101 Reykjavik
First-timersThe old centre: Laugavegur, the bars, the harbour and most beds. Everything within fifteen minutes.
Reykjavik city guide
Reykjavik Travel Guide
The northernmost capital in the world: geothermal swimming pools locals use daily, a concert hall made of glass honeycomb, and every tour in Iceland departing from somewhere near the harbour.
12
Hostels in the city
8.4
Average, from 17,589 reviews
64°N
The northernmost capital of a sovereign state
~1,300 ISK
Entry to a municipal geothermal pool, about €9
2/3
Of Iceland lives in the capital region
A small city that functions as the whole country's front door
Reykjavik has about 140,000 people, and the greater capital region holds roughly two thirds of everyone in Iceland. It is small enough to walk across in half an hour and it is where every excursion, rental car and bus route in the country begins.
The centre is low-rise, colourful corrugated iron, with Hallgrimskirkja — a concrete church designed to echo basalt columns — on the hill above it.
The genuine local institution is the swimming pool. Every neighbourhood has a geothermally heated outdoor pool with hot tubs, open year-round at around 1,300 ISK, about €9, and Icelanders use them the way other countries use cafés. They are far better value and far more interesting than the famous lagoons.
There is one rule and it is not negotiable: you must shower naked, without a swimsuit, and wash thoroughly before entering the water. Attendants check. This is normal here and visitors who skip it get sent back.
Two or three days in the city, and more for the rest of the country.
Where to stay
A small walkable centre, with cheaper beds a short bus ride out.
Old Harbour and Grandi
Tours and museumsNorth-west: whale watching departures, the maritime museum and converted warehouses.
Laugardalur
Value and the big poolEast: the largest geothermal pool in the city, parks, and cheaper rooms on the bus route.
Orange labels are neighbourhoods, dots are the 8 top-rated hostels. Map data from OpenStreetMap contributors.
Things to do
Things to do in Reykjavik
Go to a municipal pool. Laugardalslaug is the biggest, Sundhollin is the handsome 1937 one in the centre, and Vesturbaejarlaug is the neighbourhood favourite. Around 1,300 ISK, about €9, for geothermal water and a row of hot tubs at different temperatures, outdoors, year-round. This is the single best thing you can do here and it costs a tenth of the famous lagoons.
Hallgrimskirkja is free to enter, and the tower is around 1,400 ISK for the view over the coloured roofs to the mountains across the bay.
Harpa, the concert hall on the waterfront, is free to walk into — its glass honeycomb facade was designed with Olafur Eliasson and the interior is worth ten minutes.
The National Museum, about 3,000 ISK, covers the settlement and is good on how a society actually functioned here.
Whale watching from the Old Harbour runs around 12,000 ISK, about €80, roughly three hours, best from April to October.
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Free things
Free things to do in Reykjavik
Harpa is free to enter and the glass facade is the best piece of architecture in the country.
The Sun Voyager sculpture on the waterfront and the Saebraut coastal path are free, and the path runs for kilometres with the mountains opposite.
Hallgrimskirkja's interior is free; only the tower charges.
Walking Laugavegur and the streets of 101 costs nothing, and the street art and corrugated-iron houses are the character of the place.
The northern lights are free between roughly September and April — you need a dark clear night, and walking out to Grotta lighthouse on the western point gets you away from the city lights without a tour.
More on free things in Reykjavik
Food and drink
Eating and drinking in Reykjavik
Expensive, with a few genuine cheap options.
The hot dog is the famous one — a lamb-based pylsa with crispy onions, remoulade and two mustards, around 800 ISK or €5.50, from the stand by the harbour that has been there since 1937. Order it "with everything".
Soup in a bread bowl at around 2,500 ISK, about €17, is the other reliable budget meal.
A restaurant main is 4,500 to 8,000 ISK, roughly €30 to €55. Lamb and fish are what Iceland does well, and plokkfiskur — mashed fish and potato — is the honest local comfort dish.
Supermarkets are the real saving. Bónus is the cheapest chain and most hostels have kitchens for exactly this reason.
A beer is 1,300 to 1,800 ISK, about €9 to €13. Alcohol is sold only in state Vínbúðin shops with limited hours, so buy duty-free in the arrivals hall at Keflavik — almost everyone does, and it is not a loophole but the normal approach.
Nightlife
Going out in Reykjavik
Concentrated on Laugavegur and the streets around it, and famously late. Icelanders pre-drink at home because bar prices are what they are, then arrive around midnight or one, and things run until four or five at weekends.
