Reykjavik Christmas Walking Tour

Ester E. Is a fabulous tour guide! I really do feel like I have a friend in Reyjkavik !!! So knowledgeable and funny. She made you feel like family

Despite the rain, “Stefan I” was a delightful and funny guide and gave us not just Christmas (with ALL the Santas) but history, folklore, stories about growing up in Iceland, cool shops and stalls (including a store with its own cat😍), and then a nice respite inside a cozy coffeehouse/record store where we were treated with hot chocolate and pastries. Something for everyone! Loads of fun in just two hours.

We did the Christmas Walking Tour with Einar on 12/1 and really enjoyed learning about the folklore and traditions--Gryla, the Yule Lads, and the Yule Cat--associated with Christmas in Iceland. Einar walked us around the Oslo tree, singing a Christmas song, and then followed that up with a couple of verses of one of his favorite Christmas songs in the Domkirkjan i Reykjavik - he has a BEAUTIFUL voice and it was such a treat to hear him sing. We finished up at 12 Tonar, where he played a couple of songs his grandmother wrote (!) and which have been published; one has been covered by the artist Bjork. Such an outstanding tour; we highly recommend the tour and Einar in particular. Thank you so much!

Got to be really honest about this one...it was extremely disappointing. We booked based on the description that we'd get to see/tour the Christmas markets and have that experience. Aside from our guide being 15 mins late (which is an eternity when the temps are in the negative degrees), he began his introduction simply stating because it was NYE, the Christmas markets were all closed and pretty much everything in the description of the tour would not be happening, but he'd be doing his best to give us something. Though, we did like the guide, our question is this: if they knew the markets would be closed on the 31st and they couldn't offer the tour as described...why run the tour that day?!!? They didn't have to offer it. Or, they could also easily have just contacted us ahead of time, told us things would be different on the day we booked and offer us the opportunity to cancel. But, instead, they took our money, had us show up, and then told us we were never going to get what we actually paid for. Just shiesty business practice in our opinion and also the reason for our rating. I'd not book again with them based on this experience.

Lovely tour. Our guide was very knowledgeable and excited by the stories he shared with us. Our group loves the songs the guide would sing.The stop at the Candy store was lovely minus the gross candy (my personal opinion lol) you should still try it though. It was amazing to learn so much in such an interesting way.

I’m pretty disappointed with the tour. Even though the guide was nice and snack was awesome. It was supposed to be a Christmas tour with explanations of the local Xmas traditions and it ended up being mainly a downtown tour with tips for cheap eat and cheap drinks. We stopped at the Flea Market, Christmas store, Yule cat, watched the gooses and had a snack with stories. Guide could not even name all the 13 Yule lads and vaguely named what they do. :( neither share how families gather and what they do. Really felt like doing a tour with a random friend in Reykjavik (!) And on top of that the meeting point in the email was not even the right one. They sent a text message 10 minutes prior to meeting time, but being abroad all of the 5 participants had their phone on travel mode - i.e no SMS. I shared the above comment with the tour organizer via email and they never replied.

I had Stefan as a guide and he was amazing! He was so knowledgeable and provided us with little surprises along the way. He answered all questions, taught us some Icelandic language, and provided a deep history around the holidays in Iceland. If you’re looking for something history & holiday cheer, this is the perfect excursion for you!

I went on this tour with my husband and we were very excited to learn about the Christmas traditions and culture. Our guide was great and was very informative in a fun way. We recommend this tour to any group coming! A plus was we enjoyed hot chocolate and treats.

An excellent and informative tour. Our guide was very friendly and had a lot of great information about the city. Hearing about Icelandic Christmas traditions was an extra fun experience.

This tour was my absolute favorite! She took us everywhere downtown and explained all the traditions, folklore, history, etc. We even got a present at the end. And she let us try some famous Icelandic cuisine. Highly highly recommend!!

My husband and I visited Iceland for the first time and began our holiday with a Your Friend in Reykjavik tour. Our guide, Stefan, was hilarious and informative as we embarked on our Christmas traditions walk, covering off everything from elves to Eurovision, Grỳla to Game of Thrones. (And the fact that Die Hard *is* a Christmas movie!) It was a great way to get our bearings in the city as well as learning of all the fabulously endearing Icelandic Christmas traditions (several of which we'd like to import back to Scotland). It was clear how proud Stefan is of his city. We stopped at several sites along the way, with the storytelling and general chatter flowing easily. We even stopped to feed the ducks! A lovely start to our holiday - I only wish I could give more than 5 stars!

Lovely walking tour of the city’s holiday hot spots! Our tour guide Bo was very knowledgeable with great stories past and present. Highly recommend

For music lovers like our family, (four 20 somethings and 2 parents 50 somthing), this was a fun tour. Einar gave us a musical version, which was entertaining. Singing around the Christmas tree in the town square (not hubby's favorite), hearing a hymn written by his grandmother in the state church (lovely), local candy tasting (not to be missed), and drinks and cookies in the record shop (delicious) with more Icelandic Christmas music,(very enjoyable and we will be looking up the artists). He also sent us pictures taken at the Christmas Cat, record shop and at the Hallgrímskirkja church following the tour. It was easy to find the meeting point. I'm not sure this is a great tour for little ones, but our young adult group found it entertaining.

Barti did a nice job sharing the folklore and history of Christmas and the Yule lads. This made so much of what we saw in gift shops amd around town make sense. He was personable and very sweet! He was in the Christmas spirit with his Christmas sweater and Santa hat! My teenage kids (13, 19, 21) really enjoyed our walk through town, stopping at a few places to shop, and hot cocoa at a local hangout.

This was an interesting walking tour as we learned so much about their Christmas traditions. We had two additional guides in training which was nice as we were able to talk with three guides and were able to learn to much more about the country.

Went to Iceland for Christmas. The tour gave a sense of the city of Reykjavik and Icelandic Christmas traditions (the black cat, 13 trolls, fermented shark/rays, etc). The tour guide was friendly and knowledgable. The tour takes you to the national Christmas tree, a large cathedral. and a couple of shops. The guide mixed in some general information about the history of Iceland to supplement the Christmas customs. The tea/coffee/hot chocolate break was well-timed to get out of the cold. It was also a good way to get acquainted with downtown.

Thank you Stefan for a great early afternoon walk learning about Christmas traditions in Iceland! Very chill, and lots of information. The spots chosen were perfect, especially the shop were we drank hot chocolate!