Into the Glacier carves a corridor deep into Langjökull, Iceland's second-largest ice cap, and keeps it open in every month of the year. Compare the Húsafell departure with the full-day tour from Reykjavík, then take your pick of routes up the ice.
The natural ice caves compared on this site depend on the season: most of the blue caves under Vatnajökull run October or November to March or April, while Katla runs year-round. The Langjökull ice tunnel belongs to a different family: a corridor carved into the heart of the ice cap, running to chambers and galleries that exist because people cut them, and maintained in every month of the year. In deep winter it sits beside the natural blue caves as a choice. In midsummer, the glacier interiors that operate in every month are the tunnel, the year-round Katla cave and the Blue Ice Maze.
The operator describes its tunnel as the world's largest man-made ice cave, and the claim has the scale to back it. An 8x8 monster truck, modified for glacier driving, carries visitors from Húsafell up onto the ice cap, and inside, decades-old ice layers and bands of volcanic ash expose the glacier's history in the walls. Children 12 and under join free, which none of the natural-cave tours compared on this site offers.
The Húsafell departure is the direct route: meet the guide, board the monster truck, and spend around four hours on the glacier. The Reykjavík version adds roundtrip transport and sightseeing on the way to Húsafell and suits travellers without a rental car.
Our Top Pick
The Húsafell departure. About four hours with the monster truck ride, the tunnel and a certified guide, children 12 and under free and all ages welcome.
from €161 Free cancellation
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From Reykjavík
The same glacier day with pickup from Reykjavík and sightseeing en route to Langjökull, warm overalls included, on a full-day roundtrip from the capital.
from €279 Free cancellation
Book NowThe Húsafell departure is the purest version of the tunnel. You meet the guide at the Húsafell Activity Centre, an easy two-hour drive from Reykjavík through west Iceland's lava fields, gear up in a snowsuit and boot covers, and board the vehicle that does the climbing for you. In summer a mountain bus carries the group from Húsafell to the glacier's edge before the monster truck takes over, and either way the ice cap arrives outside the window rather than under your boots.
Inside, the tunnel becomes a lesson you can touch. The walls expose layers built from decades of snowfall and seams of volcanic ash from distant eruptions, and lighting carved into the ice turns the chambers galleries of pale blue. The guide explains how the glacier formed, how it moves and why the tunnel is cut anew as the ice shifts. Around four hours door to door, with the vehicle doing the climbing, which is precisely why it fits families, winter voyagers and every traveller the natural caves cannot.
Who it suits and where it trades off: travellers who need a glacier interior that operates in every month, families with small children and anyone booking ice for a fixed summer date. It is a built experience rather than a found one, with corridors and lighting that are man-made, which is exactly the point for year-round operation and the opposite of what wild-cave travellers are chasing. You still walk on ice with crampons, and the listing excludes travellers with mobility impairments.
from €161 · 4.7 traveller rating · Free cancellation
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One ascent, from the activity centre to the heart of the ice cap.
Meet the guide at Húsafell, about two hours from Reykjavík, and suit up in snowsuit, jacket and waterproof boot covers.
Board the specially modified glacier truck for the climb onto Langjökull. In summer, a mountain bus first shuttles the group from Húsafell to the glacier's edge.
The truck stops at the cave mouth cut into the ice cap, and crampons go on for the ice.
Walk the corridors and chambers of the tunnel, past glowing blue hues, decades-old ice layers and seams of volcanic ash, while the guide reads the glacier's history from the walls.
Back down the ice cap to the Activity Centre.
The tunnel shows what a glacier hides: the strata of a hundred snowfalls, ash from volcanoes far away, and blue that deepens with every metre of ice overhead. Five frames from inside Langjökull.
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What surprises most visitors is the scale. This is not a crawl into a chamber but a walk through a system of corridors and rooms cut tens of metres into the ice cap, lit so the layers read like a museum wall. Your guide stops at the ash seams and lets the glacier do the talking: this dark line, that volcano, this depth, that decade. It is the closest thing Iceland has to touring the inside of time.
Because the approach is by vehicle and the walking is gentle, the tunnel inverts the usual ice cave trade-offs. The day asks far less of your legs than a glacier hike, though you still walk on ice with crampons and the listing excludes travellers with mobility impairments. Children of any age join, with sleds available for the smallest, and the experience is the same in April and in the dark of January. Travellers who want the earned, unpredictable magic of a natural cave should choose the Vatnajökull tours. Travellers who want a glacier interior that operates in every month, family logistics or a midsummer visit should stop reading and book this one, then confirm their chosen date on the booking calendar.
Húsafell, west Iceland
Húsafell sits about two hours' drive from Reykjavík, at the edge of the highlands where the road to the glacier begins. Arrive ready to change into the provided snowsuits, and bring a hat, gloves and a waterproof camera for the tunnel.
Open in Google MapsChildren of all ages, including infants, join with an adult, sleds are available for little ones, and children 12 and under come free. Teens join at half price.
The operator keeps the tunnel open year-round, verified on the live listing on 21 September 2026. In summer the first leg from Húsafell runs by mountain bus before the monster truck takes over on the ice, and individual departures can still be affected by weather.
The tour is not suitable for people with mobility impairments, since the tunnel involves walking on ice with crampons.
Hat, gloves, weather-appropriate clothing, rain gear and a waterproof camera are the operator's bring list. Food and drinks are not included.
Húsafell is roughly two hours from Reykjavík. Travellers without a car should book the Reykjavík departure version of the same tour, compared above, with transport included.
The recurring notes in these reviews: the drive onto the ice cap lands as a highlight in itself, the interior feels less like a cave than a hidden building, and families rate it among the smoothest big days in Iceland.
Traveller feedback, summarized by our editors.
September 2, 2026
A traveller from Germany counts the journey to the site as a highlight in its own right and the cave as a beautiful experience, appreciating the chance to stand in a glacier while it is still here.
A traveller from GermanyAugust 19, 2026
A traveller from Poland expected to step into the glacier and was surprised how far and how deep the route went, past chambers carved into the ice as deliberate attractions, with a guide telling interesting stories about glaciers along the way.
A traveller from PolandJune 28, 2026
A traveller from Italy found coming face to face with Iceland's second-largest glacier an incredible experience and the tunnel itself enchanting.
A traveller from ItalyYes. The operator states that the tunnel operates year-round, re-verified on the live listing on 21 September 2026. It operates in every month of the year, though a given departure can still be affected by weather, and whether your specific date runs is only knowable on the booking calendar.
In practice, yes. The meeting point at Húsafell is about two hours from the capital, and there is a tour version departing from Reykjavík itself with transport and sightseeing included.
Choose the tunnel for operation in every month: it asks little of your legs and takes all ages, though weather can still affect a departure. Choose a natural cave, such as the Vatnajökull ice cave tours, for blue ice that nature carved and guides rediscover each winter. The two experiences are genuinely different, and many ice-keen travellers eventually do both.
Around four hours from Húsafell, including the vehicle transfer up the ice cap and the guided walk through the tunnel. The Reykjavík version is a full-day trip with transport and stops.
It is the most child-friendly glacier experience compared on this site. Children of all ages are welcome, those 12 and under join free, teens pay half, and sleds are available for toddlers.
Yes, and the operator of the Reykjavík version specifically highlights the rare sight of blue ice at the heart of an ice cap glacier. The blue deepens with the depth of ice above the corridor you stand in.
The tunnel runs in every month of the year, about four hours from Húsafell, children 12 and under free. The recommended tour books from €161, cancellation free up to 24 hours ahead.
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