When to go to Reykjavík?
→ The detailed month-by-month page, with real weather records
Best time: June to September, and February to March and October for the northern lights
At a glance
Why go to Reykjavík?
Reykjavik is a small city, 140,000 people, 250,000 with the wider urban area, which is two-thirds of the country. You can walk it in a day, from the spire of Hallgrímskirkja to the old harbour, and everything revolves around geothermal energy: the hot water from the taps smells of sulphur, the pavements in the centre are heated in winter, and seventeen neighbourhood pools open from 6.30am with 40°C hot tubs where locals chat before work. Visitors are welcome, on condition of a naked, soaped-up shower first.
It is also the most convenient base camp for seeing Iceland without driving for hours. The Golden Circle, with the Þingvellir rift, the Strokkur geyser and Gullfoss waterfall, can be done in a day. The Reykjanes Peninsula, with the Blue Lagoon and the lava fields from the 2021 to 2025 eruptions, is 40 minutes away. Whales can be seen from the old harbour, puffins on an islet in the bay, and the northern lights from Grótta lighthouse, 5 km from the centre.
The city has a life of its own, out of all proportion to its size: a glass concert hall on the harbour, a music scene that produced Björk and Sigur Rós, festivals such as Iceland Airwaves in November, cafés and bookshops on Laugavegur, bars that close at 4.30am at weekends. Corrugated-iron roofs painted red, blue and green, 19th-century wooden houses and the low-angled light make for a setting all its own: expensive but easy to read, safe and stress-free.
Map of Reykjavík: what is where?
The map shows the 6 places covered in this guide, to picture the distances and plan your route.
- Hallgrímskirkja
- Old Harbour
- Laugardalur
- Grótta Lighthouse
- Blue Lagoon
- Þingvellir
How much does a trip to Reykjavík cost?
Reykjavik is one of the most expensive cities in Europe: €5 for a hot dog, €10 for a beer, €40 for a fish main course, €150 for a single room. The neighbourhood pools, museums at €15, walking and free natural sites keep the bill in check, while the Blue Lagoon, boat trips and excursions push it up fast.
| Style | Per day | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Backpacker | €90-130/day | Dorm with kitchen, Bónus and Krónan supermarkets, Strætó buses, neighbourhood pools, Golden Circle on a shared coach tour |
| Comfort | €180-280/day | Chain hotel or guesthouse, a fish dinner every day, hire car, whale watching and Sky Lagoon |
| Premium | €450+/day | Design hotel or Blue Lagoon Retreat, fine dining, private excursions and a helicopter flight over the lava fields |
The Icelandic króna is worth about €0.007, or €1 for ISK 140-150. Cash has all but disappeared: cards pay for everything, from the bus to the hot dog, and contactless is universal. Bring a card with no foreign transaction fees and decline the dynamic conversion into euros offered by card terminals, which is always unfavourable. Landsbankinn and Arion cash machines exist for the rare occasions that need cash, such as the Kolaportið flea market.
Is Reykjavík safe?
Reykjavik is one of the safest capitals in the world: the police are unarmed, children get around on their own and theft is rare, apart from a few bags left unattended in the Laugavegur bars at weekends. The risks are natural. The wind first, strong enough to knock a pedestrian over and rip off a car door, to be checked on vedur.is before any outing. Winter roads next, icy and sometimes closed, to be checked on road.is every morning. The eruptions on the Reykjanes Peninsula, regular since 2021, periodically close the Blue Lagoon and the Grindavík road; follow the instructions of the civil protection authorities and safetravel.is, which also lets you register your itinerary. Do not go near the waves at Reynisfjara, unmarked hot springs or cliff edges. The 112 Iceland app sends your location to the emergency services. The health system is excellent and expensive, so insurance with repatriation is essential.
What to see and do in Reykjavík
- Hallgrímskirkja
- Harpa and the Sun Voyager
- Old harbour and whale watching
- Sky Lagoon
- Laugardalslaug pool
- Blue Lagoon
- Golden Circle
- Grótta lighthouse and the northern lights
City centre and Laugavegur
The centre fits into a triangle between Hallgrímskirkja, Tjörnin lake and the harbour. Laugavegur, the shopping street, runs down the hill towards Bankastræti and the old quarter of wooden houses, with its wool shops, bookshops and cafés. Skólavörðustígur, painted in rainbow colours, climbs up to the church. Around Tjörnin, the City Hall, the 1881 Alþingishúsið parliament building and the Lutheran cathedral face one another. The National Museum and the Settlement Exhibition, built around a Viking farmstead from 871 discovered in 2001, tell the island's story. On Saturdays, the Kolaportið flea market fills a harbour warehouse.
Old harbour and Grandi
The old harbour has kept its trawlers, its green sheds and its working atmosphere, and has gained a district of restaurants, ice-cream parlours and workshops at Grandi, on the breakwater. Whale and puffin-watching boats leave from the quays, the Maritime Museum displays a former coastguard ship, the Whales of Iceland exhibition lines up life-size models, and the Marshall House hosts contemporary art galleries. At the end of the breakwater, the orange Grandi lighthouse looks out at Mount Esja. In the evening, the harbour's fish restaurants serve cod, Arctic char and langoustines, and Harpa lights up.
