Glacier and Volcano Expeditions

As we were preparing to come to Iceland I was looking for adventurous excursions that we could do as a family of 6, with four kids, ages 12, 10, 8 and 6. We had a really hard time finding anything that would allow us to do it with our 6 year old, but as soon as I emailed Glacier and Volcano Expeditions, Rowan responded quickly and we set up a private kayak, glacier hike and ice climbing tour. Today we did that tour and it was beyond our expectations!! Rowan and Guðný were so kind, completely prepared, and just a delight to spend the day with! The kayak on the glacier lagoon was amazing and our two youngest kids were in double kayaks with us! Then we hiked on the glacier, which was incredible! Finally we all tried our hand at ice climbing! They were so amazing and encouraging with the kids and all of our kids had an absolutely amazing time! Rowan and Guðný took time to explain so much about volcanos and glaciers with our kids and answered all their questions! We were literally the only ones on the lagoon and the glacier. No other tourists around. It was truly a joy and something that we will never forget! If you are looking for an adventure with your kids, I highly recommend emailing Rowan and getting set up with a private tour!

My wife and I recently had the incredible opportunity to do a 5-hour glacier hike and kayaking combination tour with Guðný and Rowan. We cannot express enough how truly wonderful this experience was from start to finish. The stunning and awe-inspiring landscape we experienced is truly unique. This excursion took us off the beaten path, allowing us to truly connect with the raw beauty of the glacier and icebergs. It was a privilege to explore this untouched wilderness, and it made us feel like we were part of something truly extraordinary. Thank you Guðný and Rowan. 🙏🏻

My wife and I spent 6hrs today doing the Kayak and Glacier Hike... And we must say this was an absolutely amazing experience!!! The team is super professional and very knowledgeable about all things iceberg, Glacier, hiking.. Etc.
If you are looking for a small group of max 6people tour. This is the ONLY tour group to go with!!! We had the whole lagoon and Glacier to ourselves!!!

We will definitely be coming back to Iceland.. And adding this trek again!!

I can not recommend a tour with Guðný and Rowan enough!!!

If you want a real adventure while visiting Iceland then look no further and book with Glacier and Volcano Expeditions. It will hands-down be the best experience of your holiday.

We did the glacier hike & ice cave tour at the beginning of July 2021 and we were fortunate enough for it to be just the 3 of us which made for a great personal experience. Our tour guide Rowan runs the company with his partner and it was so refreshing to have tour guide who really cared about making sure we had a great time. Rowan's enthusiasm and passion for showing people such a special place was clear to see - it felt like he was as stoked to be there as we were.

What made this tour so special though was as we stopped at the foot of where two glaciers meet to fit our crampons to our boots - droves of tourists led by bored looking tour guides were being led up the same well trodden path in their huge groups. With crampons fitted, we set off in the opposite direction. Rowan takes customers off the beaten paths to where no other tour operators go. We had an entire glacier and an awe-inspiring ice cave all to ourselves.

Rowan was really professional and made sure we were safe at all times whilst leading us past deep crevasses and negotiating challenging terrain. He volunteers for the local Mountain Rescue team so knows what he is doing! He made sure we got to see all the amazing features of the glacier including electric blue pools, the incredible ice cave and the awesome 'glacial mice' (not real mice don't worry)! He taught us all about the glacier and its hidden dangers, the wildlife and the surrounding environment and all the while allowed us to stop to take pictures whenever we wanted.

As an added bonus Rowan is an amazing photographer, he probably took as many photos as we did and made sure to send them all to us free of charge after the tour so that we had amazing pics to share on social media.

Can't recommend this company enough - support a small business rather than huge tour operators and you will get so much more from your experience. Just get it booked!

Rowan - thanks for an awesome day, we will be back! From Oli, Ildi and Adam.

Exploring the glacier lagoon with these guys was my favorite part of Iceland. Everywhere we looked was just beautiful! Rowan is an excellent guide and super passionate about glaciers, mountains and all things Iceland. Thank you all so much for an amazing experience. Our only regret is not doing the kayak/glacier hike combo. Next time!

My girlfriend and I had an amazing experience on the glacier with Rowan when we were in Iceland back in May. Definitely book with them before you book with a big nameless faceless tour company.

