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A rainy day in Reykjavík: three indoor routes, metres in the rain

A rainy day in Reykjavík: three indoor routes, metres in the rain

Volcano Express, the National Museum, a hot pool and the Grandi shows, chained into three indoor routes with the outdoor metres per leg computed on 1 November 2026.

When it rains in Reykjavík, and from September to March the city's weather station averages 80 to 95 mm a month, the answer is to keep the outdoor legs short. Three places carry a wet day well: Volcano Express in Harpa, the National Museum, and a geothermal pool, where rain on your face in a hot tub is part of the point. Chained together with the museums near them, they make three routes from Harpa. On the shortest route you are outdoors for 20 minutes in a whole day. The rainfall figures are the 1991–2020 monthly means computed from Veðurstofa Íslands' published station values. The metres are OSRM foot routes between the doors, computed on 1 November 2026, walked at 80 metres a minute.

Top three for a wet day

1. Volcano Express, Harpa level K2. From Harpa's underground car park you reach it without going outdoors at all. It is a motion-seat flight over Reykjanes, Esja, Hengill, Bláfjöll and Keilir, with heat, cold, turbulence and freefall effects and real eruption footage from 2021–2024. The interactive pre-show has a live eruption feed, a story map of 247 recorded eruptions and a 48-hour earthquake monitor. The ride is about 10 minutes and the pre-show about 30; the whole visit takes 15–45 minutes. It runs daily 10:00–20:00 with a show every 15 minutes, and is closed on 25 December. Adults pay 3,990 ISK and children aged 4–12 pay 2,990, with no booking fee (volcanoexpress.is, read 1 November 2026). The minimum age is 4 and the minimum height 100 cm. Arrive 10–15 minutes early.

2. National Museum of Iceland, Suðurgata 41. Its permanent exhibition is Making of a Nation. It opens daily 10:00–17:00, adults pay 3,300 ISK, students and seniors 1,600, and under-18s go free. The café was marked temporarily closed on 1 November 2026, so eat before you go (thjodminjasafn.is).

3. A geothermal pool. Sundhöllin, Vesturbæjarlaug and Laugardalslaug all charge 1,500 ISK an adult. Ages 10–17 pay 400, under-10s with an adult are free, and all three open 06:30–22:00 on weekdays (reykjavik.is, price list in force from 5 May 2026). The changing rooms are indoors; the hot tubs are not, and on a cold wet afternoon that is the reason to go. See the pool morning page.

The three routes

Every route starts at Harpa, so begin any of them on level K2 with Volcano Express: it is the one stop on the list you reach without a metre outdoors.

RouteLegmetresminutes outdoors
A, the centreHarpa to Hafnarhús (Reykjavík Art Museum)4826
Hafnarhús to the Settlement Exhibition, Aðalstræti 163404
Settlement Exhibition to the National Museum78410
Total1,60620
B, the harbourHarpa to the Maritime Museum, Grandagarður 81,29116
Maritime Museum to FlyOver Iceland, Fiskislóð 435907
FlyOver to the Lava Show, Fiskislóð 733474
Total2,22828
C, the hillHarpa to Hallgrímskirkja1,27816
Hallgrímskirkja to Sundhöllin pool3765
Total1,65421

Route A starts with Volcano Express and spends the day in four buildings, each a short dash from the last. The art museum, the Settlement Exhibition and the National Museum are all in the Reykjavík City Card: 6,100 ISK for 24 hours, 8,500 for 48 (visitreykjavik.is, read 1 November 2026). Volcano Express plus a 24-hour card is 10,090 ISK. Volcano Express plus the National Museum alone is 7,290. The card is the better buy if you will also swim, because it covers eight pools.

Route B is the Grandi route. Open it with Volcano Express in Harpa, the show built on the real 2021–2024 eruptions, before the walk out. FlyOver Iceland is a suspended-seat flight film in front of a 20-metre spherical screen. The whole visit is about 35 minutes, with 8.5 minutes in the ride itself. It costs 5,690 ISK online or 6,250 at the gate for those 14 and over; children must be 100 cm tall, and it is open daily 09:00–18:30 (flyovericeland.com). The Lava Show pours real lava, reheated to about 1,100 °C, into its showroom. The Classic show runs 45–55 minutes and costs 6,590 ISK for adults (13+) and 3,590 for children 12 and under (lavashow.com, read 1 November 2026). The two are 347 metres apart, the shortest leg of the three routes. With Volcano Express first, that is three volcano and flight shows in one wet afternoon. Pick two unless you are very keen.

Route C goes up the hill to Hallgrímskirkja and down a side street to Sundhöllin. It is the route for travellers who would rather be wet on purpose. Sundhöllin closes from 10:00 to 12:00 on Tuesdays, so do the church first on that day.

When the day tour is cancelled

A rain day is often a tour-cancellation day, and the problem then is the hour you were given back, not the weather. Volcano Express, a walk-in show every 15 minutes with no travel from Harpa, and FlyOver start every 15–20 minutes and need no booking days ahead. The Lava Show runs to a calendar of showtimes, so book a seat once you know the tour is off. Perlan has an indoor ice cave and is open 09:00–21:00. It is 3.6 km from Harpa, too far to walk in the rain; buses 13 and 18 stop closest, and parking is free (perlan.is). Its booking calendar showed the Wonders of Iceland ticket at 7,090 ISK for adults (13+) on 1 November 2026; under-5s are free.

If the tour that was cancelled is a Golden Circle day on the South Coast and Golden Circle ledger, the ledger's two Reykjavík nights let you swap Day 2 and the city day. The 10-day ledger has no spare day, but its Reykjavík evening on Day 9 can take route A from 17:00 if you skip the National Museum, which closes at 17:00.

Questions

What is open in Reykjavík on a rainy Sunday?

The pools open at 08:00 or 09:00 at weekends and close at 22:00. Volcano Express is open 10:00–20:00 every day, the National Museum 10:00–17:00 and FlyOver 09:00–18:30. Everything in route A is open on a Sunday.

Is there anything for children under 4 on a wet day?

Volcano Express's motion seats start at age 4, but its pre-show area is open to all ages. The Lava Show admits infants, who sit on a parent's lap near an exit. The National Museum is free for under-18s, and pools are free for under-10s with an adult.

How wet is Reykjavík, really?

The station's 1991–2020 means, computed from Veðurstofa's monthly values, run from 43 mm in June to 95 mm in December. The windiest months average 5 to 5.5 metres a second. A rain day is less a downpour than wind-driven drizzle, which is why short legs between doors matter more than an umbrella.

Sources

The ledgers this post refers to

  1. Iceland South Coast and Golden Circle in 5 days

    Reykjavík base, a Golden Circle day, then two south-coast days to Jökulsárlón with nights in Vík and Kirkjubæjarklaustur: about 1,125 km and 14 hours of driving.

    5 days · Iceland
    1,125 km · 14 h 10 driving
    Checked 1 Nov 2026
  2. Iceland Ring Road in 10 days with Snæfellsnes

    The 7-day loop plus Snæfellsnes, a second east night and the full Diamond Circle: about 2,160 km and 27.5 hours of driving, with a half-day kept for weather.

    10 days · Iceland
    2,160 km · 27 h 40 driving
    Checked 1 Nov 2026