Iceland Volcano TourWhat to Wear on an Iceland Volcano Hike
What to wear on an Iceland volcano hike is decided by the operators more than by the weather, because every listing draws its own line between what it supplies and what it expects you to own. Some hand out crampons, helmets and rain gear; one rents boots and waterproofs at 1,750 ISK ($14.37) an item; several supply nothing but the vehicle. This page sets out that split listing by listing, so you know before you arrive at a car park in Vik whether the jacket in your suitcase is enough. The tours are on Iceland volcano tour.
Quick answer What is supplied, what is rented and what is on you
Hiking boots and a waterproof shell are on you at every meeting point in Iceland, and one Vik operator rents them at 1,750 ISK ($14.37) an item when you arrive without them. Crampons and helmets are supplied on the glacier and cave tours, rain gear on the Thrihnukagigur descent, and nothing at all on the scooter and quad rides. Add a hat, gloves and food for the day, and on the highland trips a swimsuit and towel, because the hot spring is included and the towel is not.
Key takeaways
- Going into an ice cave? Crampons and a helmet are included; boots, waterproofs and gloves are yours.
- Going inside Thrihnukagigur? Rain gear, helmet and harness are provided, and the listing says sneakers and jeans are not appropriate.
- Walking the Reykjanes lava? Nothing is supplied except a headlamp on the coach tours.
What Three Typical Tours Expect You to Own
A lava hike, an ice cave and a chamber descent, which between them cover most of what gets sold as an Iceland volcano tour. Each has a different equipment line, and each states it on the listing rather than at the meeting point. Figures current in Q3 2026.
from $159
Highest rated hike Fagradalsfjall Volcano Hike: The Original Local Experience
The listing caps the group at 8 and gives 3.5 hours on the ground, the longest walking time of any Fagradalsfjall listing here. Pickup is from Geo Hotel Grindavik or Bus Stop 3 on Laekjargata, not from your hotel door.
- Group limited to 8 people
- 3.5 hours walking on the 2021-2023 lava
- Guides who worked the eruption from its first week
- Grindavik stop on the way in
From Vik: Katla Ice Cave and Super Jeep Tour
The ice cave is inside the glacier that covers Katla, so this is the one tour on the list where you stand on an active volcano without seeing any lava. Crampons and helmets are provided and coffee waits in the jeep afterwards.
- Cancellation
- Free cancellation 24h
- Operator
- Troll Expeditions
from $441
Inside the volcano Reykjavik: Thrihnukagigur Volcano Guided Hiking Day Trip
The only place on earth where you ride into an emptied magma chamber. Booked direct with the concession holder rather than resold, and 91% of English-speaking reviewers give it five stars. The hike from the cabin takes 45 to 50 minutes each way.
- 120-metre descent by lift into the magma chamber
- 45-50 minute hike across the lava field each way
- Up to an hour inside the chamber
- Soup at base camp after the descent
What Operators Supply and What They Do Not
The line moves with the activity, not with the price.
Ice Caves and Glaciers
Every ice cave listing on this site includes crampons and a helmet, because you cannot walk on glacier ice without them and no operator will let you try. What none of them includes is clothing.
The Arctic Adventures departure in Vik puts it plainly: bring warm clothing, a waterproof jacket and trousers, hiking boots, head-wear and gloves. Troll Expeditions adds coffee and biscuits afterwards but not a jacket. One Vik operator rents the missing pieces at 1,750 ISK ($14.37) each for boots, a waterproof jacket or waterproof trousers, and 3,000 ISK ($24.64) for a hat and glove combination.
The Thrihnukagigur Descent
Inside the Volcano is the most equipped tour on this site: rain gear if it pours, a helmet, a harness, and Icelandic lamb soup with hot drinks at base camp. The ticket is ISK 51,000 ($418.83) bought direct.
