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Local Guide
The oldest glacier guide company in Iceland!
In 1891 Páll Jónsson was in the first team to summit the highest peak in Iceland, the Hvannadalshnúkur peak.
128 years later, Páll’s great grandson runs the oldest glacier guide company in Iceland.
So Aron Jónsson – Páll’s great grandson – comes from generations of glacier explorers. Actually, his grandfather and father were the first Icelanders to start taking people on tours to the ice caves. Their passion for exploration led them to create @localguide in the summer of 1991. Ever since the company has continued to evolve with Iceland’s tourism boom to the point where now Aron and Helen – partners inside and outside of work – have a solid team of locals working with them.
Today @localguide continues to impress its guests with the surreal shapes and colors of the glaciers and caves located in the Vatnajokull region of Iceland. Vatnajokull, by the way, is the largest and most voluminous ice cap in Iceland.
Their team includes geologists, search and rescue trainers, and professional riggers who have decades of experience exploring glaciers. Besides being massive Game of Thrones nerds, the team shares two common passions: hiking and photography.
These same passions led them to create photography groups so everyone can capture safely the beauty of glaciers and ice caves. So when the groups visit the caves, they always try their best to schedule the tour around times when the caves are empty.
The last few years have brought new challenges: the glacier lagoons expand as the ice retreats, cutting off access to the glaciers. As access to the glaciers becomes harder, locals have to question how they’ll be able to rely on tourism and the ice to support their families.
It is likely Aron and Helen’s son and the kids of the @localguide staff will have the chance to guide. Beyond that, no one is sure.
Welcome team! Taking a look to your website and social media one can clearly see that Local Guide is hosting unique tours in Iceland. Esentially, what is Local Guide?
Local Guide is a small family-run business in the Vatnajokull region of Iceland. Aron comes from generations of glacier explorers. Aron’s great great grandfather was in the first team to climb Iceland’s tallest mountain Hvannadalshjnukur, and his grandfather and father were the first Icelanders to start taking people on tours to the ice caves.
Local Guide was born in the summer of 1991, and has continued to evolve with Iceland’s tourism boom to the point where now Aron and Helen have a solid team of locals working with them.
We are used to see in Instagram marvelous landscapes from Iceland. But, not too many travelers or photographers share the “glacier and cave” side of Iceland. In your opinion, do travelers visiting Iceland miss or forget to visit the glaciers and caves? Or maybe they are not aware of such possibilities?
Ice caves have gained a lot of popularity since Instagram made the caves famous around 2013. Since then, there has been a significant rise in tourism not just in the caves but in winter in general. Local Guide started off with more business in the summer. But now [we have more business in] the winter, and the caves are where we spend the most time.
The people who don’t hike glaciers or visit caves when they come to Iceland are typically only doing a short stay in Reykjavík. The five- to six-hour drive out to Jökulsárlón in winter can be intimidating. I think people also perceive guided tours to be a little expensive as many of the beautiful sights in Iceland are easy to access, but without the specially modified cars for the glacier roads and highly-trained guides, the caves and the glaciers are inaccessible to touristsin the winter.
"The ice carries a great risk which thankfully people respect."
Among all the impressive scenery that one can find in Iceland, why should one reserve a day to visit the glaciers or ice caves?
Each visit to a cave is different, so already it’s a very unique experience. We find that the caves evolve and change shape hourly throughout the winter in response to the weather. Sometimes they have waterfalls and rivers running through them, and often small holes will open up and let in new light. The ice is constantly moving and getting bluer – you could come on a trip in October, and then again in March and visit essentially a different cave.
"A lot of our clients come from places without glaciers, so coming into contact with this ancient ice, a story of how the world used to look thousands of years ago, is a really eye-opening experience for people."
There are two differentiations between the summer and winter tours. In summer months you offer glacier trips, but during winter months you offer ice caving tours. I guess that there is a reason behind this? Also, how can one know when is the best time to enjoy of a tour with you guys?
In summer time we hike on Falljokull near Skaftafell. It’s a fantastic playground. We often find little blue caves, waterfalls flowing over the ice, and unique spots that are gone just a couple of days later. The most spectacular photos we see are from the icefall.
As the days get colder the glacier melting slows down and the rivers dry up inside the caves, [it] makes them safe to explore. You can see hundred-year-old air bubbles, crystal-clear ice, and the light filtering through the ice is bright blue, sometimes even green and gold.
