Snowmobiling and ice caves on Langjökull

6 min read Updated November 2026 Compare all tours

Langjökull is the second-largest glacier in Iceland, reached from Gullfoss along the Kjölur highland route. The tours here start in one of three ways. Full-day trips from Reykjavík combine the Golden Circle with the glacier. Shorter trips leave from Gullfoss or the Geysir area, which suits anyone driving the route. A third group starts at Húsafell, west of the ice. On the glacier itself you go by snowmobile or ride in an oversized truck, and some trips go under the ice.

Snowmobiling as part of a Golden Circle day

The Golden Circle and glacier snowmobiling tour takes ten hours from Reykjavík. Between the sights you ride about an hour on Langjökull, after a transfer up the ice in a super jeep or monster truck. The snowmobile is the highlight for nearly every reviewer, and the crew supplies snowsuits, gloves, helmets and balaclavas. The trade-off is time: reviewers write that they got about 30 minutes at Geysir and at Gullfoss, and one suggests splitting the Golden Circle and the snowmobile into separate days if the sights matter to you. Weather cancellations come up too, and some guests describe having to move to another coach or waiting at busy pickup points among many tour buses.

The small-group version runs in a minibus, adds Kerið and switches to a super jeep for the glacier; the minimum age is 8. The super jeep tour with snowmobiling collects you by super truck from 08:30 and drives through Þingvellir, Geysir and Gullfoss, with a two-person snowmobile for an hour; children from 6 can ride as passengers with an adult. The snowmobile and Secret Lagoon tour skips Þingvellir, puts no more than ten people in each truck and ends with a soak at Flúðir.

Starting at Gullfoss or Geysir

If you are driving the Golden Circle anyway, you can meet the glacier tour on the way. The snowmobile tour from Gullfoss Café meets in the café car park. A truck takes you to a base on the eastern edge of the glacier, and you ride for an hour on a two-person snowmobile with stops. It lasts four hours; children from 6 can ride along with an adult, and the operator gives a full refund if weather cancels the trip.

The snowmobile tour from Geysir works the same way, with a super truck to the base camp. Its reviews are mixed: they describe days that ran twice the four hours stated, groups of 30 to 40, weather cancellations without notice and, for some, only an hour on the snowmobile. There is no transfer from Reykjavík on it.

Two trips from Gullfoss suit families without a licence. The Sleipnir monster truck tour takes a highland bus from Gullfoss to the base, where a custom-built truck drives onto Langjökull for sledding, cocoa with kleinur and, snow permitting, glacier golf. It lasts 3.5 hours and takes children from 4. The ice cave tour by glacier monster truck follows the Kjölur route across the highland and walks into a natural ice cave. The operator describes the walk as moderate, on uneven ground with narrow steps, and the trucks have no child seats; the minimum age is again 4.

Into the Glacier from Húsafell

Into the Glacier is a tunnel cut into Langjökull. Icelandia, which runs tours there, gives its length as 500 metres with about 30 metres of ice overhead and says it can be visited all year. Trips start from the Húsafell activity centre or from the Klaki base camp slightly outside the village, and the drive from Reykjavík takes just under two hours. The ice tunnel tour from Húsafell crosses the glacier by truck to the entrance, where a guide leads you through the tunnel; crampons and a snowsuit are listed as included (one reviewer was not offered a snowsuit), children of all ages can come with an adult, and the trip takes about four hours. Reviews like the walk in the ice and the guides. Others found the circuit small, the truck windows dirty and the changes between bus and truck disorganised, and one storm turned a group back before it reached the tunnel.

The snowmobile and ice tunnel combination rides to the entrance in about 40 minutes instead. Passengers can be 8 or older, but only one young passenger aged 8 to 15 can go with each adult driver. The snowmobiling tour with a Reykjavík transfer also goes to Húsafell, about 1 hour 40 minutes away, and climbs the ice by super jeep; it has no Golden Circle stops.

A jeep day without the snowmobile

The Golden Circle jeep tour to Langjökull is for anyone who wants to see the ice without driving on it. After Þingvellir, Geysir and lunch at the Gullfoss Café, the jeep goes off-road to the edge of the glacier and stops at the Faxi waterfall on the way back. Snowmobiling is not included. It lasts eight hours and takes children from 5.

Weather, season and what to wear

Reviews of the glacier tours come from every month of the year, but the weather decides on the day. Storms and drifting snow cancel trips most often in winter, and on 21 December there are only about four hours of sun, between 11:21 and 15:24. Safetravel warns that strong wind can make driving dangerous even when the road looks clear, so if you drive to Gullfoss for a morning start, check the road conditions on umferdin.is or by calling 1777 first. The glaciers themselves are shrinking: the Icelandic Met Office reports that the country’s glaciers have lost about 7 per cent of their ice since 1995.

The snowmobile tours lend you overalls, a helmet, gloves and a balaclava, and some add goggles and overshoes. Under that you need warm layers. For the ice tunnel, the operators ask for warm layers, a waterproof and windproof outer layer, sturdy shoes with good grip, a hat and gloves. Visit South Iceland recommends sunglasses all year, and on the snow you will want them. Our pages on the Golden Circle with kids and weather and what to wear go further.