Perlan in Reykjavík: is it worth it?
Yes, for a wet day, a jet-lagged first afternoon or children — Perlan's ice cave, planetarium and viewing deck take two to three hours and cost from €52.
The short version
- Perlan's Wonders of Iceland ticket is from €52 for adults and covers the indoor ice cave, the Áróra planetarium show, the exhibitions and the 360° deck.
- Plan two to three hours. It opens 09:00 to 21:00 most days, with entry slots every half hour.
- It is best on a rainy day, on arrival day, or with children aged roughly 5 to 12.
- The indoor ice cave is an exhibit made from real snow, not a glacier. Do not book it instead of a real ice cave.
Perlan is worth it on the right day. It is the glass dome on top of the old hot-water tanks on Öskjuhlíð hill, and inside is a museum of Icelandic nature: an indoor ice cave, a northern lights planetarium show, exhibitions on glaciers, volcanoes and the sea, and a viewing deck right round the dome. Tickets are from €52. On a wet afternoon, on the day you land, or with children, it is one of the better indoor hours in Reykjavík. On a clear, dry day with a car, spend it outside instead.
What the ticket gets you
The Wonders of Iceland ticket (from €52) covers everything in the building. There is no upsell for the planetarium or the ice cave.
The ice cave. A tunnel of about a hundred metres built from real snow, kept well below freezing. You walk through in your normal clothes, so bring a jumper even in July. It is convincing for ten minutes and children love it. It is not a glacier and nobody should book it thinking they have been inside one. If a real ice cave is the goal, that is a winter trip to Vatnajökull or Katla, a different day and a different budget.
Áróra, the planetarium show. A northern lights film on a dome screen, around 20 minutes. It explains what the aurora is and why it moves the way it does. Useful if you are visiting in summer, when the sky never gets dark enough to see the real thing. Useful in winter too, because it tells you what to look for.
The exhibitions. Glaciers, volcanoes, the ocean, bird cliffs. Interactive and well made, with more to read than to touch. Teenagers tend to drift; eight-year-olds tend to stay.
The deck. A 360° walkway round the dome with the whole city, Esja and on clear days Snæfellsjökull across the bay. On a grey day you see grey. It is at its best late in the afternoon.
How long, and when
Plan two to three hours. Entry runs in half-hour slots from 09:00, and the building is open until 21:00 most days, except around holidays and occasional events. Book a slot and turn up; you do not need to arrive early.
Children aged 5 to 12 have a reduced ticket and there is a separate category for toddlers. Cancellation is free until 24 hours before your slot.
There is a café and a restaurant under the dome. Neither is cheap. Eat downtown before or after if you are watching the budget.
Getting there
Perlan is about two kilometres from the old harbour and uphill at the end. Allow half an hour on foot from Hallgrímskirkja, longer in wind. A city bus goes most of the way. If you would rather not walk it, a private return transfer from your hotel or apartment is from €58, and that is for the car, not per head.
If you have a hire car, drive. There is a car park at the building.
Perlan as part of a day tour
In winter, BusTravel sells a Golden Circle tour that finishes at Perlan (from €108). You do Kerið, Geysir, Gullfoss and Þingvellir in the morning and early afternoon, and the bus drops you at the museum with your ticket included. The catch is in the small print: the drop-off after the museum is not included, so you make your own way back into town. It is a good fit for a short winter visit when daylight ends by four and you want something to fill the dark hours. In summer it does not run.
The alternatives
Two other indoor hours are worth comparing. The Lava Show in Reykjavík (from €48) pours real molten rock in front of you in under an hour. It is more dramatic, and there is less of it. The Saga Museum (from €29) is wax figures from Icelandic history, down by the harbour. It is smaller and older, and it suits people who came for the sagas more than the scenery.
If you only do one, Perlan covers the most ground for the money. The Lava Show is the one people talk about afterwards.
Our honest take
Book Perlan for the afternoon you land, for a day the weather cancels your tour, or for any day with children between about five and twelve. It fills a gap well and it explains the country you are about to drive through.
Do not give it a clear summer day. Iceland’s museum of nature is excellent, but the nature is half an hour away and it is free. And do not let the ice cave stand in for a real one. It is a good exhibit. It is still an exhibit.
