As a self-professed geography geek, Iceland was a place that has been on my bucket list for ages, and finally in November last year I made it!
This blog post is your guide to exploring Reykjavik, including a detailed 4-day itinerary, must-see sights, delicious food and drink recommendations, and practical tips for getting there and where to stay.
Reykjavik City Guide
Keep reading on for;
- What to do in Reykjavik
- How to plan a 4-day Reykjavik itinerary,
- The best sites to see in Reykjavik,
- The best food and drink in Reykjavik, and
- How to get to the city and where to stay in Reykjavik.
Our 4-day Reykjavik itinerary
Day 1: Travel, Transfer & Northern Lights Tour
Our Iceland adventure began with an early morning flight from Manchester airport arriving at 10am in Reykjavik.
Although there are public transport or taxi options between the airport and the city centre, we opted to pre-book our airport transfer via TripAdvisor which cost £24pp each way. This we booked via TripAdvisor with Airport Direct. From here, we were transported via coach to the coach station, before swapping to a smaller mini bus to our hotel.
Booking our flights and hotel together through EasyJet meant checked luggage was included, which was a bonus. We dropped our suitcases at our hotel, FossHotel Baron and hit the ground running with our sightseeing.
As the FossHotel Baron was located a short walk from the city centre, we took a walk via Sun Voyager to the famous Rainbow Street before taking our first look at the famous church of Iceland, HallgrÃmskirkja. We then popped out for a quick evening meal before heading to our meeting point (bus stop 12) for our Northern Lights tour (£49.42pp).
The northern lights are famously tricky to see, and we’d nearly finished our tour on our way back to Reykjavik, thinking we’d be rebooking for the next day as we hadn’t seen the northern lights when our coach stopped and we were all ushered off the coach to witness them.
Although very subtle to the human eye, they could be followed and they came out much clearer on our cameras. We’d stopped off at multiple car parks along the national park, and our guide was in touch with other guides to try and find the best spots to see the lights.
We got back to our hotel around 00:45, so opted for a later start on day 2 to catch up on much needed sleep.
Day 2: Sky Lagoon
For day 2 in Reykjavik, we kept our itinerary simple with a trip to the Sky Lagoon. Prior to our trip, we had been debating between Blue Lagoon and Sky Lagoon, however, opted to book the Sky Lagoon direct with transfer, private changing room and 7-step ritual. Although an expansion excursion, £104.71pp, upgrading to the premier Sér package ended up being a blessing in disguise, as during our trip the Blue Lagoon ended up being closed due to the volcanic eruption.
For the Sky Lagoon, we were not disappointed - it was an absolutely amazing experience, from the personalised check-in, independent changing cubicles complete with own shower, toiletries, towels & hair dryer provided.
When you leave the private (or public) changing rooms you swim outside in wonderfully warm water to the lagoon area with an infinity pool overlooking the open water. As part of your ticket, you’re able to complete the 7-step ritual. This involved a cold plunge pool, sauna (with beautiful views), cold mist, body scrub and steam room, finished with a refreshing drink.
We spend around 2 hours at the lagoon, using our wristbands to order drinks from the swim up bar, before travelling back to our hotel. By this time, it had started to get dark, so we spent some downtime in the hotel before heading out for our evening meal.
For our third day in Iceland, we opted to complete a tour of the Golden Circle (£55pp). While renting a car is an option, we preferred the convenience of an organized tour with Reykjavik Excursions which we’d booked through Trip Advisor.
The tour lasted approximately 6.5-7 hours, with pick-up and drop-off directly at our hotel.
Our tour guide was great and had valuable knowledge of the areas visited throughout Thingvellir National Park.
There were 3 stop offs on this tour with toilets and shops available at each. The first stop was the tectonic plate rift (30 minutes), the second to the Geysir (70 minutes) and the last to the Gulfoss waterfall (60 minutes).
Each of the sights was geographically magnificent and well worth a visit, but the drive en route and back from the sites was equally as breath-taking.
Day 4: DIY Walking Tour
Our final day was dedicated to exploring Reykjavik at our own pace with a DIY walking tour. We did visit the National Museum of Iceland, but honestly, it didn't live up to our expectations. I wouldn't particularly recommend it.
We revisited some areas we'd seen while walking to restaurants and took the opportunity to climb the HallgrÃmskirkja church tower for panoramic city views. Three full days in Reykjavik is a good amount of time to see the main sights, but we had allocated an extra day to maximize our chances of witnessing the Northern Lights.
Places to visit on your Walking Tour of Iceland:
- Skolavordustigur Street (The famous Rainbow Street).
- Arnarholl Statue, The famous Viking Ingolfur Arnarson, close to Harpa Reykjavik Concert Hall and Conference Centre and the Old Harbour
- Parliament House
- Tjornin Pond
Where to Eat & Drink in Iceland:
Food in Iceland is famously expensive compared to meals in the UK. For us, the average main meal we found to be around £25-£30, a beer around £10 and an Aperol Spritz was £15 - so certainly something to be prepared for.
That said, Bonus supermarket we found to be reasonably priced, should you want to buy food for on the go, or there were Happy Hour options throughout the city with savings on drinks in the bars.
- Hus Mals og Menningar (The Bookshop Bar): We found ourself here every night to watch the live band. I have since seen this bar trending on TikTok, as the atmosphere was great. .
- Posthus Food Hall & Hlernmir Matholl Food Hall: The food halls in Iceland offer a range of options for when as a group you can’t agree on where to eat.
- Islensko Barinn: Indulge in delicious burgers here, or brave trying Lambs head (we did not!).
- Bastard Brew & Food: For a range of beer options and varied taco selection..
- Sandholt: Our favourite place to dine in Reykjavik, Sandholt is a delightful bakery with fantastic panini sandwiches, cakes, and mulled wine.
- Braud & Co: Don't miss their legendary cinnamon rolls!
- Hot Dog Stands: A classic Icelandic experience (though I didn't get to try them this time).
