Reykjavík food tour: private, group or vegetarian?
A group Reykjavík food tour is €110 to €263. Private starts at €331. Vegetarians should book the private vegetarian tour, not ask a group guide to adapt.
The short version
- Group food tours cost €110 to €263 and run three to four hours.
- Private food tours start at €331, and the price covers the whole party, not each person.
- Vegetarians and vegans: the private vegetarian tour is €331, and a group tour mostly means fish and lamb.
- Private makes sense from three people up, or when diet is the reason you are booking.
Short answer: a group food tour in Reykjavík costs €110 to €263 a person and takes three to four hours. A private one starts at €331 for the party. Book private if you are three or more, or if you eat no meat. Otherwise the group tour is the better value.
Icelandic food is mostly lamb, fish, dairy and hot dogs. A tour is a walk between five or six stops that shows you what that means. It is a good first-day activity for the same reason as a Reykjavík walking tour: you learn the centre of town fast.
Group tours
The cheapest is Street Food Walk Reykjavik from CityWalk at €109. Reykjavik Food Lovers Tour is €126, and Nordic Nonsense’s All In One tour is €176 for four hours. Icelandic Food and History Experience is the dearest group option at €263, with more history in the walking.
Group sizes are small, but you still share the pace and the menu. Allergy notes are normally taken, and the guide has no spare menu if you eat neither fish nor meat.
Private tours
Private Reykjavik Food Lovers Tour is €331, and so is Private Vegetarian Reykjavik Food Tour, both from Your Friend in Reykjavik. The price is for the group, so four people pay about €83 each. That makes private cheaper than the €126 group tour for a family of four, with a guide who adjusts pace and stops.
Vegetarian and vegan visitors
Reykjavík has good vegetarian kitchens, but the traditional dishes on a standard food walk are not them. The Icelandic classics are lamb soup, smoked fish and skyr, so a group guide will often swap a stop and leave you with a thinner tasting. The private vegetarian tour is built around what vegetarians can eat in the city. It costs €331 for the party, so alone it is expensive and as a couple it is €165 each.
Say so at booking if you are vegan. A skyr-and-cheese stop is easy to change. A hot dog stand is not.
What you actually eat
Expect small portions at each stop, about the size of a starter. Across a three-hour tour that adds up to a light dinner, not a feast. Typical stops are a hot dog stand, a bakery, a fish place, a bar for something local to drink and somewhere for skyr or ice cream. Fermented shark and sheep’s head are not on the standard route. They appear only if you ask, and most visitors are glad they did not.
Children are welcome on most of these. Ask about the beer and spirit tastings, which are for adults and may be dropped or swapped for a soft drink.
Which time of day
Most tours run in the afternoon and finish near dinner. Do not plan a restaurant after one; you will not manage it. The walks run in rain, so bring a proper jacket, and the route stays in the centre. For rain-proof alternatives see rainy day in Reykjavík. Our general Reykjavík food tour comparison lists more options.
Our honest take
Two meat-eaters should book the €126 group tour. A family of four should price the €331 private tour, which works out cheaper per head and moves at your pace. A vegetarian or vegan should book the €331 private vegetarian tour, and share it with a friend if possible. Skip the €263 option unless you want the history.