January is usually our quietest month because it’s cold and the days are quite short, but it means all day sunrise and sunset, and possibly snow! In summer, the slower months are April and May so there’s a good chance of getting a private tour! The warmest (but also busiest) month is July where you can also catch the purple lupin.
Among all the available tours that you and your team host nowadays, do you have a favorite one? Or they all have their own charm?
In winter, the Ice Cave Discovery 6-hour tour is fantastic because we visit a few caves and we have the opportunity to explore and take our time – often taking lots of photos ourselves! In summer, the Glacier Adventure is a half-day or full-day tour where we tailor the tour to a small group and we get to spend time ice climbing, exploring the ice fall, and are very creative.
It’s fun to take you on adventures with us.
What is the one thing people don’t expect touring with you guys?
"A lot of people are really impressed by how skilled all our guides are."
They include geologists, search and rescue trainers, and professional riggers with decades of exploring glaciers between us, and we’re massive Game of Thrones nerds… our crew is very widely trained! But people always love getting to know the guides and are grateful for all the knowledge we can impart while hiking and photographing.
Correct me if I am wrong, but you guys are open to many possibilities and ideas while touring. You guys mentioned: “As a small company we love the flexibility this gives us to be able to offer private tours and to work on exciting projects for photography, filming and print. We are always open to new possibilities.” So, do you host tours that photographers can particularly enjoy? If so, how do you guys facilitate the workflow to the photographers?
Photography tours have changed a lot in Iceland. And it’s hard to find a space completely to yourself.
"We work with the objectives, physical skills, schedules and the weather when it comes to photography groups. In addition, we hunt down many caves other than the ones we visit on our public tours, so there is always the option to find something unique to photograph."
When we visit the caves we go to on public tours, like Treasure Island and Lightroom, we try our best to schedule our tour around times when the caves are empty so we’re alone.
What has been the direct influence of climate change on your tours? Do you think that the next generation will be able to also one day host the tours?
The last few years have brought new challenges. The glacier lagoons expand as the ice retreats, cutting off access to the glaciers after warm weather and heavy rain.
We have not been able to guide on the famous Svínafellsjökull glacier for almost a year because geologists are concerned the glacier retreating has removed the support from the mountain. The mountain’s permafrost has melted meaning the soil has trouble supporting itself without the ice, and so a landslide is imminent.
The area from Skaftafell to Höfn is now populated by a lot of guides whose livelihood relies on access to the glaciers and tourists coming to visit them.
"As access to glaciers becomes harder, locals have to question how long they’ll be able to rely on tourism and the ice to support their families."
It’s likely Aron and Helen’s son and the kids of the Local Guide staff will have the chance to guide. Beyond that we’re not sure.
"Iceland may follow New Zealand in offering glacier hikes combined with helicopter tours, but this is a less reliable method because of the crazy weather here, so we will have to see."
The company was established many years ago, in 1991. Nevertheless, generation after generation you guys have been hosting these unique trips. I was wondering, what is it that every generation finds joy running the company and hosting the tours?
Aron´s grandfather used to just offer puffin tours to Ingólfshöfði. His passion was guiding people to the headland cape in his backyard filled with birdlife.
"Then Einar - the second generation of Local Guide - came in with the glacier tours in summer of 1994, so this makes Local Guide the oldest running glacier guide company in Iceland."
Einar now runs the puffin tours in summer, driving out over the sand plain with his tractor. Aron – the third generation – found his love for the glaciers and focuses on the ice caves and hikes.
Local Guide: The oldest glacier guide company in Iceland!
Among all the unique moments that you have experienced hosting the tours, which one was the most memorable?
We hosted a Game of Thrones wedding last year for friends of ours that we met as clients a few years ago. We went out and found a cave just for them, which melted before the official ice cave season so they have been the only ones to enjoy it! Everyone was wearing incredible costumes, and the guests were all fantastic photographers from Russia. It was a real privilege to be a part of something so beautiful!
Where do you see Local Guide ten years from now?
We see ourselves offering a wide selection of adventures on Vatnajökull Glacier. We want to offer more expedition-style tours as well as our short taster tours – so anything from our 2-hour glacier hikes to multi-day tours on Vatnajökull ice cap. We’d also love to have super Jeep tours to the lesser-explored north side of Vatnajökull.
If you want to enjoy this unique experience, we extremely recommend you Local Guide! No one has more experience in the field!
