Reykjavik: The Icelandic Sweet Tooth Tour

Reykjavik’s sweetest surprises are not locked inside a museum. They are warm from a bakery, wrapped in bright candy paper, or scooped into a cone. This two-hour walking tour takes you through central Reykjavik for kleina, snúður, chocolate, licorice, ice cream, and other Icelandic treats.

I like the small group size, capped at 12, and the way the tour mixes food with useful city advice. I also like the local angle: you visit ordinary downtown bakeries and specialty shops rather than simply receiving a plate of hotel sweets. The main drawback is clear: $90 is a lot for a two-hour tasting, especially if you do not care much for pastries, candy, or licorice.

Key points

• Kleina and snúður: Try two classic Icelandic bakery treats and learn how they fit into local food culture.
• Licorice with a local twist: Taste Icelandic versions of licorice, chocolate and licorice combinations, and milder sweet licorice.
• Small-group walking: The maximum of 12 people makes it easier to hear the guide and ask questions.
• Several downtown stops: The route includes Baka Baka, Loo.koo.mas, Ísbúðin litla Valdís, and Taste of Iceland.
• More than sugar: Your guide may include dried fish and offers tips on places to eat and drink around Reykjavik.
• Easy central meeting point: Start and finish at Ingólfur Square, by the two tall stone pillars.

Why Reykjavik’s sweets make a good first taste

Icelandic food is often associated with fish, lamb, rye bread, and fermented specialties. Sweets tell another part of the story. They show how Icelanders enjoy coffee breaks, bakery culture, candy shops, ice cream, and familiar treats with distinctly local ingredients.

This tour gives you a useful introduction without asking you to commit to a full meal. You taste small portions at several stops, hear where the food fits into daily life, and walk between shops along central streets. That makes it a practical choice early in a Reykjavik visit, when you are still learning the city center.

The food changes with the season, day, and time of your tour. That is important. You should expect a generous mix of pastries, candy, chocolate, and ice cream, but not assume that every named item will appear on your particular walk.

Meeting at Ingólfur Square

The tour starts at Ingólfur Square in the center of Reykjavik. Look for the two stone pillars, each more than three meters high, in front of Center Hotels Plaza at Aðalstræti 6. The square is also at the beginning of Austurstræti, at Austurstræti 1.

Your guide usually wears a light blue jacket marked Your Friend in Reykjavik on the back. Arrive at least five minutes early. The meeting place is central, but Reykjavik street names can be confusing, and it is hard for a guide to find late arrivals once the walk is underway.

A useful warning: do not head to the statue of Ingólfur Arnarson or the statue of Jón Sigurðsson at Austurvöllur. Those are different locations. Use Google Maps or another map app and search specifically for Ingólfur Square.

The tour returns to the same place at the end. That makes it easy to continue sightseeing, return to your hotel, or find another restaurant nearby.

Baka Baka and the first bakery tastes

The route usually begins at a bakery, with Baka Baka listed as the first food stop. You can expect to sample Icelandic pastries and hear how they are made. This is where the tour begins to feel like a look at ordinary Reykjavik life rather than a simple candy crawl.

Kleina is one of the likely treats. It is a deep-fried, twisted pastry with a texture somewhere between a doughnut and a crisp cookie. The guide explains the pastry’s place in Icelandic baking and may discuss how bakery staff prepare it.

Snúður is another possibility. This Icelandic cinnamon roll is soft, sweet, and more substantial than a small candy sample. Depending on the day, you may also receive Danish pastry or another bakery specialty. The exact selection changes, so come ready for variety rather than one fixed tasting menu.

One especially useful feature is the chance to ask about local bakeries and food habits while you are standing inside one. If you are planning several days in Reykjavik, pay attention to the guide’s recommendations for later snacks and meals. The food stops can help you decide where to return on your own.

Walking Laugavegur between bites

After the bakery, the route continues along Laugavegur, Reykjavik’s main shopping street. The scheduled sightseeing section takes about 20 minutes, giving the guide time to connect the food with the city around you.

This walking section matters because the tour is not a series of disconnected tastings. You move through the center, pass shops and streets you may later explore independently, and get a short orientation to the heart of Reykjavik. For a solo visitor, that can be a pleasant way to get your bearings quickly.

The pace should suit most people who are comfortable with an easy city walk, though weather can change quickly in Iceland. Bring a waterproof outer layer and dress for the forecast, even if the sky looks harmless when you leave. You will be outside between stops, and two hours is long enough for cold or wind to become annoying.

Loo.koo.mas and Icelandic candy culture

The next stop is Loo.koo.mas, listed as a 15-minute shopping visit. This part of the route shifts from bakery food to packaged sweets and specialty items.

Icelandic candy often gives licorice a starring role. If you normally dislike licorice, do not assume every sample will taste harsh. Icelandic licorice is often sweet and mild, and it is commonly paired with chocolate. The guide also makes sure there are other choices, so a licorice aversion should not automatically rule out the tour.

You might encounter chocolate flavored with licorice, birch sugar, or local wild berries. These ingredients give the tasting a stronger Icelandic identity than a standard box of imported sweets. The point is not only to find your favorite candy. It is to see how local tastes shape everyday treats.

This stop also works well for souvenirs. You can look at the packaging, compare flavors, and decide what might survive the journey home. Since the tour includes a shopping stop rather than only samples, bring a payment method if you think you may want to buy extra candy.

Valdís and the Icelandic ice cream break

Ísbúðin litla Valdís is the ice cream stop, with about 20 minutes set aside for tasting. Ice cream may seem like an odd choice in Iceland’s cool climate, but it is clearly part of the local sweet scene.

