{"id":1303425,"date":"2026-09-30T08:26:56","date_gmt":"2026-09-30T08:26:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hostelworld.com\/blog\/?page_id=1303425"},"modified":"2026-10-01T16:33:43","modified_gmt":"2026-10-01T16:33:43","slug":"reykjavik","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.hostelworld.com\/blog\/europe\/iceland\/reykjavik\/","title":{"rendered":"Reykjavik"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":200,"featured_media":0,"parent":1302340,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"hw-hub-city","meta":{"footnotes":"","hw_hub_hero_eyebrow":"","hw_hub_hero_h1":"","hw_hub_hero_intro":"","hw_hub_hero_image":"","hw_hub_hero_overlay":"","hw_hub_hero_cta":"","hw_hub_why_title":"","hw_hub_why_body":"","hw_hub_why_link_label":"","hw_hub_why_link_url":"","hw_hub_why_cards":"","hw_hub_stats":"","hw_hub_countries_title":"","hw_hub_countries_intro":"","hw_hub_featured":"","hw_hub_regions":"","hw_hub_hostels_title":"","hw_hub_hostels_intro":"","hw_hub_hostels_cta_label":"","hw_hub_hostels_cta_url":"","hw_hub_hostels_source":"","hw_hub_hostels_location_type":"","hw_hub_hostels_location_id":"","hw_hub_hostels_currency":"","hw_hub_hostels_count":"","hw_hub_hostels_cache":"","hw_hub_hostels":"","hw_hub_when_title":"","hw_hub_when_intro":"","hw_hub_seasons":"","hw_hub_costs_title":"","hw_hub_costs_body":"","hw_hub_cost_rows":"","hw_hub_cost_note":"","hw_hub_money_reads":"","hw_hub_rail_title":"","hw_hub_rail_body":"","hw_hub_rail_link_label":"","hw_hub_rail_link_url":"","hw_hub_rail_image":"","hw_hub_routes":"","hw_hub_events_title":"","hw_hub_events_intro":"","hw_hub_events_source":"","hw_hub_events_continent":"","hw_hub_events_count":"","hw_hub_events_cache":"","hw_hub_events_cta_label":"","hw_hub_events_cta_url":"","hw_hub_events":"","hw_hub_events_pills":"","hw_hub_reads_intro":"","hw_hub_article_rows":"","hw_hub_show_read_time":"","hw_hub_all_title":"","hw_hub_all_body":"","hw_hub_all_cta":"","hw_hub_trips_title":"","hw_hub_trips_note":"","hw_hub_trips":"","hw_hub_faq_title":"","hw_hub_faq_note":"","hw_hub_faqs":"","hw_hub_cta_title":"","hw_hub_cta_body":"","hw_hub_cta_buttons":"","hw_hub_newsletter_title":"","hw_hub_newsletter_body":"","hw_hub_newsletter_shortcode":"","hw_hub_hub_term":"","hw_hub_scope_rows":"","hw_hub_country_hero_eyebrow":"","hw_hub_country_hero_h1":"","hw_hub_country_hero_intro":"","hw_hub_country_hero_image":"","hw_hub_country_hero_overlay":"","hw_hub_country_hero_cta":"","hw_hub_country_stats":"","hw_hub_country_intro_title":"","hw_hub_country_intro_body":"","hw_hub_country_facts":"","hw_hub_country_cities_title":"","hw_hub_country_cities_intro":"","hw_hub_country_cities_live":"","hw_hub_country_cities":"","hw_hub_country_trips_title":"","hw_hub_country_trips_intro":"","hw_hub_country_trip_types":"","hw_hub_country_do_title":"","hw_hub_country_do_body":"","hw_hub_country_do_points":"","hw_hub_country_do_tag":"","hw_hub_country_do_more":"","hw_hub_country_food_title":"","hw_hub_country_food_body":"","hw_hub_country_food_points":"","hw_hub_country_food_tag":"","hw_hub_country_food_more":"","hw_hub_country_nightlife_title":"","hw_hub_country_nightlife_body":"","hw_hub_country_nightlife_points":"","hw_hub_country_nightlife_tag":"","hw_hub_country_nightlife_more":"","hw_hub_country_transport_title":"","hw_hub_country_transport_body":"","hw_hub_country_transport_points":"","hw_hub_country_transport_tag":"","hw_hub_country_transport_more":"","hw_hub_country_money_title":"","hw_hub_country_money_body":"","hw_hub_country_money_points":"","hw_hub_country_money_tag":"","hw_hub_country_money_more":"","hw_hub_country_safety_title":"","hw_hub_country_safety_body":"","hw_hub_country_safety_points":"","hw