A Reykjavik city break on about 90 EUR per person per day is realistic. The formula: sleep in Laugavegur, walk instead of riding (the center is compact enough), build days around free anchors like Hallgrimskirkja and the tower / Sun Voyager (Solfar), and eat where the locals do. Getting in from the airport is cheap too: Keflavik International sits about 50km southwest of the city, roughly a 45 to 50 minute drive, and there is no train. The simplest option is a shared coach: the Flybus and Airport Direct services meet every arriving flight and run to the BSI terminal, with a hotel drop-off add-on, for around 3500 ISK, about 24 EUR. A taxi is possible but very expensive at roughly 15000 to 20000 ISK, so almost nobody takes one. Note that the small Reykjavik domestic airport is a separate place close to the city and only handles internal and Greenland flights..
Daily target
90 EUR
Sleep in
Laugavegur
Airport
Keflavik International sits about 50km southwest of the city
Free sights
5+
The picks under 180 EUR that do not feel like a compromise.
First visit€€Laugavegur boutique · Laugavegur
A warm, low-key boutique hotel strung along the main Laugavegur shopping street, with a popular bakery and cafe on the ground floor. It puts the bars, restaurants and shops of downtown Reykjavik right outside the door.
from ~170 EUR/night
Check prices
Couples€€Old harbour design · Old Harbour and Grandi
A playful design hotel right on the old harbour in Grandi, next to the whale-watching docks and the slipway where boats are still hauled out for repair. The Slippbarinn cocktail bar downstairs is a local favourite, and the museums and food halls are a short walk away.
from ~160 EUR/night
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Budget€HI hostel by the pool · Laugardalur (Hlemmur east)
A big, well-equipped HI hostel out in the green Laugardalur valley, next to the city's largest geothermal pool and a bus ride from downtown. With private rooms as well as dorms and a self-catering kitchen, it is one of the cheapest ways to sleep in a punishingly expensive city.
from ~42 EUR/night
Check pricesReal hotel photos · prices are indicative from-rates, not live quotes · booking links support the site at no extra cost
These cost nothing and carry a full day each. Build around them and the paid tickets become optional extras instead of a budget drain.
Hallgrimskirkja and the tower
FreeTipThe church itself is free to enter, but pay the roughly 1400 ISK tower fee and take the lift up the 74-metre steeple for the best view over the coloured rooftops and out to the bay. Go early or late to dodge the cruise-day queue for the single small lift, and check the schedule so you are not caught inside during a service or an organ recital.
Sun Voyager (Solfar)
FreeTipThis steel Viking-ship sculpture sits on the seafront path about ten minutes' walk from Harpa and is free and always open. Come at low sun near midnight in summer or at sunset in the shoulder seasons for the mountain-and-water backdrop, and combine it with the flat waterfront walk to Harpa rather than making a special trip.
Harpa Concert Hall
FreeTipThe glass concert hall on the harbour is free to walk into, and the honeycomb facade glows best from the inside looking out in the late afternoon light. Wander the upper levels for the view for nothing, or check the box office for that night's concert, as tickets are often available last minute and it is the warmest thing to do on a wet evening.
Laugavegur shopping street
FreeTipLaugavegur and its continuation Skolavordustigur, which frames the view up to Hallgrimskirkja, are the main run for Icelandic wool, design shops, bookshops and casual food. Browse for a lopapeysa sweater but check it is Icelandic-made rather than imported, and note the painted rainbow street that leads to the church for the classic photo.
Tjornin lake and City Hall
FreeTipTjornin, the central pond ringed by coloured houses and busy with birdlife, is a free five-minute stroll from Austurvollur square, and the lakeside City Hall holds a large free 3D relief map of Iceland worth ten minutes to plan your day trips. In a cold snap the lake freezes and locals skate on it, while one end is kept thawed by geothermal water so the birds stay.
Baejarins Beztu Pylsur hot dog stand
This little red hot-dog stand near the harbour has been running since 1937 and serves the cheapest proper meal in the city, around 600 ISK for a lamb-based pylsa. Order it eina med ollu, meaning one with everything, which is raw and crispy onions, ketchup, sweet mustard and remoulade, and expect a short queue at lunch and after the bars close.
Laugavegur is the long main shopping street that becomes the spine of the city's nightlife after dark, lined with wool shops, design stores, casual restaurants and the bars where the weekend crowd hops from door to door. Rooms just off it can be a touch cheaper than the square-side addresses while keeping you in the thick of it. Pick it if eating, shopping and going out matter more than quiet.
Now put it in order: the 3-day Reykjavik itinerary works on this budget with the swaps above.
A Reykjavik city break on about 90 EUR per person per day is realistic. The formula: sleep in Laugavegur, walk instead of riding (the center is compact enough), build days around free anchors like Hallgrimskirkja and the tower / Sun Voyager (Solfar), and eat where the locals do. Getting in from the airport is cheap too: Keflavik International sits about 50km southwest of the city, roughly a 45 to 50 minute drive, and there is no train. The simplest option is a shared coach: the Flybus and Airport Direct services meet every arriving flight and run to the BSI terminal, with a hotel drop-off add-on, for around 3500 ISK, about 24 EUR. A taxi is possible but very expensive at roughly 15000 to 20000 ISK, so almost nobody takes one. Note that the small Reykjavik domestic airport is a separate place close to the city and only handles internal and Greenland flights..
The strongest free sights in Reykjavik: Hallgrimskirkja and the tower, Sun Voyager (Solfar), Harpa Concert Hall, Laugavegur shopping street. Several paid sights also have free or reduced windows; check the tips on each itinerary page.
Laugavegur. Laugavegur is the long main shopping street that becomes the spine of the city's nightlife after dark, lined with wool shops, design stores, casual restaurants and the bars where the weekend crowd hops from door to door. Rooms just off it can be a touch cheaper than the square-side addresses while keeping you in the thick of it. Pick it if eating, shopping and going out matter more than quiet.