Vatnshellir Cave Guides & Tips

Eight guides to the practical side of the descent: the drive out from Reykjavík, what the two staircases ask of you, what the walls are made of, and which of Iceland's caves is the one you actually want.

Torchlit basalt passage inside an Icelandic lava tube, the kind of cave compared in this guide to the best lava cave in Iceland

The Best Lava Cave in Iceland: All Five Compared

Five caves, four of them actual lava tubes, and one that gets lumped in with them despite being something else entirely.

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Autumn light on the mossy lava field and Snæfellsjökull glacier above the Vatnshellir lava cave in west Iceland

Best Time to Visit Vatnshellir Lava Cave by Month

Nothing underground changes between January and July. What changes is the road, the daylight and how many departures a day there are.

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Empty paved Route 574 curving through a mossy lava field below Snæfellsjökull glacier on the way to Vatnshellir cave in Iceland

How to Get to Vatnshellir Cave From Reykjavik

There is no bus and no shuttle. You drive four roads in sequence, and the last one is the only one that gives anyone trouble.

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Steel spiral staircase turning down into the dark shaft of Vatnshellir lava cave in Snæfellsjökull National Park in Iceland

Is Vatnshellir Lava Cave Safe? Who Can Go Down

The cave is not dangerous. It is unmodified, which is a different thing, and it is the stairs rather than the dark that decide whether you should go.

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Lóndrangar basalt pillars rising from the coast five minutes from Vatnshellir cave in Snæfellsjökull National Park in Iceland

Things to See Near Vatnshellir Cave on Route 574

A full day sits inside 25 minutes of the cave car park, and the cave tour is the only part of it you pay for.

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Visitor in a warm jacket and gloves holding a torch on the steel staircase inside Vatnshellir lava cave in Iceland

What to Wear in Vatnshellir Lava Cave: Full List

The cave never changes temperature, so the packing question splits in two: what you need underground, and what you need for the wait on an exposed lava field.

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Ropy frozen lava wall in the upper chamber of Vatnshellir lava cave lit by a torch beam on Snæfellsnes in Iceland

What You See Inside Vatnshellir Lava Cave

A tube that drained 8,000 years ago, the minerals that stained it afterwards, and the moment the guide asks everyone to turn the lights off.

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Children in helmets holding torches at the entrance dome before a Vatnshellir lava cave tour with kids in Iceland

Vatnshellir Lava Cave With Kids: Ages and Costs

The age rule is a hard 5, the children's ticket is free, and the only real question is whether your child will walk the stairs without wanting to be carried.

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