_hub_country_safety_tag":"","hw_hub_country_safety_more":"","hw_hub_country_entry_title":"","hw_hub_country_entry_body":"","hw_hub_country_entry_points":"","hw_hub_country_entry_tag":"","hw_hub_country_entry_more":"","hw_hub_country_season_title":"","hw_hub_country_season_intro":"","hw_hub_country_season_note":"","hw_hub_country_season_rows":"","hw_hub_country_budget_title":"","hw_hub_country_budget_intro":"","hw_hub_country_budget_note":"","hw_hub_country_budget_rows":"","hw_hub_country_budget_currency":"","hw_hub_country_events_title":"","hw_hub_country_events_intro":"","hw_hub_country_events_source":"","hw_hub_country_events_country":"","hw_hub_country_events_count":"","hw_hub_country_events_cache":"","hw_hub_country_events_cta_label":"","hw_hub_country_events_cta_url":"","hw_hub_country_events":"","hw_hub_country_hostels_title":"","hw_hub_country_hostels_intro":"","hw_hub_country_hostels_cta_label":"","hw_hub_country_hostels_cta_url":"","hw_hub_country_hostels_source":"","hw_hub_country_hostels_location_type":"","hw_hub_country_hostels_location_id":"","hw_hub_country_hostels_currency":"","hw_hub_country_hostels_count":"","hw_hub_country_hostels_cache":"","hw_hub_country_hostels":"","hw_hub_country_faq_ti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city guide","hw_hub_city_hero_h1":"Things To Do In Reykjavik","hw_hub_city_hero_intro":"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.","hw_hub_city_hero_image":"1303948","hw_hub_city_hero_overlay":"light","hw_hub_city_hero_cta":"Where to stay | #areas\r\nWhat it costs | #money","hw_hub_city_live_stats":"1","hw_hub_city_stats":"64\u00b0N | The northernmost capital of a sovereign state\r\n~1,300 ISK | Entry to a municipal geothermal pool, about \u20ac9\r\n2\/3 | Of Iceland lives in the capital region","hw_hub_city_intro_title":"A small city that functions as the whole country's front door","hw_hub_city_intro_body":"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.\r\n\r\nThe centre is low-rise, colourful corrugated iron, with Hallgrimskirkja \u2014 a concrete church designed to echo basalt columns \u2014 on the hill above it.\r\n\r\nThe 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 \u20ac9, and Icelanders use them the way other countries use caf\u00e9s. They are far better value and far more interesting than the famous lagoons.\r\n\r\nThere 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.\r\n\r\nTwo or three days in the city, and more for the rest of the country.","hw_hub_city_facts":"Getting in | Keflavik airport is 45 minutes away. Flybus or Airport Direct around 3,500 ISK (about \u20ac24)\r\nGetting around | The centre is walkable. City buses around 700 ISK (about \u20ac5)\r\nCurrency | Icelandic kr\u00f3na (ISK). Cards work everywhere, including toilets and buses\r\nAlcohol | Sold only in state V\u00ednb\u00fa\u00f0in shops. Buy duty-free on arrival at the airport\r\nPool rule | Shower naked and wash before entering the water. Strictly enforced\r\nTap water | Among the best anywhere. Never buy bottled. Hot water smells of sulphur \u2014 that is normal","hw_hub_city_areas_title":"Where to stay","hw_hub_city_areas_intro":"A small walkable centre, with cheaper beds a short bus ride out.","hw_hub_city_areas_map":"1","hw_hub_city_areas_zoom":"13","hw_hub_city_hostels_pins":"1","hw_hub_city_areas_live":"","hw_hub_city_areas":"101 Reykjavik | First-timers | The old centre: Laugavegur, the bars, the harbour and most beds. Everything within fifteen minutes. | 64.1470 | -21.9330 |  | \nOld Harbour and Grandi | Tours and museums | North-west: whale watching departures, the maritime museum and converted warehouses. | 64.1530 | -21.9480 |  | \nLaugardalur | Value and the big pool | East: the largest geothermal pool in the city, parks, and cheaper rooms on the bus route. | 64.1420 | -21.8790 |  | ","hw_hub_city_itin_title":"How long have you got?","hw_hub_city_itin_intro":"The routes we would walk, in the order we would walk them.","hw_hub_city_itin":"","hw_hub_city_do_title":"Things to do in Reykjavik","hw_hub_city_do_body":"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 \u20ac9, 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.