2 hFire and Ice, 2 Landings
★ 4.8 · 155 reviews
- Glacier landing
- Hengill geothermal landing
- Two hours door to door
- Free cancellation
$910
Check availability→ Standing on ice
Iceland glacier helicopter tour
One tour from Reykjavik lands on glacier ice. Here is what the ten minutes up there are actually like, why no operator sells a glacier-only flight from the city, and how it compares with the ground alternatives.
Can you land on a glacier by helicopter in Iceland?
Yes. From Reykjavik, the two-hour Fire and Ice tour at $910 is the tour that does it — it lands once on glacier ice and once on the Hengill geothermal field, and crosses the Reykjanes volcanic area on the way out. It is the only glacier landing sold from the city, which is why there is no cheaper glacier-only option to compare it against.
Glacier landings from Reykjavik at a glance
- The tour
- Fire and Ice — $910Two hours door to door, two landings
- Glacier time
- Around ten minutesRotors usually kept running
- Second landing
- Hengill geothermal fieldCompletely different ground on the same trip
- Rating
- 4.8 · 155 reviewsThe second most reviewed tour sold here
- What to wear
- Windproof layer, proper shoesYou are standing on ice in Icelandic wind, in any month
- Weather sensitivity
- HighSurface conditions have to be right at the landing site, not just en route
- Ground alternatives
- Glacier hikes, ice caves, snowmobilingCheaper, longer, and reached by road
- Cancellation
- Free up to 24 hours beforeRefund or new slot if the operator stands the flight down
What the ten minutes on ice are like
The approach is the part people underestimate. A glacier from a thousand feet is not white — it is grey and blue and streaked with ash bands from old eruptions, crevassed in patterns that only make sense from above, with meltwater running in channels cut into the surface.
Then the skids touch and the world changes scale. Ten minutes is enough to walk a short distance from the aircraft, look at the ice under your feet properly, and notice that it is not a flat white sheet but a textured, grubby, moving thing. On a still day the silence with the rotors idling is what reviewers write about.
What it is not is a glacier hike. You do not get crampons, you do not walk to a crevasse, and you are kept to a defined area. If walking on a glacier for two hours is the goal, a guided glacier hike from the south coast costs a fraction of this and does that job properly.
Why the glacier landing is bundled, not sold alone
There is no glacier-only helicopter tour from Reykjavik, and the reason is geography. The near glaciers are close enough to reach in a short flight but not so close that a thirty-minute product works, and once the aircraft is out there anyway, adding the Hengill landing and the volcanic-area flyover costs little extra flying time. So the operator sells the complete two-hour trip instead of three thin ones.
That works in your favour. Fire and Ice covers three distinct landscapes — volcanic, glacial and geothermal — for $910, which is less than twice the price of the forty-minute flyover that covers one.
Every tour, current fare
Fire and Ice against the alternatives
The glacier landing is only available on one tour. These are what people choose between instead.
Swipe sideways →
| Tour | Price | Door to door | Landings | Per minute | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fire and Ice, 2 Landings | $910 | 2 h | Two | $7.58 | 4.8 · 155 |
| Hengill with Landing | $578 | 1 h | One | $9.63 | 4.4 · 12 |
| New Volcanic Area | $528 | 40 min | None | $13.20 | 4.8 · 569 |
Book direct
Book a glacier landing
Fire and Ice is the only tour from Reykjavik that lands on ice. Free cancellation up to 24 hours before.
2 h
1 hHengill with Landing
★ 4.4 · 12 reviews
- Lands on a geothermal ridge
- Steam vents up close
- One hour door to door
- Free cancellation
$578
Check availability→ Common questions
Glacier helicopter tours in Iceland, answered
Can you land on a glacier by helicopter from Reykjavik?
Yes, on the two-hour Fire and Ice tour at $910. It lands once on glacier ice and once on the Hengill geothermal field, and crosses the Reykjanes volcanic area on the way out. It is the only glacier landing sold from the city.
How long do you spend on the glacier?
Around ten minutes, with the rotors usually still turning. It is enough to walk a short distance from the aircraft and look at the ice properly, but it is not a glacier hike.
Is there a cheaper glacier-only helicopter tour?
Not from Reykjavik. The near glaciers are far enough out that a short glacier-only product does not work commercially, so the operator bundles the landing into the full two-hour tour instead.
What should I wear for a glacier landing?
A windproof outer layer and proper closed shoes, in any month. You are standing on ice in Icelandic wind, and ten minutes is long enough to be genuinely uncomfortable if you are dressed for a city break.
What happens if the glacier landing is cancelled?
The tour may fly and skip the landing if surface or wind conditions at the site are wrong. Conditions have to be right at the landing point, not just along the route, so it is worth asking the operator what the policy is.
Is a helicopter glacier landing better than a glacier hike?
They are different products. A guided glacier hike costs a fraction of this, lasts hours and puts you on crampons walking to crevasses. The helicopter gives you the approach — the ash bands, the crevasse patterns and the meltwater channels seen from above — which no hike shows you.
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