Several tunnel projects under very high groundwater heads have been started recently or are currently under design, such as the Hallandsås tunnel in Sweden (up to 13 bar), the Brightwater project in Seattle (7 bar) and Lake Mead Intake No. 3, Las Vegas (12 bar). This paper summarizes experience with pressurized face tunneling in soft ground and weak rock on nine completed projects that encountered groundwater heads ranging from 4 to 11 bar. For each project, both the effectiveness at achieving suitable face stability and at completing excavation chamber interventions for cutter-cutterhead-mucking system work are examined. Finally, conclusions are given on approaching the key challenges faced when planning pressurized face tunneling at very high groundwater heads (over 4 bars).