\r\n\r\nHallgrimskirkja 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.\r\n\r\nHarpa, the concert hall on the waterfront, is free to walk into \u2014 its glass honeycomb facade was designed with Olafur Eliasson and the interior is worth ten minutes.\r\n\r\nThe National Museum, about 3,000 ISK, covers the settlement and is good on how a society actually functioned here.\r\n\r\nWhale watching from the Old Harbour runs around 12,000 ISK, about \u20ac80, roughly three hours, best from April to October.","hw_hub_city_do_points":"A municipal pool | About \u20ac9, and better than any lagoon\r\nHallgrimskirkja tower | About \u20ac10, for the view across the bay\r\nHarpa | Free to walk into\r\nWhale watching | About \u20ac80 from the Old Harbour, April to October","hw_hub_city_do_tag":"things-to-do","hw_hub_city_do_more":"All things to do in Reykjavik","hw_hub_city_free_title":"Free things to do in Reykjavik","hw_hub_city_free_body":"Harpa is free to enter and the glass facade is the best piece of architecture in the country.\r\n\r\nThe Sun Voyager sculpture on the waterfront and the Saebraut coastal path are free, and the path runs for kilometres with the mountains opposite.\r\n\r\nHallgrimskirkja's interior is free; only the tower charges.\r\n\r\nWalking Laugavegur and the streets of 101 costs nothing, and the street art and corrugated-iron houses are the character of the place.\r\n\r\nThe northern lights are free between roughly September and April \u2014 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.","hw_hub_city_free_points":"Harpa | Free, and architecturally the best thing here\r\nGrotta lighthouse | A free dark spot for the northern lights\r\nThe coastal path | Kilometres of it, with mountains opposite\r\nHallgrimskirkja interior | Free. Only the tower charges","hw_hub_city_free_tag":"free-things-to-do","hw_hub_city_free_more":"All free things to do in Reykjavik","hw_hub_city_food_title":"Eating and drinking in Reykjavik","hw_hub_city_food_body":"Expensive, with a few genuine cheap options.\r\n\r\nThe hot dog is the famous one \u2014 a lamb-based pylsa with crispy onions, remoulade and two mustards, around 800 ISK or \u20ac5.50, from the stand by the harbour that has been there since 1937. Order it \"with everything\".\r\n\r\nSoup in a bread bowl at around 2,500 ISK, about \u20ac17, is the other reliable budget meal.\r\n\r\nA restaurant main is 4,500 to 8,000 ISK, roughly \u20ac30 to \u20ac55. Lamb and fish are what Iceland does well, and plokkfiskur \u2014 mashed fish and potato \u2014 is the honest local comfort dish.\r\n\r\nSupermarkets are the real saving. B\u00f3nus is the cheapest chain and most hostels have kitchens for exactly this reason.\r\n\r\nA beer is 1,300 to 1,800 ISK, about \u20ac9 to \u20ac13. Alcohol is sold only in state V\u00ednb\u00fa\u00f0in shops with limited hours, so buy duty-free in the arrivals hall at Keflavik \u2014 almost everyone does, and it is not a loophole but the normal approach.","hw_hub_city_food_points":"The hot dog | About \u20ac5.50, ordered \"with everything\"\r\nSoup in a bread bowl | About \u20ac17, and the reliable budget meal\r\nBuy duty-free on arrival | Alcohol is otherwise state-shop only and dearer\r\nSelf-cater at B\u00f3nus | The cheapest supermarket chain","hw_hub_city_food_tag":"food","hw_hub_city_food_more":"All food guides for Reykjavik","hw_hub_city_nightlife_title":"Going out in Reykjavik","hw_hub_city_nightlife_body":"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.