Iceland’s glaciers are retreating. They either leave behind rough ground shaped by the departing behemoth or outright lakes or lagoons. At the deep Jökulsárlón glacial lagoon in the South East of Iceland, a new fjord seems to be forming. Another impressive lagoon close to Jökulsárlón glacial lagoon is Fjallsárlón. A boat trip on Fjallsárlón glacial lagoon  is something I am happy to recommend to people travelling on the beautiful south coast of Iceland.

Fjallsárlón glacier lagoon iceberg
A large ice berg on the Fjallsárlón glacier lagoon in the south of Iceland.

Two great hotels on the south coasts of Iceland

When we were on the south coast, we stayed in two beautiful hotels, which I want to recommend to those travellers who like class and comfort. These are the Vatnajokull Fosshotel and the Fosshotel Glacier hotel.
I visited Fjallsárlón in the summer of 2020. It was a part of a quite wonderful ring road trip around Iceland. On our journey, we did our best to see places we had not seen before. One of those places was Fjallsárlón glacial lagoon, we have passed it so often, but now it was time to go there.

Free road trip plans with maps

Day-by-day plans for the four drives most people take, each on an interactive map with where to sleep, fuel stops, waterfalls and reader discounts along the way. Built for a relaxed pace, not a race.

See all road trip plans

Map of hot springs, spas and pools

Every lagoon, wild hot spring and town pool in Iceland on one map. Find warm water near you, and see which spas give my readers a discount.

  • 57 places to soak
  • % Reader discounts
Open the hot springs map
Fjallsárlón glacier lagoon with icebergs
Fjallsárlón glacier lagoon has many impressive icebergs.

Finally going to the Fjallsárlón glacial lagoon

When we got to the Fjallsárlón glacial lagoon, the view toward the Fjallsjökull glacier’s edge was impressive. A large number of large icebergs dotted the lagoon. The glacier loomed in the distance. You may be impressed with the Fjallsjökull glacier but remember it is just an outcrop glacier from the mighty Vatnajökull glacier

Professional guides make everything better

I was impressed with how professional the guides were. We got protective suits and, of course, life jackets. They told us a lot about the lagoon and the glaciers. We ventured out in impressive Zodiacs, and the ride was smooth on the still water.

Fjallsárjökull glacier in south Iceland.
Fjallsárjökull glacier in the distance.

Beautiful big icebergs

We headed out, and after a short trip, we soon saw how enormous the icebergs are. And they are just incredibly photogenic, although my poor photography does not do them justice. My favorite kind is the ones with the blue glacial hue. I was also incredibly impressed with coming so close to the massive ice steel wall of Fjallsárjökul, which juts into the lagoon. But you can’t move too close. Sometimes massive chunks of ice break off and collapse into the lagoon. We saw one such event. Suddenly, a large piece of ice broke off and slammed into the still water with a crash. The group was at first quiet, and then everybody started to joke about it nervously.

Impressive glaciers on the Fjallsárjökull glacier.
What a gigantic sculpture.

Hotel glacial lagoon

I could have spent an entire day just looking at those icebergs. I am not great at describing different shapes or subtle color variations. My favorite color is the blue glacial hue on the ice. And the most impressive iceberg was the one you can see in the top image of this article. The guide called it the hotel Glacier since it looked like a large building on many floors. But it is like so many other things in life; it is just one of the things you have to experience itself.

How to get to Fjallsárlón glacial lagoon?

Fjallsárlón glacial lagoon is located by highway one. It is s 47 kilometers (29 miles) east of Skaftafell national park and 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) west of Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon.. Look for a sign that says “Fjallsárlón Iceberg Boat Tours”.