You may be able to choose among several flavors, including licorice and possibly skyr. Skyr is a traditional Icelandic dairy product with a thick texture and mild, tangy flavor. In ice cream, it can make the dessert feel more connected to Iceland’s everyday food culture than a standard vanilla scoop.

This stop gives you a little control over the experience. At the bakery, the guide may select or arrange the samples. At the ice cream shop, you can focus on flavors that appeal to you. If licorice is not your thing, ask about the other options.

The timing is also sensible. A cold treat in the middle of a walking tour breaks up the pastries and chocolate. It may be less appealing on a particularly cold or wet day, but the stop adds useful variety to the tasting.

Taste of Iceland and the final candy round

The tour finishes its food stops at Taste of Iceland, where you can sample more candy and sweets. You may find familiar Icelandic bars such as Draumur, or Þristur, a chocolate and licorice combination.

Draumur is a chocolate bar that many Icelanders know from childhood and everyday snack life. Þristur shows the Icelandic fondness for combining chocolate with licorice. The pairing may sound unusual, but the sweet chocolate softens the sharper side of licorice.

You may also encounter dried fish during the tour. It is not a sweet, of course, but it gives the tasting a welcome savory interruption and reminds you that Icelandic snacks extend well beyond cakes and candy. One participant specifically enjoyed getting a little of everything, including dried fish, cocoa at Baka Baka, and licorice.

The final stop is a good time to ask the guide what to buy for a gift, what to keep for yourself, and which flavors are most typical. Since the itinerary changes, you might find a different candy selection on your day.

What the guide adds to the food

The food is the main attraction, but the guide is what gives the stops shape. Your English-speaking guide explains the sweets, talks about Icelandic culinary habits, and shares suggestions for places to eat and drink around town.

Guides such as Matthias and Oli have received praise for making the walk friendly and fun. Matthias has been noted for being personable, while Oli helped create a relaxed outing with plenty of variety. You should not assume one particular guide will lead your departure, but these examples show the kind of personal approach the company aims for.

The guide also helps with the unfamiliar items. If you have never tried Icelandic licorice, skyr ice cream, or a traditional kleina, you get context before deciding what you think. That makes the experience more useful than simply buying random candy at a shop.

For solo visitors, the small group can be a real advantage. You get a built-in activity, a short introduction to the city, and several chances to talk with the guide. Families and couples may also enjoy it, though very young children may not have the patience for a full two-hour walk with sightseeing between samples.

Is $90 a good value?

The tour costs $90 per person. That is not cheap for two hours, so the value depends on how much you want the explanation and local guidance.

If you bought similar pastries, chocolate, ice cream, and candy on your own, you could probably spend less. You would also need to find the shops, work out what to order, and miss the background on Icelandic flavors. The tour price covers the guide, the walking route, and samples at several stops, not just one dessert.

The strongest value comes if you are curious about food and want a short, organized introduction to Reykjavik. It is less appealing if you are simply looking for a large meal or a bargain snack tour. Portions are tasting portions, and the selection is subject to the day and season.

I would treat this as a food and orientation experience, not lunch. You may leave with plenty of sugar in your system, but you should still plan a proper meal later.

Practical details before you book

The tour lasts two hours and is conducted in English. It is wheelchair accessible, and it starts and ends at Ingólfur Square. The maximum group size is 12, which helps keep the stops manageable.

Wear weather-appropriate clothing. That means more than comfortable shoes. Reykjavik weather can make a short walk feel much longer if you are underdressed, and the tour includes outdoor stretches between shops.

The activity allows free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start for a full refund. You can also reserve now and pay later, which is useful if your Iceland schedule is still changing. Check the available starting times when booking, since the exact departures are not listed here.

The samples depend on the season, day, and time. If you have allergies or dietary restrictions, ask the provider before booking so you know what can be accommodated. The available information confirms other choices for people who do not like licorice, but it does not promise a particular allergy menu.

Who should book the Icelandic Sweet Tooth Tour?

I would choose this tour if you enjoy bakeries, candy, ice cream, and small local food discoveries. It is especially useful on your first day in Reykjavik, when the walk can help you learn the center and collect ideas for later meals.

It also suits solo visitors who want a light social activity, couples looking for something playful, and families with older children who enjoy trying unusual flavors. The small group and friendly guide make it easy to ask questions without turning the experience into a formal lecture.

I would skip it if you dislike sweets, want a full meal, or prefer to explore food shops at your own speed. You can recreate some of the route independently for less money, but you will lose the guide’s explanations and the convenient sequence of stops.

For most people with a serious sweet tooth, the best reason to book is the mix: traditional pastries, Icelandic chocolate, mild licorice, ice cream, candy, and a few unexpected savory tastes. That range gives you a pleasant introduction to everyday Icelandic treats, with enough city walking to keep the afternoon from becoming one long sugar rush.

FAQ

Where does the Icelandic Sweet Tooth Tour start?

The tour starts at Ingólfur Square in central Reykjavik, by the two stone pillars in front of Center Hotels Plaza at Aðalstræti 6.

Where does the tour finish?

The activity ends back at Ingólfur Square, the same place where it begins.

How long does the tour last?

The tour lasts two hours. Starting times vary, so check availability when booking.

What food and drinks are included?

The tour includes samples of pastries, sweets, and ice cream. Possible treats include kleina, snúður, Icelandic chocolate, licorice, Draumur, Þristur, and skyr ice cream. The exact selection changes by season, day, and time.

Is the tour conducted in English?

Yes. The tour has a live English-speaking guide.

Can I cancel or pay later?

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund. You can also reserve your place and pay later.