\r\n\r\nA beer is 1,300 to 1,800 ISK, about \u20ac9 to \u20ac13. Happy hours are the standard tactic and the Appy Hour app tracks them across the city \u2014 locals use it and so should you.\r\n\r\nThe music scene is disproportionate to the population: Bj\u00f6rk, Sigur R\u00f3s and a long list since, and small venues put on live music most nights.\r\n\r\nIn June the sun barely sets, and people drink outside at two in the morning in full daylight, which is disorienting and excellent.\r\n\r\nBar \u00d6lstofan, Kaffibarinn and the Laugavegur strip are the usual starting points.","hw_hub_city_nightlife_points":"Starts at midnight | Earlier is empty. Weekends run to four or five\r\nUse the happy hour app | Locals do. Beer is \u20ac9\u201313 otherwise\r\nA serious music scene | Live music most nights in small venues\r\nJune | Drinking outside at 2am in daylight","hw_hub_city_nightlife_tag":"nightlife","hw_hub_city_nightlife_more":"All nightlife guides for Reykjavik","hw_hub_city_transport_title":"Getting around Reykjavik","hw_hub_city_transport_body":"The centre is walkable end to end in half an hour, and most of what you want is in 101.\r\n\r\nCity buses cost around 700 ISK (about \u20ac5) a ride and take cards. There is no tram or metro.\r\n\r\nFrom Keflavik airport, the Flybus and Airport Direct take about 45 minutes for around 3,500 ISK (about \u20ac24). There is no train.\r\n\r\nEverything outside the city is a tour or a rental car. The Golden Circle \u2014 Thingvellir, Geysir, Gullfoss \u2014 runs as a day tour from around 10,000 ISK (about \u20ac70) or as an easy self-drive.\r\n\r\nIf 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.","hw_hub_city_transport_points":"Walk the centre | Half an hour end to end\r\nAirport bus | 45 minutes, about \u20ac24. There is no train\r\nGolden Circle | From about \u20ac70 as a tour, or self-drive\r\nHire car | Take gravel and wind cover. Hold the doors","hw_hub_city_transport_tag":"transport","hw_hub_city_transport_more":"All transport guides for Reykjavik","hw_hub_city_money_title":"What Reykjavik costs","hw_hub_city_money_body":"One of the most expensive cities in Europe. Dorms are \u20ac40 to \u20ac70, a restaurant main \u20ac30 to \u20ac55, and a beer \u20ac9 to \u20ac13.\r\n\r\nA day is \u20ac90 to \u20ac160 before tours, and tours are what really set the budget \u2014 whale watching about \u20ac80, a Golden Circle day about \u20ac70, a glacier walk \u20ac130 to \u20ac200.\r\n\r\nThe savings that work: municipal pools at \u20ac9 rather than lagoons at \u20ac60 to \u20ac100, duty-free alcohol bought on arrival, B\u00f3nus supermarkets and a hostel kitchen, the free tap water, hot dogs and soup bowls, and happy hours tracked on an app.\r\n\r\nCards work everywhere including buses and public toilets, so cash is barely needed.\r\n\r\nThe Blue Lagoon is about \u20ac70 to \u20ac100 and forty-five minutes away near the airport. Sky Lagoon is closer and similar. Both are perfectly nice and neither is necessary.","hw_hub_city_money_points":"Dorm bed | \u20ac40\u201370\r\nA day, all in | \u20ac90\u2013160 before tours\r\nPools over lagoons | \u20ac9 against \u20ac60\u2013100\r\nDuty-free on arrival | The standard approach to alcohol here","hw_hub_city_money_tag":"budget","hw_hub_city_money_more":"All budget guides for Reykjavik","hw_hub_city_safety_title":"Staying safe in Reykjavik","hw_hub_city_safety_body":"Reykjavik has among the lowest crime rates of any capital and the city itself is very safe at any hour.