Supermarkets in Iceland include Bonus, Kronan, and Netto, all with stores across Iceland. Food and everyday groceries are also sold in petrol station shops run by companies including N1 and Olis. Ordinary supermarkets can sell drinks at or below 2.25 percent alcohol by volume.
Which supermarket chains operate in Iceland
Bonus is a discount supermarket chain with stores across Iceland. Kronan is a supermarket chain with stores across Iceland. Netto is also a supermarket chain with stores across Iceland.
Food shopping is not limited to supermarket chains. Petrol station companies including N1 and Olis run shops that sell food and everyday groceries alongside fuel. That means grocery buying in Iceland includes both standard supermarkets and petrol station shops.
How the retail network changes outside the capital
Most of Iceland's population lives in and around the capital, Reykjavik. Route 1, known as the Ring Road, connects the towns and regions around Iceland.
For grocery shopping outside Reykjavik, the practical point is that supermarkets and petrol station shops exist in a country where towns and regions are linked by Route 1. The shape of the network outside the capital follows those connected towns and regions, rather than a single urban area.
Why you won't find wine or spirits on the shelf
Icelandic law defines alcohol as any drink containing more than 2.25 percent alcohol by volume. The State Alcohol and Tobacco Company of Iceland, which operates under the name Vinbudin, holds the exclusive legal right to retail alcohol sales in Iceland.
Drinks at or below the 2.25 percent threshold are not legally defined as alcohol under that law. Because of that, those drinks can be sold in ordinary supermarkets rather than only through Vinbudin.
Self-catering: what a supermarket shop covers
Iceland's price level for food and non-alcoholic beverages is well above the EU average, so the choice between eating out and cooking for yourself carries more weight here than in many destinations. Self-catering means buying groceries and preparing meals where you are staying instead of eating every meal in a restaurant.
The chains above stock the ordinary weekly shop, and supermarkets across Iceland also sell skyr, a traditional Icelandic dairy product.
Tap water is free and safe to drink
Icelandic regulation requires public drinking water to be free from microorganisms, parasites, and substances in a quantity that could affect human health.
Refilling a bottle from the tap is therefore part of ordinary self-catering here, and there is no need to buy bottled water for everyday drinking.
Find the nearest supermarket or convenience store
Use the supermarket finder to look up the nearest supermarket or convenience store anywhere in Iceland.
This is useful in Reykjavik and outside the capital area, since it covers supermarkets and convenience stores across Iceland.
Fit your grocery costs into your overall trip budget
Use the trip budget tool to estimate overall trip costs, including food.
Groceries are only one part of a trip budget, so it helps to place food costs alongside the rest of your travel spending in a single estimate.
Comparing Reykjavik tours
If you also want to compare sightseeing options in the capital, compare Reykjavik tours at /tours/reykjavik.
That page is separate from grocery planning, but it is a straightforward place to compare options in Reykjavik while organizing the rest of your trip.