What it asks for is footwear. The operator recommends hiking boots because the 3 km trail each way is rocky and drains badly, and says that sneakers and jeans are not appropriate. One reviewer recorded 4 degrees Celsius inside the chamber after a 45 to 50 minute walk uphill, which is the argument for a dry base layer.
Lava Hikes and Coach Days
The Reykjanes listings supply a guide, a vehicle and, on the coach tours, a headlamp. Everything you wear is yours.
That sounds unhelpful until you realise it is the correct division: on a four-hour walk over cooled lava with no shelter, the only equipment that matters is what is already on your body. The operators' own health notes reinforce it, asking for a moderate level of fitness and warning against the tours in pregnancy or with poor cardiovascular health.
The List That Works for Every Tour Here
Six items, in the order they matter.
Boots, Shell, Layers
Hiking boots with ankle support and grip. Lava is sharp and uneven, glacier ice is slick under crampons, and cave floors are wet. This is the one item no operator lends for free and the one that ruins a day when it is wrong.
A windproof and waterproof shell, because Icelandic rain arrives sideways. Then layers underneath rather than one thick coat: you will be hot walking uphill and cold standing at a viewpoint, often inside the same ten minutes.
Hat, Gloves, and What Goes in the Bag
A hat and gloves, even in July. The wind on an exposed lava field or an ice cap does not care what month it is, and on the scooter tours your hands are on the bars for an hour.
In the bag: water, food for the whole day on the highland tours, since there are no shops at Askja or Landmannalaugar, and a charged phone with 112 and 599-0112 saved. On the highland days add a swimsuit and a towel, because the hot spring is included and the towel is not.
What Not to Bring
Jeans, which hold water and then hold cold. Trainers on ice or lava. An umbrella, which is a joke in Icelandic wind and is treated as one by guides.
Luggage, on some tours: one small-group Golden Circle listing states that only a small backpack can be taken on board, which catches out travellers planning the tour on an arrival day.
Sources: Inside the Volcano, Safetravel
What Changes With the Season
The list is the same all year. The consequences of getting it wrong are not.
Summer
Long light, and a temptation to travel lighter than you should. The highland tours to Askja and Landmannalaugar run in summer only and cross ground where weather changes faster than the forecast: those are the days to carry the shell you do not think you need.
Ice cave routes change in summer as meltwater re-cuts them, which is why the Langjokull ice tunnel exists: a cut tunnel that stays open when natural caves have melted out.
Winter
Crampons matter on everything, including a crater rim: the Hverfjall sunrise listing issues them when the ground needs them. Daylight is short enough that an afternoon departure can mean walking back in the dark, which is why the coach tours include a headlamp.
This is also when the indoor options earn their place. The Lava Show at $55 and the lava tunnel at $72 run whatever the sky is doing, and both are the sensible fallback when a glacier tour cancels in the morning.
What to Wear Questions
Do I need hiking boots?
Yes, on every outdoor tour here. No operator supplies footwear and one Vik company rents boots at 1,750 ISK ($14.37) if you arrive without them.
Are crampons provided?
On the glacier and ice cave tours, yes, along with a helmet. On lava hikes there is nothing to attach them to and they are not needed.
Can I wear jeans?
The Thrihnukagigur operator says plainly that sneakers and jeans are not appropriate, and the same applies everywhere else on this site. Wet denim is the fastest way to get cold in Iceland.
What is provided on the Inside the Volcano tour?
Rain gear if needed, a helmet, a harness, lamb soup and hot drinks. You bring boots and warm layers. Details on the Thrihnukagigur page.
Do I need a swimsuit?
On the highland days that include geothermal bathing, yes, and a towel too, because neither is supplied. See the Landmannalaugar page.
What about winter?
Same list, plus the assumption that some of the walk happens in the dark. The coach tours include a headlamp; the private hikes do not.
What if I arrive with nothing suitable?
One Vik operator rents boots, a waterproof jacket and waterproof trousers at 1,750 ISK each and a hat and glove set at 3,000 ISK. Elsewhere, buy before you leave Reykjavik.