A small number of apps downloaded to your cell phone will make Iceland much easier to navigate. I’m talking road conditions, parking, weather, even where to find a decent happy hour, and getting them downloaded before you land turns a lot of potential stress into a non-issue. Don’t think of this as a random list, but more as a practical toolkit, most of it free, all of it worth having on your phone before you’re standing in a passport control queue trying to remember what you meant to install. Here’s our guide to the apps you’ll need for Iceland…
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If you’re putting together your own list of Iceland essential apps before your trip, I’ll run through them by category: navigation and road conditions, weather, parking, transport, connectivity, tours and booking, fuel, currency, hiking, translation, nightlife, and the one seasonal app worth having if you’re chasing the northern lights. There’s even an app for finding toilets in Iceland. Not every app here will matter for every trip, but between them, they cover almost everything you’ll actually need. My must-have list is right at the end; see if you agree with it.
I’ve grouped them into logical lists, some you might view as alternatives (Vedur versus Yr.no for instance), and I’ve given my reasons where I think which is best.
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Navigation & Road Condition Apps for Iceland
If you’re taking a tour of Iceland, visiting on a cruise, or not renting a car and taking day trips from Reykjavik, then these are of lesser importance to you.
Road.is
road.is — Iceland’s official road conditions site, color-coded by route (green for clear, red for closed), genuinely essential before any drive outside Reykjavik. Free, web-based, no app install needed. We’ve got a full breakdown of how to read it in our guide to driving in Iceland.
Google Maps
Google Maps (offline) — works well across Iceland generally, and downloading the offline map before you go means you’re not stranded if you lose signal somewhere remote. Free, iOS and Android.
112 Iceland
112 Iceland — the country’s official emergency app, built around a one-tap button that sends your GPS location and a text to emergency services, originally designed for the deaf community but genuinely useful for anyone in a spot with poor signal for a call. Free, iOS and Android. We cover this in more detail in our guide to SIM and eSIM options for Iceland.
Safetravel.is
Safetravel.is — lets you register your travel plan so authorities know roughly where you are if something goes wrong, plus the same color-coded road map as road.is layered with live weather warnings. Definitely one to have if you are traveling in any form of inclement weather. Free, web-based.
Krapp.is
Now you could argue (and I’m sure that you will)that this isn’t a navigation app, but honestly it is. This is an app for where you can find toilets in Iceland. Because whether you’re bouncing between Iceland’s waterfalls, or simply driving to your next stop, knowing when you can take a call of nature is important, no matter what your age. So this is Krapp. The app for finding toilets in Iceland. And it’s user-driven. So find another toilet? Add it on. Pay it forward.
Weather Apps for Traveling Iceland
Regardless of how you visit Iceland, knowing what the weather is going to be like is really important, not least for what you need to pack in your day pack- layers, always layers.
Vedur
Vedur — Iceland’s own national weather service, and a solid choice for a standard trip sticking to the Ring Road and main sights. Free, iOS and Android, though the app itself can be a little clunky; the website is more reliable.
Yr.no
yr.no — run by the Norwegian Meteorological Institute, and worth switching to specifically if you’re heading into the Highlands; it’s had a reputation for being more consistently accurate. Free, iOS and Android.
Windy
Windy — a good visual option for seeing wind patterns and storm systems move across the country at a glance. Free (with a paid tier), iOS and Android.
Parking Apps for Iceland
If there’s one thing that causes discussion in Iceland, it’s parking fees. In most places you’ll be able to pay via a kiosk, but there are some places where you can’t, and some where you might not want to line up to pay. So here are the parking apps for Iceland.
Full details on how these actually work, including the zone system and fine escalation, are in our guide to parking in Iceland.
Parka
Parka — covers most tourist attraction parking around the country. Free to download, pay-per-use or a small monthly subscription. iOS and Android.
EasyPark
EasyPark — handles Reykjavik’s street parking zones (P1 through P4). Free to download, pay-per-use. iOS and Android.
Transport Apps for Iceland
If you’re planning to use Iceland’s public transit system, or even taxis, these are two essential apps you’ll want to download before you visit.
Hopp
Hopp — Iceland’s closest thing to ride-hailing, covering both e-scooters around Reykjavik and taxi rides. Free to download, pay-per-ride. iOS and Android.
Klappið
Klappið — the app for Strætó, Iceland’s public bus network, covering tickets and route information. Free to download, pay-per-ride or pass. iOS and Android.
Connectivity & eSIM Apps for Iceland
Getting your SIM, eSIM, or hotspot sorted is really its own topic; our guide to the best SIM and eSIM options for Iceland covers that in full.
You’ll find in Iceland that some of the Facebook Groups are great places for up-to-the-minute information, and WhatsApp will give you last-minute check-in details for hotels, guesthouses, and other Iceland accommodation.
Facebook — worth having for the various Iceland travel groups, a genuinely useful source of current, on-the-ground information; some of what’s in this very post came from exactly those groups.
WhatsApp — the easiest way to make calls home without racking up international charges.
Tour & Booking Apps for Iceland
Many of the unique things to do in Iceland are best visited in a tour or with a guide, so you’ll want to have these apps handy.
Viator and GetYourGuide both cover day tours, activities, and multi-day packages, worth comparing prices between the two before booking. Free to download, pay-per-booking. iOS and Android.
Booking.com and Airbnb — the two most-used platforms for accommodation across Iceland: guesthouses and hotels on Booking.com, more of a mix including private rentals on Airbnb. Free to download. iOS and Android.
Guidemate — a free walking tour audio guide, handy for exploring Reykjavik or other towns at your own pace without booking an actual guided tour. Free, iOS and Android.
