Vatnajökull National Park is the largest national park in Iceland and was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List on 5 July 2019 (vatnajokulsthjodgardur.is, read 7 November 2026). It has ten areas, so the first choice is which one to visit. This page contains partner links: if you book, we earn a commission at no cost to you.
Highlights
The park
The park lists ten areas: Askja, Eldgjá and Langisjór, Heinaberg, Jökulsárgljúfur, Jökulsárlón, Krepputunga, Lakagígar, Nýidalur and Tungnaáröræfi, Skaftafell and Snæfell.
Skaftafell
An area with a visitor centre and hiking; see Skaftafell hikes and tours.
Jökulsárlón
The glacier lagoon; see Jökulsárlón and Diamond Beach.
Dettifoss
In the north of the park, see Dettifoss.
Five visitor centres
Gígur (Askja), Gljúfrastofa (Jökulsárgljúfur), Skaftafellsstofa (Skaftafell), Skaftárstofa (Lakagígar) and Snæfellsstofa (Snæfell).
Practical info
Tips
- Choose the area before the day: Skaftafell and Jökulsárlón are two of the areas, with the hike and parking details on the Skaftafell page and the lagoon in the Jökulsárlón page; Dettifoss is in the north of the park, with its roads 862 and 864 and its trails described on the Dettifoss page. The national park site gives no opening hours for the visitor centres on its home page and reports reduced hours on some dates. It mentions a camping fee at Ásbyrgi and regional fees for Skaftafell and Jökulsárlón, and a temporary closure of the main parking lot at Jökulsárlón when it was read; the Skaftafell page gives the Skaftafell parking fee. The park spreads over several regions, so each area has its own access: see Iceland Ring Road tours and Reykjavík to Jökulsárlón day trip. To reach the areas on your own you need a car, see Iceland car rental; the Discover Cars link in the box leads to the Iceland page.
How to get there
The park spans several regions of Iceland; each area has its own road and visitor centre. The park office phone is open 8:00 to 16:00.
Opening hours
Nearby
See on the map →
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