Everything you need to know about the Vadlaheidargong tunnel in North Iceland

What is it?

Vadlaheidargong tunnel is a brand new 7,5 km tunnel on the ring road a little further than the town of Akureyri in North Iceland. The new tunnel shortens the ring road by about 16km but the biggest bonus is that travelers will no longer need to go over Víkurskarð mountain heath which can be difficult during heavy winter. 

Photo from a brochure about the tunnel.

Price and payments

Driving through the tunnel comes with a cost.

There are 2 prices, if you pay within 3 hours the price is 1.500 ISK or if you pay after 3 hours it is 2.500 ISK. The price is each way so if you go back and forth, the price doubles. For details, please see the photo below or read all about the pricing on the Vadlaheidargong tunnel website.  

Service fee 

Please note that if you DO NOT pay at all, Reykjavik rent a car will be notified and will charge your credit card for the 2.500 ISK tunnel fee plus a 5.000 ISK service fee, a total of 7.500 ISK.

The Reykjavik rent a car advice

If you are traveling in winter and bad weather we absolutely advice you to use the tunnel. However, if the weather and road conditions are nice, we encourage you to drive the extra 6 minutes over Víkurskarð heath and save yourself the cost and hassle of driving through the tunnel.

For more information, check out the Vadlaheidi tunnel FAQ section. 

From the management of Valdaheiði tunnel:

HOW TO PAY ONLINE THE TOLL ROAD:

You have two options to pay the tunnel: before and after passing through

1. I want to register BEFORE going through the tunnel:

Go to www.tunnel.is and register your car for the period you will be driving through the tunnel. Thereby, you will be charged the regular fee of 1.500kr for each trip you do during your registration.

Be aware of:

-We don’t charge you for registering the car. You will be charged only for the trips you do.
-You must drive through the tunnel during your registration period.
-Don´t register your car later than your rental car period ends or the next user could use your account.

2. I want to register AFTER going through the tunnel:

Go to www.tunnel.is within the next 3 hours of your trip if you want to pay the regular fee of 1.500 ISK.

Be aware of:

-If you go through the tunnel and you don´t register your car in the next 3 hours, car rentals will be notified and will charge your credit card for the tunnel fee plus their own service fee.

There are free WIFI points on the east entrance of the tunnel and in the gas station N1 in the west, that you can use to register and pay the toll.

The tunnel shortens the Ring Road by 16 km (10 miles), saving drivers up to 12 minutes in good weather conditions. Information about weather and road conditions is found at www.safetravel.is.