Sweet cravings meet city culture in Reykjavik. This guided walk turns downtown stops into a treat trail with real flavor stories. I like the fact that you sample multiple types of Icelandic sweets, not just one or two. I also love that the guide points you toward places to eat and drink after the tour.

A quick word of caution: the tour is heavy on desserts and you’ll walk outdoors, so plan for cold or rain. Also, Icelandic licorice shows up a lot, though guides do provide other options if you prefer not to go there. I’m glad the group stays small, up to 12 people, because it makes it easier to ask questions and keep the pace comfortable.

Key points to know before you go

• Small group, big variety: up to 12 people, with samples of pastry, sweets, and ice cream across several stops.
• Real Iceland flavors, not just generic sweets: kleina, snúður, Icelandic chocolate, and candies like Draumur and Þristur (depending on the stop and season).
• Licorice is not as scary as it sounds: the tour frames Icelandic licorice as sweet and mild, plus you may see ingredient stories like birch sugar and wild berries.
• A practical downtown sightseeing tie-in: a guided segment on Laugavegur helps you connect flavors to places.
• Learn how bakers and makers do it: you get history and behind-the-scenes context at the food stops.
• Two hours that fit your day: it’s long enough to feel like an experience, short enough to keep momentum for more Reykjavik.

Getting Started at Ingólfur Square and the Two-Hour Rhythm

You start at Ingólfur Square, right by the two tall stone pillars (over 3 meters high). The guide meets you there, typically wearing a light blue jacket with Your Friend in Reykjavik on the back. It’s a good setup because it’s central, easy to find, and you’re already in the right mood for strolling and snacking.

The tour runs about 2 hours, which is an ideal length for a Reykjavik day. You’re not stuck for half a day, and you’re also not rushing through one “quick bite” after another. The pacing is walk-and-sample, plus a bit of guided sightseeing, including a segment down Laugavegur, the main shopping street.

Because Reykjavik weather can change fast, wear weather-appropriate clothing. Even if the tour is mostly short distances, you’ll feel the wind when you step outside between stops. Bring layers so you can adjust without getting annoyed.

Meeting Your Guide in a Small Group, and Why That Matters for Value

One of the best parts of this tour is the format: it’s a small-group guided walk with a maximum of 12 people. That size is big enough to feel social, but small enough for your guide to actually connect with you. You get room to ask questions about what you’re tasting, and you also hear the kind of practical advice that makes the rest of your trip easier.

I especially like that this is led by Your Friend in Reykjavik guides, who are positioned to share local recommendations. In the guide names that show up in the experience, you might meet Matthias or Oli. You’ll want a guide who can explain not just what you’re eating, but why it’s a Reykjavik thing to eat and gift those sweets at specific shops.

At $90 per person, you’re paying for three things at once: guided walking, structured tastings across several types of Icelandic sweets, and the guide’s insider recommendations. If you try to DIY this on your own, you’d likely spend time figuring out where to go, then pay for multiple items separately without the flavor context. Here, you get the “path” and the samples bundled together.

The First Stops on a Sweet Walk: From Kleina to Classic Pastry

The tour begins with a brief guided orientation at Ingólfur Square. It’s short, but it helps you settle in and understand how the walk will flow through downtown. Then you head to a local bakery stop for tastings.

At the bakery, you’re looking at traditional Icelandic pastries such as kleina, which is a deep-fried doughnut-like pastry. This is exactly the kind of treat that makes an Iceland sweets tour worth doing. It’s not just “someone sells donuts.” It’s a specific Icelandic pastry with a distinct story and texture, and you get that context from your guide.

Depending on the day and season, you might also see other favorites like snúður, a unique cinnamon roll style. One review highlighted Danish pastry as a standout, which tells me this isn’t limited to one Iceland-only item. The goal is variety, so you’re tasting enough to form an opinion about what you actually like.

A practical tip: don’t treat this as your only food for the morning or afternoon. Even though it’s sweet-focused, you’re still sampling several items, and the tour timing is about 2 hours. If you arrive hungry, you’ll have a better time enjoying flavors rather than just chasing sugar.

Laugavegur Sightseeing: How Dessert Stops Fit Real Downtown Life

There’s a guided sightseeing segment on Laugavegur, Reykjavik’s main shopping street. This matters more than it sounds. Reykjavik downtown can be visually similar block to block when you’re new, and a guided walk helps you connect the dots between street names, landmarks, and where the specialty shops actually sit.

During this portion, you’re not just walking. Your guide is there to explain culinary culture along the way, so you’re mentally “placing” each tasting in the geography of the city. It’s a good reset too, especially if you’re doing other sightseeing that day.

This stop also helps with decision-making later. Once you see the area with a guide, you can return to the shops you liked with more confidence. The guide’s recommendations are part of the value, because you don’t have to guess which stores are worth your time.

Chocolate and Licorice: Iceland’s Mild-Sweet Twist on a Polarizing Flavor

A specialty shop stop is built around Icelandic chocolate. This is where your tour can really take off, because Icelandic chocolate has some ingredient traits you don’t always see elsewhere, like licorice, birch sugar, and local wild berries.

A key detail that makes this tour more approachable: Icelandic licorice is sweet and mild. That’s a big deal if you worry that licorice tastes like black rope and disappointment. Even if you’re not a licorice fan, the tour is designed to give options. You might still get exposed to licorice pairings, but you shouldn’t feel forced into eating something you hate.

