The Jökulsárlón Amphibian Boat Tour

Key Details

This table pulls together the essentials of the amphibian tour in one place: how long you are on the water, when it runs, what it costs for each age group and what your ticket covers. The price is the shore price set by the operator at Jökulsárlón, not a price from this site, which does not sell the boat on its own. If you would rather have the boat inside a coach day from Reykjavík, the getting the amphibian into a day trip section lists the tours that include it or sell it as an add-on.

What the Ride Is Like

The amphibian is a boat with wheels. It backs down the shore, drives into the lagoon and floats off, which is why boarding needs no dock and no climbing. That design helps visitors with limited mobility, and the boat has stable level seating with clear views. Commercial boat tours have run at the lagoon since 1985, and about 900,000 people have taken one since then. Once on the water the boat sails among the huge icebergs that have calved off the Breiðamerkurjökull glacier tongue. The lagoon is up to 8 kilometres long. The water sits between 0 and 3 degrees Celsius all year, so bring the warm layers the operator asks for even in July.

The tour suits almost everyone because it is rated easy and has no minimum age, and four amphibian boats run the route so capacity is spread across frequent departures. In the busiest months the operator states departures usually run at least every 30 minutes. One reseller lists check-in 20 minutes before departure at the ticket office, with passengers going up to the boat platform 5 minutes before departure with the ticket ready.

Opening Times and Departures

The table shows the operator's stated hours and departure pattern for each part of the season. In the summer peak the lagoon is at its busiest, with August the heaviest month at about 2,330 vehicles a day on a nearby traffic counter, so a morning sailing can mean shorter waits because crowds peak at midday. Weather can always interfere, and SafeTravel Iceland warns that Icelandic conditions change fast, so check the forecast before a long drive.

Which Tours Include the Boat

The table splits the Reykjavík day trips and two-day trips into those with the boat in the price and those where it is an add-on. The listings give no price for the optional boat ride on any of the add-on tours, so the only published price for the ride is the operator's shore ticket of 7,100 ISK (about $58) per adult, which is a reference point and not what these tours charge for the add-on. Note that several of these tours do not allow children under 6, which matters because the shore ticket is free for that age group.

The Add-On Rule

If the boat is an add-on, the tour listing itself states no price for it. The only published figure is the operator's shore ticket, 7,100 ISK (about $58) for an adult and 3,500 ISK (about $29) for a child aged 6 to 12, with under 6 free. Several listings do not name the boat type, so confirm it is the amphibian before you book.

No day trip includes lunch either, so budget separately for the stops. For a full side-by-side of every boat option on the lagoon, the comparison table on the homepage lays out durations, prices and seasons in one view.

The Icebergs and the Ice Tasting

The amphibian sails among the huge icebergs that fill the lagoon. They come in two main colours, milky white and bright blue, and icebergs float in the deep lagoon for about 5 years before they leave. A highlight of the amphibian trip is the chance to taste 1000 year old ice.

The guide covers glacial geology and the calving that feeds the lagoon from Breiðamerkurjökull, an outlet glacier of Vatnajökull.

Seals and the Glacier View

Seals rest on the ice and swim in the lagoon, and the guide covers grey and harbour seals, which are possible sightings. Iceland's only resident breeding seals are the harbour seal and the grey seal, and an adult grey seal can weigh 300 kg and reach 2.5 m. More seals gather at the lagoon in winter to feed, though the boats do not run then.

At the head of the lagoon the view opens onto Vatnajökull and the Breiðamerkurjökull glacier tongue, and Diamond Beach is visible from the amphibian route, with the black sand just across the road where stranded bergs wash ashore. Look up as well, because Arctic terns, great skuas, red-throated divers and both barnacle and greylag geese nest in the area, though Arctic terns strike the heads of people who come near their nests on land.