We met him and his partner, Guðný, at the meeting point and found out that even though we'd booked a group tour, we were the only ones on it! We followed their van 10 minutes to the starting point, got our gear, walked a brief ways around a lake to the tongue of the glacier, strapped on the crampons they provided us, and did an awesome hike. Rowan was very helpful in charting a path and making us feel safe by guiding us with picks and hand holds, but he also gave us a slight thrill. We saw so many cool bits and pieces of the glacier, and even chanced upon an ice cave that we could walk through!!

Rowan was really nice to get to know, from learning about the glacier, to leading glacier tours, to his experience coming to Iceland and starting his own company. He's also a great photographer and got some really great shots of the two of us.

All in all, very professional, very personal, and very great tour experience. Definitely one of the highlights of our entire time in Iceland.

Absolutely incredible tour! So professional and absolutely stunning sights. Rowan and Guðný are friendly, knowledgeable, and eager to give a personal experience. Where so many other tours feel like a tourist trap where you are carted from sight to sight with limited time to enjoy them, Rowan and Guðný let you take your time and adapt readily to make the whole experience feel like your own adventure. They also respond very promptly and reliably over email or phone. Cannot recommend strongly enough!

We booked Guðný and Rowan's private glacier tour as part of a university travel course focused on the geology and ecology of Iceland. We had an outstanding experience that was a highlight of our trip. Both guides are extremely knowledgeable, and attentive to the considerations of a larger group that includes a range of experience with glacier travel. They paid careful attention to safety management, tailored the itinerary to our interests, and ran the tour professionally and very personably--it was such a pleasure and a really fun time. I know this created lifetime memories, and Rowan got some great shots of our group.

Rowan was also very communicative before the tour and easy to work with, and booking for our group was seamless. Thank you for a great experience! We will definitely be back.

I cannot speak highly enough about this tour. This company offers personalized, incredible adventures around the glaciers. There is nothing corporate or prescribed about their tour company, they love what they do and will cater the trip to any experience you want - whether that is adventurous ice climbing or peaceful wandering over the incredible landscape. Rowan is deeply knowledgeable and highly experienced, and I felt extremely safe with him as my guide. He is also kind and funny, and obviously cares very much for what he does. There were no dates available for the only day I could make this trip work, and when I called Rowan he opened up an additional tour for me. I couldn't believe the incredible service. We went out just the two of us and it was the highlight of my trip to Iceland. The value of this trip is unbeatable and I would book it 100 more times.

The highlight of out 2-week trip in Iceland! It almost got cancelled due to the strong rain and wind forecast on our tour date, but we expressed our intent to continue as long as it can be done safely. It turned out to be an epic day exploring the wilderness! 7 hours of adventure on the lake and glacier. We were only 4 in the vast Fjallsarlon glacier as only Glacier and Volcano Expeditions take travelers deep into this part of the national park. Imagine having the place all to yourself!! The weather was very unpredictable but we never felt scared because Rowan always had everything under control. He never rushed us, made sure that we were able to get all the shots and footage that we wanted, and even offered his excellent photography skills to take shots of us! Thank you, Rowan for being part of this unforgettable experience. We'll get them again on our next glacier adventure, for sure! Highly recommended.

My girlfriend and I had the chance to do the Glacier Cave Tour with the Owner (Rowan & Gudny). The weather conditions for this trip were just perfect. We met with them at the meeting point around 10min drive from the actual starting point. After we got all the equipment, we started hiking around 30-45 mins to the glacier. The view was awesome and Rowan and Gudny told us about the history of the glacier. When we entered the glacier, we put on our spikes for the shoes. Both of them took care of us the whole time and explained us, where to go, where not to go. They showed us two beautiful blue caves, where we were allowed to walk in and explore by ourself. Rowan is also a photographer, so if you don’t wanna bring your camera, (which I wouldn’t really recommend because it’s beautiful), he can take some good shots of you!

We really enjoyed this trip and we will definitely come back to them if we come to Iceland again.

Thank you Rowan and Gudny for this trip!

Dominic

Rowan and Guõny led myself and three friends on a fantastic glacier hike. We all had varying levels of experience and comfort on the ice, and they accomodated us very well to ensure everyone felt safe while having a great time. We initially booked a hike, but when we mentioned we wanted to have a go at ice climbing, they changed things up to let us have a go. Rowan is also great with the camera and helped us get some great shots. Everything felt very personal, and not like we were on a fixed commercial tour, tied to a single route. Thanks both for an awesome day! Highly recommended making them part of your trip to Iceland.

