Reykjavik Parking

Where is best to park in Reykjavík?
How to pay for parking?

Cost
P1: The two red/pink colored zones costs 430ISK per hour
P2: The blue zone costs 220ISK per hour
P3: The green zone costs 220ISK first two hours then every hour after that is only 65ISK
P4: 220ISK per hour

Charging hours
P1,  P2 and P3
Monday-Friday 09:00-18:00
Saturday 10:00-16:00
P4
Monday-Friday 8:00-16:00

New Year’s Day, Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter Monday, 1st day of summer, May 1, Ascension Day, Whit Monday, June 17, the Shopper’s Holiday, Christmas Day, and Boxing Day.

If you intend to join the Free Walking Tour, parking on Skúlagata or Harpa concert Hall is very much advisable. Make sure you put some extra minutes on apart from the 2 hours you’ll be doing the tour itself.

The colored zones are paid parking, different price range as follows. Notice that the first 4 hours are triple more expensive than the next hours/days after. If you plan to park a full week, paying the full week at first will save you a decent amount.

Reykjavík is a very small city, but nonetheless downtown can be very tricky when it comes to finding a parking lot for your vehicle. Especially during working hours (8am – 4pm). Most hotels, guesthouses and apartments are located within the 101 ZIP code. (The equivalent of 90210, most famous neighbourhood in Iceland. bad metaphor we know.) Reykjavík has various zones for parking, big garages on many floors and so on. Best take a look at the picture below.

White area is free parking, and generally very busy. For example the area around the famous church, looks very good on this map, but is in fact a residential area, and actually often quite crowded with cars. The further away you are from the church or the lake, the easier it is to find parking. Bear in mind the time you are looking for a space, if it’s after 5pm, it should be easier. Besides, the colored zones only run to 6pm, making all parking free after that. (just don’t over sleep the morning after)

The staff checking your car number (if you’ve paid or not) is very efficient, and in fact quite many at work on a daily basis. Don’t underestimate them. The fine is from 4500 and up. Another hint is not to block a water hydrant or someone’s drive way. Should you get a ticket, they are easy to pay and you get a discount if you manage to get it done within 3 days. Stop by a bank, or call the phone number on the ticket. The charge will be put on the card registered for the car at the car rental if you fail to pay within a certain time. Your tourist status and “I didn’t know” will probably not help you but maybe worth the try for the adventurous 🙂