Guide · Getting there

The Reykjavík lava tunnel trip, by coach or by car

The cave sits on the lava heath east of the capital. You can join a coach that collects you in town, or drive yourself and meet the guide at the cave. Here is how both work.

Check availabilityfrom $72 · cancel without a fee

Editorial team, lavacavetouriceland.comUpdated October 25, 20267 min read23 sources

The tour that goes with it From Reykjavik: Raufarhólshellir Lava Tunnel Tour 4.7 (852 reviews) 1 to 3 hours from$68per person Check availabilityFree cancellation up to 24 hrs before

Quick answer

01Distance: Approximately 30 km, less than 30 minutes by car.¹
02Route: Road 1 east for about 18 km, then road 39 for 12 km.²
03Coach tour: 40 minutes each way, an hour in the cave, from $68.
04Driving: Meet at the cave and walk for about 1 hour, from $72.
05Winter: Check road conditions on 1777 or road.is before you leave.³

Two ways out to the cave

A Reykjavík lava tunnel trip is one of the shortest excursions you can make from the capital. The operator of Raufarhólshellir puts the cave less than 30 minutes from the city by car, approximately 30 km away, and accessible by all vehicles.¹ That puts it closer than most of the famous sights of the south-west, and it means you can fit it into a morning, an afternoon or the gap before a flight without rearranging the rest of your plans.

There are two ways to get there. You can book a coach tour that picks you up in Reykjavík, drives you to the cave and brings you back, with the guided walk built in. Or you can drive yourself, park at the cave and join a walk on the spot, which is how the listing sold on this site works: its meeting point is the cave itself, on Þorlákshafnarvegur. Both end in the same place, inside the same lit section of the tunnel.

Which one suits you depends mainly on whether you have a car. With a rental already parked outside your hotel, driving is the obvious choice: it is quick, flexible and lets you add other stops on the same road. Without one, a lava tunnel tour from Reykjavík takes care of everything, and you can sit back on the way out and on the way home while somebody else watches the road and the weather.

On the coach

A coach trip from the city

At the start

Be ready early

The listing asks you to arrive at least 15 minutes before.
Pickup

Coach out

About 40 minutes from Reykjavík to the cave.
At the cave

The guided hour

Helmet on, then the walk through the lit part of the tunnel.⁴
Return

Coach back

Another 40 minutes to one of 24 drop-off points.
Afternoon

Free again

The rest of the day is yours in Reykjavík.

The coach tour, hour by hour

The coach version sold on GetYourGuide starts from $68 and is rated 4.70 from 852 reviews, with a breakdown of 4.9 for the guide and 4.6 for transportation. Its itinerary is simple: a bus or coach for 40 minutes, a guided hour at Raufarhólshellir, and the same 40 minutes back, with 24 drop-off locations in the city. The listing asks you to arrive at least 15 minutes before the start.

A second coach listing runs 3 hours in all, from $154, rated 4.59 from 850 reviews. Its schedule gives 30 minutes on the bus each way and 2 hours at the cave, and it asks you to be ready at the BSI Bus Terminal 15 minutes before departure. Read both carefully before choosing: the time on the road is similar, but the time at the cave and the pickup arrangements differ.

The coach listings ask you to dress for a cold, wet cave. The first recommends warm outdoor clothing, a waterproof jacket and pants, headwear, gloves, good hiking shoes and lunch; the second asks you to dress warmly and wear sturdy footwear. Take that seriously even in summer, because the cave itself does not warm up with the season, and once you are inside there is nowhere to go back for a forgotten layer.

Minutes

Time on the road, one way

minutes

Times from the listings' itineraries and, for the car, the operator's own estimate of less than 30 minutes.¹

Side by side

Coach or your own car

Point	Coach tour	Own car
Starts	Pickup in Reykjavík	At the cave
Road time each way	40 minutes	Under 30 minutes
Time in the cave	1 hour	About 1 hour
Price	from $68	from $72
Fuel and parking	Included in the ride	Yours to cover
Free cancellation	Up to 24 hours	Up to 24 hours

From the two GetYourGuide listings and the operator's directions; prices are starting prices.¹

