Into the Glacier makes sense from Húsafell, and only just from Reykjavík
The Langjökull ice tunnel from Húsafell, Klaki base camp, Þingvellir or Reykjavík — which departure to book and what the day really costs you.
Into the Glacier is a man-made tunnel bored into Langjökull, Iceland’s second-largest ice cap, opened in 2015. You’re driven up the glacier in a converted truck, walk a few hundred metres of lit ice tunnel with a guide, and come back down. The tunnel visit itself is about an hour. Everything else is getting there. Where you start decides how much of your day that is.
From Húsafell
Húsafell is the farm-resort in Borgarfjörður at the end of the tarmac, about two hours north-east of Reykjavík. Arctic Adventures’ Into The Glacier - From Húsafell is €198 for four hours: truck up, tunnel, truck down. If you’re staying at Húsafell or driving West Iceland anyway, this is the departure to book. The listing is for the winter months; check dates on the tour page.
Downside: Húsafell is a detour from everything except the Silver Circle. You’re there for this.
From Klaki base camp
Into The Glacier - From Klaki Base Camp, €181, two and a half hours. Klaki is the operator’s base at the glacier edge, up a rough track beyond Húsafell. You drive yourself there in a proper 4x4 and join the glacier truck. It’s the cheapest way in and the shortest day, and it puts the saving where it belongs: in the hire car you already have.
Downside: the track to Klaki is not for a small two-wheel-drive rental. If that’s what you’re driving, book from Húsafell instead.
From Þingvellir
Into The Glacier - From Þingvellir, €177, five and a half hours, all year. Pickup at Þingvellir on the Golden Circle, over to the glacier and back. This is the one for people combining it with a Golden Circle self-drive: Þingvellir in the morning, the glacier in the afternoon, Geysir and Gullfoss the next day.
Downside: you’re still driving back to Reykjavík afterwards, so it’s a long day with a lot of your own time behind the wheel.
From Reykjavík
There is no plain Into the Glacier departure from Reykjavík on our list. The one that starts in the city, Into The Glacier - With Snowmobiling From Reykjavík, is €347 for ten hours and bundles snowmobiling on the glacier before the tunnel. That’s the honest picture: from Reykjavík, the tunnel is an hour inside a ten-hour, €347 day, and you pay for the snowmobile whether you wanted it or not.
Downside: it’s a long bus day for a short attraction, and snowmobiling in poor visibility gets cancelled while the tunnel still runs.
Our honest take
Rent a car and book from Húsafell at €198, or from Klaki at €181 if the car can take gravel. Pair it with Hraunfossar and a hot pool on the way back and it’s a full, good West Iceland day. Only book from Reykjavík if you have no car and you actively want the snowmobile; then €347 for ten hours is fair. If you have no car and don’t care about snowmobiles, spend the day on the South Coast instead and skip the tunnel. An ice tunnel is impressive for an hour, and this one is an hour.
