If you are planning on travelling around Iceland on your own terms, in other words by hiring a car and driving as opposed to just using tours, then you may be concerned about where to find food.
You may be surprised to hear that there are many supermarkets in Iceland, although they are not spread evenly. It is important to know how far it is until you can next stock up so you don’t get caught out as it could be hours of driving in between grocery stores.
Self Catering in Iceland
Self catering on your Iceland holiday is a sensible way to keep your costs low anyway – it is renowned for being an expensive place to travel to, and you don’t want to have to limit your experience because you are spending all your money on food (although you can have some fantastic meals here – more on that later!)
By shopping in the local supermarkets you can still enjoy Icelandic treats and delicacies.
There are a number of different brands of supermarket, each varying in price and content. The following map displays the locations of most of the supermarkets in Iceland to give you an idea of the spread, but the list of not exhaustive.
The map was kindly created by the website www.iheartkrykjavik.
Supermarkets in Iceland include:
- Bónus
- Krónan
- Nettó
- Víðir
Buying Alcohol In Iceland
The legal age to buy alcohol in Iceland is 20 years. Iceland has strict rules and high tax on alcohol. While you can find alcoholic drinks in most restaurants, you will not find it in supermarkets. There is a shop named Vínbúðin which is government owned, and is the only store where you will find alcohol.
You can find Vínbúðin stores all around Iceland in the major towns, but the Reykjavik branch has the longest opening hours, with some of the smaller shops closing on Saturdays.
You can avoid the price hit when arriving in Iceland by buying alcohol duty free when you arrive at Keflavik airport.