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Sat on top of a hill less than a mile outside of Reykjavik is the Perlan Museum, housed in a huge glass dome, the Perlan is hard to miss. It has been undergoing a renovation over the last couple of years and is now open to the public again.
On our last day in Iceland the weather really took a turn for the worse and between gale force winds and heavy rain we decided that a museum day would be a good idea. Especially as we went to Hallgrimskirkja on our first day in Reykjavik all ready. I had read about the Perlan Museum and it’s observation deck and as I’m a sucker for a good view. I decided that we must visit.
Now the Perlan runs a free shuttle bus from outside the Harpa Concert Hall, this is near the Sun Voyager sculpture. There is a bus every half an hour and it is easy to find. It is covered in Perlan Museum branding. It is a short ride to the museum, once inside you can either pay to enter the museum and ice cave, the observation deck or just go to the restaurant or cafe on the top floor.
We choose to visit the ice cave and look around the glacier exhibition, also included in this price was the observation deck.
The ice cave was one of the best parts of the museum, at -10c it mimics an actual ice cave that can be found on a glacier only much colder. You are given a guided tour around the maze of tunnels by a member of staff that is clued up about all things ice cave related. The tour was in English and there was around 10 of us went into the cave. We spent around a quarter of an hour in the ice cave and this included time after the guided tour to wander around and take any extra photos we wanted too. There was also a warm fleece jacket that you could wear if you felt like your coat wouldn’t keep you warm enough. Do we warned though after 10mins my camera decided it hated the cold and stopped working until I came outside and warmed up.
The views from the Perlan observation deck are pretty impressive, even on a day where the weather was against us. 360 degrees around the glass dome roof gave us views that took our breath away. I can only imagine what it would of been like on a clear day!
Cost
An Adult Ticket is 2900isk (approx. £20, $28)
A Teenager Ticket is 1450isk and Children under 5 are free
There is also family ticket for 5800isk which covers 2 adults and 2 children/teens
Is it worth visiting the Perlan Museum?
Even though it is not a cheap activity, yes I think it is worth visiting the Perlan. The ice cave tour was guided and the ticket price also included the observation deck, 360 degree views over Reykjavik are amazing even more so if the weather isn’t blowing a gale. In 2018 new exhibitions are also set to open and these look really good. So if you are torn and not sure about paying £20pp I’d say go for it, especially if you are going when the new planetarium opens Fall 2018.
