A convenience store in Iceland is a small shop with a limited grocery range. It is usually one of four things: a 10-11, a Krambúðin, a Kvikk or Spar in town, or a shop attached to a petrol forecourt. These shops stay open longer than discount supermarkets, and the same items cost more there.

The difference matters particularly outside the capital area. In many places, the small shop is the only shop available.

What counts as a convenience store here

Icelandic food retail does not fit neatly into the categories of supermarket and corner shop. The finder behind this site includes both, because visitors often search for either one, and because the distinction becomes less useful in rural Iceland.

Range and opening hours are the practical dividing lines. A discount supermarket carries enough for a full weekly shop and closes in the evening. A convenience store has milk, bread, snacks, ready meals and a limited selection of other groceries, while staying open later into the night.

The chains you will actually see

10-11 is the late-opening convenience chain most associated with the capital. Its shops are concentrated in central Reykjavík and around Keflavík. Krambúðin serves a similar purpose outside the capital, with branches across the north, the south coast, the west and the Westfjords.

Kvikk and Spar are two other names to recognise in the capital area. Both operate small-format shops with long hours. Drekinn in Reykjavík stays open late into the evening, though not around the clock.

Petrol forecourts add another group of shops. N1 and Olís both operate stores beside their pumps. In rural areas, these are often the default option because they are present where no other shop exists and keep hours that town supermarkets do not.

The gas station finder covers the same forecourts from the fuel side, which is useful when you are combining a food stop with filling the tank.

Why the same basket costs more

Icelandic tax is not the reason. Groceries are charged at the reduced rate of value added tax, and the shelf price already includes it. The guide to Iceland food prices explains the tax treatment in more detail.

The difference comes from how small shops operate. They sell less stock, restock in smaller quantities and serve customers who have chosen to buy immediately instead of waiting for a cheaper option. On a driving day, the clock often makes that choice for you, and the extra cost is then hardest to avoid.

Provision in a town before leaving it when you can. Buying food at a pump several hours later is usually the less economical option.

Where the small shop is the only shop

Roughly half of Iceland's grocery outlets are in the capital region. The remainder are distributed across a country the size of a mid-sized European state, including along the Ring Road, where the distance between shops can be well over a hundred kilometres.

Kjörbúðin and Krambúðin account for a large share of the options outside the capital region. Kjörbúðin has no branch in the capital region, while Krambúðin is mainly found beyond it. On a Ring Road drive, those two chains and the forecourt shops make up many of the places where you can buy groceries.

What they cannot sell you

Convenience stores in Iceland do not sell wine, beer or spirits above the low-alcohol threshold. Retail alcohol is handled exclusively by the state chain Vínbúðin, which has restricted opening hours and requires a separate stop. More detail is available in the guide to buying alcohol in Iceland.

The restriction often becomes apparent on a Sunday evening, when a forecourt shop may be the only business still open in town. It will sell low-alcohol beer, but not the alcohol sold through Vínbúðin.

Find the nearest one

The supermarket and grocery finder lets you sort recorded supermarkets and convenience stores by distance from your location. You can also filter by region before setting out.

Where available, opening hours are listed for each store. They come from volunteer mapping, so they are a useful indication rather than a guarantee.

Compare Reykjavík tours

If shopping stops are part of your wider itinerary, compare current options at Reykjavík tours.