Vatnajökull National Park

The park is not one landscape but several. You can walk to the foot of glacier tongues such as Skaftafellsjökull and Svínafellsjökull, and elsewhere in the park there are deep canyons, glacial lagoons, black desert and geothermal vents. Jökulsárlón, Svartifoss and Skaftafell all lie inside the boundary. Trails run around the ice and onto it, and some of the waterfalls sit well off the main routes. The springs run clean enough to drink from. Reindeer, Arctic foxes and nesting birds live here, depending on the season. Accessibility is good along the south side, where the Skaftafell visitor centre has maps, guided tours and facilities. Step past the main areas and the park turns wild: roads become gravel, trails become rugged and the mobile signal fades.

• Parking is paid. Both the car park and street parking charge; cards and contactless are accepted.
• Dress for the ice. It gets very cold as you get nearer the glacier, so bring layers whatever the forecast says.
• Past the main areas the park turns wild. Roads become gravel, trails become rugged and the mobile signal fades.
• Glaciers and ice caves need a guide. Guided tours are strongly recommended for going onto the ice or inside a cave.
• Facilities. The Skaftafell visitor centre has maps, guided tours and a gift shop. Dogs are allowed.

Skaftafell, on the south side of the park, sits on Route 1. Kirkjubæjarklaustur is about 70 km to the west and Höfn around 130 km to the east, so it works as a stop on a Ring Road drive rather than a separate trip. Parking on site is paid. Marked hiking trails of varying difficulty start from Skaftafell; the longest and hardest, the black trail, climbs to the Kristínartindar peaks. Beyond the main areas the roads turn to gravel.

Better: the summer months, for the hiking trails — that is when snow is least likely on them.

Avoid: relying on the forecast. The weather here is unpredictable, with strong winds and sudden rain, and snow outside summer. Winter has its own reason to come, the ice caves, and those are entered on a guided tour. In any season it gets very cold as you get nearer the glacier.