\r\n\r\nThe 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.\r\n\r\nAt 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.\r\n\r\nNever walk on a glacier without a guide and equipment. Crevasses are covered and invisible.\r\n\r\nDo not stop your car on the road for photographs \u2014 use marked pull-offs. Rear-end collisions from this are a frequent cause of tourist injury.\r\n\r\nWind is the underrated hazard: it can take a car door off and knock you over. Emergency number is 112.","hw_hub_city_safety_points":"Check safetravel.is daily | Before any trip out of the city\r\nSneaker waves at Reynisfjara | They have killed people. Stay well back\r\nNever walk on a glacier unguided | Crevasses are covered and invisible\r\nDo not stop on the road for photos | Use the marked pull-offs","hw_hub_city_safety_tag":"safety","hw_hub_city_safety_more":"All safety guides for Reykjavik","hw_hub_city_trips_title":"Day trips from Reykjavik","hw_hub_city_trips_intro":"The famous circuit, a peninsula and a black sand coast.","hw_hub_city_trips":"Golden Circle | Full day | Tour from about \u20ac70, or self-drive | Thingvellir, where the Atlantic and Eurasian plates pull apart and the first parliament met in 930; Geysir; and Gullfoss waterfall. |  | 1303940\nSouth Coast | Full day | Tour \u20ac90\u2013120, or self-drive | Seljalandsfoss and Skogafoss waterfalls, and the black sand at Reynisfjara \u2014 where the sneaker waves are. |  | 1303941\nBlue Lagoon | Half day | Bus and entry, \u20ac70\u2013100 | The famous geothermal spa, 45 minutes out near the airport. Book ahead. Municipal pools cost a tenth as much. |  | 1303942\nReykjadalur hot river | Half day | Bus to Hveragerdi, then a 3km walk | A geothermal river you can sit in, up a valley an hour from the city. Free once you get there. |  | 1303943","hw_hub_city_trips_tag":"day-trips","hw_hub_city_trips_more":"All day trips from Reykjavik","hw_hub_city_season_title":"When to go","hw_hub_city_season_intro":"June to August for light and access. September to March for the northern lights.","hw_hub_city_season_note":"Average highs, which understate it \u2014 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.","hw_hub_city_season_rows":"January | 2 | 3 | Dark, windy and cheapest. Strong aurora season, roads unreliable\r\nFebruary | 3 | 4 | Still dark but lengthening. Good aurora odds\r\nMarch | 4 | 5 | The sweet spot: aurora still visible and daylight returning\r\nApril | 6 | 4 | Shoulder. Aurora season ending, highlands still closed\r\nMay | 9 | 5 | Excellent value. Long days, few people, most roads open\r\nJune | 12 | 5 | Midnight sun. The busiest and brightest month\r\nJuly | 14 | 5 | Warmest and busiest. Highland roads open\r\nAugust | 13 | 5 | Warm, and the aurora returns at the end of the month\r\nSeptember | 10 | 5 | Superb. Aurora nights begin, crowds thin, prices ease\r\nOctober | 7 | 4 | Dark evenings and good aurora. Highlands closing\r\nNovember | 4 | 3 | Dark and stormy. Cheap and unpredictable\r\nDecember | 2 | 4 | Four hours of daylight. Christmas, and strong aurora odds","hw_hub_city_events_title":"What is on while you are there","hw_hub_city_events_intro":"A music festival in November and a midsummer with no darkness.","hw_hub_city_events_source":"api","hw_hub_city_events_count":"8","hw_hub_city_events_cache":"24","hw_hub_city_events_cta_label":"All events in Reykjavik","hw_hub_city_events_cta_url":"https:\/\/www.hostelworld.com\/events\/europe\/iceland\/reykjavik\/","hw_hub_city_events":"Iceland Airwaves | November | Citywide | A music festival across small venues in the city, long established and the best reason to visit in the dark months. |  | \nAurora