In shortSeals are the animals most visitors see: they rest on the icebergs and, in winter, gather in large numbers at the lagoon mouth to catch fish that come in from the sea. The surrounding plain, Breiðamerkursandur, is an important nesting area for great skuas, red-throated divers, greylag geese and barnacle geese, and Arctic terns nest nearby in summer.
sealson the ice all year
wintermost seals at the lagoon mouth
4key nesting species (national park)
summernesting season on the sands
Seals
The lagoon is connected to the sea, so herring, trout, salmon and krill drift in, and the seals come for them. Look on the floating ice near the shore and at the river mouth by the bridge, where they gather in large numbers in winter. From the boats you often pass them at close range.
See the seals from the water
The day trip from Reykjavík includes a 30-minute boat ride among the icebergs.
14 hours · from $292 · ★ 4.7 (450 reviews)
Birds on the sands
Vatnajökull National Park describes Breiðamerkursandur as an important nesting area for great skuas, red-throated divers, greylag geese and barnacle geese. Arctic terns nest nearby and fish in the lagoon, and Arctic skuas nest on the shores in summer, where they hunt smaller birds.
| Bird | When | Where to look |
|---|
| Great skua | nesting season (summer) | the sands around the lagoon |
|---|
| Arctic tern | summer | over the water and near the river mouth |
|---|
| Red-throated diver | nesting season | pools on Breiðamerkursandur |
|---|
| Greylag and barnacle goose | nesting season | grassy parts of the plain |
|---|
How to behave around them
- Keep to the marked routes, especially in the nesting season; the park asks for it.
- Terns defend their nests by diving at people: walk on calmly if they start.
- Watch seals from a distance and never feed them.
- Drones disturb both seals and nesting birds; check the park's rules before flying.
Learn more with a ranger
The park's rangers lead a free one-hour walk at the lagoon, Blue gold, daily at 11:00 between 1 June and 30 September, from the benches by the main car park. It is a good chance to ask what has been seen on the ice that week.
Nesting birds and seal colonies: Vatnajökull National Park (vatnajokulsthjodgardur.is). Fish, terns, Arctic skua and winter seals: Wikipedia article on Jökulsárlón. 4 October 2026.
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