Jökulsárlón: a glacier lagoon in the national park
Since 2017 Breiðamerkursandur with the lagoon and Diamond Beach has been part of Vatnajökull National Park.
Jökulsárlón is the glacier lagoon in front of Breiðamerkurjökull, an outlet glacier of Vatnajökull. It formed from the 1930s as the glacier retreated, and it is still growing. Breiðamerkursandur has been part of Vatnajökull National Park since 2017; in 2023 about 968,000 visitors came, according to the park's annual report.
There is no entrance fee, but if you park you pay a regional fee: ISK 1,110 for a car with up to five seats, valid until midnight. Cameras record the number plate; you pay via the Parka app or at the machine. If you have already paid in full at Skaftafell on the same day, you pay half.
From 2 to 7 October 2026 the main car park is closed for construction work. Park at Eystri- and Vestri-Fellsfjara instead; if you have booked a boat or glacier tour, the park asks you to arrive earlier.
Vatnajökull National Park: Breiðamerkursandur – part of the park since 2017, trails B1–B4 ↗
In numbers
- In the national park since
- 2017
- Lagoon formed
- from the 1930s
- Depth according to the boat operator
- up to 284 m (932 ft)
- Distance from Reykjavík according to the operator
- about 370 km (230 mi)
- Visitors in 2023
- about 968,000
- Increase in 2023
- 14.6 per cent
- Regional fee, car
- ISK 1,110
- Amphibian boat
- 30–40 minutes
- Zodiac
- about 1:15 hours
- Trail B1 Helguhóll
- 1.2 km (0.7 mi), 20 m (66 ft) ascent
