Which is best? In the wee hours, alone, with light shifting on ice forms? Or during the day when you can not only admire the wondrous glinting ice sculptures in the lagoon – some of them striped with vivid ash layers from volcanic eruptions – and scout for seals, but also take a thrilling lagoon boat trip?
On the Water
In summer, the lagoon is a hub for boat tours and some kayaking – a chance to get out among the bergs. Check in 30 minutes before to avoid missing out.
Amphibious Boat Tours
Take a memorable 40-minute trip in the amphibious boat operated by Glacier Lagoon (icelagoon.is; adult/child 6900/3500kr). It trundles along the shore like a bus before driving into the water – high on novelty value. On-board guides regale you with factoids about the lagoon, and you can taste 1000-year-old ice. Trips run from from May to October (sometimes longer) out of the eastern car park – up to 40 a day in summer. Prebook online.
Zodiac Tours
Glacier Lagoon and Ice Lagoon Adventure Tours (icelagoon.com, per person 15,900kr) offer Zodiac tours of the lagoon. The 1¼-hour experience has a maximum of 10 passengers per boat and travels at speed up near the glacier edge (not done by the amphibious boats) before cruising back at a leisurely pace. Book ahead online. Glacier Lagoon's minimum age is 10 years and 1.3m height; Ice Lagoon Adventure Tours' is eight years.
Kayak
The chance to get out among the icebergs in a quiet kayak could be our favorite way to explore – no engine noise! IceGuide (iceguide.is; per person 16,900kr) leads hour-long paddles May to early October from its van on the eastern car park. Prebook online – minimum age 14, maximum weight 120kg (265lbs).
Walking the Lagoon
Lagoon boat trips are excellent, but you can get almost as close to those cool-blue masterpieces by walking along the shore, and taste ancient ice by fishing it out of the shallows. On the Ring Road west of the car park, there are designated parking areas where you can visit the lake at less-touristed stretches of shoreline. And the national park has set up walking routes with information detailing geological features.
Rangers lead daily tours at 11am June to September from the near the food trucks. Also, consult the maps on the park website for a series of trails from easy to challenging, such as route B1 from the car park to the glacier ridge, Helguhóll.
A favorite, longer route, the Breiðármörk Trail , connects Jökulsárlón's western car park to the lagoons Breiðárlón (10km one way) and Fjallsárlón (15.3km).
Ice Explorers (explorers.is, per person 17,900kr) and Glacier Adventure (glacieradventure.is; per person from 16,400kr) guide half-day glacier hikes on Breiðamerkurjökull.
A Growing Lagoon
Slow-moving rivers of ice (glaciers) flow down from Vatnajökull, Iceland’s largest ice cap, advancing and retreating with the millennia. The lagoon may look like a relic of the last ice age, but it's only about 80 years old. Until the mid-1930s Breiðamerkurjökull reached the Ring Road. It’s now retreating rapidly (up to a staggering 500m per year), and the lagoon is growing.
