Húsafell: what to book when you stay there
Stay a night in Húsafell and book two things: Into the Glacier in the morning and the Canyon Baths in the late afternoon. Snowmobiles and quads are optional.
The short version
- Húsafell is about two hours' drive from Reykjavík, at the end of the paved road below Langjökull.
- Into the Glacier from Húsafell is from €204 for four hours, with departures at 10:00, 11:00, 12:30 and 15:00.
- The Húsafell Canyon Baths are from €80 per adult, 1 hour 45 minutes, including the transfer from Hotel Húsafell and a towel.
- The snowmobile version of Into the Glacier needs a driving licence to drive; passengers must be at least eight.
- Every tour here meets in Húsafell, so without a car you need the Silver Circle day tour from Reykjavík instead.
If you’re staying in Húsafell, book Into the Glacier for the morning and the Canyon Baths for the late afternoon. That’s the day. Everything else here, the snowmobiles and the quad bikes, is a good extra if you have the budget, not a reason to come.
Húsafell is a farm, a hotel, a campsite and a pool at the end of the paved road in upper Borgarfjörður, about two hours’ drive from Reykjavík. Langjökull sits above it. It’s a dead end, which is the point: it’s quiet, and the glacier tours leave from the door instead of from a bus three hours away.
Into the Glacier: book it from here
The ice tunnel inside Langjökull is the main reason people come. From Húsafell, Into the Glacier from €204 is four hours, with departures at 10:00, 11:00, 12:30 and 15:00. You ride up in a converted glacier truck and walk through blue-lit tunnels cut into the ice. It’s man-made, so it runs all year, unlike natural ice caves. Bring a warm, waterproof coat even in summer.
Our Into the Glacier guide compares the departure points. The short version: Húsafell is the best of them, because it’s the closest.
The Canyon Baths: the best hour in Húsafell
The Húsafell Canyon Baths from €80 per adult are two small geothermal pools in a gorge, reached with a guide. You’re taken from Hotel Húsafell, walk in, soak, and walk back, 1 hour 45 minutes in all. The guide, entry and a towel are included. Departures are at 10:00, 13:00, 15:00 and 17:00. You need boots and a swimsuit, and you can’t bring your own alcohol.
It’s small and quiet, rated 4.9 by 77 reviewers on Tripadvisor, and the nearest thing in West Iceland to a hot pool with a view you have to earn. The downside: you can’t just turn up and soak whenever you like, as you can at Krauma, 40 minutes down the valley. Book the 17:00 slot after a glacier morning and you’ll understand why people rate it.
Private versions start at about €1,021 for the group. For most people, the shared tour is plenty.
Snowmobiles: pick one, not both
There are two ways to get a snowmobile under you from Húsafell.
Into the Glacier with snowmobiling from €285 is four and a half hours, at 10:00 or 12:30. You ride snowmobiles from Klaki base camp to the tunnel entrance, spend about an hour inside, and ride back. You need a valid driving licence to drive; children and anyone without one ride as passengers, and the minimum age is eight.
Simply Iceland’s Snowmobile on Langjökull from €244 is two hours from the Húsafell information centre at 10:30 or 13:00, with a bus to the glacier edge and then the ride. There’s no tunnel.
If you want both the tunnel and a snowmobile, the combined tour is the better buy: €81 more than the tunnel alone, rather than €244 for a second trip onto the same glacier. If you only want the tunnel, skip the snowmobile. Glacier weather cancels either one.
Quad bikes, if you have an afternoon spare
Simply Iceland’s ATV Quad Adventure in Húsafell from €131 is about an hour on the quad past farms, over small rivers and up a hill for the view. You meet at the information centre 30 minutes before to get your suit, gloves and helmet. It’s easy and unhurried. Check the solo-rider option if you want a quad to yourself. We’d book it if you have a second day here, not instead of the baths.
Without a car
Everything above meets in Húsafell, and there is no bus. If you’re based in Reykjavík without a car, Arctic Adventures’ Silver Circle and Húsafell Canyon Baths from €204 is ten hours with pickup, and ends in the same canyon pools after Deildartunguhver, Hraunfossar and Barnafoss. The waterfalls are a few minutes west of Húsafell and free to visit if you’re driving. Our Silver Circle guide covers the loop.
Our honest take
Stay one night. Drive up in the afternoon, stop at Hraunfossar on the way, and sleep in Húsafell. Next morning, take Into the Glacier at 10:00 or 11:00, then the Canyon Baths at 15:00 or 17:00. That’s €284 each for the two things worth doing here, and neither involves a long bus ride. Add the snowmobile version only if you’d genuinely enjoy driving one. Eating options are few, so plan dinner around the hotel. And don’t try to fit all of this into a day trip from Reykjavík: you’d spend four of your hours on the road.
