Reykjavik Christmas Walking Tour: Experience Icelandic Christmas Traditions in the Capital

Immerse yourself in Icelandic Christmas traditions on a festive walking tour through the streets of Reykjavik. Discover the 13 Santas, the Troll Grýla, and the Christmas Cat while sampling delicious Christmassy treats.

Duration: 2 hours
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Hlöllabátar - Gather outside Hlöllabátar, the sandwich shop located at Austurstræti 1 in Reykjavík. Please assemble facing the square (Ingólfstorg) and the two tall stone seat-pillars, each over two meters high. Center Hotel Plaza will be on your right.
    The area in front of Hlöllabátar features benches, tables, and a covered ceiling, offering a…
What's Included
  • Expert fun-loving guide
What's Not Included
  • Tips
Additional Information

Celebrate this festive season with Your Friend in Reykjavik on a walking expedition around the brightly lit and holiday-celebrative lanes of Reykjavik, Iceland’s capital.
In unison, we will delve into the Christmas customs of Iceland, unraveling the mystery of Iceland’s thirteen Santas, their terrifying mother - the child-eating Troll Grýla, and the…

Location
Hlöllabátar
Ingólfstorgi
Outside Hlöllabátar, facing Ingólfstorg Square and the two tall stone pillars. CenterHotel Plaza is to your right. Benches, tables, and a covered ceiling make it a comfortable spot to wait. Our expert local guides usually wear a light blue jacket with Your Friend in Reykjavik on the back
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.6
(18 Ratings)
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Kimberly_h
Dec 25, 2025
The Extraordinary Ester E! - 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
Review provided by Viator
Quest36018768674
Dec 22, 2025
An easy and fun tour - 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.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
R930lwtracyh
Dec 7, 2025
Christmas in Iceland Comes Alive - 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!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
391salemf
Jan 3, 2025
Lovely tour with singing guide - 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.
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Alyssa_k
Dec 23, 2024
I had Stefan as a guide... - 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!
Review provided by Viator
Kayla_l
Dec 21, 2024
A great experience - 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.
Review provided by Viator
Kelly_p
Dec 16, 2024
Great tour - 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.
Review provided by Viator
937raenaf
Jan 12, 2024
A fantastic time - 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!!
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Chelsea_z
Jan 3, 2025
Shiesty business practice - 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.
Review provided by Viator
598lucm
Dec 30, 2024
Disapointing tour - 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.
Review provided by Tripadvisor