The tunnel between Akureyri and Húsavík has no booths, no barrier and nobody to hand money to. Cameras read your plate as you drive through, and the charge sits against that plate until it is paid. You get 24 hours either side of the journey to settle it, which means you can pay before you set off just as easily as afterwards.
You will see it called several things, and they are all the same 7.4 km tunnel: its Icelandic name is Vaðlaheiðargöng, it is commonly written Vadlaheidi tunnel in English, and because it sits just east of the city many people simply call it the Akureyri tunnel.
That is what this page is for. Enter the plate, pay, done, and the passage is registered against the vehicle. It works the same for a foreign-registered car as for an Icelandic one.
Iceland Tunnel Toll Prices
Vehicle < 3.5t
Truck 3.5-7.5t
Truck > 7.5t
Each direction through the tunnel is a separate passage. Motorcycles cross free of charge, and anything you tow adds nothing to the price.
How to Buy the Iceland Tunnel Toll Online
Enter your number plate
Exactly as it appears on the vehicle, including any letters. Foreign plates are accepted and handled the same way as Icelandic ones, so a hire car, an imported car or a van all work here.
Pay
The passage is registered against the plate. Keep the confirmation; it is your proof the crossing was paid, which matters if you are driving a rental and want to show the desk it was settled.
Drive through
No stopping, no ticket, no barrier. The camera reads the plate and matches it to your payment. If you paid in advance, nothing further happens.
You can pay before you drive, and that is the easy version
The operator's own rule is a window of 24 hours before or after the passage. Most people discover the tunnel exists about a kilometre before they reach it, then try to remember to pay that evening. Buying in advance takes the memory out of it, which is the whole point on a driving holiday where the days blur.
Who Has to Pay the Tunnel Toll
Every vehicle over the motorcycle class pays, in each direction, every time. There is no daily cap and no return ticket built into a single passage: drive north through the tunnel and back south the same afternoon and that is two passages.
The standard class. One charge per direction. If you are touring the north and use the tunnel on the way out and the way back, budget for both.
Free. The operator is explicit: riding a motorcycle through the tunnel carries no charge at all.
Vehicles above 3.5 tonnes and again above 7.5 tonnes sit in higher classes, so a large motorhome or a light truck is not on the car rate.
Treated identically. The system accepts foreign registration numbers and the same 24-hour window applies, with no separate procedure and no surcharge for being foreign.
Who Is Exempt from the Iceland Tunnel Toll?
The exemption list is short, and the operator states each of these directly.
Motorcycles pay nothing at all, in either direction
Anything you tow is free: trailers, caravans, folding campers, tent trailers
Tractors are currently not charged, in the operator's own words
The towing rule is the one worth knowing, because it runs opposite to most of Europe. In Greece or Croatia, hitching a caravan can push you into a higher and much dearer class. Here it changes nothing: the towing vehicle pays its own class and the towed unit adds nothing. Note that this covers things you pull behind you, not a self-propelled motorhome, which is charged on its own weight like any other vehicle.
Do not assume any other exemption
The operator publishes no exemption for emergency vehicles, disabled drivers, local residents, buses or electric cars. Absence of a published exemption is not the same as a confirmed charge, but it does mean you should plan on paying unless you fall into one of the three categories above. The tractor line is also hedged in the original as the position "as things stand", so it is not a permanent guarantee.
What Happens If You Do Not Pay in Time
Nothing stops you at the tunnel, so the consequence arrives later. Once the 24-hour window closes, the operator raises an invoice against the registered owner of the vehicle, payable within ten days.
That sequence is tidy if you are Icelandic with an Icelandic bank. It is considerably less tidy in the two situations most visitors are actually in:
If you are in a hire car
The invoice goes to the rental company, because they are the registered owner. They then pass it to you, and Icelandic rental terms generally reserve the right to add an administration and collection fee on top of anything they settle on your behalf. Hertz Iceland's terms, for example, reserve exactly that right for charges it has to pay for the renter. Paying the passage yourself, on the day, keeps that fee from ever existing.
