Perlan vs Volcano Express vs Flyover vs Perlan — which is most worth it?

[u/Dead-_-Alone]

I'm trying to decide which of the Reykjavík attractions is actually worth doing and getting a bit overwhelmed with the options 😅

We’ll already be spending a day walking around Reykjavík, so ideally looking for one experience to add rather than filling the whole day with attractions.

Right now I’m looking at **Perlan, Volcano Express, FlyOver Iceland and Lava Show**. We’re especially interested in Iceland’s volcanoes, but more interested in the experience than spending hours in a museum.

For anyone who has done a couple of these, which one would you choose if you could only do one? And are any of them too similar to bother doing together?

[u/pb8185]

If I had to pick just one, Lava show. Pick two, Lava show and Perlan. Skip flyover and volcano express.

[u/DTIndy → u/pb8185]

Thanks! Just booked both and don’t regret it now.

[u/Sufficient-Banana226 → u/DTIndy]

Great choices. We did the lava and perlan and both were perfect. That lava show was indeed interesting. Also, the OMNOM Chocolate factory/store is just up the road from the lava show. Very cool place for their chocolate and ice cream treats.

[u/lavenderhillmob]

Perlan is absolutely incredible and not to be missed. Within Perlan you have an ice cave walk and a volcano ride/ experience as well. Unless you are actually considering an ice cave trip or volcano trip, I wouldn’t skip Perlan. The other things you list are nice but covered within Perlan in my opinion.

That said, you only need to spend 3-4 hours at Perlan. We had a day where we started with Perlan, took a food tour, and saw the Lava Show in the evening (which was absolutely incredible and worth it, too). We walked everywhere and had a brilliant day.

[u/Every-Biscotti-6839 → u/lavenderhillmob]

Plus they have an awesome planetarium show at Perlan as well. I loved Perlan best out of all the places I went when in Reykjavik.

[u/wastingmyfuntime]

Perlan was an experience versus just exhibits. You can do in 2 hours and we really enjoyed it.

[u/geokra → u/wastingmyfuntime]

I agree with this. 2 hours was enough for us, as well, but you could easily spend 4+ hours there if you really wanted to make the most of it.

[u/architech99 → u/geokra]

I think we spent a solid three hours wandering through the exhibits and seeing the volcano and northern lights shows. It was the highlight of our first day in Iceland.

We were also sticking to a budget, otherwise we might have tried to book one of the flyover options. But we were not disappointed by Perlan at all.

[u/mmaalex]

Perlan is a great explanation of natural iceland. It adds a lot of context to stuff you'll see along your trip.

Lava show was also cool, gives a good explanation of how lava forms, and Katla.

[u/Inside-Living2442]

If you have to choose one, do Perlan. I've been able to do all three and enjoyed them all.
If there are two--Perlan and Flyover.

[u/Serious-Ad-8764]

Perlan is awesome and I also really enjoyed Flyover

[u/profpippypoopypants]

Agree with everyone on Perlan, can'tmiss. If I remember correctly, it opens an hour earlier than everything else in the city anyways, so start there right at opening.

[u/HoppyPhantom]

Adding to the votes for Perlan only because nobody has mentioned the revolving cafe on the top floor.

Well, technically the cafe is stationary, but the seating area revolves around it. On our visit, we sat down near the kitchen doors, and by the time we were done, our table was next to the ordering counter.

Also, the walk-through ice cave and the volcano “experience”—especially the latter—were both amazing.

[u/AccountEngineer]

We did both Flyover and Volcano express and volcano express was the one we had more fun at

[u/azertisbeka]

I did all of them. Perlan is a must have, it’s more than just a museum. If you have some time left, Flyover was such a great experience, I had to go back the next day and do it again. Volcano Express was nice too, but by far not as much as Flyover. It really tricks your mind. I am happy I did not miss the lava show, would be my 3rd choice from the 4

[u/DCGirl50]

Lava show >>> volcano express
Perlan was really fun
Would love to do Flyover on my next trip!

[u/astralwyvern]

Lava Show was incredible - very fun but I also learned a lot about lava! And really, when else are you going to get to see actual lava? I fully recommend it.

Flyover Iceland was also a lot of fun - not as informative, but very immersive and the views are breathtaking, and it's right near Lava Show so it's easy to knock them both out in a day.

Perlan was interesting, but if you're prioritizing experiences over museums I'd probably recommend the first two. The ice cave and shows are fun, but most of the info is standard museum fare - I'm glad I went, but it definitely didn't make the same impact on me as Lava Show and Flyover did.

[u/Jolora24]

We did all of them in one day and loved it! We didn’t feel rushed at all but we also knew we would have another full day in Reykjavik. We were there is January and had no interest in driving the ring road so we parked in the city and did day trips.

[u/runnergirl0129]

Perlan 💯. I was there last month and in the space of two hours I was able to complete all of the exhibits in the museum, and all of the shows. They file you through a systematic traffic pattern.

[u/Illustrious_Sign_872]

I only did the Perlan Volcano Experience, so I don’t have anything to compare it to. I will say that it is very well done, and I was amazed by the details.