Into the Glacier: Riding a Glacier Truck into Langjökull’s Ice Tunnels
If you are sleeping in a converted expedition truck on the bank of the Hvítá, the most fitting day trip nearby is another oversized vehicle: a modified glacier truck that drives straight onto Langjökull, Iceland’s second-largest glacier. The Into the Glacier Langjökull tour departs from Húsafell, roughly a 30-minute drive up the valley from Hvítárbakki, and takes you inside a network of man-made ice tunnels carved deep into the ice cap.
What the trip actually involves
The tour starts at Húsafell, where you check in and board a specially modified glacier vehicle. These are heavy, high-clearance machines built to grip snow and ice, and the drive up onto the ice cap is part of the experience. Expect about 30 minutes each way in summer and roughly 75 minutes each way in winter, since conditions on the glacier slow the vehicles down in the colder months.
At the top, near about 1,260 metres above sea level, you walk into the tunnel entrance and spend roughly an hour underground with a guide. LED lighting picks out the walls as the ice shifts from white to deep blue. The tunnels include a small ice chapel that is sometimes used for weddings. The ice you are walking through is over 1,000 years old, compressed from centuries of snowfall.
When to go and what to bring
The tunnels are man-made, so the tour runs year-round regardless of weather above ground, which makes it a reliable plan even on a grey day. Raincoats and overshoes are provided at check-in if you need them, and crampons for the ice walk are handed out as you enter the tunnels. You should still dress for a cold, damp environment: warm layers, a hat and gloves, and sturdy waterproof shoes underneath the supplied gear.
- Getting there: tours depart from Húsafell, about 30 minutes’ drive from Hvítárbakki up Route 518.
- Glacier vehicle: roughly 30 minutes each way in summer, about 75 minutes each way in winter.
- Underground: about an hour inside the tunnels with a guide.
- Provided: raincoats and overshoes at check-in, crampons on entering the tunnels.
- Timing: arrive at least 15 minutes early; conditions can push the total trip past the scheduled length.
Why it pairs with a truck stay
There is a neat symmetry to spending the night in an expedition truck and the day in a glacier truck. Both are built for terrain that ordinary cars cannot reach, and the drive up onto Langjökull is a genuine off-road stretch rather than a shuttle on a paved road. Into the Glacier is a repeat Tripadvisor Travelers’ Choice winner, and it works as the anchor of a trip themed around big vehicles and big landscapes in the West of Iceland.
Where to Stay
Hvítá Trucks sits at Hvítárbakki in Borgarfjörður, on the same riverside plot as The Hvítá Inn and only about 30 minutes’ drive from the Húsafell departure point. That means you can roll out of your truck in the morning, reach the glacier vehicles without a long transfer, and be back by the river the same afternoon with time to spare. Book direct on Ourhotels.is for the best rate.
Photo: Giuseppe Milo via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0.