Laugardalur
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The valley of hot springs, 3 km east of the centre, is the city's leisure park: the Laugardalslaug pool, the botanic garden and its café in the greenhouses, a small domestic-animal zoo and an indoor ice rink. This is where washerwomen came to do the laundry in the hot water until the early 20th century, which gave the valley its name. The Ásmundur Sveinsson museum displays the artist's sculptures in his white 1942 house and studio. The national stadium next door hosts Iceland's matches, whose fans made the Viking thunderclap famous in 2016.
Seltjarnarnes and Grótta
The peninsula extending the city to the west can be explored on foot or by bike along a 6 km coastal path from the old harbour. At the end lies Grótta lighthouse on its islet, reachable at low tide, a hot foot bath carved into the rock, and the darkest spot in the urban area for the northern lights from September to April. The peninsula's north shore looks out at Mount Esja and the bay, the south shore at the islands and the lava of Reykjanes. In summer, Arctic terns nest on the islet, which is closed from 1 May to 15 July, and dive-bomb walkers who come close to the path.
Reykjanes Peninsula
Between Keflavík airport and the city, the peninsula is a lava field crossed by the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. The Blue Lagoon sits in the Svartsengi lava, next to the geothermal power station that feeds it. Since 2021, a series of eruptions at Fagradalsfjall and then at Sundhnúkur has reshaped the landscape: black flows still smoking, craters reachable by trails marked according to activity, and the town of Grindavík evacuated in November 2023. Further on, the Bridge Between Continents spans the rift, the Gunnuhver fumaroles steam, and the Krýsuvíkurberg cliffs shelter seabird colonies.
Þingvellir and the Golden Circle
Þingvellir National Park, 45 km to the east, is the island's only Unesco site listed for its history: this is where the Alþing, the oldest known parliamentary assembly, met from 930 to 1798 in the Almannagjá rift, between the North American and Eurasian plates. Þingvallavatn, the country's largest lake, lets you dive in the Silfra fissure in 2°C water with 100 m visibility. The road continues to Geysir and its 30 m column of water every five to ten minutes, then to the two tiers of Gullfoss, with a possible return via Kerið crater, a deep green lake in a red caldera.
How many days, and which itinerary?
Two days are enough for the city, its pools and a boat trip. Four days add the Golden Circle and the Blue Lagoon or Reykjanes. A week lets you head down the south coast to Vík and its black beaches, or watch for the northern lights over several nights in winter.
🗺️ Day-by-day itinerary · 📓 Free printable Reykjavík guide (PDF) · 🌍 All of Iceland
Reykjavik in 2 days
Day 1: Hallgrímskirkja and its tower at 9am, down Skólavörðustígur and Laugavegur, the Settlement Exhibition, a hot dog at Bæjarins Beztu, Harpa, the seafront to the Sun Voyager, a soak at Laugardalslaug in the late afternoon, a fish dinner at the old harbour. Day 2: morning whale-watching trip from the old harbour, Grandi and its workshops, the coastal path to Grótta lighthouse, Sky Lagoon at sunset, and the Laugavegur bars in the evening if it is a Friday or Saturday.
City, Golden Circle and lagoons (4 days)
The two city days, then a full day for the Golden Circle by hire car or coach tour: Þingvellir from 8.30am, Geysir around midday, Gullfoss, and back via Kerið crater and Friðheimar farm with its tomatoes grown in geothermal greenhouses. On the fourth day, the Reykjanes Peninsula: the Fagradalsfjall lava field if the trails are open, the Bridge Between Continents, the Gunnuhver fumaroles, and the Blue Lagoon booked for 20:00 or for the morning of your flight, as the airport is 20 minutes away.
Reykjavik and the south coast (1 week)
The four days of the previous plan, then three days on the south coast by car: the waterfalls of Seljalandsfoss, which you can walk behind, and 60 m Skógafoss; the Sólheimajökull glacier tongue, the black sand beach of Reynisfjara and its basalt columns, a night in Vík. On the last day, back via the greenhouses of Hveragerði and a soak in the hot river of Reykjadalur, a 3 km walk. In winter, this route is still possible with studded tyres and short days, and the northern lights can be seen from Vík with no light pollution at all.
Getting there and getting around
Direct flights from much of Europe take around 3 hours 30 minutes, with Icelandair all year and Transavia in season, €150-400 return. The airport is 50 km away: the Flybus takes 45 minutes to the BSÍ terminal for around ISK 4,000, or €27, with hotel drop-off as an option; a taxi costs ISK 20,000-25,000, more than €150.
The yellow Strætó buses cover the urban area, with a ticket at around ISK 670, or €4.50, bought on the Klapp app or with exact change. The centre is entirely walkable, and Hopp electric bikes and scooters can be hired by the minute from April to October on separate lanes.