Geothermal Exhibition app — a genuinely excellent audio guide for the Geothermal Exhibition, one of the more underrated attractions and well worth the visit. Downloadable on-site, but book your visit through their website first; even just 15 minutes ahead of arriving gets you 10% off. Read our guide to saving money in Iceland for more tips like this one.
Visiting this Geothermal Exhibition is a must-do if you’re visiting Geothermal locations in Iceland.
- Download the Geothermal Exhibition App for iOS here
- Download the Geothermal Exhibition App for Android here
Fuel Apps for Iceland
Orkan, Olís, and N1 each have their own loyalty app offering a real discount per liter over pump price, worth downloading whichever provider you’re near rather than paying full price out of habit. We cover the specific savings and how the discounts work in our guide to renting a car in Iceland.
- Orkan discounts come with a keyfob from your rental car company
- Download Olís for iOS here
- Download Olís for Android here
- Download N1 for iOS here
- Download N1 for Android here
Currency & Payment Apps for Iceland
Wise and Revolut — both offer close-to-mid-market exchange rates and minimal foreign transaction fees, genuinely useful if you’re paying by card throughout the trip. Free to download, small fees on currency conversion. iOS and Android.
Full detail on currency, cards, and ATM fees is in our guide to currency and payments in Iceland.
Currency Conversion App
XE — a straightforward currency converter and live exchange rate tracker, handy for quick mental math when you’re comparing ISK prices to home. Free, also usable directly at xe.com without installing anything. iOS and Android.
Hiking App for Iceland
AllTrails covers everything from short walks around Reykjavik to serious Highland treks, with directions, elevation, difficulty ratings, and reviews from people who’ve actually done the trail. Free, with more features unlocked on the paid tier. iOS and Android.
Translation App for Iceland
Everyone you meet in Iceland will speak English. But downloading Google Translate will help you with signage on some roads, and definitely in the supermarkets, where the labels are all, rightly, in Icelandic.
Google Translate the camera scan feature is the one to know about; point your phone at a sign or menu in Icelandic, and it translates in real time on screen. Not always perfectly accurate, but good enough to get the gist. Free, iOS and Android.
Nightlife App for Reykjavik
Barhopp — tracks happy hours around Reykjavik, in theory. We tried it ourselves and found it wasn’t fully up to date; several places listed as open weren’t, and some genuinely good happy hours weren’t listed at all. Worth a look, but don’t build a whole evening around it without a backup plan.
As a general guide, most Reykjavik happy hours run somewhere between noon and 21:00, though the exact window varies by bar. A few we’d actually recommend checking:
- 12 Tónar (noon to 19:00)
- Ægir (12:00 to 18:00)
- Little Dubliner (11:00 to 21:00)
- Micro Bar (until 19:00)
Northern Lights App for Iceland
My Aurora Forecast the one genuinely seasonal app on this list, only useful in the darker months since summer’s 24-hour daylight makes the northern lights impossible to see regardless of forecast. Free, iOS and Android.
Our Must-Have List of Apps for Iceland Recap
If you only download a handful of these before you land, make it these:
- 112 Iceland (safety)
- road.is or Safetravel.is (road conditions)
- Vedur or yr.no (weather)
- Parka and EasyPark (parking)
- Klappið or Hopp (transport)
- Krapp for finding toilets
- Google Maps, downloaded offline (navigation backup)
One last thing worth knowing, even if you never use it: Íslendingabók is a genealogy site Icelanders use to check how closely they’re related to each other, dating back to the Viking age. There’s a rumor that it exists specifically so people can check they’re not about to date a cousin; given how small the country is, that’s not actually its purpose, but I won’t pretend the rumor isn’t a good one.
If you want to sound like you’ve done your homework, the Icelandic word for an app is tölvuforrit, though these days most Icelanders just say “app” in an Icelandic accent anyway.
FAQs on Apps for Iceland
Here are quick answers to the questions we hear most about apps for an Iceland trip.
What’s the most important app for driving in Iceland?
road.is is most important without much competition. Checking road conditions before you set off each day is the single most useful habit for driving here safely.
Do I need a parking app in Reykjavik?
Yes, most Reykjavik street parking runs through EasyPark, and cash or card machines aren’t always available as a backup. Download it before you’re standing next to a meter trying to figure it out.
What app shows road closures in Iceland?
road.is and Safetravel.is both show live road conditions with a color-coded system, green for clear, red for closed. Either one works; Safetravel.is adds the option to register your travel plan too.
Is there an offline maps app for Iceland?
Google Maps lets you download Iceland’s map for offline use before you travel, which is worth doing regardless of whether you’re planning to rely on data; it’s a useful backup either way.
What’s the 112 Iceland app and do I need it?
It’s Iceland’s official emergency app, built around a one-tap button that sends your location and an emergency text even in poor signal. You don’t strictly need it, but it’s free, and it’s exactly the kind of thing you’ll be glad to have if you ever do.
ICELAND TRAVEL RESOURCES
AIRPORT TRANSFERS
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HOTELS AND APARTMENTS
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Rooms with a view? Budget rooms? Need a washing machine? The best choice of hotels & apartments.
TOURS & ATTRACTIONS
Most excursion choices, small group tours, skip-line tickets, free cancellation and top local guides.
Top options here.
CAR RENTAL OPTIONS
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Best choice of vehicles, automatics, large or small cars, child seats. Book early for more options.
Final Words on Apps You’ll Need for Iceland
Sorting out apps for Iceland takes maybe twenty minutes total, and it’s twenty minutes that pays off the moment you need to check a road closure, find parking, or just figure out what a menu says. You don’t need everything on this list; pick the handful that actually match your trip, get them downloaded before you fly, and Iceland is a much easier place to navigate from the moment you land.
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