run South Coast day tours and multi-day packages from Reykjavík that include a Skaftafell stop, with the larger-bus parking fees (ISK 2,770–9,400 by vehicle size) normally built into the package price. Guided glacier walks depart from Skaftafell Base Camp by the visitor centre — arrive 20 minutes early — while some winter ice-cave tours meet at nearby Hof instead, so check your meeting point carefully. It's a long day: budget ten hours of driving on top of whatever time you spend at the glacier. Book ahead; summer departures sell out.
However you arrive, the glacier itself is reached on foot: the signed S1 Jökulslóð loop runs 4.1 km from the visitor centre across the glacial foreland to a viewpoint facing the snout across its proglacial lake. Allow 1–1.5 hours at an easy grade, with numbered markers along the way explaining the glacier's retreat. You cannot walk on the ice — Skaftafellsjökull now ends in a lake, and tours use neighbouring Falljökull instead. Anyone wanting crampons underfoot needs a certified guide, full stop.
Parking is at the visitor-centre lots at the end of road 998, where your plate is photographed automatically. A passenger car (5 seats or fewer) costs ISK 1,110, valid until midnight, payable via the Parka app, machines, or online. Holders of the Icelandic P-parking card can email the park ahead for a fee exemption.
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| From | Mode | Time | Cost | Tip |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reykjavík (self-drive) | Car via Route 1 (Ring Road) east, turning onto road 998 | 4h–4h 30m | Parking ISK 1,110 for a passenger car (up to 5 seats), paid via Parka app, machines, or online after your plate is photographed | The fee is valid until midnight, and if you visit Jökulsárlón the same day you get 50% off the second area's fee — keep both stops on one calendar day. |
| Reykjavík (public bus) | Strætó route 51 from Mjódd to Höfn, stopping at Skaftafell | Approx. 6h 51m including stops | ISK 13,200 adult one-way; ISK 6,600 for ages 12–17, elderly and disabled; children 0–11 free | Service runs daily in summer but is seasonal and reduced off-peak — check straeto.is before committing to a car-free trip, since a missed bus here means a long wait. |
| Reykjavík (guided coach tour) | South Coast day tour or multi-day package | Approx. 5 hours each way | Priced per operator; 3-hour glacier hikes from about ISK 13,126 per person | Bus parking fees are normally built into the package. Glacier walks leave from Skaftafell Base Camp by the visitor centre — arrive 20 minutes early — and some winter ice-cave tours meet in nearby Hof instead. |
| Höfn | Car west on Route 1 | 1h 30m–2h (130 km) | Drive is free; parking ISK 1,110 for a passenger car | Höfn is Iceland's langoustine capital and the eastern terminus of the summer route 51 bus, so it doubles as a car-free overnight base if you're pairing Skaftafell with Jökulsárlón. |
| Vík | Car east on Route 1 across Skeiðarársandur | Approx. 2.5 hours | Drive is free; parking ISK 1,110 for a passenger car | Watch for the twisted steel girders of the old Skeiðará bridge just west of the park turn-off — all that survived the 1996 jökulhlaup — and check road.is before setting out in winter, when storms close this stretch of the Ring Road. |
| Kirkjubæjarklaustur | Car east on Route 1 | About 1 hour (69 km) | Drive is free; parking ISK 1,110 for a passenger car | Fjaðrárgljúfur canyon sits just off this same stretch near Klaustur and uses the same Parka payment system (ISK 1,000, valid until midnight) — an easy pairing if you're driving the South Coast west to east. |
Entry to the park is free; the ISK 1,110 parking fee (passenger car, 5 seats or fewer) is collected by automatic licence-plate photo and payable via the Parka app, the machines, or online, and it's valid until midnight. If you're continuing to Jökulsárlón the same day, do both on one date — the second fee area gets a 50% discount.
Skaftafell sits at the end of road 998, which branches off the Ring Road on the east side of the Skeiðarársandur outwash plain and is signposted from Route 1. From Höfn, allow 1.5–2 hours west; from Vík, about 2.5 hours east. Parking is at the visitor centre, a short walk from the café and trailheads.
Strætó route 51 runs Reykjavík (Mjódd) to Höfn via Vík and Skaftafell daily in summer, taking roughly 6h51m at ISK 13,200 one-way for adults (ISH 6,600 for ages 12–17, seniors and disabled; children 0–11 ride free). Schedules shrink outside summer, so check straeto.is before committing to a car-free trip.
The Svartifoss trail and the S1 glacier-viewpoint loop get busy by late morning in summer, and the visitor centre car park fills with it. Get there early — the centre opens at 09:00 (10:00 in January, February and December) for maps and current trail conditions. If you're camping, note that the ISK 2,800-per-night spots can't be reserved, so July and August arrivals should come early too.
Most guided glacier hikes depart from Skaftafell Base Camp by the visitor centre, and operators ask you to arrive 20 minutes before departure — tours sell out in summer, so book ahead. Some winter ice-cave tours (October 1–April 30) instead meet at nearby Hof, a short drive east, so confirm the location before you park and walk.
Take Route 1 (the Ring Road) east from Reykjavík for 327 km, about 4 to 4.5 hours, passing Vík and crossing the Skeiðarársandur outwash plain. Skaftafell is signposted where road no. 998 branches off Route 1, and you park at the visitor centre. The fee is collected by automatic licence-plate photo, so pay via the Parka app, the machines, or online.
A passenger car with 5 or fewer seats costs ISK 1,110; a 6-9 seat car is ISK 1,440, buses run ISK 2,770-9,400 depending on size, and a motorcycle is ISK 450. The fee is valid until midnight on the day you pay. If you also visit Jökulsárlón that same day, you get 50% off the second area — so stack both stops into one day to save.
Yes, in summer Strætó route 51 runs daily from Reykjavík (Mjódd) to Höfn via Vík and Skaftafell, a journey of roughly 6 hours 51 minutes. An adult one-way fare is ISK 13,200, ages 12-17 pay ISK 6,600, and children 0-11 ride free. Timetables are seasonal and often reduced, so check straeto.is before committing to a car-free trip.
No, entry to the park is free — you only pay the regional parking fee at the Skaftafell lots. If you hold an Icelandic P-parking card for reduced mobility, you can request a parking-fee exemption by emailing the park in advance of your visit.
Höfn is 130 km east, a drive of 1.5-2 hours west on Route 1; from Vík allow about 2.5 hours east. Kirkjubæjarklaustur sits 69 km to the west, which makes Skaftafell an easy stop on any Ring Road itinerary between the two towns.
Guided glacier walks leave from Skaftafell Base Camp by the visitor centre — arrive 20 minutes before departure. Note that hikes actually take place on nearby Falljökull, since Skaftafellsjökull itself has receded into a lake and tour companies no longer walk clients on it. Some winter ice-cave tours instead meet at the nearby village of Hof.
Yes, numerous operators run South Coast day tours and multi-day packages that include Skaftafell, with roughly 5 hours of travel each way from Reykjavík. Category C-E bus parking fees are normally built into the package price, and standalone 3-hour glacier hikes start from about ISK 13,126 per person. It's a long day, but it removes the Ring Road driving entirely.
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