A beer is 1,300 to 1,800 ISK, about €9 to €13. Happy hours are the standard tactic and the Appy Hour app tracks them across the city — locals use it and so should you.
The music scene is disproportionate to the population: Björk, Sigur Rós and a long list since, and small venues put on live music most nights.
In June the sun barely sets, and people drink outside at two in the morning in full daylight, which is disorienting and excellent.
Bar Ölstofan, Kaffibarinn and the Laugavegur strip are the usual starting points.
Getting around
Getting around Reykjavik
The centre is walkable end to end in half an hour, and most of what you want is in 101.
City buses cost around 700 ISK (about €5) a ride and take cards. There is no tram or metro.
From Keflavik airport, the Flybus and Airport Direct take about 45 minutes for around 3,500 ISK (about €24). There is no train.
Everything outside the city is a tour or a rental car. The Golden Circle — Thingvellir, Geysir, Gullfoss — runs as a day tour from around 10,000 ISK (about €70) or as an easy self-drive.
If you rent, take the gravel and sand-and-ash protection on the insurance, and be aware that wind can tear an open car door off its hinges, which is a common and expensive claim here. Never park on the road to take a photograph.
Costs
What Reykjavik costs
One of the most expensive cities in Europe. Dorms are €40 to €70, a restaurant main €30 to €55, and a beer €9 to €13.
A day is €90 to €160 before tours, and tours are what really set the budget — whale watching about €80, a Golden Circle day about €70, a glacier walk €130 to €200.
The savings that work: municipal pools at €9 rather than lagoons at €60 to €100, duty-free alcohol bought on arrival, Bónus supermarkets and a hostel kitchen, the free tap water, hot dogs and soup bowls, and happy hours tracked on an app.
Cards work everywhere including buses and public toilets, so cash is barely needed.
The Blue Lagoon is about €70 to €100 and forty-five minutes away near the airport. Sky Lagoon is closer and similar. Both are perfectly nice and neither is necessary.
Safety
Staying safe in Reykjavik
Reykjavik has among the lowest crime rates of any capital and the city itself is very safe at any hour.
The danger in Iceland is the weather and the landscape, and it kills tourists every year. If you leave the city, check safetravel.is and road.is before setting out, every day. Conditions change within hours and road closures are common in winter.
At Reynisfjara, the black sand beach near Vik, sneaker waves arrive without warning, are far larger than the surf suggests and have swept people out to sea. Stay well back from the water line and never turn your back on it.
Never walk on a glacier without a guide and equipment. Crevasses are covered and invisible.
Do not stop your car on the road for photographs — use marked pull-offs. Rear-end collisions from this are a frequent cause of tourist injury.
Wind is the underrated hazard: it can take a car door off and knock you over. Emergency number is 112.
Day trips from Reykjavik
The famous circuit, a peninsula and a black sand coast.
Golden Circle
Thingvellir, where the Atlantic and Eurasian plates pull apart and the first parliament met in 930; Geysir; and Gullfoss waterfall.
South Coast
Seljalandsfoss and Skogafoss waterfalls, and the black sand at Reynisfjara — where the sneaker waves are.
Blue Lagoon
The famous geothermal spa, 45 minutes out near the airport. Book ahead. Municipal pools cost a tenth as much.
Reykjadalur hot river
A geothermal river you can sit in, up a valley an hour from the city. Free once you get there.
What's on
What is on while you are there
A music festival in November and a midsummer with no darkness.
19 November
Storgårds Conducts Bruckner 2
This concert presents two works performed for the first time by the Iceland Symphony Orchestra: Clara Schumann's Piano Concerto and Anton Bruckner's Symphony No.…
21 November
Celebrating George Michael
Fans of George Michael will appreciate this tribute concert featuring Steve Mitchell, who is regarded as one of the best interpreters of George Michael's…
21 November
Celebrating George Michael
A live tribute to George Michael brings his beloved catalogue to Harpa, performed by vocalist Steve Mitchell alongside a band that includes Wham's original…
22 Nov – 20 Dec
Skoppa & Skritla Christmas Party
Skoppa and Skritla Christmas Party returns with a lively and heartwarming musical show that brings the whole family into the festive spirit. The performance…
26 November
Hannigan & Horsch
Recorder player Lucie Horsch is recognized as a leading virtuoso of her generation, bringing remarkable technique to the instrument. Barbara Hannigan conducts the Iceland…
27 November
Tvíhöfði
Tvíhöfði celebrates 30 years of collaboration with a special show in Eldborg Hall. The event features their most popular songs performed live alongside beloved…
28 November
Björgvin Halldórsson
Björgvin Halldórsson Memorial Concert honors the life and legacy of one of Iceland's most beloved musicians. The event gathers an all-star lineup of Icelandic…
1 December
Winter Solstice Concert
On the shortest day of the year, Harpa fills with the gentle sounds of harp and violin as Katie Buckley and Sigrún Harðardóttir perform…
Hostels
Where to stay in Reykjavik
A good scene for the size, mostly in and around 101, and expensive by any standard. Live from Hostelworld.