Rowan and Guðný glacial lagoon kayaking tour surpassed all expectations. After weighing multiple options, I settled on them due to the timeliness of their responses and fantastic communication, accommodation to our plans, attention to detail, and professionalism. The tour itself was fantastically put together, and a different experience than what other nearby operators were offering. We never felt hurried or burdensome, and was a perfect balance between physically demanding and laid-back. Loved that Rowan knows his way around a camera, too!

Absolutely incredible and unique experience. Amazing guide which made the experience even better. We had the whole Glacier to ourselves which made the whole experience even more memorable. Out of the whole trip of Iceland our 13 year old son said the glacier hike and ice climb with Rowan was the best moment of the trip.

I reached out to Glacier and Volcano Expeditions for two reasons. The first was because it's a small and specialized company which I value greatly (I work for a similar small company, but in cycling and do guiding myself) and second because they offered custom expeditions. That's just the perfect formula! Rowan and Gudny (very open and friendly couple) set up a day on the Glacier including all activities and elements that were of interest to me. I had a private tour with Rowan, who took me out on a Glacier and we visited several amazing ice caves (we even found a beautiful new one), we did some ice climbing, we hiked upon the glacier to get some stunning views and took some time for photography. Rowan was very professional in guiding and safety, adapted timings and skills to my abilities, gave me a lot of insight and information on Iceland and Glaciers, helped me a lot with my photography skills and was generally very pleasant company. As he know his way around we barely saw other people and discovered unspoiled and beautiful sights. He sent me the pictures he took with his own camera that same night. I must say this expedition was the ultimate highlight on my trip to Iceland! I can't be more happy and grateful for this amazing experience. As I'll surely go back to Iceland in summer, the first thing I'll do is contact Glacier and Volcano Expeditions to experience some more adventures. I highly recommend you to do a custom / personalized trip with them, as they can perfectly adapt to your preferences, abilities and interests. Totally worth it!

A few days ago we joined the Ridge Top Hike and needless to say it was the most amazing hike I have experienced. The whole journey is full of extraordinary sights from beginning to end. By joining this hike you get a taste of everything, from beautiful waterfalls and dramatic landscapes to the best view of the glaciers. Despite having been on glacier tours/hikes before, I preferred this tour since you get to see the glacier from a much better angle as well as being able to see different glacier outlets.

The guides Gudny and Rowan are extremely professional, knowledgeable and passionate about what they do. They put a lot of emphasis on safety and make sure that the client feels comfortable.

I highly recommend this company and this unforgettable hike!

Such an amazing experience! Tour guides are so friendly and professional. They know the area so we’ll and are determined to make the experience special and unique for each group. Our original destination was super crowded with tourists so they took us to another area where we were the only people on the glacier. Rowan and Guny are so fun and engaging.

On Thursday, Feb. 13 2020 we hiked the Vatnajökull glacier with Rowan from Glacier and Volcano expedition. The excitement of the incredibly large glacier, the caution with which you have to walk the trails and the experience of the gigantic glacier so close everywhere around us was unforgettable. We were with a small group which made us maintain a nice pace. Don't linger and enjoy a journey of discovery across the glacier.

It is clear that it is Rowan's passion to make people enjoy the glacier as much as possible, to have the adventure taste of it and to capture everything with the camera for later. At the end we went to an ice cave with Rowan, which he had not been to either.

Thanks Rowan !!

You’ll be missing out if you don’t book this ASAP!!! We booked this trip not knowing what to expect and our experience was incredible! The chance to be able to walk on a glacier was once in a lifetime and I wish I could do it everyday. Our guides Guony and Rowan were so much fun and took amazing photos! 10/10 would recommend this!!

This was easily the highlight of our week in Iceland! Our family of four took the kayak and glacier hiking tour and LOVED it. The owners know the area exceptionally well and pivoted quickly to find an amazing spot to spend the day, free of the rain and wind. They were extremely knowledgeable about the area, terrain, history and culture that defines the south coast. I would recommend this tour for anyone looking for an amazing time on a glacier.