Museum · Reykjavík

Perlan

Reykjavík's exhibition building on Öskjuhlíð, with a real ice cave built indoors, a planetarium aurora show and a viewing deck over the city. Entirely indoors.

prices and departures checked 13 Sept 2026

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The short version

  • 5 tours in our catalogue stop at Perlan — 5 of them day tours from a single base, 0 as part of a longer package.
  • A seat on a day tour here typically costs €289, from €107 at the cheapest. Private tours are priced per vehicle and sit outside that figure.
  • 5 different operators run here, so a cancellation rarely means the day is lost.
  • Departures in our next 360 days fall in September, October, November, December, January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August.
  • Seasonal here: Northern lights season (September–April), Natural ice caves (November–March), Midnight sun (May–July), Lupine in bloom (June–July).

The facts

Type
Museum
Region
Reykjavík
Tours that stop here
55 day tours · 0 multi-day
Day tour, cheapest
€107
Day tour, typical
€289median of 2 per-person fares
Operators
5
From Reykjavík
2 km (1 mi)straight line — the road is longer
Coordinates
64.1292, -21.9191

Daylight through the year

Iceland's daylight swings further than almost anywhere people holiday, and it decides what a tour can actually show you. Times are for the 15th of each month at this spot.

MonthSunriseSunsetDaylight
January10:5716:165 h 19 min
March07:5019:2411 h 34 min
June02:5823:5720 h 59 min
September06:4719:5913 h 11 min
December11:1515:314 h 16 min

What is seasonal here

None of these have fixed dates, so each one says what its real dates depend on.

Northern lights season

September–April

Needs darkness more than anything else. Nothing is visible around midsummer however strong the activity.

Natural ice caves

November–March

Caves are re-surveyed each autumn and only open when a guide judges them stable. A warm spell can close one for the season.

Midnight sun

May–July

True midnight sun only above the Arctic Circle — Grímsey. The mainland gets civil twilight all night, which looks much the same.

Lupine in bloom

June–July

Introduced, controversial and impossible to miss when it flowers. Peaks a fortnight later in the north than the south.

What people do here

Getting here without a car

Every tour we sell that stops at Perlan leaves from Reykjavík, which is to say from Reykjavík itself.

All 5 of them collect you from your accommodation or a designated stop, so the tour is the transport — there is nothing else to arrange and no timetable to read.

A seat on a day tour here costs €107 per person. There is no scheduled bus we can sell you to Perlan, so a guided day is the practical way in without a car.

The days themselves run from about 3 h to 10 h door to door, so check the length as carefully as the price — the cheapest seat is often the longest coach day. 5 different operators run here, which matters more without a car than with one: if the weather cancels your day, there is usually another departure rather than a lost trip.

Being driven is the easy answer here: enough operators run it that a cancellation rarely loses you the day, and you get to look out of the window instead of at the road.

Cheapest way in without a car: a guided day tour from Reykjavík, from €107 per person.

We have done the sums on this properly: what a rental car actually costs against guided tours.

Tours that stop at Perlan

Taken from each operator's own itinerary, not from marketing copy — these are tours whose agenda names Perlan as a stop.

Private Reykjavík City Tour3 hours

Snaeland Travel

Private Reykjavík City Tour

4.70· 86 Google reviews of the operator

Leaves from Reykjavík

  • Hotel pickup
  • Family friendly
  • Free cancellation 24 h

Tour of Reykjavík City with your private driver (upgrade to driver-guide also possible).

from

€470 per vehicle

or book on its own →
Reykjavik City Sightseeing4 hours

Iceland Panorama Tours

Reykjavik City Sightseeing

5.0· 2 Google reviews of the operator

Leaves from Reykjavík

  • Hotel pickup
  • Family friendly
  • Free cancellation 24 h

Explore Reykjavik's highlights, landmarks, and cultural sites with a local guide.

from

€380 per vehicle

or book on its own →

Who runs them

5 operators, all of whom we hold a contract with. We do not list every company in Iceland, on purpose.

BusTravel Iceland · Iceland Panorama Tours · KFJ Luxury Tours · Snaeland Travel · Unreal Iceland

Perlan: questions people ask

How many tours go to Perlan?

We list 5 — 5 day tours and 0 multi-day packages, from 5 operators. That is what we currently have contracts for, not everything that exists in Iceland.

How much does it cost to visit Perlan?

The place itself is usually free to enter; what you pay for is getting there. A day tour seat runs from €107, with a typical price of €289. Some sites charge separately for parking or admission — check the individual tour.

When can you visit Perlan?

Looking at the next 360 days of live availability, departures fall in September, October, November, December, January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August. That is a rolling window rather than the full year, so a month missing here is not necessarily a month with nothing running.

How much daylight is there at Perlan?

January: 5 h 19 min · March: 11 h 34 min · June: 20 h 59 min · September: 13 h 11 min · December: 4 h 16 min. Iceland stays on UTC all year, so there is no clock change to allow for.

Do you need a tour, or can you drive to Perlan yourself?

Both work. Driving gives you the stops you want and the time you want them; a tour removes the winter road decisions and lets everyone look out of the window. We sell the tours and say so — if self-driving suits you better, it suits you better.

Can you get to Perlan without a car?

Yes — 5 guided day tours in our catalogue stop here. 5 of the tours pick you up from your accommodation, so no onward transport is needed.

What is the cheapest way to get to Perlan?

A guided day tour from Reykjavík, from €107 per person. Private tours cost more because they are priced per vehicle rather than per seat.

Put it in a day

Perlan is rarely a whole day on its own. The planner knows how long each tour takes and how far apart the start points are, so it can build the rest of the day around it.

Plan a day around Perlan