Raufarhólshellir — Attraction in undefined

We really enjoyed our visit to the Lava caves! Sun, our guide, was amazing, funny and informative telling us all about the caves and giving us plenty of tips for our time in Iceland! Don't pay attention to the bad reviews, none of them read the website before attending otherwise they would have known what they were getting themselves into! The tour was short in distance, covering 500m of the tunnels, roughly a third, however the guide pointed out quite clearly that they do offer tours to the bottom for more experienced cavers due to the difficulty the climb poses- considering the terrain in there, it's no surprise! Yes it's pricey, but anyone visiting Iceland should know that already, considering how expensive EVERYTHING is in Iceland. In comparison to our £350 hour on snowmobiles or the £10 a pop parking in many areas, this is dirt cheap and worth every penny. Got some amazing pictures of the caves and a chance to experience true darkness, not many places in the UK that can compare. The guide also explained that the caves were shut permanently in 2016 due to the unbelievable miss-treatment of this natural beauty; it was only through petitions to the private owners that the caves were reopened, under the promise they would be properly looked after and conserved for years to come otherwise they would again be shut to the public. Tons of waste had to he drawn out, and walkways were constructed to enable comfortable viewing without further damage to the formations. Anyone who lives in the real world would understand this comes at a cost, and I'm presuming it was people like those that have complained in these reviews that caused this trouble in the first place. We definitely recommend booking in advance for your trip and adding this as part of your golden circle tour if you are planning to drive yourself...

When planning our trip to Iceland I was hoping to fit The Lava Tunnel into our plans. Due to time constraints we kept it as a possibility and knew we'd have to play it by ear the day we were in the area. The day we were in the area we knew we had some time so looked up tour availability. We were able to book a time slot that worked for when we would be driving through and secure our spot. When we arrived we just checked in with our names and waited with our group for our guide. We were provided helmets with headlamps and offered walking sticks if we needed them. The first part of the tunnel is rockier but it does have a path. As you continue on in the tunnel you begin walking on platforms that include stairs, up and down. At different areas throughout the tunnel our guide would stop and give us information on the tunnel, the history and the volcano that created the tunnel. We walked about 500 meters in, to the end of the platform, where our tour wrapped up with photos and questions. We were able to walk back out at our leisure to take photos and observe the tunnel. Our guide followed along to answer questions or take pictures as requested. We had a small group, maybe 10-15 people, so the tour felt very personalized and not rushed. As we were leaving we passed another, much larger group, coming in and were so grateful for the small group we had. The inside of the tunnel is beautiful and the information provided was great. It was an easy walk for those without mobility issues and only took a little over an hour,...

I love caves and geology so I greatly enjoyed my time here. While researching the cave, I was sure all the colors in the photos people were posting must have come from artificial lighting to draw in tourists, but it turns out it's all truly the natural coloring of the volcanic rock (aside from an area at the very end where they show you the special lighting they use for some events).

I feel like I actually came at the perfect time, near the end of Spring, when it was cold enough for the ice stalagmites but not so cold as to be completely freezing (still, wear warm clothing). Our guide mentioned that she thinks it's most beautiful when the ice is still there. Hopefully my photos speak for themselves.

The main downside is that it's pretty pricey for what you get (though granted that's a lot of things in Iceland). The tour itself was maybe 30 minutes, with 10 minutes of intro at the start and time for us to put on our helmets and crampons, and after the tour the rest of the time was for us to make our way back to the entrance and take whatever pictures we wanted. So not much substance for the price. Of course, if that's what it takes to fund conservation of the land then I'm all for it, but other people may not find it so worth it. I do appreciate that you could book a bus to and from Reykjavik (again, for a price) for those who aren't renting cars.

Overall this was very worth it to me to experience the tunnel and get a lot of photos, but it would be nice if it were more affordable so more people could...