Iceland Travel GuideLOCAL TRAVEL AGENCY IN ICELAND
My trip
Talk to a local
Iceland Travel GuideLOCAL TRAVEL AGENCY IN ICELAND
My trip
Talk to a local
Breiðárlón is a glacier lagoon in Vatnajökull National Park in Southeast Iceland, on the Breiðamerkurjökull glacier and close to Fjallsárlón and Jökulsárlón. It is about 380 km from Reykjavík, free to visit, and reached by a rough track of a few kilometres off the Ring Road. Plan 30–60 minutes.
Breiðárlón is a smaller glacial lake at the edge of Breiðamerkurjökull, one of the tongues of Vatnajökull, Europe's largest glacier by volume. It formed between the glacier and the nearby mountain Breiðamerkurfjall as the ice retreated. Icebergs break off into the water, though they are smaller than the ones you see at Jökulsárlón.
Most visitors stop at Jökulsárlón or Fjallsárlón and drive on. Breiðárlón is quieter because the access is a rough track and there are no services. The reward is a calm view over the water towards the glacier tongue, with far fewer people.
A small river, the Breiðá, runs from Breiðárlón west into Fjallsárlón, so the two lagoons are linked. From the shore you get a clear view of the Breiðamerkurjökull glacier tongue, and because the icebergs are smaller they do not hide the mountains behind. Landscape photographers like the place for that reason, and in winter the low sun gives the ice and water strong colour.
Breiðamerkurjökull is named after the farm Breiðamörk, which the glacier destroyed in 1702. When Norse settlers arrived around 900 AD the glacier front was roughly 20 km inland from its position today. During the Little Ice Age it advanced to within about a kilometre of the coast.
Since around 1890 it has retreated by several kilometres, and that melting is what created the lagoons. Breiðárlón, Jökulsárlón and Fjallsárlón are all products of the retreating ice, and they keep changing shape from year to year.
Breiðamerkurfjall, the mountain above the lagoon, was once surrounded by ice, with Breiðamerkurjökull on one side and Fjallsjökull on the other. As the two glaciers pulled back and apart, meltwater collected in the hollow they left, and that is Breiðárlón.
Conditions on the track change with weather and meltwater, and parts can be closed. Check umferdin.is and ask locally before you drive in, and do not attempt it in winter ice or heavy rain in a small two-wheel-drive car.
Three glacier lagoons sit within a few minutes' drive of each other on this stretch of the Ring Road. This is how they differ.
A trip along the south coast is not complete without at least one of the lagoons. If you want the least crowded one, Breiðárlón is the place to go.
There are no facilities at Breiðárlón. The nearest toilets and cafés are at Jökulsárlón and at Fjallsárlón.
The nearest places to stay are guesthouses and hotels around Fjallsárlón, Hof and Skaftafell, and Höfn, which is the largest town nearby. Book ahead in summer.
In Vatnajökull National Park in Southeast Iceland, near Fjallsárlón and Jökulsárlón, a few kilometres off the Ring Road on a gravel track.
A 4x4 is advisable because the track is bumpy. Check conditions locally before you drive in.
Yes, there is no entrance fee. Parking is at simple pull-outs.
It is smaller, quieter and has smaller icebergs. There are no services and no boat tours.
No, boat tours run on Jökulsárlón and Fjallsárlón, not Breiðárlón.
Yes. You can walk east from the Fjallsárlón car park across the moraines to Breiðárlón. The ground is uneven, so wear proper shoes and allow plenty of time.
Only a few minutes by car along the Ring Road, plus the rough track of about 3 km in to the lagoon.