Three ways from town

Coach, bus tour or a full day

Lowest price

Coach and walk

Pickup in Reykjavík

Coach each way: 40 minutes
Rating: 4.70
Price: from $68

See this tour

From Reykjavik: Raufarhólshellir Lava Tunnel by Bus

Longer at the cave

Bus tour

From the BSI terminal

In all: 3 hours
At the cave: 2 hours
Price: from $154

See this tour

Caving & ATV full day adventure From Reykjavik

Two activities

Cave and quad bike

A full day out

In all: 5 to 8 hours
Rating: 4.95
Price: from $313

See this tour

Decision helper

Coach or car for your trip

Find the row closest to how you travel

I have no rental car I have a car and want flexibility I want the evening for the northern lights I travel in deep winter I want a full day of sights

The coach tour

It collects you in town and drives 40 minutes each way.

Drive yourself

Walks leave every hour on the hour from the cave.⁵

The evening combo

It pairs the cave with 2.5 hours at a viewpoint.

Check the roads first

Road conditions are on tel. 1777 or road.is.³

A Golden Circle combo

The tunnel plus Thingvellir, Gullfoss and Geysir in 10 hours.

Head east on road no. 1 and drive for about 18 km. Turn right onto road no. 39 (Þorlákshöfn) and drive for another 12 km. The parking lot is right by the road.

The Lava Tunnel (Raufarhóll ehf)Source 2

Driving yourself on road 1 and road 39

The drive is straightforward. The operator's directions are to head east from Reykjavík on road 1 and drive for about 18 km, then turn right onto road 39 towards Þorlákshöfn and drive another 12 km; the parking lot is right by the road.² On its location page it adds that the parking area is on your left-hand side.¹ The same page publishes GPS coordinates for the parking area, which are worth saving in your phone before you set off.⁶

Road 1 climbs out of the city across open lava and moss towards the Hellisheiði heath, where the wind can be strong, and road 39 turns off before the heath and runs south across the lava towards the coast. Visit South Iceland gives the usual speed limits as 50 km per hour in urban areas and, outside towns, 90 km on paved roads and 80 km on gravel roads.⁷ Keep to them: the turn onto road 39 comes up quickly.

Driving gives you freedom with timing. The walk sold here is about 1 hour long and starts from $72, and the operator runs standard tours every hour on the hour.⁵ Arrive a little early, park, and you can be underground within minutes. Afterwards, Hveragerði lies a short drive east on road 1, and Þorlákshöfn and the south coast are at the other end of road 39 if you want to make a loop of it.

Map

Where the lava caves are

First the lava fields between Reykjavík and Hveragerði with the three caves near the capital, then west Iceland with Silfra, Vatnshellir and Víðgelmir.

Map of south-west Iceland with Reykjavík, Hveragerði and the caves Raufarhólshellir, Arnarker and Leiðarendi — Caves near Reykjavík

Map of west Iceland with Reykjavík, Raufarhólshellir, Silfra in Þingvellir, Vatnshellir on Snæfellsnes and Víðgelmir — West Iceland

1
Raufarhólshellir
The lava tube by road 39, approximately 30 km from Reykjavík; the meeting point of the 1-hour tour.¹
In Google Maps ↗
2
Arnarker
A cave in the Leitarhraun lava field, entered by a ladder some 16 meters down; about 516 meters long.⁸ ⁹
In Google Maps ↗
3
Leiðarendi
A lava tube near the Bláfjöll mountains, on road 417; its name means End of the road.¹⁰ ¹¹ ¹²
In Google Maps ↗
4
Reykjavík
Bus tours to Raufarhólshellir start here and drive 30 to 40 minutes each way.
In Google Maps ↗
5
Hveragerði
A geothermal town east of the cave on road 1, where the lava heath drops to the lowland.
In Google Maps ↗
6
Raufarhólshellir
The tube of the Leitahraun eruption, 1360 m long in total.¹³ ¹⁴
In Google Maps ↗
7
Reykjavík
The capital, less than 30 minutes by car from Raufarhólshellir.¹
In Google Maps ↗
8
Silfra
The snorkeling fissure in Þingvellir National Park, in water of 2-4 °C.¹⁵
In Google Maps ↗
9
Vatnshellir
An 8,000-year-old lava tube on Snæfellsnes by road 574, open on guided tours only.¹⁶ ¹⁷ ¹⁸
In Google Maps ↗
10
Víðgelmir
A lava cave in Hallmundarhraun, the lava of an eruption set at around 900 AD; tours last 1.5 hours.¹⁹ ²⁰
In Google Maps ↗

