WHAT CAN REYKJAVIK OFFER?

Reykjavik is the Capital city of Iceland and is home to around 245,000 people. In comparison to other Capital cities of the world Reykjavik is extremely small and can be navigated within a few hours.  The city is located on the coast and boasts a beautiful harbour and promenade walks. 

Reykjavik is awash of thriving cafes, high-energy clubs, friendly pubs, and a brightly coloured old town with rows of wooden and iron cladded houses all clustered together. 

Icelandic Houses

The main street is named Laugavegur and is one long road lined with all matter of shops, restaurants and bars.

Iceland is not cheap.  Be prepared to pay almost GB£26 (US$31) for a burger or GB£23.00 (US$28.50) for soup!  The vast majority of visitors will head to the nearest grocery store and purchase food and drink at significantly lower prices.

Always be observant of ‘Happy Hours’.  Some will offer ‘buy one, get one free’ on drinks, others will offer food at discounted prices, especially down towards the area of ‘Austurstraeri’  (found at one end end of Laugavegur Street)  where you will find typical Irish, British and American bars.  Nonetheless, Happy Hour prices are still very expensive but it does soften the blow. 

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That said we all need to eat. Here are some places for consideration.

BLOCK BURGER

Located next to a car park on Skólavörðustígur Street.  It’s a fast food place but does offer the cheapest burger and fries around… even though it does cost over GB£20!

BONUS SUPERMARKETS

These grocery stores are peppered generously throughout the city.  It’s the best place for snacks and breads. On day trips around the island I would make sandwiches for lunch. It’s the cheapest way to eat if you have facilities in your hotel.

SVARTA KAFFID

This has to feature highly as one of my favourite venues to eat. Located on the main high street – Laugavegur Street. This restaurant only offers two types of soup (choice of meat or vegetable) and is served in hollowed out soda bread served with a drink.  Extremely tasty and filling.  All meals are ISK Kr3600 (GB£21/US$25.75)

If you do try Svarta Kaffid ensure you dine reasonably early. The venue is not big and queues of people wait outside for a table to become vacant.

POSTHAUS FOOD HALL

Located on Austirstraei Street this is a great fun venue that offers street food type dining. Inside is a variety of food stalls all offering anything from noodles to Indian, fish and chips to pizza. It’s very popular so find a table early on.

SAETA SVINID GASTRO PUB

Located on Hafnarstræti Street opposite Ingólfur Square this is a very relaxed cosy pub offering a bar menu and pub food. The staff are incredibly friendly. It’s a popular venue so get there early to find a table.

Some Day-to-Day Handy Tips for Iceland

As Iceland is so expensive here are some handy tips that I adopted that may help you to keep expenditure to a minimum.​

💷   Shop in a grocery store named ‘Bonus’.   I used these for creating lunchtime sandwiches, snacks, pastries and bottled water. 

💷  If you want to buy alcohol purchase bottles of spirits in the arrivals hall at Keflavik airport.  The prices are extremely reasonable.  I carried a hip flask with me into bars and just purchased sodas then tipped the contents (Vodka)  into them.​

💷  Bring with you an empty water bottle and fill it from the tap or numerous water fountains.  Bottled water will set you back almost KR400 (GB£3.00)  Water from the tap in Iceland is completely safe to drink.​

💷  Find a hotel that includes breakfast in the price.  This will save you a fortune having to ‘shop around’ for the best breakfast deals.​

💷  Always pre-book your excursions beforehand.  Bing organised will save your wallet in the long-term.

Aside of prices the city has a few points of interest.  The city is small where you can visit all the points of interest within a few hours.  I started down by the harbour and navigated my way inland towards the Hallgrimur church, finally window shopping on the high street.  

SOME NEIGHBOURING POINTS OF INTEREST

THE SUN VOYAGER (SOLFAR)

Head towards the harbourfront and you will discover this metal Viking ship sculpture.  It creates a stunning photograph with the mountains as the backdrop.

CHURCH OF HALLGRIMUR

You will definitely know where to find this.  The church towers over the city.  Designed to resemble the basalt lava that flows in Iceland made of tall thin white beams.  Even though the exterior is striking make sure you visit the inside as well – there is an Alexander Stirling Calder  sculpture of the famous explorer Leif Eriksson and an observatory at the top where you can get breathtaking views of Reykjavik.

HARPA CONFERENCE CENTRE

Harpa is a concert hall and conference centre located on the seafront near the harbour.  The building features a distinctive coloured glass facade. Inside are various open rooms, a grand foyer and a small cafe and gift shop.

THE CITY OF REYKJAVIK

The main areas of Laugavegur Street and Hverfisgata Street are architecturally beautiful.  All wooden or Iron clad buildings painted in bright colours. Have your camera ready. The buildings are really quite beautiful.

PERLAN

Located at Oskjuhlio is an interactive museum that offers a true Icelandic experience. Its exhibits range from the Natural World to Glaciers, from volcanoes to Iceland’s geothermal power and its famous Puffin’s.

