The Daisybutter Travel Guide to Reykjavík, Iceland
Reykjavík has been on my travel bucket list for as long as I can remember. Ever since I read Northern Lights by Phillip Pullman, then read about aurora borealis in my encyclopaedia as a child, I’ve wanted to visit Iceland. And, as my love for nature grew and grew, it’s become even more of a dream destination. You can only imagine my excitement when my boyfriend surprised me with a trip to Iceland to celebrate our three-year anniversary! Our anniversary trips are one of my favourite traditions, yet I haven’t written any travel posts about them because I’ve always wanted to keep them private. But, how could I not document our magical time in Iceland and share the love?
Nestled on the coast of Iceland, Reykjavík is the country’s largest city, as well as its capital. It’s a great base for day tours, and a really lovely city to stay in and explore. We visited in late November, just as the city started to twinkle with Christmas lights and markets. From the famous Hallgrímskirkja church to the colourful rooftops, Harpa Hall to the Tjörnin pond, Reykjavík is home to a ridiculously cute and cosy cityscape. The city is incredibly expensive to visit compared to the majority of European cities and dining out will set you back around twice the cost of a standard meal in London, but the food quality and hospitality is second to none.
If you’re visiting Iceland in the winter, you’ll need to armour up with practical weatherproof clothing. For a five-day trip in late November, my best tools included:
- Snood
- 3x UNIQLO maximum strength Heattech tops
- 2x M&S medium warmth thermal tops
- 2x M&S maximum warmth thermal leggings
- 1x Trespass waterproof trousers
- 1x Trespass maximum warmth fleece-lined leggings
- Down-padded coat with wind- and waterproofing
- TERREX hiking boots
- 5x UNIQLO Heattech thermal socks
- Hand-warmers – a pair per day
My main packing tips are to pack with layers in mind and the endgame being wrapped up to allow good movement, as well as include a cosy hat and snood. The wind is no joke! I personally preferred popping hand-warmers in my pockets over wearing gloves – this meant I could easily use my phone or camera.
See & Do
This is a Daisybutter travel guide, so of course I’m sharing all of the many activities we squeezed into five days! Since the days are short in Iceland – the sun rose at 10.30am and set at 3.30pm while we were visiting – we wanted to make the most of our daylight hours, and we found that our booked day tours all accommodated for this too.
We’re already thinking of returning to Iceland one summer and hiring a camper to traverse the country on our own time, and to soak up the gorgeous views in a completely new way. Cozy Campers offer premium 4×4 camper rentals, as well as budget alternatives.
Small Group Walking Tour
Wrap up warm and book a guided walking tour of the city to learn more about Reykjavík. My boyfriend and I love scheduling these for the day we land, so we can get our bearings and learn a little too. I thoroughly enjoyed ours – this is the exact one we booked – as it was packed with little nuggets of wisdom, history and funny little facts. For instance, did you know 90% of Reykjavík’s buildings are heated with the country’s natural geothermal energy? And that the streets have heated pavements to melt snow?
Book your guided walking tour of Reykjavík.
Hallgrímskirkja
You won’t miss Hallgrímskirkja church, which was designed to look like the basalt columns you’ll see at the coast. The church is really impressive and there’s even a rainbow road painted along the street that leads to it. A fun nod to the progressive values of Reykjavík!
Grótta Island Lighthouse
We took a long walk to the Grótta Island Lighthouse one afternoon, which was absolutely freezing but completely worth it. Built in 1897, this lighthouse is set on a black sand beach that’s only accessible during low tide. It’s supposed to be the perfect place for birdwatching and for spotting the Northern Lights, but we visited in the daytime just as it started to pour down with rain.
Golden Circle Tour
How could we visit Reykjavík and not book a tour of the Golden Circle? This is an incredibly long day, but with unmissable views on the other side. From the Kerid Crater to Gullfoss Waterfall, the geysirs to Þingvellir National Park, you see a beautiful selection of Iceland’s most impressive natural landscapes.
Book our exact Golden Circle tour here.
Northern Lights Hunting Tour
Despite our original booking being cancelled due to 100% cloud cover, as promised, we rebooked onto a date of our choice for a Northern Lights tour. I don’t think I’ve ever studied a weather forecast as carefully as I did in this moment! Thankfully, the stars aligned and we managed to see the aurora borealis in two of the three spots on our Northern Lights-hunting bus tour. Our guide was incredibly well-versed in knowing how to translate the forecast and spot hints of it in the sky, plus in guiding us to set our phone cameras up. I even saw the Northern Lights with my naked eye!
Book our exact Northern Lights bus tour here.
South of Iceland Day Tour
The last tour we scheduled was one to roam along the south coast of Iceland, and we had an incredible time. We visited glorious waterfalls, the black sand beach with basalt columns, a glacier (I cried!) and got to taste and bottle up glacial water. I couldn’t recommend this specific tour more.
Book our exact South of Iceland day tour here.
Eat & Drink
Sharing my favourite vegan foodie finds has become a cornerstone of Daisybutter travel guides, and there’s a bonus in that I’m often travelling with meat-eaters, so the destinations I share are diet-inclusive. It was really easy to dine vegan in Reykjavík.
Kronan
This budget supermarket is great for building packed lunches for day tours. There’s plenty of vegan sandwiches and wraps, as well as clearly marked areas to find snacks and milks.
Vegan World Peace by Loving Hut
Aðalstræti 2, Reykjavik, Iceland
Part of a vegan chain, Vegan World Peace has an extensive menu of veganised western and Asian food. Of course we ate Asian food on holiday!
Lamb Street Food
Grandagarður 7, Reykjavik, Iceland
Specialises in lamb, but the vegan options are delicious and the staff are knowledgeable.
Deig Bakery
Tryggvagata 18, Reykjavik, Iceland
God I think about their vegan bagels nearly every day. Freshly baked vegan bagels, doughnuts and cookies. Serves meat.
LÓA Restaurant
Laugavegur 95-99 Main entrance from Snorrabraut, Laugavegur, 101 Reykjavík, Iceland
A small menu with a vegan starter, main and dessert. Situated in a hotel and the perfect place for a fancy date night.
Eldur og Ís
Skólavörðustígur 2, 101 Reykjavík, Iceland
Crepes and desserts with plenty of vegan options.
Mama Reykjavík
Bankastræti 2, 101 Reykjavík, Iceland
All-vegan restaurant with the best daal I’ve ever eaten.
Stay & Relax
Reykjavík Marina – Berjaya Iceland Hotels
We stayed at the Reykjavík Marina – Berjaya, which was perfectly situated for our trip. There’s a gorgeous view of the marina, it’s in walking distance to many bus stops, and the hotel itself was beautiful. Our double room was perfectly spacious and SO cosy and warm in the evenings – blissful after tackling the -16°C temperatures! There’s a restaurant downstairs that you can ‘earn’ money-off vouchers for if you’re more sustainable with your room cleaning and towel-changing.
