Parking in Reykjavik - Where to Park and How to Pay
I’m going to keep this as simple as possible for you. Parking in downtown Reykjavik is easy to find and just like any downtown, there are metered spots and zones. So let’s go over it.
FREE PARKING
Street parking is free before 9 AM and after 6 PM on weekdays. It’s free on Saturdays before 10 AM and after 4 PM. And free on Sundays! Parking is also free on holidays so check their holiday schedule.
METERED PARKING
There are different parking zones that have different rates. I parked in the Blue/P2 zone as it was the closest to my hotel but I was mostly gone during the day. So if you really want to budget your spending on parking, time it to be driving during the day on weekdays and exploring the city on Sundays when parking is free!
I included the zones and some rough estimates rates are below.
Red/Pink Zone: Area P1 - 385 ISK ($2.81) per hour.
Blue Zone: Area P2 - 200 ISK ($1.46) per hour
Green Zone: Area P3 - 200 ISK ($1.46) for first 2 hours then 55 ISK ($0.40) per hour
Orange Zone: Area P4 - Only have to pay during weekdays 200 ISK ($1.46)
HOW TO PAY FOR PARKING
There are different options to pay: by cash at the meter, by credit card at the meter, or on an app. I used the app called Parka. I found that I was able to use it all around Iceland whenever I had to pay for parking at the national parks. It’s super easy to use!
Set up your account by inputting your credit card and license plate information. The map will be interactive and you can move your car around to set it in the zone (personally, I love this part of the app and wish we had it in Chicago, I would get less parking tickets).
So, you move the car into the colored zone you are parking in, the signs on the street are also color coded making it easy to identify. Select ‘park at…’ then follow the steps to confirm the parking time and amount. Once you ‘check in’ to confirm, don’t hit the check out button until you are ready to end your parking session. If it’s 6 PM and parking doesn’t require a fee after that, it will automatically check you out and email you a receipt.
You also have the option to enable pay by plate which allows you to drive in and out and will charge you accordingly without checking in and out. Overall, paying for parking is extremely easy since you can do it all from your phone!
PARKING GARAGES
There are also 6 different parking garages you can park in if you are visiting in the winter months and want to have shelter for the car. The car parks hours of operation are 7 AM to midnight so it’s important to know that you won’t be able to get your car in and out outside of those hours. I also discovered Parkopedia that will give you all the parking options, prices, and hours near you.
Parking was a concern of mine because nothing is more stressful or infuriating than trying to find a parking spot but you’ll find that it’s accessible here. You can also ask your accommodation what they recommend for parking and they will be able to point you in the right direction.
