Iceland Solo Female Travel Safety Tips and Advice

On this page you will find first-hand, unbiased, and real safety tips, advice and reviews from women traveling solo, submitted directly from their personal experiences in the country.

Their opinions are unfiltered and submitted independently as part of the Solo Female Travel Safety Index, a ranking of 210 countries and regions based on how safe they are for women traveling solo.

The safety scores range from 1 to 4 with 1 being the safest and 4 being the most dangerous for solo female travelers.

You don’t need to login to read the below reviews. But do sign up or login to share your solo travel experiences, country safety rating and comments.

Iceland Country data

We have compiled a few data points below that can help you better understand Iceland and have more context when thinking about travel safety.

Official country name: Republic of Iceland.

Etymology: Floki Vilgerdarson, an early explorer of the island (9th century), applied the name "Land of Ice" after spotting a fjord full of drift ice to the north and spending a bitter winter on the island. He eventually settled on the island, but not before he saw how it greened up in the summer and that it was, in fact, habitable.

Capital: Reykjavik.

Independence / foundation: Independent for over 300 years, Iceland was subsequently ruled by Norway and Denmark. In 1918, it became a sovereign state under the Danish Crown. Denmark granted limited home rule in 1874 and complete independence in 1944.

Population: 360,872

Currency: Icelandic Krona (ISK)
1 USD = 135 - 140 ISK
1 EUR = 148 - 150 ISK

Time zone: UTC 0

Languages spoken: Icelandic, English, Nordic languages, German.

Religions: Evangelical Lutheran Church of Iceland (official) 62%, Roman Catholic 4%, Independent Congregation of Reykjavik 3%, Independent Congregation of Hafnarfjordur 2%, pagan worship 1%, Icelandic Ethical Humanist Association 1%, other (includes Zuist and Pentecostal) or unspecified 19%, none 8%.

Climate: Unpredictable with very cold Arctic winters and cool summers.

Real GDP (ppp – purchasing power parity): $21.22 billion.

Real GDP per capita (ppp): $55,600.

Main airports: Keflavík International Airport.

World heritage sites in Iceland

There are over 1,100 world heritage sites spread across more than 165 countries. New ones are added every year, and some may be removed from the list for various reasons.

Number of UNESCO listed sites: 3.

Top world heritage sites:

- Þingvellir National Park.
- Surtsey.
- Vatnajökull National Park.

Interesting facts about Iceland

- Iceland's main source of income are fish and fishery products, followed by aluminium and ferrosilicon exports.

- You can observe tectonic plates in Iceland. Þingvellir is one of only a few destinations in the world where you can easily see two tectonic plates drifting apart above sea level. And even dive or snorkel in the Silfra Fissure between the two!

- Iceland is considered geologically active, with approximately 130 volcanic mountains. Around 30 are still active today, often exploding lava and creating incredible new landscapes.

- Iceland has been ranked among the happiest countries in the world in recent years. It's now acknowledged as the 3rd happiest country in the world by the World Happiness Report 2022.

Further reading: N/A.

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Iceland Travel tips

More about Iceland on Solo Female Travelers

- Iceland tour.
- Iceland travel tips.
- Iceland packing list.

Did you spot any errors? We do our best to keep this information updated and accurate, but things change. If you saw anything that is not right, let us know so we can fix it: [email protected].

About the Solo Female Travel Safety Index

Safety matters to solo female travelers, you told us so in our annual Solo Female Travel Survey, where year after year, women prove that this is their most important concern when traveling solo.

We wanted to do something about it, so we built these country-specific pages where you can find reviews and scores for 7 key variables affecting the safety of women traveling solo.

How to use the Safety Index

On this page, you will find the country score and the personal opinions on safety of other women traveling solo.

You can sort the comments by:

• The level of experience traveling solo of the reviewer (beginner = <5 trips solo, Intermediate = 5 to 10 trips solo, Experienced = >10 trips solo).
• The age of the traveler.
• Whether they are a visitor or local.
• The date they were posted.

The safety scores range from 1 to 4 with 1 being the safest and 4 being the most dangerous for solo female travelers. 

Thus, the lower the score, the safer the country.

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Looking for more safety resources?

This entire website is devoted to helping women travel solo. Check out the links below to learn more:

Solo Female Travel Stats: Results from the the largest, most comprehensive and only global research study on solo female travel trends, preferences and behaviors published.

Thanks to Jacobo Vilella for creating the Solo Female Travelers Safety Index ❤️