Reykjavik Off the Beaten Path: 5 Days
Five days adds a beach with sand shipped in from Morocco and a second neighbourhood pool to the flea market, penis museum, and Perlan sunset from the shorter version, still with no rental car and no Golden Circle mile. Chasing the Golden Circle, the South Coast, or the Blue Lagoon too? See Reykjavik as an Iceland base and its own 5 day itinerary .
| Day | Focus |
|---|---|
| 1 | Landing in 101, Hallgrímskirkja, and a Kaffibarinn happy hour |
| 2 | A laundromat cafe, Old Harbour whale watching, and Grandi |
| 3 | Kolaportið flea market, the penis museum, and Tjörnin pond |
| 4 | A neighbourhood pool soak, the National Museum, and Perlan at sunset |
| 5 | Nauthólsvík’s imported-sand beach and a second locals-only pool |
Book these before you go
- Compare downtown Reykjavik hotel rates , since 101 saves the daily Flybus commute
- Reserve a whale-watching trip out of the Old Harbour, especially for a July-August weekend
- Book a Reykjavik food walk through Grandi’s chocolate factory and street art
- Reserve Perlan tickets online , about ISK 400 cheaper per ticket than paying at the door
Day 1: Landing in 101
Flybus from Keflavík (ISK 3,999, 45 minutes) into 101 Reykjavik, then the rainbow street up to Hallgrímskirkja: tower ISK 1,500 walk-up only, nave free. Close with a Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur hot dog and happy hour at Kaffibarinn.
Day 2: A laundromat, the harbour, and Grandi
Brunch at the Laundromat Cafe, then the Old Harbour for the free Sun Voyager sculpture and the whale-watching trip, 3-3.5 hours into Faxaflói bay. Grandi’s Omnom chocolate factory and street art fill the afternoon; Harpa’s free lobby closes the day.
Day 3: The flea market, the penis museum, and a pond
Is Kolaportið open every day? No, Saturday and Sunday only, 11:00-17:00, free entry; swap in the National Museum on a weekday instead. The Icelandic Phallological Museum runs ISK 2,750, kids 13 and under free, 10am-7pm daily. Spend the afternoon at Tjörnin pond and the Reykjavik Art Museum.
Day 4: A pool soak, the National Museum, and Perlan
Laugardalslaug (ISK 1,430, no booking) opens the day with the hot-pot soak locals actually use, then the botanical garden and the National Museum’s Settlement Exhibition. Book Perlan online (ISK 5,990, about ISK 400 cheaper than the door price) and time it for sunset on the observation deck.
Day 5: Nauthólsvík and a second locals-only pool
Is Nauthólsvík open year round? Yes, but hours shrink hard outside summer: roughly mid-May through August daily, then Tuesday-Saturday the rest of the year, check reykjavik.is before a Sunday visit in winter. The beach itself runs ISK 920, sand imported from Morocco, and hot water piped from the city’s geothermal supply keeps the shallows swimmable regardless of the air temperature. Walk or bus into Vesturbær afterward for Vesturbæjarlaug, the west-side pool locals treat as their actual living room, same ISK 1,430 city price as Laugardalslaug and no booking needed either.
Spend the rest of the afternoon around the University of Iceland campus, a quieter, more residential slice of the city than 101, before a last dinner back downtown. Five days covers eight of the city’s nine unusual picks; only Grótta and the aurora chase are missing, and the 6 day version adds them without touching anything already booked here. Pack a swimsuit you don’t mind getting geothermal-mineral residue on; both pools leave a faint mineral film that a normal wash handles fine.