Reykjavik (Iceland)

Reykjavik is Iceland's principal seaport, and the country's capital city and center of the cod-fishing industry. The city has population around 124,000.

In 1874, the Vikings established the first permanent settlement in Reykjavik. The community was chartered in 1786, and in 1843 became the seat of parliament. Reykjavik became Iceland's capital in 1918, as well as the world's northernmost metropolis. The city is on Faxa Bay, surrounded by mountains and provides easy access to fishing and skiing.

Reykjavik claims to be "the cleanest city on earth." It has 50+ art galleries and museums, as well as 2 theatre companies and a symphony orchestra. The city's landmarks include Althing (parliament building) and Hallgrímskirkja (Hallgrímur Church/Lutheran cathedral, 1945-opened modern building).

(NEW) Iceland's cruise passenger fee

On January 1, 2025, Iceland implemented a daily fee for cruise ship passengers of 2,500 ISK (~USD 18/EUR 16/GBP 14) per person. The fee applies for each day (24-hour period) a cruise ship spends within Icelandic territory. Intended as an "infrastructure fee", it is five times the previous accommodation tax. Due to the new cruise fee, major cruise companies cancelled or limited their visits to Icelandic ports.

In 2025, the Cruise Iceland association, which represents the interests of domestic ports, tourism stakeholders, and shipping agents, projected a 14% drop in nationwide cruise bookings for 2026, and a double (~30%) drop in 2027.

Port Reykjavik Harbour

Reykjavik Harbour (port locode ISREY) is also Iceland's main "cruise port" and is visited on both transition itineraries and as part of turnaround/roundtrip voyages serving as homeport.

Reykjavik has 2 seaports. The old harbor (close to downtown) is used mainly by cruise ships and fishing boats. Sundahofn (in the eastern part) is Iceland's biggest cargo port. The country has no public railways as it is sparsely populated. However, the locomotives that were used to build the docks are still on display.

For season 2017, the cruise port had scheduled a total of 155 ship calls with around 130,000 passengers. During season 2016, it handled 113 cruise calls and around 100,000 tourists.

2023 was the cruise port's record season with scheduled 265 ship calls and estimated ~285,000 passengers (of whom ~90,000 turnarounds). This represented a 31% increase over 2022 (184 ship calls and 170,770 cruisers handled). The significant growth was predominantly from turnaround operations/roundtrips leaving from and ending in Reykjavik. In October 2023, the Port announced plans for building a new cruise terminal (at Sundahofn), with construction works slated to start in 2023-Q3.

In 2023, cruise ship tourists comprised ~13% of Iceland's total tourist arrivals, accounting for 309,890 out of 2,4 million travelers.

Bus tours from Reykjavik visit the National Park on the shores of Lake Pingvallavatn (Iceland's largest), featuring wildflowers and abundant birdlife. Here too is the "Golden Falls", Gullfoss, a double cascade in Hvita River (height 105 ft / 15 m) dropping in 2 stages into a mile-long gorge. Nearby is regularly spouting Geysir, a thermal spring from which all hot springs have taken their name.

Other popular bus travel tour destinations from Reykjavik include:

• Borgarnes (Borgarfjordur/56 mi / 90 km away), often with a hotel overnight, attractions like Barnafoss and Hraunfossar Waterfalls (short strong rapids), Deildartunguhver Hot Spring, Langjokull Glacier's Ice Tunnels (accessed via modified trucks).
• Thingvellir National Park (UNESCO site), Geysir Hot Springs (the Strokkur geyser spouting every 5 min hot water up to 20 m / 60 ft into the air), Hotel Geysir (lunch included), Gullfoss Waterfall), Fludir Village (Secret Lagoon hot springs), Stokkseyri Village (dinner included), back to Reykjavik for an overnight hotel.
• Asborgir on the Golden Circle route (300 km / 186 mi), Kirkjubaejarklaustur Village (walking along Fjadrargljufur Canyon, visiting the Eldhraun lava field, hotel overnight), Vik i Myrdal (Iceland's southernmost village on Vik Island).
• Excursions are also organized to Reykjanes Peninsula visiting the Krisuvik Volcano and the Blue Lagoon (geothermal spa near Grindavik, with a scenic view of Mt Þorbjörn).

Reykjavik Airport (Iceland's second-largest, after Keflavik Airport) is inside the city and south of downtown. It serves mainly domestic flights, asl well as flights to Greenland and Faroe Islands. Reykjavik Airport was built during WW2 (1939-45) by the British occupation force on the outskirts of the then smaller city. Since 1962, there's been controversy regarding the airport's location, since it takes up valuable space in the city's central part.

Reykjavik cruise terminal