You may see chocolates such as Draumur, and you might get offered a classic combo like Þristur, which pairs licorice with chocolate. If that sounds like a weird pairing, it probably is. That’s also why it’s interesting. Icelandic sweets often lean into flavors that are local and familiar to residents, even if they feel unfamiliar to you.

From a practical standpoint, take small bites so you can taste the different notes. If you go all in on a licorice-forward chocolate right away, you might miss the subtler sweetness or berry notes nearby. The tour is short enough that pacing matters.

Ice Cream at Ísbúðin litla Valdís: Cold, Creamy, and Seasonal

Next comes an ice cream parlor tasting at Ísbúðin litla Valdís. Ice cream is a smart inclusion because it changes the texture and temperature pace. After pastry and chocolate, something creamy gives your taste buds a new baseline.

Flavor choices can include Icelandic standouts such as licorice and possibly skyr, the Icelandic dairy product. That skyr connection is fun because skyr shows up all over Iceland as a concept, but tasting it in ice cream form is a different experience than reading about it on a menu.

Ice cream also offers a practical advantage: it’s easy to eat while the weather turns. If Reykjavik gives you a drizzle or cold wind, a guided stop inside keeps the tour comfortable without slowing it down.

If you’re watching how much sugar you’re taking in, ice cream can be your “measured indulgence” compared to heavier pastries. Just remember it’s still part of the sampling plan, so you’ll likely taste more than one item throughout the overall experience.

Final Candy Stop: From Shopping Breaks to Classic Iceland Bars

The tour wraps up with another famous candy shop tasting stop at Taste of Iceland. This is where you can indulge in Icelandic candies and sweets, which may include the iconic Draumur chocolate bar or the licorice and chocolate combo Þristur.

There may also be other candy options depending on the season and timing. This matters because Icelandic sweets can be seasonal, and the exact mix of what you sample depends on the day. Your tour is structured to guarantee you still get plenty of pastry, sweets, and more, even if the lineup shifts.

One detail that’s worth noting because it adds variety: you might even get a savory element mixed into what you try, like dried fish. That’s not a guarantee, but it shows the tour isn’t only about sugar overload. It’s still a sweet-focused tour, but it can include Icelandic food flavors that aren’t strictly dessert.

As you finish, you’ll be ready for more walking around downtown, not just collapsing. That’s part of the design: the tour is indulgent but paced well enough that you can keep exploring after.

Price and Value: What $90 Buys in Real-World Terms

At $90 per person for about two hours, the tour costs more than a casual dessert stop. But you’re not paying just for sweets.

You’re paying for:

• a guided route through downtown with short sightseeing segments
• a small group experience that keeps the pace manageable
• expert guidance and tastings that cover multiple categories, including pastry, chocolate, and ice cream
• local recommendations you can use immediately afterward

If you tried to DIY this, you might spend time choosing stores, translate menus on the fly, and risk picking places that are either overpriced or not the classics you want. This tour does that work for you and packages it into a single, timed experience.

The other value piece is confidence. When a guide explains the history and how bakers and makers do things, you’re not just eating, you’re learning what to look for when you see the same brands later in gift shops.

Who Should Book This Sweet Tooth Tour (and Who Might Skip It)

This tour is a great match if you:

• want a fun first-day activity to get your bearings in Reykjavik
• love tasting multiple Icelandic sweets in one go
• like food stories and ingredient explanations, not just bite-size sampling
• appreciate having a guide steer you to good shops you might miss on your own

It’s less ideal if you:

• hate walking in cold or wet weather and dislike outdoor time
• strongly dislike licorice flavors, even though options exist
• are very sensitive to sugar and want to keep your day lighter

One more honest note: because it’s a sweet route, come hungry enough to enjoy, but not so hungry that you feel frantic. If you’re already in sugar overload mode from earlier dessert stops, you may want to scale back other treats that day so the tour feels like a treat, not a battle.

Should You Book the Reykjavik Sweet Tooth Tour?

I’d book this if you want a compact, guided way to understand Icelandic sweets and turn downtown Reykjavik into a flavorful scavenger hunt. The small group size, the variety of samples across pastry, chocolate, ice cream, and candy, and the guide’s practical recommendations are the big reasons it works.

If you do licorice, you’ll likely have a great time with the Icelandic licorice angle and possible classics like Þristur. If you don’t do licorice, you can still enjoy the experience, just go in with a flexible mindset and tell your guide what you want to avoid.

If you’re planning Reykjavik around food, this is one of the easiest ways to add local taste and local context without turning your day into complicated logistics.

FAQ

What is the duration of the Reykjavik Icelandic Sweet Tooth tour?

The tour lasts about 2 hours.

Where does the tour meet?

The guide meets you at Ingólfur Square in the center of Reykjavik, by the two stone pillars.

What does the tour include?

You get an expert guide and samples of Icelandic pastry, sweets, and ice cream.

How big is the group?

It is a small group tour with a maximum of 12 people.

What languages is the tour offered in?

The live guide speaks English.

Is the tour wheelchair accessible?

Yes, the tour is listed as wheelchair accessible.

Do I need to wear a certain kind of clothing?

You should wear weather-appropriate clothing.

How do I find the meeting point in Reykjavik?

Use Google Maps if possible, and arrive at Ingólfur Square at least 5 minutes early so the guide can find you easily.

Is licorice included?

Licorice flavors are part of the tour, and there are also other options if you do not like licorice.

What cancellation options are available?

Free cancellation is offered up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund.