Volcano House
Volcano House
4
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About
Volcano House is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the heart of Reykjavik. This is the place where one can learn about the Icelandic volcanoes by watching high quality film that were created for the Volcano House. Moreover, there is a great lava stones collection, souvenir shop and the collection of arts from famous Icelandic artists. We pride ourselves with of our multilingual staff many of whom have studied geology and so can add to the understanding of our customers.
Duration: 1-2 hours
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
4.0
1,702 reviews
Excellent
654
Very good
699
Average
272
Poor
60
Terrible
17
Alex W
39 contributions
Jan 2020 • Family
This small museum and cinema is a really good introduction to the volcanism of Iceland. The room with samples of all kinds of volcanic rock and dust is great, with hands on access to samples and clear descriptions.
The main attraction is two thirty minute films. The first is about the volcanic eruption in 1973 which buried half a town and how the town fought back. The second is about the 2010 eruption that closed airspace for months.
The guide is friendly, helpful and knowledgeable - both about the subject area and the locale - as part of a tourist information role he holds he directed us to some great additional attractions which we would otherwise have missed.
The main attraction is two thirty minute films. The first is about the volcanic eruption in 1973 which buried half a town and how the town fought back. The second is about the 2010 eruption that closed airspace for months.
The guide is friendly, helpful and knowledgeable - both about the subject area and the locale - as part of a tourist information role he holds he directed us to some great additional attractions which we would otherwise have missed.
Written January 2, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
baymontsvp
West Bend, WI278 contributions
Oct 2019
We had heard about the Volcano House and wanted to visit. However since we were on foot it took a while to find it tucked near the old harbor. The two movies on local volcanic activity were both stunning and scary. It turned out that the fellow running the facility was an American who had visited and decided to stay. He showed us a map of the country and explained how there are constant earthquakes all over the island caused by volcanic activity. Time well spent!
Written February 17, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
A Scott Cunningham
Saratoga Springs, UT131 contributions
The 2 films shown were very informative! The first film was older but still portrayed the destructive power of the volcanoes.
The second film was very well done. Amazing cinematography and sequences. Definitely worth a visit to learn more about the geologic power that lies beneath and influences Icelandic life!
The second film was very well done. Amazing cinematography and sequences. Definitely worth a visit to learn more about the geologic power that lies beneath and influences Icelandic life!
Written March 24, 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dear guest,
We thank you so much for this great review and we loved the headline -exactly what we´re aiming for! We hope you had a great trip to Iceland and that you will return again soon.
All our best,
Volcano House staff
Written April 10, 2013
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
orangecagoule
Brussels, Belgium25 contributions
Nov 2011 • Solo
Volcano House is a new set up museum come cinema come sandwich/cake shop/coffee house. Its got a fab geological exhibition where you can touch the stones and even buy a piece of a volcano. The cinema is great and the recent movie on eyjafjallajokull is great theres a children's area and soon an earthquake simulator all included in the price. Definitely worth checking out especially for children to enthuse them about the volcanoes and rocks. Super coffee in a chilled out environment without rip off prices. All on ground floor with plenty of space for prams and wheelchairs.Next to harbour.
Written November 1, 2011
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Harry R
Norrkoping, Sweden192 contributions
Dec 2014 • Couples
Walked past Volcano House and saw the sign for "Happy hour" from 1500-1700 hrs. and we felt a bit hungry. The girl said that it wasn't a big meal, just a taster. Sounded fine to us and they served up a tasty plate of fish and chips.
3 reasonably sized portions of 3 different kinds of fish along with some chips and 6 different flavoured Skyr dips. To wash the meal down is a 1/2 lt. beer, and all this for 1550 kronor. That's good value.
3 reasonably sized portions of 3 different kinds of fish along with some chips and 6 different flavoured Skyr dips. To wash the meal down is a 1/2 lt. beer, and all this for 1550 kronor. That's good value.
Written December 23, 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dear friend, We thank you so much for taking the time to post a review about Volcano House, we´re so happy to hear you had a nice stay.
All our best, Volcano House staff
Written January 10, 2015
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
cecilie s
Copenhagen, Denmark2 contributions
Aug 2011 • Business
The people at the Volcano house are so nice and friendly and they create a wonderful environment to spend some time in while visiting Reykjavik. The collection of stones and the movies are very interesting and the cafe is cosy and enjoyable.
All in all a lovely visit.
All in all a lovely visit.
Written August 29, 2011
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Barnesms
Atlanta, GA419 contributions
A small cinema down by the harbour in Reykjavik. Two videos take about an hour. First one is about the eruptions in the Vestermann (sp.) islands in the 70's. The second more about the recent ones of 2010. Good to see and interesting. Their volcanic rock collection is neat too.
Written August 9, 2011
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Jeffrey M
9 contributions
Jun 2016 • Solo
The Volcano House has three aspects to it.
The "museum" part of it has rock displays and geological bits of interest that you can read about and interact with. It's a small room and split with a gift shop, but it's free and if you are geologically minded then it would not be a waste of your time. There's also a really fascinating display of current seismic activity across Iceland.
The second aspect is you can pay to watch two films. Both films together last about an hour in total. The first film covered the 1973 eruption of Eldfell and the second was a bit more general. I really enjoyed both, and after all the walking I had been doing, it was nice to have a "sit down" activity for an hour.
The third aspect is that the Volcano House is attached to the "Icelandic Fish and Chips" restaurant. My short review: the only mediocre meal I had in Reykjavik. The Fish&Chips place a block away (walking towards the warf) was FAR better.
The "museum" part of it has rock displays and geological bits of interest that you can read about and interact with. It's a small room and split with a gift shop, but it's free and if you are geologically minded then it would not be a waste of your time. There's also a really fascinating display of current seismic activity across Iceland.
The second aspect is you can pay to watch two films. Both films together last about an hour in total. The first film covered the 1973 eruption of Eldfell and the second was a bit more general. I really enjoyed both, and after all the walking I had been doing, it was nice to have a "sit down" activity for an hour.
The third aspect is that the Volcano House is attached to the "Icelandic Fish and Chips" restaurant. My short review: the only mediocre meal I had in Reykjavik. The Fish&Chips place a block away (walking towards the warf) was FAR better.
Written July 5, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Viviko
Surrey99 contributions
Jan 2013 • Couples
Is it a cafe? Is it a museum? Is it a library? Is it a shop? Is it a cinema? Hands on exhibits with a warm relaxed atmosphere and a great corner location. This corner locale in the portside area seems to be many things at once. Knowledgeable owner catering to those thirsty for knowledge and refreshments. Cinema entry is by ticket only, otherwise, browse at your leisure.
Written February 2, 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dear guest, first of all -what a great topic name! Thank you so much for those kind words, we really do appreciate them. We like to think of Volcano House as a place to come to to relax, read up about Icelandic geology while enjoying a hot beverage, shop some souvenirs, browse through our rock museum and enjoy our 53 minute cinema show about Icelandic volcanic eruptions -an all in one 2 hour enjoyment in the middle of Reykjavik centrum.
We thank you again and hope you return one day.
All our best, the Volcano House staff.
Written February 6, 2013
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Jay M
Toronto, Canada9 contributions
Aug 2012 • Solo
Skip this. First, they charge the equivalent of $16 for two 20-minute movies about volcanoes. Are they movies worth watching? Maybe, for about $5. The rest of this place is 'ok', but really it's just an excuse to have a cafe. If you want volcanic rock, walk outside and pick one up off the ground, don't pay $10 for one.
Written August 29, 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We are quite offended to read this rewiev, luckely the voting speaks for it self! :) As a geologist working here I can tell you that the stones we sell (which is mostly pumice) are from Hekla volcano, south of Iceland. The rocks we have on display are mostly from the highlands, close to Landmannalaugar or from the east and westfjords. So no, these are NOT stones you can pick one just from outside, and most of them are hard to find, hence the showing of them in the museum. The filmmakers who produced our movie were nominated for an Emmy award in the year of 2011 for the shooting of Eyjafjallajökull, so we are quite confident the movies are up to standars! :)
Written August 31, 2012
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
What is the cost of the movies for people over 65?
Gribit
Written August 13, 2017
It was less than the adult ticket but I don't recall amount. Interesting fact seniors get into the settlement museum free!
Written August 17, 2017
hi its free , we werent charged at all , which in Iceland is unusual !!! please do go visit , its small , wont take long but it is very informative .
Written March 12, 2017
Quelle est la meilleure periode pour y séjourner ?
à ne pas rater et les tarifs spéciaux ?
Bon WE à vous.D.Catz.
Written January 3, 2015
Quelle est la meilleure periode pour y séjourner ?
à ne pas rater et les tarifs spéciaux ?
Bon WE à vous.D.Catz.
Written January 3, 2015
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