Open the map in Google Maps

Checklist

Before you leave Reykjavík

If you drive

Check road.is for conditions first
Allow half an hour each way
Park on the left beside road 39

If you take the coach

Be at the pickup point early
Expect a short coach ride each way
Pack lunch, the listing suggests it

For the cave

Warm layers and a hat
A waterproof jacket
Shoes with a good grip

Calculator

Coach or car: price your group

Pick an option and the number of people

Walk at the caveYou drivefrom $72 Coach and walkPickup in townfrom $68 Bus tour3 hours in allfrom $154 Evening comboCave and aurorafrom $208

People 2

Total from$144

each from $72

Check availabilityfree cancellation

Our sum: the trip's cheapest GetYourGuide fare multiplied by how many cavers you enter, converted with the ECB's figure for the day. The exact amount shows once you pick a date.

Video

From the road 39 parking area into the cave

Nothing from YouTube loads into the page until you press the play button.

Winter roads and changing weather

The cave is open in every season, and the operator says it is easily accessed year round.²¹ The road there is a mountain road all the same. Visit South Iceland advises travelers to be prepared for quickly changing conditions in every season, and in winter that can mean snow, ice and strong wind on the heath between the city and the cave.²² A clear morning in Reykjavík does not guarantee clear driving on the plateau an hour later.

Before you set off, check the road and the weather. The same Visit South Iceland map lists road conditions on tel. 1777, at www.road.is, and gives 112 as the emergency number.³ If the road looks bad, the coach tours carry their own risk of delay but take the driving off your hands, and the free cancellation on the walk sold here, up to 24 hours before, leaves room to move your slot to another day.

Dress for the conditions outside as well as inside. In winter Visit South Iceland recommends an insulated jacket along with ice cleats, ice grips or anti-slip soles.²³ The listing for the walk includes crampons in winter for the cave itself. Leave a little extra time for the parking lot, which can be icy, and for the short walk from the car to the entrance.

Fitting the cave into a day from the capital

The tunnel combines well with other trips out of Reykjavík. One listing turns it into an evening: pickup in town, 45 minutes by coach, an hour in Raufarhólshellir and then 2.5 hours at a northern lights viewpoint, 4 hours in all from $208. If the lights do not show, the northern lights part can be rebooked for free within 3 years.

Others make a full day of it. A Golden Circle day spends an hour in the tunnel and then visits Thingvellir, Gullfoss, Geysir and the Kerid crater over 10 hours, from $208. A 9-hour day pairs the tunnel with the Reykjanes peninsula, including Kleifarvatn, the Seltún geothermal area and Grindavik. And a caving and quad bike day adds an hour on a quad bike after a lunch break in town.

If you drive, you can build the same kind of day yourself. The cave sits on the way to the south coast, so a morning walk underground can be followed by Hveragerði, the coast at Þorlákshöfn or the road east towards the waterfalls. Keep in mind how far Raufarhólshellir is from Reykjavík: approximately 30 km, so even a late start leaves plenty of daylight in summer.¹ In winter, plan the drive home before dark.

Which option costs less

On price alone the two options are close. The coach tour starts from $68, and the walk at the cave starts from $72. The coach price includes the ride; the walk price does not, so if you have no car the coach is clearly cheaper. If you already have a rental car for your trip, the extra cost of driving out is only fuel, and you gain flexibility.

For groups the sums change. A family or a group of friends sharing one car pays for one drive but several walks, while a coach tour charges every seat. Use the calculator on this page to compare the totals for your group, and remember that the prices shown are starting prices that the checkout confirms for your date. Gratuities are not part of the walk's price.

Time is the other cost. The coach version runs on its own schedule, with 40 minutes on the road each way and an hour at the cave. Driving yourself, you spend less than 30 minutes on the road each way plus about an hour underground, and you choose the start time.¹ Neither is a big investment of your holiday, and the cave works well on a first or last day in Iceland, when a long excursion would be too much.

Under the lava