40 minNew Volcanic Area
★ 4.8 · 569 reviews
- Reykjanes lava fields
- Fagradalsfjall craters
- No landing
- Free cancellation
$528
Check availability→ Aircraft, not price
Helicopter or plane in Iceland?
Fixed-wing sightseeing costs noticeably less per hour and flies further. It also cannot hover, cannot land on a glacier and cannot turn tightly over a crater. Here is how to decide which aircraft matches what you want to see.
Helicopter or fixed-wing in Iceland?
Take a helicopter if the point is to look closely at specific ground — a crater, a lava flow, a glacier surface — or if you want to land somewhere. Take a fixed-wing flight if the point is distance: covering the south coast, the glacier lagoons or the interior in one trip, at roughly a third of the cost per hour. From Reykjavik, helicopter tours start at $528.
The two aircraft compared
- Helicopter — cost
- From $528 for 40 minutesSix tours sold from Reykjavik
- Fixed-wing — cost
- Typically a third as much per hourSold mostly from regional airfields, not Reykjavik
- Can it hover?
- Helicopter yes, plane noThis is the whole argument over a crater
- Can it land off-airport?
- Helicopter yes, plane noGlacier ice, geothermal ridge, mountain summit
- Altitude
- Helicopter flies lowPlanes fly higher and faster by necessity
- Range
- Plane much furtherThe south coast and the interior in one flight
- Window view
- Both goodHelicopters seat four to six; small planes similar
- Weather sensitivity
- Both highNeither flies in Icelandic wind above the limits
What hovering actually buys you
A fixed-wing aircraft has to keep moving forward. Over a crater that means one pass, at speed, at an angle set by the aircraft rather than by what you want to look at. A helicopter can slow down, hold position, turn on the spot so both sides of the cabin get the view, and fly at a few hundred feet above ground rather than a few thousand.
On a landscape whose interest is structural — where the point is to trace a lava flow from its vent to its edge — that difference is the product. It is why the volcanic-area tours are helicopters and why they cost what they do.
On a landscape whose interest is scale — the length of the south coast, the size of Vatnajokull — the plane wins easily. You are not trying to look closely at anything; you are trying to see how much of it there is.
Where each one is actually sold
This decision is partly made for you by geography. The helicopter tours all leave Reykjavik Domestic Airport and stay in the south-west: Reykjanes, Hengill, the near glaciers, Landmannalaugar. Fixed-wing sightseeing is mostly sold elsewhere — short scenic flights from Skaftafell over Vatnajokull, or from regional airfields in the north.
So in practice: if you are based in Reykjavik and want to fly, you are choosing between six helicopter tours. If you are driving the south coast, a fifteen-minute fixed-wing flight over the glacier is a cheap and genuinely good addition to that day, and it is not competing with anything on this site.
Every tour, current fare
The helicopter tours you would be choosing between
All six leave from Reykjavik Domestic Airport. None of them is comparable to a fixed-wing flight sold elsewhere in the country.
Swipe sideways →
| Tour | Price | Door to door | Landings | Per minute | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Volcanic Area | $528 | 40 min | None | $13.20 | 4.8 · 569 |
| Fagradalsfjall Eruption | $554 | 35 min | None | $15.83 | 5.0 · 5 |
| Hengill with Landing | $578 | 1 h | One | $9.63 | 4.4 · 12 |
| Fire and Ice, 2 Landings | $910 | 2 h | Two | $7.58 | 4.8 · 155 |
| ATV & Helicopter | $545 | 5–6 h | One | $1.65 | 4.8 · 39 |
| Landmannalaugar, 3 Landings | $1,635 | 3 h | Three | $9.08 | 4.8 · 7 |
Book direct
Book a helicopter flight
Both leave from Reykjavik Domestic Airport. Free cancellation up to 24 hours before departure.
40 min
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→ Common questions
Helicopter or plane in Iceland, answered
Is a helicopter or a plane better for sightseeing in Iceland?
It depends what you want to look at. A helicopter can hover, turn on the spot and fly low, which is what makes craters and lava flows readable — and it can land on a glacier. A plane covers far more ground for less money, which suits the south coast and the interior.
Is a fixed-wing sightseeing flight cheaper in Iceland?
Yes, typically around a third of the cost per hour. It is a different product rather than a discount: no hovering, no off-airport landings, and a higher, faster pass over whatever you came to see.
Can a plane land on a glacier in Iceland?
Not on the tours sold to visitors. The glacier landing from Reykjavik is on the two-hour Fire and Ice helicopter tour at $910, which also lands on the Hengill geothermal field.
Where are fixed-wing sightseeing flights sold in Iceland?
Mostly away from Reykjavik — short scenic flights from Skaftafell over Vatnajokull and from regional airfields in the north. The helicopter tours all leave from Reykjavik Domestic Airport inside the city.
Which is better for photography?
A helicopter, for anything where the subject is specific: a crater, a flow edge, a crevasse field. A plane is better for the wide landscape shot, because it gets high enough to fit it in the frame.
Do both get cancelled for weather?
Yes. Both have hard limits on wind, cloud base and visibility, and in Iceland both are cancelled routinely. Whichever you book, put it early in the trip rather than on the last day.
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