Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon:

First, some advice:…

Take the Zodiac tour, not the duck boat, which is doubtless warmer but can’t get as close to the ice. Next, the unvarnished truth: it’s cold. Even in excursion suits they provide and with the hat and gloves you'll have the foresight to bring, when that Zodiac is moving, it’s cold. Even on a clear day, with minimal wind, it’s cold. Like, kid-curled-up-in-your-lap-in-the-fetal-position cold. But when the Zodiac stops thisclose to a harbor seal chillin’ (sorry) on an ice floe, you will forget how cold you are. I did.*

We got lucky on the weather. We also got lucky on the guide. Our skipper, Thor (yes, his real name) was great. In the off season, he works as a grip on many of the TV and movie productions that are filmed in Iceland, but every summer he leaves the metropolis behind and spends his days on Glacier Bay. Best of both worlds, I’d say. In between Game of Thrones anecdotes, he sped us here and there around the bay until we reached the face of the glacier. The colors are amazing. Apparently the dark blue fades once the ice has been exposed for a bit, so the darker the blue, the fresher the ice. The variety of textures is pretty too--who'd have thought there were so many ways to be frozen snow? And we had fun trying to guess how much more ice was under the water than above it. Yes, Titanic jokes were made.

The tour lasts about an hour, so even if you’re freezing, frostbite is unilkely. Make sure everyone has his/her own hat, the warmer the better, and a pair of gloves. I donated mine to the aforementioned Little Match Boy, so my hands were cold the whole time. And maybe consider two pair of socks, and your warmest, most windproof shoes? I wish I had. And unless your whole party is stoic, I wouldn’t do this one if it’s wet or super-windy. First boat of the morning on a clear day, if you can arrange it. The time, not the weather.

Don't forget to save some time afterwards to go scavenge some glacier ice. Small chunks from the glacier washes ashore on a nearby beach. It’s super dense so it melts slowly, which makes it popular among Icelanders as party ice. So harvest some, and throw yourself a little party. You deserve it, you intrepid traveler, you!

*And this is really saying something, since I hate being cold.