A hire car, €60-120 a day depending on the season, gives you freedom for the Golden Circle and the south coast. In winter, studded tyres are provided, and road conditions should be checked every morning on road.is: the wind can close the south coast road and rip the doors off badly parked cars.
Coach tours from Reykjavik cover everything you can see in a day: Golden Circle ISK 9,000-15,000, south coast ISK 15,000-20,000, northern lights hunt ISK 8,000-12,000, with pick-up at hotel bus stops in the centre. Bus 55 also links the airport to the city for the price of a Strætó ticket.
Where to stay in Reykjavík?
Hostels in the centre and near Laugardalur: €40-60 for a dorm bed, €120-160 for a double room, often with a shared kitchen, which matters here. Capsules and pod beds have multiplied around Laugavegur for solo travellers at under €50.
Icelandic chain hotels Fosshotel, Center Hotels and Icelandair Hotels: €130-200 a night in low season, €200-300 in summer, with a breakfast buffet of skyr and rye bread. They occupy the centre and the harbour, within walking distance of everything, and are fully booked from June to August.
Guesthouses and small hotels in the streets of wooden houses in the centre, around Tjörnin and Þingholt: €120-220 a night in simple but well-kept rooms, with a family welcome. Rental flats, €130-250 a night, make sense for four people or for a week with a kitchen.
Design hotels and grand hotels: €300-600 a night at The Edition on the harbour, at the Art Deco Hotel Borg from 1930 on Austurvöllur square, or at the Blue Lagoon hotels with their private lagoon. In winter, between November and March outside the holidays, the same rooms drop by 30-50%, and the northern lights are on show.
Our places to stay, stop by stop, at three budgets →
What to eat in Reykjavík?
The Icelandic hot dog, pylsa, is eaten standing at the Bæjarins Beztu stand, open since 1937 near the harbour: lamb sausage, crispy and raw onions, sweet mustard and remoulade, for ISK 700-800, or €5. It is the cheapest meal in town, and the queue includes locals at all hours.
Fish is the staple: cod, haddock, Arctic char and monkfish in the harbour restaurants, and plokkfiskur, a mash of fish and potatoes, served with rye bread. The thick, hot lamb soup kjötsúpa costs ISK 2,500-3,000 in cafés. Allow ISK 5,000-8,000, or €35-55, for dinner with a main course and a drink.
Skyr, a fresh cheese close to a thick yoghurt, is eaten at every meal; cinnamon buns from Brauð & Co, kleinur doughnuts and rye bread baked in the hot ground round out breakfast. Fermented shark (hákarl), smoked ram and sheep's head are more of an ordeal than a meal, but can be tasted at the Kolaportið market.
Alcohol is expensive and regulated: a draught beer costs ISK 1,300-1,800 in bars, or €9-12, with happy hours between 16:00 and 19:00 flagged by a dedicated app. Wine and spirits can only be bought in the state-run Vínbúðin shops, closed on Sundays, or duty free on arrival, which is what every Icelander does.
Entry requirements
Schengen area: an ID card or passport for EU citizens, 90 days visa-free for UK, US, Canadian and Australian passports.
Rules change: check your own government's travel advice before you go.
Frequently asked questions about Reykjavík
When is the best time to visit Reykjavik?
June to August for endless days, puffins, humpback whales and open roads, with prices at their highest. September and October, then February and March, combine still decent days, lower rates and a chance of the northern lights whenever the sky is clear. November to January offers four to five hours of daylight, illuminated Christmas festivities and hotels at half price.
How many days should I spend there?
Two days for the city itself, with its pools, a boat trip and Harpa. Four days add the Golden Circle and the Reykjanes Peninsula with the Blue Lagoon. A week lets you head down the south coast to Vík and multiply your northern lights nights in winter. Many travellers combine three nights in the city with a road trip around the island.
Do I need to hire a car?
Not for the city, which is entirely walkable, nor for the Blue Lagoon and the Golden Circle, served by buses and tours. Yes for the south coast, the Reykjanes craters and the freedom to stop, at €60-120 a day. In winter, studded tyres are provided, but you need to check road.is and vedur.is every morning and accept cancelling an outing in high winds.
Can you see the northern lights from Reykjavik?
Yes, from September to April, given a clear sky and enough solar activity, forecast every evening on vedur.is with an index from 0 to 9. Grótta lighthouse, 5 km from the centre, and Sky Lagoon are the best spots in town. Coach tours, ISK 8,000-12,000, head away from the lights and offer a second outing if the first one fails. Allow several nights to give yourself a good chance.
Is the Blue Lagoon worth the price?
It is the most expensive site in the country, from €75 entry, and the busiest, with milky water and a lava setting that are unique. Sky Lagoon, 15 minutes from the centre and slightly cheaper, offers a pool facing the sea and a more intimate sauna ritual. Neighbourhood pools such as Laugardalslaug, at €10, give you the authentic Icelandic experience alongside the locals. Many visitors combine one of the two big lagoons with a neighbourhood pool.
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