Sustainable Travel in Reykjavík
To preserve the city for future generations, it’s essential to prioritize sustainability and embrace responsible travel whenever possible.
Transportation for Conscious Consumers
Climate change affects us all, and one of the easiest ways to lessen your carbon footprint while travelling is to opt for more eco-friendly options to get around town. Luckily, Reykjavik has many options for sustainable transit while you’re visiting.
Walk
Reykjavik is an incredibly walkable city with a vibrant downtown area, lots of pedestrian paths, and even the occasional heated sidewalk to help melt the snow in winter.
Bus
The bus system in Reykjavik is extensive with routes that criss-cross the entire city and surrounds. Frequent pickups, and well-connected transit hubs make this an excellent option for people visiting the city.
The Reykjavík City Card is an affordable option for using public transportation while also providing great discounts and perks throughout the city! The City Card includes access to various museums, many of the city's geothermal swimming pools, and unlimited use of Strætó (public busses), making it a fantastic way to explore Reykjavík.
Scooter
Popular in recent years, Iceland is now host to hundreds of electric scooters. Found on nearly every street corner, these are great options to consider when it’s a little too far of a walk or if you don’t feel like taking the bus.
Electric car
Car travel is a convenient way to get around, which is why it’s such a popular choice. For those planning to rent a car, choosing an electric vehicle or a hybrid over a gas-powered one is a great option. In Iceland, all energy comes from renewable sources, ensuring that charging an electric car uses clean energy. With thousands of charging points throughout the city, a quick top-up is always just minutes away.
Traveller Responsibility in Nature
Reykjavik’s beautiful natural areas with waterfalls, most covered landscapes and stunning waterfalls are epic to behold, but what most travellers don’t realize is that they’re just as fragile and delicate as they are majestic. With slow growth and short summers, it can take years, decades, even a century for vegetation to recover and a broken piece of lava will never find its way back. That’s why it’s incredibly important to make sure you’re doing your part.
The old saying “Take nothing but pictures and memories, leave nothing but footprints" holds true here in Reykjavik. There are two simple ways to ensure that all the natural beauty of Iceland is there for years to come. First, leave it as you found it - removing all rubbish and even picking up after others if they’ve left a mess. And second, make sure your feet stay on marked paths—because the land, especially the delicate moss, may never recover from being stepped on.
Traveller Responsibility in the City
It’s not just the natural surroundings of Reykjavik that need your attention – the city deserves your care as well. With a robust recycling and composting program, Reykjavík City places a strong emphasis on preventing waste from being generated, but it’s up to everyone to make sure they’re sorting correctly. By recycling what we can, and preventing the generation of waste, we can reduce waste, enable the recycling of valuable resources and positively impact the environment.
To sort your waste properly, please follow the below guidelines for bins.
• Plastic (not beverage bottles**)
• Paper and cardboard
• Mmixed household waste
• Food waste
• **Glass and plastic beverage bottles are often saved separately as they can be returned for a refund at the nearest Sorpa waste station.
Support businesses that embrace sustainability
With ambitious goals and action plans set that target 55% cuts in carbon emissions by 2030 and carbon neutrality no later than 2040, residents are very conscious of the environment, climate change and sustainability in general. Businesses in Reykjavik focus on minimizing and offsetting their carbon footprint every day, and we believe that supporting these companies helps us get further, and faster in the fight against climate change. The easiest way to find a business maintaining high sustainability and quality standards is to look for eco-certifications such as the Vakinn logo or Green Key. Vakinn is an official quality and environmental certification for Icelandic tourism, run by the Icelandic Tourist Board. The Vakinn logo helps you find businesses that operate in an ethical, professional and sustainable way. Green Key businesses are certified as leaders of the hospitality industry in standards of excellence for environmental responsibility and sustainable operation. When visitors to Reykjavik choose businesses certified by Green Key, they can rest assured that they are helping to make an impactful difference for the environment.
• FIND VAKINN CERTIFIED BUSINESSES
• FIND GREEN KEY BUSINESSES
Dine locally
Tap Water
One of the easiest ways to be a responsible traveller is to enjoy the incredible water that we have access to here in Reykjavik (and throughout the country). Water in Iceland has a long journey filtering through lava rock over hundreds of years before being available for you to drink. This means that we have some of the freshest, cleanest tap water on earth - a true luxury! Instead of purchasing a plastic bottle, bring a reusable one, and ask for tap water instead of bottled at restaurants.
Insider secret: much of that bottled water being purchased literally comes from the same source as the tap water in Reykjavik…
Local restaurants and ingredients
As an island, in the middle of the North Atlantic, any incoming imports have a large carbon footprint associated with their lengthy journey to get here. That’s why we recommend you seek out restaurants that highlight locally grown vegetables, and sustainably raised or caught meats and seafood, choosing to dine at locations highlighting the bounty that Iceland has to offer.
Compensate for your carbon
Looking to go the extra mile with your responsible and sustainable travelling? Offsetting the carbon emissions from your travel is an incredible way to make sure you’re giving back more than you’re getting. Travelling always involves some emissions - whether from transportation, lodging, or other activities, so, the most sustainable way to travel is to compensate for what you use. As a bonus, by supporting local carbon-offsetting projects, you also benefit Icelandic nature and societies.
City Card - a great way to explore Reykjavík
The Reykjavík City Card offers free entry to a great selection of museums and galleries, all swimming pools in Reykjavík, and free unlimited travel by bus within the Reykjavik Capital Area. In addition, the card also gives you a free ferry trip to Viðey island and discounts on various tours, in shops, and on services.