Reykjavik has a population under 140,000 and takes a day to see. Its real function is as a base, which makes the useful question not what to do in the city but how to get out of it.
The city itself, in a day
Hallgrímskirkja, the concrete church on the hill, with a lift up the tower for the best view over the coloured roofs.
The old harbour, and the Harpa concert hall's glass facade.
One museum — the National Museum for the settlement story, or the Settlement Exhibition built around an excavated tenth-century longhouse.
A swimming pool, which is the thing to do rather than an afterthought. See below.
That is a day. Reykjavik does not need more.
Rent a car for these
The Golden Circle. Þingvellir, Geysir, Gullfoss — a short loop on paved roads. Driving means arriving outside the coach windows, which is the entire difference.
The south coast. Seljalandsfoss, Skógafoss, Reynisfjara, and on to Jökulsárlón if you have two days. All roadside.
The Reykjanes peninsula, between the city and the airport, with lava fields and geothermal areas that almost everyone drives past.
Take gravel protection and sand-and-ash protection — neither is covered by standard collision waiver and both are genuinely necessary.
Take a tour for these
Glacier walks. Crampons, ice axes and changing crevasse conditions. Not optional.
Ice caves, winter only, by guided super-jeep. No independent version exists.
The highlands. F-roads need a 4x4 and involve unbridged river crossings that most rental insurance excludes. The highland buses to Landmannalaugar and Þórsmörk run in season and remove the risk.
Whale watching, from the old harbour, though Húsavík in the north has better success rates.
The Blue Lagoon question
Expensive, must be booked ahead, and the busiest attraction in Iceland.
The alternatives, in order of how much most visitors prefer them:
The municipal pools. Every Reykjavik neighbourhood has a geothermally heated outdoor pool with hot tubs at graded temperatures, for a few hundred krónur. Laugardalslaug is the largest, Sundhöll the oldest and most handsome.
These are where Icelandic social life happens — people meet, sit in the hot tubs and talk. It is the single best value thing in the country.
Sky Lagoon, closer to the city, smaller and with an ocean edge.
Mývatn Nature Baths in the north, if you are going that way.
Pool etiquette is strict and enforced: wash thoroughly without a swimsuit in the changing room showers before entering. Attendants check.
The aurora
Season roughly late September to mid-April. Needs darkness, clear sky and solar activity simultaneously.
Tours add local knowledge of where the sky is clear tonight, which matters in a country where cloud is the limiting factor. With a car you can check vedur.is yourself and drive away from the city lights for nothing.
Either way, two or three attempts across a trip beat one.
Costs
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Municipal pool | ISK 1,200–1,500 |
| Blue Lagoon | ISK 9,000–20,000+ |
| Golden Circle tour | ISK 10–15,000 |
| Car hire, per day | ISK 9–16,000 |
| Glacier walk | ISK 15–25,000 |
Two people renting a car beat two tour tickets on the first day and win outright after that.