Igdlo Guesthouse
Rooms from €37 a night
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Nordic Hostel
Dorms from €59 a night
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Sustainable
Reykjavik - Loft HI Eco Hostel
Dorms from €49 a night
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Sustainable
Reykjavik - Dalur HI Eco Hostel
Dorms from €38 a night
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KEX Hostel and Hotel
Dorms from €37 a night
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Laekur Hostel
Dorms from €31 a night
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Bus Hostel Reykjavik
Dorms from €32 a night
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Guesthouse Egilsborg
Dorms from €15 a night
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When to go
June to August for light and access. September to March for the northern lights.
Jan
Dark, windy and cheapest. Strong aurora season, roads unreliable
Feb
Still dark but lengthening. Good aurora odds
Mar
The sweet spot: aurora still visible and daylight returning
Apr
Shoulder. Aurora season ending, highlands still closed
May
Excellent value. Long days, few people, most roads open
Jun
Midnight sun. The busiest and brightest month
Jul
Warmest and busiest. Highland roads open
Aug
Warm, and the aurora returns at the end of the month
Sep
Superb. Aurora nights begin, crowds thin, prices ease
Oct
Dark evenings and good aurora. Highlands closing
Nov
Dark and stormy. Cheap and unpredictable
Dec
Four hours of daylight. Christmas, and strong aurora odds
Bar height is temperature. Colour is how busy it gets:
quiet
busy
peak
Average highs, which understate it — wind is the thing that determines how cold Iceland feels, not the thermometer. Daylight swings from about four hours in December to near twenty-four in June.
What your trip will cost
Pick how you travel. Per person per night, in euros — you will pay in krónur.
Shown in euros for comparison; you pay in Icelandic krónur, by card almost everywhere. Tours drive the doing line — one day trip is €70 to €140 on its own.
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- Beds—
- Food and drink—
- Getting around—
- Doing things—
Reykjavik travel questions
The ones we get asked most.
Do I really have to shower naked before swimming?
Yes. Every municipal pool requires you to shower without a swimsuit and wash thoroughly before entering the water, and attendants check. Icelandic pools use very little chlorine because of it. It is completely normal here, nobody is looking at you, and visitors who try to skip it are sent back.
Blue Lagoon or a local pool?
A local pool, if you want the honest answer. Municipal pools cost around €9, are geothermally heated, have rows of hot tubs at different temperatures, and are where Icelanders actually go daily. The Blue Lagoon is €70 to €100, forty-five minutes away near the airport, and is a nice but entirely optional experience.
How expensive is it?
Among the most expensive places in Europe. Dorms €40 to €70, a restaurant main €30 to €55, a beer €9 to €13, and a day around €90 to €160 before tours. Buy duty-free alcohol on arrival, shop at Bónus, use a hostel kitchen and the pools, and it becomes manageable.
When can I see the northern lights?
Roughly September to April, on clear dark nights. March and September are arguably the best months — long enough nights for the aurora, with more daylight and better road conditions than midwinter. You do not need a tour; Grotta lighthouse on the western point of the city is dark enough.
Do I need a car?
For the city, no. For the country, effectively yes unless you take tours. Everything outside Reykjavik is a tour or a rental, and tours are expensive enough that two or three people sharing a car usually works out cheaper.
What should I know about driving?
Check road.is and safetravel.is every day, take gravel and wind cover on the insurance, never stop on the carriageway for photographs, and hold your car door when opening it — Icelandic wind tears doors off hinges regularly and it is an expensive claim.
Is the tap water safe?
It is among the best in the world and you should never buy bottled. The hot tap smells of sulphur because it comes from geothermal sources — that is normal and harmless, and the cold tap has none of it.
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