Guided Sightseeing Tours in Reykjavik

Reykjavik isn't a city where you need a guide. It's compact, easy to find your way around, and very safe, and you can see most of downtown on your own in a few hours. But a good guide fills in the stories behind the buildings, and on a first day that's worth a lot. Here are the tours I'd look at in 2026, from free to splurge.

Walking tours

CityWalk's free walking tour

The free My Reykjavik walk I used to recommend doesn't run anymore (the myreykjavik.is site now belongs to a private food guide). The tour that fills that gap today is CityWalk's "free" walking tour. It runs every day, lasts two hours and covers about 2 km, starting at Austurvöllur by the Parliament building and finishing at City Hall, with Harpa and the other downtown landmarks in between. The focus is Icelandic history, how Reykjavik grew into the town it is, and a lot of jokes.

There's no ticket price. You pay the guide what you think it was worth at the end. In September 2026 it leaves at 10:30am and 1:30pm. You do need to reserve a spot: bookings open about five days ahead, and people who turn up without one can be turned away. Show up 10 minutes early and look for the CityWalk logo (in winter, a big green coat). They run a winter version with more indoor stops for nine months of the year and don't cancel for weather.

Food walks

If you care about food, a food walk is the fastest way to work out what to eat for the rest of your trip. CityWalk's Street Food Walk costs 14,980 ISK, takes about three hours, and covers 8+ tastings from the Old Harbor House to rye-bread ice cream outside Hallgrímskirkja. The Reykjavik Food Walk, running since 2015, meets at Harpa and visits five restaurants in three hours, with groups capped at 14. Both lean heavily on lamb and fish, so vegetarians should ask before booking.

After the tour, our guides to where to eat in Reykjavik and Icelandic hot dogs pick up where the guide leaves off.

By bike: still my favorite

My personal favorite way to see Reykjavik is still on a bike, and Reykjavik Bike Tours is still at it, now based at Hlesgata 1. The city has good bike paths along the water, and a bike gets you out to places like Höfði House and Laugardalur that most walkers skip.

• The scheduled Classic Reykjavik tour costs 10,900 ISK per person (plus 4,000 ISK for an e-bike). It leaves at 11am on selected Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays from May through September, takes about 2.5 hours, and covers 12 km: the old port, Harpa, the Sun Voyager sculpture, Höfði House, the zoo, Hallgrímskirkja, downtown and Tjörnin pond.
• The same route runs as a private tour daily from April to October at 10am, 1pm, 4pm and 7pm. Pricing is per group: 43,900 ISK for one or two people, 50,900 ISK for three or four, and it gets cheaper per head from there.
• The Coast of Reykjavik tour is longer (15 to 18 km) and follows the shoreline out to Grótta lighthouse and the Nauthólsvík geothermal beach, at the same private-group prices.

Prefer to ride on your own? City bike rentals start at 3,900 ISK and e-bikes at 7,300 ISK. The shop is open 9am to 5pm daily. Kid bikes, seats and trailers are available.

Hop-on hop-off bus

If walking isn't an option, or the weather is doing its thing, the City Sightseeing hop-on hop-off bus sold by Reykjavik Excursions is a double-decker with an audio guide in several languages. A 24-hour ticket is 6,500 ISK and 48 hours is 7,500 ISK as of September 2026. It's most useful for reaching sights outside the center without a car. Downtown itself you'll see better on foot.

What about ghost tours?

Back in 2010 I suggested a haunted walk with Haunted Iceland. That company's website is gone, and I couldn't find a current, official source for a ghost walk that I'd vouch for, so I've left it out. If folklore is your thing, read up on elves in Iceland before you go, and ask your walking tour guide. The subject comes up on its own.

How to choose

• One day in town, tight budget: the CityWalk free tour in the morning, then explore on your own. Our list of free and cheap things to do in Reykjavik covers the rest of the day.
• You want to eat well: a food walk on your first afternoon.
• Summer and decent weather: the bike tour. You'll cover several times the ground of a walking tour.
• Kids or limited mobility: the hop-on hop-off bus, or a private bike tour with a trailer.

For trips out of the city, see day tours from Reykjavik and the Golden Circle. If you're visiting several museums as well, check whether the Reykjavik City Card pays off, and see getting around in Reykjavik for buses.

Photo by Alex J White