Should You Visit Iceland During a Volcanic Eruption?
· Updated · BootsnAll
I first wrote this page in April 2010, when the ash from Eyjafjallajökull was shutting down air travel across Europe. Keflavik closed on several occasions that spring, and Icelandair got creative, flying into Akureyri instead and bussing passengers to and from Keflavik. Plenty of people asked me whether they should cancel their trip. I didn't cancel mine: I booked a September flight and crossed my fingers.
Since then, Iceland has had an eruption every year or two, and the question keeps coming back. The short answer: most eruptions don't affect most trips. The ones that matter are ash eruptions that ground flights, and eruptions close to where you plan to be. Here's what has happened since 2010, what the real risks are, and how to plan around them.
Iceland's eruptions since 2010
| Eruption | Dates | What it meant for travelers |
|---|---|---|
| Eyjafjallajökull | 20 March to June 2010 | The ash phase from 14 April closed much of Europe's airspace for several days, and more than 100,000 flights were cancelled. Farmers and their families near the volcano were evacuated. |
| Grímsvötn | 21 to 28 May 2011 | A bigger eruption than Eyjafjallajökull in its first days, under the Vatnajökull ice cap. It cancelled about 900 European flights from 23 to 25 May, far fewer than 2010. |
| Holuhraun (Bárðarbunga) | 29 August 2014 to 28 February 2015 | A lava eruption in the remote highlands. Little ash and no effect on flights beyond the immediate area, but large amounts of sulphur dioxide that hurt air quality in Iceland. |
| Fagradalsfjall | 19 March to 18 September 2021; 3 to 21 August 2022; 10 July to 5 August 2023 (Litli-Hrútur) | The first eruptions on the Reykjanes peninsula in about 800 years. They were lava shows, not ash events, and many people hiked out to watch them. |
| Sundhnúkur, near Grindavík | Nine eruptions, 18 December 2023 to 5 August 2025 | Grindavík was evacuated, homes were destroyed, and the Blue Lagoon closed repeatedly. Keflavik Airport stayed open. |
The Sundhnúkur eruptions started on 18 December 2023, 14 January 2024, 8 February 2024, 16 March 2024, 29 May 2024, 22 August 2024, 20 November 2024, 1 April 2025 and 16 July 2025. The last one ended on 5 August 2025, according to the Icelandic Met Office, and Visit Reykjanes counts twelve eruptions on the peninsula since March 2021. As of mid-September 2026 there hasn't been another, but on 15 September the Met Office said the ground at Svartsengi is still rising and that the most likely next step is a new magma intrusion into the crater row, which could lead to an eruption with little warning. Treat the area as active.
The August 2024 Sundhnúkur eruption, seen from the airport bus. Photo by Hornstrandir1, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
What an eruption means for your trip
Flights
Ash is the thing to worry about, not lava. Eyjafjallajökull and Grímsvötn sat under glaciers, where meltwater and magma make fine ash that jet engines can't handle. The Reykjanes eruptions are fissure eruptions that pour out lava with little ash, and the government says they did not affect flights to and from the country. The airport did lose its hot water for a while during the February 2024 eruption.
If an ash cloud does ground your flight, and you're flying from or within the EU or on an EU airline, EU passenger rules still give you the choice of a refund or rerouting, plus assistance while you wait. What you don't get is cash compensation, because an eruption counts as an extraordinary circumstance. Keep your receipts for meals and hotels if the airline doesn't provide them.
Grindavík and the Blue Lagoon
Grindavík was evacuated on 10 November 2023, and three houses were destroyed by lava in January 2024. The Blue Lagoon, a few kilometres away at Svartsengi, closed or evacuated during several eruptions, most recently in April and July 2025. In November 2024, lava covered the lagoon's car park and its access road; the lagoon reopened on 6 December, and a new car park inside the protective barriers opened on 15 December.
As of September 2026, the Blue Lagoon said it was open every day, with entry from 11,990 ISK. It also has building work under way through 2027, and it tells drivers to use Grindavíkurvegur (road 43), since some navigation apps show outdated routes. Safetravel says Grindavík is open, but crevasses can be expected, you should stay on paths, and evacuation sirens will sound if the threat level rises. If you're booking the Blue Lagoon or staying near it, read our Blue Lagoon page and hotels near the Blue Lagoon, and check Safetravel and the Met Office the day before.
The rest of the country
This part of my 2010 advice still holds. An eruption in one corner of Iceland usually doesn't touch the rest. During Eyjafjallajökull, if you stuck to Reykjavik, the west, the north and the east, you might not have known anything was happening. The same was largely true during the Reykjanes eruptions, which stayed on one small part of the peninsula.
The real risks
- Walking on new lava. Safetravel is blunt about it: don't, under any circumstances. The crust can be thin with molten rock underneath, and it stays dangerous long after an eruption ends.
- Gas. Eruptions release sulphur dioxide and other gases that pool in hollows. Check the air quality map and stay upwind.
- New fissures and crevasses. The ground in and around Grindavík has split open, and Safetravel says crevasses can still be expected.
- Glacial floods. Eruptions under ice melt it fast. In 2010, meltwater washed out roads near Eyjafjallajökull. If you're driving near an active glacier volcano, check umferdin.is before you set out.
- The weather. Hikes to eruption sites are long, exposed and cold, so dress for a mountain walk, not a sightseeing stop. Safetravel describes the 2023 Litli-Hrútur path as about 18 to 20 km round trip, taking five to six hours.
Then there's Katla, the big volcano under Mýrdalsjökull, next to Eyjafjallajökull. In 2010 people worried it would follow, as it had in the past. It didn't, and its last eruption to break through the ice was in 1918. Nobody can tell you when it will go next, which is why the Met Office watches it closely.
How to plan around an eruption
- Check vedur.is for alerts and safetravel.is for closures, and install the Safetravel app, which can send your GPS location to 112.
- Build a spare day into the end of your trip if you have a tight connection home.
- Read your travel insurance policy for how it treats volcanic events, and buy it when you book, not after an eruption is in the news.
- If you want to see an eruption, use the marked paths on Visit Reykjanes, or go with a licensed guide. Don't wander toward a fresh fissure on your own.
- Don't rule out the Blue Lagoon, but have a backup soak. Sky Lagoon is in the capital area, and our hot springs page lists more.
So, should you go?
For me, in 2010, it was a no-brainer. I snagged a $540 round-trip fare for that September, and I wasn't worried about getting stuck. I can think of many worse places to be stuck for a few days than Iceland. That's still how I'd think about it now. Unless ash is grounding flights or the authorities have closed the place you want to visit, an eruption is a reason to check the news, not a reason to cancel.
>> More on Iceland's volcanoes, the 2010 Eyjafjallajökull eruption, and the jokes it inspired
FAQ
Is Iceland safe to visit during an eruption?
Usually, yes. Eruptions are local, heavily monitored, and the authorities close roads and evacuate areas early. Follow the closures and you're very unlikely to be in danger.
Will an eruption cancel my flight?
Only if it produces a lot of ash, as Eyjafjallajökull did in 2010. The lava eruptions on the Reykjanes peninsula since 2021 haven't shut Keflavik.
Can I still see lava?
Only when an eruption is under way, and the best viewing spots change each time. The lava fields from 2021 to 2023 near Fagradalsfjall can be hiked to on marked paths, but you can't walk on them.
Photo by Sverrir Thor (Pause)