Tickets cost from ISK KR4990 (GB£29.30)

THE BLUE LAGOON

Iceland’s most famous geothermal pool is the country’s top tourist attraction. It might be crowded and expensive but there is nothing like it in the world.  This huge milky blue spa is fed by mineral-rich heated seawater from the nearby geothermal plant.  Add the silvery towers of the plant, rolling clouds of steam, and people covered in white mud.

There are three packages to choose from:

Comfort: Priced at ISK Kr 8990 (£52.30)

Premium: Priced at ISK Kr11490 (£66.80)

Luxury: ISK Kr69000 (£490)

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THE GOLDEN CIRCLE TOUR

Skálholt Church

During the summer months hiking in the highlands of Iceland becomes a popular pastime.  If you want a truly breath taking experience stand at the rift zone on the edge of the North American Plate and look towards the rift at the Eurasian Plate – talk about a riveting experience!

Fault Line

Other stops include Kerið volcano crater, Hveragerði greenhouse village, Skálholt church and the Nesjavellir or Hellisheiði geothermal power plant.

This tour lasts around 6-8 hours.  I booked this excursion through Gray Line Tours.

Where the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates meet

WATERFALLS

“Foss” means waterfall in Icelandic and you’ll find a lot of waterfalls throughout the country.   Iceland is overflowing with these natural beauties! Dettifoss, located in the north, is the most powerful waterfall in Europe.   

Gullfoss Waterfall

Gullfoss can be found in the Golden Circle and is one of the biggest waterfalls in Iceland.   Located in a canyon which forms three step terraces, the river Hvítá plunges from a height of 105 feet (32m)  to create this majestic force of nature.  There are no rails – just natural surroundings.  Gullfoss is strongest in summer and is a must see when in Iceland.

STROKKUR GEYSER

Due to the volcanic activities underneath the surface a lot of geysers, underground springs and thermal pools are scattered all around the country. To see a powerful hot stream shooting from the ground is definitely exciting.

Strokkur, in the southwest of Iceland, beside the Hvítá River, is a popular fountain geyser.  Many geysers are found in Haukadalur in the south of the country.

SÓLHEIMASANDUR PLANE WRECKAGE

The Sólheimasandur plane wreckage is a famous site in Iceland where a plane crashed in November 1973.  The US Navy airplane – a Douglas Super DC-3 – was forced to crash land on Sólheimasandur beach. The crew all survived the impact but the plane was abandoned and still lies there after four decades.

Tours to this site are full days usually lasting 10-12 hours that will not only take in the plane wreckage but additionally visit the Southern waterfall and Sólheimasandur glacier. From Reykjavik the coach journey is around 2 ½ hours. Once you arrive at the car park it’ll take a further 15 minutes to get to the crash site. Prices of tours vary but you can expect to pay around GB£105. Use THIS LINK to book a tour.

Example of an Icelandic road

THE NORTHERN LIGHTS

Seeing them in person is one of the most awe inspiring things anyone could witnessed.

The lights are best admired in remote places further from the city’s bright lights. The best time to catch them is from mid September to mid April. The Northern Lights usually tend to be very active for two to three nights then will become less active for a few more.  

There is a great little app I used called Hello Aurora (Android Play Store Download). It tracks the Northern Lights and any sightings of them. If anything else it’s fun to use if you’re unsuccessful spotting the phenomenon.

Akureyri

If you’re looking for something very remote in your Icelandic experience why not consider a short 30 minute domestic flight up towards Akureyri?

Dash 8 – 200

The views from the airplane window are truly stunning.

Akureyri is a small city with a population of around 19,000 a stone’s throw from the Artic Circle Meridian. The city is remarkably calmer than Reykjavik. That said Winter’s in Akureyri are considerably colder with heavy snowfall.

Akureyri is a great base camp for many of Iceland’s most beautiful natural wonders, such as waterfalls, volcanic areas and canyons, as well as numerous exciting activities, such as rafting, hiking, caving, whale watching. It’s most beautiful attraction is that of Eyjafjörður Fjord that provides Akureyri’s backdrop.

Akureyri Main Street

Where to stay

There are a few hotels peppered around the city. Most of them are found near the convention centre and botanical gardens. One for consideration is the 3* Akureyri Berjaya Iceland. It offers rooms from around GB£165 p/n.

Akureyri Church

The Church of Akureyri is a Lutheran church located in the centre of the city. It was designed by Guðjón Samúelsson and completed in 1940. Its main feature is the 3200 pipe organ.

FINAL WORD

If you have never been to Iceland then it is a guaranteed ‘Bucket List’ destination.  You just have to see the landscape and feel the power of the Natural Earth in all its majesty.  Once you get past the expense of the country then it really is lovely. 

Both my trips to Iceland have been for long weekends that gave me enough time to get what I wanted to get from the trip.

Nonetheless, Iceland has a lot to offer in ways of excursions providing you can afford it to explore the Ice Glaciers or go Whale watching.

Akureyri photos courtesy of RJPH

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