The WOW citybike guide to Reykjavik

This summer WOW air will continue its side venture in Reykjavik with the WOW citybike bike sharing service, giving citizens and guests of Reykjavík a chance to better explore the capital of Iceland on their own.

Eight WOW citybike stations have now been set up in Reykjavik for the summer, providing affordable access to bikes for short distance trips, giving riders an easy and fun way to get to know Reykjavik.

BUS&BIKE DAYPASS

The WOW citybike stations are mainly in the center of Reykjavik but sometimes you need to get a little bit further to see more of the city. This is why we’ve teamed up with Strætó (Reykjavik’s public bus system) so you can enjoy the benefits of using both their yellow buses and the purple WOW citybikes in one very reasonably priced day pass.

Download the Strætó app to your smartphone and purchase the Bus&Bike day pass. The app will give you a code to use for the WOW citybike stations, giving you four 30-minute rides for the next 24 hours. When renting a bicycle you will need to use your credit card and the code each time. A small insurance fee will be processed from your card. Input the Bus&Bike code and you are ready to roll.

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The insurance fee will be returned to you within 24 hours of returning the bike. When renting a bike with the Bus&Bike code please note that you cannot take a ride that’s longer than 30 minutes at a time without getting charged for an additional half hour. To fully utilize the Bus&Bike daypass, return the bike within 30 minutes and then take it out again.

THE BEST LOCATIONS IN TOWN

We like to think of the WOW citybike as a delightful addition to other public transport systems in Reykjavik. To help you navigate the city, we’ve come up with the perfect WOW citybike travel guide based on our strategically placed WOW citybike locations.

HLEMMUR MATHÖLL

One of Reykjavik’s biggest bus terminals Hlemmur has now been transformed into a bustling food hall with 10 ambitious vendors providing a sample of the best food Iceland has to offer. Close to Hlemmur, more delicious restaurants, bars, and cafés have sprouted over the past few years, making this area a lively spot and a great place to hang out.

Hlemmur is the best place to start if you want to amble down the Laugarvegur Shopping Street and end in the center of Reykjavik.

LAUGARDALSLAUG SWIMMING POOL

Do not let the tag “public pool” fool you. Icelanders are comfort creatures so many of our public pools are more like a spa than just a simple pool. The biggest and most popular is Laugardalslaug which has intensive facilities, including a 50m outdoor pool, a children’s pool, waterslides, numerous hot tubs, a steam bath, gym and more.

Laugardalslaug is situated at the edge of Laugardalur Valley, a major green area in the city and a center for sports and recreation in the capital. Here you’ll find a youth hostel, a campsite, a botanical garden, a café and the Reykjavik Family Park and Zoo which includes most Icelandic animals, both wild and domesticated. Laugardalur Valley is also the location for the Secret Solstice, Reykjavik’s largest annual music festival (see page 84-85). A little further away is the Laugardalshöll Arena and Reykjavik Art Museum’s Ásmundarsafn.

HILTON NORDICA INTERSECTION

This WOW citybike station is designed to help guests from the numerous nearby hotels get downtown, either by direct route to Hlemmur or by the scenic route by the sea to the Arnarhóll Station, or to Laugardalslaug.

Roll towards the sea, down Kringlumýrarbraut Street, to check out the ocean front view and the famous Sun Voyager sculpture by the sea before you venture past the Harpa Concert Hall and dock your bike beneath Arnarhóll Hill.

Ride straight ahead to get to the Hlemmur Station and Laugavegur Shopping Street.

Go green and bike through Laugardalur Valley before docking your bike at the Laugardalslaug Swimming Pool.

ARNARHÓLL HILL

This is as downtown Reykjavik as it gets. Beneath Arnarhóll Hill, with its statue of Ingólfur Arnarson (the first permanent settler of Iceland and the one who gave Reykjavík its name), you are in the vicinity of many interesting buildings, museums, shops and restaurants. The most noticeable is, of course, the gorgeous Harpa Concert Hall with its distinctive colored glass façade. Close by is the white Government House, originally built as a prison in the 18th century.

Walk up Hverfisgata or Laugarvegur to find numerous restaurants and shops, or go further into Reykjavik’s city center by taking a slow stroll into Austurstræti Street and its side streets to find “Old Reykjavik.”

HALLGRÍMSKIRKJA CHURCH

Hallgrímskirkja Church towers over Reykjavik and offers a great view over Reykjavik if you buy a ticket to get to the top of its 73-meter spire, but even if you don’t, just go there to enjoy this great example of expressionist architecture. The motifs come from Iceland’s nature, such as basalt formations, mountains and icecaps. In front of the church is the statue of Leif Eriksson, aka Leif the Lucky, who is believed to be the first European to set foot in America 500 years before that Columbus guy. Nearby are countless museums, designer boutiques, galleries, restaurants and bars on Skólavörðustígur and its side streets and Laugavegur Shopping Street is just around the corner.

AURORA REYKJAVIK – GRANDI HARBOR

Grandi Harbor is still a main hub of the local fishing industry but in recent years the area has been transformed in an innovative and exciting way, becoming a great food district as well as a fashionable part of town. Try out some local favorites such as the family-owned Coocoo’s Nest, Valdís ice cream and 17 Sortir cakes, all found in the cute little baiting huts, as well as Bryggjan microbrewery and bistro. A street food hall, Grandi Mathöll, recently opened in a refurbished fish factory featuring 9 artisanal food stands offering Icelandic fish and meat. There are also some great attractions here such as Aurora Reykjavik, The Whales of Iceland Exhibition, the Saga Museum, Víking Maritime Museum and numerous boutique shops. Our WOW citybike station is at the entrance of Grandi Harbor by Aurora Reykjavik Northern Lights Center and we fully recommend starting or ending your trip to the area with a visit there.

PERLAN – THE PEARL

This famous Reykjavik landmark just became a WOW citibike hub and with good reason. In the heart of Reykjavík, Öskjuhlíð Hill rises 61 meters above sea level. On the top of the hill stands Perlan, one of the most visited attractions in Iceland. A landmark building composed of an immense glass dome that rests on six hot-water tanks. Perlan was first opened to the public in June 1991 and became the home of the biggest nature exhibition in Iceland in 2017.

All around Perlan, the popular recreational area of Öskjuhlíð Hill awaits. This is the perfect station to rent a bike to go to Nauthólsvík Beach, Hallgrímskirkja Church or to downtown Reykjavik at Arnarhóll Hill.

NAUTHÓLSVÍK BEACH

A short ride downhill from Perlan, you’ll find Nautholsvik Geothermal Beach. With its golden sand and hot water, this has become a little piece of paradise and a popular spot for sea-swimming all year round, and sunbathing, weather permitting. This is also the perfect spot for sunbathing at midnight and dipping into the Atlantic Ocean without freezing your butt off.

Within large sea walls the cold sea and hot geothermal water blend together resulting in a more favorable temperature than usually offered by the North Atlantic Ocean. Over the summer, guests can expect a water temperature of around 15°-19°. If that’s too cold for you, we recommend a dip in the hot tub by the beach.

THEY SEE ME ROLLIN

We hope to see everyone riding bikes in Reykja - vik this summer, using them as an environ - mentally friendly mode of transporta tion while sight seeing in Iceland’s capital city.

Find your WOW citybike station and start riding. For more information go to www.wowcitybike.com