If the car is your own, on foreign plates
The billing route assumes a domestic banking relationship, and a foreign owner does not have one. That does not make the debt go away, it just makes resolving it slower and more awkward from another country. Settling inside the window is the clean option.
One piece of good news on fees
The operator removed the collection surcharge that used to be added to home-banking payments, with effect from 3 November 2025. The toll itself carries Iceland's reduced 11% VAT; collection fees, where they still arise, carry the standard 24%.
Iceland's 2026 Kilometre Fee (Kílómetragjald)
This is the part that has changed, and most English-language guides have not caught up. The tunnel is no longer the only way Iceland charges for roads.
On 1 January 2026 Iceland replaced most of its fuel duty with a kílómetragjald, a national per-kilometre road-use fee. Pump prices fell and the cost moved into a visible charge on distance driven. It applies to every vehicle on Icelandic public roads regardless of fuel type or where it is registered. It is a state charge collected by the tax authority, it is nothing to do with the tunnel, and neither one covers the other.
This is a road-use fee, not a vignette, and we do not sell it
Iceland has never had a vignette and still does not. The kilometre fee is not a pass you buy for access, it is a charge on distance actually driven. We sell the tunnel passage above; the kilometre fee is settled with the Icelandic state or, if you are renting, through the rental company. We are describing it here so the total cost of your trip is not a surprise.
Foreign Vehicles Brought In by Ferry
For a foreign vehicle temporarily imported, the fee is prepaid as a fixed amount by length of stay, declared and paid on or before arrival, with the odometer logged on the way in and again on the way out. As published by the Icelandic government, for vehicles up to 3.5 tonnes:
| Length of stay | Vehicle up to 3.5 t | Motorcycle up to 400 kg |
|---|---|---|
| 10 days or less | 13,900 ISK | 8,300 ISK |
| 11 to 20 days | 20,850 ISK | 12,450 ISK |
| 21 days or more | 24,325 ISK | 14,525 ISK |
Stay longer than 30 consecutive days and it is recalculated on actual distance at 6.95 ISK per kilometre for a car and 4.15 ISK for a motorcycle, with a floor: the final bill can never come out below the 21-day fixed fee. Vehicles that entered Iceland before 1 January 2026 are exempt on departure, except electric, plug-in hybrid and hydrogen cars, which are not. Figures as published by island.is, checked 10 August 2026.
Rental Cars and the Kilometre Fee
You will meet the same fee through the rental company, and this is worth reading the small print on, because the marketing and the contract do not always agree. Hertz Iceland's website advertises rates as including the 2026 per-km road tax, while its own terms and conditions say the charge is levied in addition to the rental fee, "together with an administrative and collection fee". Before you book, check which of the two your quote reflects: a headline daily rate that excludes a per-kilometre charge is not comparable with one that includes it, and Iceland is a country where people drive a great many kilometres.
Which Roads Are Tolled in Iceland?
One. That is the whole list, and it is worth stating plainly because plenty of guides imply otherwise. There are no toll motorways in Iceland, no toll bridges, no congestion charge, no low-emission zone and no emissions sticker scheme anywhere in the country. The Ring Road carries no access charge. Paid parking exists in central Reykjavík and Akureyri, but that is parking, not road access.
The Hvalfjörður tunnel is free and has been since 2018
Iceland's other big tunnel, under Hvalfjörður north of Reykjavík, was tolled for years and is not any more: it passed to the national road administration in September 2018 and the toll was removed. Guides that still list two Icelandic toll tunnels are years out of date. The Vadlaheidi tunnel is the only one left.
The Free Alternative Route over Víkurskarð
The tunnel exists to bypass Víkurskarð, the mountain pass the old road climbs. That road is still there and still free. It is longer, it climbs, and in winter it is exposed to exactly the weather the tunnel was built to avoid, so the saving is real in July and a false economy in January. Check conditions before choosing it in the dark half of the year.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does the toll tunnel in Iceland cost?