season | September to April | Dark skies | When nights are long enough for the northern lights. Clear skies matter more than the month. |  | \nMidnight sun | June | Countrywide | The sun barely sets. Bring an eye mask and expect to lose track of the time entirely. |  | \nCulture Night | August | Citywide | A one-day citywide festival ending in fireworks, with most of the city out on the streets. |  | \nHighland roads | Roughly late June to September | The interior | F-roads open only in summer and need a 4x4. Dates shift each year with the snow. |  | ","hw_hub_city_budget_title":"What your trip will cost","hw_hub_city_budget_intro":"Pick how you travel. Per person per night, in euros \u2014 you will pay in kr\u00f3nur.","hw_hub_city_budget_note":"Shown in euros for comparison; you pay in Icelandic kr\u00f3nur, by card almost everywhere. Tours drive the doing line \u2014 one day trip is \u20ac70 to \u20ac140 on its own.","hw_hub_city_budget_rows":"Shoestring | 40 | 22 | 5 | 10\r\nMiddle of the road | 60 | 50 | 10 | 70\r\nComfortable | 100 | 85 | 25 | 140","hw_hub_city_budget_currency":"\u20ac","hw_hub_city_hostels_title":"Where to stay in Reykjavik","hw_hub_city_hostels_intro":"A good scene for the size, mostly in and around 101, and expensive by any standard. Live from Hostelworld.","hw_hub_city_hostels_cta_label":"All hostels in Reykjavik","hw_hub_city_hostels_cta_url":"https:\/\/www.hostelworld.com\/hostels\/europe\/iceland\/reykjavik\/","hw_hub_city_hostels_source":"api","hw_hub_city_hostels_count":"12","hw_hub_city_hostels_cache":"12","hw_hub_city_picks":"Best for solo travellers |  |  | \nBest for a party |  |  | \nQuietest |  |  | ","hw_hub_city_hostels":"","hw_hub_city_faq_title":"Reykjavik travel questions","hw_hub_city_faq_note":"The ones we get asked most.","hw_hub_city_faqs":"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.\r\nBlue Lagoon or a local pool? | A local pool, if you want the honest answer. Municipal pools cost around \u20ac9, are geothermally heated, have rows of hot tubs at different temperatures, and are where Icelanders actually go daily. The Blue Lagoon is \u20ac70 to \u20ac100, forty-five minutes away near the airport, and is a nice but entirely optional experience.\r\nHow expensive is it? | Among the most expensive places in Europe. Dorms \u20ac40 to \u20ac70, a restaurant main \u20ac30 to \u20ac55, a beer \u20ac9 to \u20ac13, and a day around \u20ac90 to \u20ac160 before tours. Buy duty-free alcohol on arrival, shop at B\u00f3nus, use a hostel kitchen and the pools, and it becomes manageable.\r\nWhen can I see the northern lights? | Roughly September to April, on clear dark nights. March and September are arguably the best months \u2014 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.\r\nDo 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.\r\nWhat 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 \u2014 Icelandic wind tears doors off hinges regularly and it is an expensive claim.\r\nIs 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 \u2014 that is normal and harmless, and the cold tap has none of it.","hw_hub_city_cta_title":"Say yes to hostels, meet the world","hw_hub_city_cta_body":"Compare Reykjavik hostels \u2014 live prices, real reviews and free cancellation on most bookings. Then meet the people already there in the app.","hw_hub_city_cta_buttons":"Find hostels in Reykjavik | https:\/\/www.hostelworld.com\/hostels\/europe\/iceland\/reykjavik\/\r\nGet the app | https:\/\/hostelworld.onelink.me\/IdiK\/f5a50nhd","hw_hub_city_newsletter_title":"Get the good stuff monthly","hw_hub_city_newsletter_body":"New city guides, deals and route ideas. 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