The current price for each vehicle class is in the table above, and it is charged per direction, so an out-and-back trip is two passages. Motorcycles cross free. Vehicles over 3.5 tonnes and again over 7.5 tonnes sit in higher classes, so check your registration document rather than judging by size.
How long do I have to pay the Iceland tunnel toll?
Twenty-four hours before or after you drive through. The operator's wording is that the payment period for a single trip is 24 hours either side of the passage, which is why paying in advance is allowed and is the simplest approach.
What happens if I forget to pay?
After the window closes, an invoice is raised against the vehicle's registered owner with a ten-day payment period. In a hire car that means the rental company receives it and passes it on to you, typically with their own administration and collection fee added under their terms.
Does it work with a foreign number plate?
Yes. Foreign-registered vehicles are handled exactly like Icelandic ones: the system accepts the plate, the same 24-hour window applies, and there is no separate process or surcharge.
Is there a barrier or a toll booth at the tunnel?
No. Vaðlaheiðargöng is completely barrier-free and there is no booth and no attendant. Cameras read your plate and the charge attaches to the vehicle, which is precisely why it is so easy to drive through without realising you owe anything.
Do motorcycles pay?
No. The operator states plainly that riding a motorcycle through the tunnel is free of charge.
Is a return trip charged twice?
Yes. Each direction is a separate passage, so an out-and-back journey through the tunnel is two charges. There is no daily cap on single passages.
Does Iceland have a vignette?
No, and it never has. There is no sticker, no e-vignette and no national road pass for access. Iceland charges in two unrelated ways: this one tunnel, and since January 2026 a per-kilometre road-use fee that is collected by the state or through your rental company.
Are the Ring Road and the rest of Iceland's roads free?
The roads themselves carry no access charge, so there is nothing to buy to drive Route 1. But since 1 January 2026 the distance you cover is charged through the kilometre fee, so "free" is no longer quite the right word. The only place you pay for a specific piece of road is Vaðlaheiðargöng.
What is the kílómetragjald and do I have to do anything about it?
It is Iceland's national per-kilometre road-use fee, in force since 1 January 2026, which replaced most of the old fuel duty. If you rent, the rental company handles it and bills you. If you bring your own vehicle by ferry, you declare and prepay a fixed amount based on how long you are staying, on or before arrival, with the odometer read on entry and exit.
Is the kilometre fee included in my rental price?
Check, because practice varies and one company's own marketing and terms can disagree. Hertz Iceland advertises its rates as including the 2026 per-km road tax, while its terms and conditions describe the charge as levied in addition to the rental fee together with an administration and collection fee. A daily rate that excludes it is not comparable with one that includes it.
Can I avoid the tunnel?
Yes. It bypasses the Víkurskarð pass, and the old road over the pass is still open and free. It is longer and higher, and in winter it faces the weather the tunnel was built to get around, so treat it as a summer option and check conditions before committing to it in the dark months.
Is the Hvalfjörður tunnel still tolled?
No. It was tolled until September 2018, when it transferred to the national road administration and the charge was dropped. Vaðlaheiðargöng is now the only tolled road in the country.
Are there congestion charges or low-emission zones in Iceland?
None anywhere in the country, and no emissions sticker scheme either. Paid parking exists in central Reykjavík and Akureyri, but that is parking, not road access.
I am driving a camper van or a motorhome. What do I pay?
The tunnel is charged by weight class, so a self-propelled vehicle over 3.5 tonnes is above the car rate and one over 7.5 tonnes higher again. Check the weight on your registration document rather than guessing from the size of the vehicle, and see the price table above for what applies.
Do I pay extra for a caravan or trailer in the tunnel?
No. The operator charges nothing for anything you tow, and names trailers, caravans, folding campers and tent trailers specifically. The towing vehicle pays its own class and the towed unit adds nothing. That is unusually generous by European standards, where towing often bumps you into a higher and much more expensive class.
New to how European countries charge for their roads? Our plain-English explainer on what a vignette is sets out the difference between a vignette, a toll and a road-use fee like Iceland's in a couple of minutes.
