Which Reykjavik hostel has the biggest kitchen?

Loft Hostel — two ovens, four hobs, bench space for fifteen people cooking at once. The only shortlist hostel where the kitchen doubles as an actual dinner-party venue.

Which Reykjavik hostel kitchen is best for families?

Refurinn Guesthouse and B14 Hostel. Both have full ovens (you can roast Icelandic lamb), Refurinn has private rooms for families of 4, B14 has free on-site parking for grocery runs by car.

How much can I save cooking in a Reykjavik hostel kitchen vs eating out?

€200-250 per week for a solo traveller, €350-450 for a couple. Bónus dinner for two runs €15-20 including wine; a restaurant dinner for two runs €60-80 with drinks.

Are there supermarkets close to each hostel?

Yes — every shortlist hostel is within 12 minutes walk of a Bónus. Loft, KEX, Hostel B47 are 5-9 min from Bónus Laugavegur 24. Nordic, B14, Dalur are 4-14 min from Bónus in 105 Reykjavik. Refurinn is 8 min from Bónus Hallveigarstígur.

Shared Kitchen✻Reykjavik✻8 hostels✻Handpicked✻Real reviews✻Shared Kitchen✻Reykjavik✻8 hostels✻Handpicked✻Real reviews✻Shared Kitchen✻Reykjavik✻8 hostels✻Handpicked✻Real reviews✻

Reykjavik Shared KitchenRanked guide

Best Hostels with Shared Kitchens in Reykjavik

Every hostel in our Reykjavik shortlist has a usable shared kitchen — which is less a luxury than a survival tool. Restaurant mains in Reykjavik average €28, a café breakfast runs €18, and a Bónus supermarket run for skyr, smoked salmon, rúgbrauð, eggs, salad and a bottle of wine costs under €20 for two people. The kitchen hostel isn't a 'feature' in Iceland. It's how you spend €250 less per week. Loft has the biggest kitchen (2 ovens, 4 hobs), Dalur has the most practical (big, with attached restaurant for the nights you give up), Refurinn and B14 have full ovens, Nordic and KEX have smaller galley kitchens that still fit a real dinner.

◉ Ranking · 8 picks

01Nordic Hostel€52
02Refurinn Reykjavik Guesthouse€49
03Loft - HI Eco Hostel€54
04B14 Hostel€45
05Gardur Student Hostel€42

§ 01 — Traveler's take

“A seven-day Reykjavik trip cooking three meals a day in a hostel kitchen: €20 Bónus run (covers two days) × 3 = €60 food. Seven hostel dorm nights at €47-54 = €330-380. Total: €400. Same seven days eating out: €30 breakfast × 7 + €25 lunch × 7 + €35 dinner × 7 = €630 food. The kitchen saves you €230 per week, which is a Golden Circle tour plus one whale-watching trip. Loft, Dalur and B14 are the three that make this actually work — big kitchens, decent equipment, dining space.”

§ 02 — The ranked list

Our Top 8 Picks

★ 9.31,150 reviews€52/night

Nordic Hostel

Nordic Hostel is Reykjavik's highest-rated hostel (9.3 from 1,150 reviews) and the one reviewers actually describe with the word 'Scandi' unironically — modern, minimalist, spotlessly clean. It sits on Snorrabraut on the 101/105 border, four minutes on foot from the Flybus Stop 11 pickup point that most guests care about more than any bar list.

9.3 overall from 1,150 reviews — Iceland's top-rated hostel, with staff 9.5, facilities 9.5, cleanliness 9.5 and comfort 9.5 all above the city average
Four-minute walk to Bus Stop 11 — the Flybus and Reykjavik Excursions airport shuttle pickup point, the single most useful fact for any Iceland traveller
Dorms with curtained bunks, reading lights, USB charging and lockers big enough for a 65L pack — the Scandi-design lobby is part of the atmosphere, not an add-on
Bus stops 11 and 12 within 4-12 min walk connect to the Blue Lagoon, the Golden Circle tour pickup and the BSÍ terminal for long-distance buses

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★ 8.71,124 reviews€49/night

Refurinn Reykjavik Guesthouse

Refurinn (the Fox) is the Vesturbær guesthouse most backpackers discover once they've realised Reykjavik private rooms cost less per person than a good dorm. 8.7 from 1,124 reviews, run by the family who live next door, with a shared kitchen you can cook a proper dinner in and a location wedged between the Old Harbour whale boats and the Vesturbæjarlaug geothermal pool.

8.7 rating from 1,124 reviews — one of Reykjavik's highest-scoring guesthouses, with cleanliness at 9.2 and location at 9.1
Family-run by owners who live next door — key handover by personal code, free tea/coffee/filtered water in the kitchen 24h
Five-minute walk to the Old Harbour (whale-watching, puffin tours, Bryggjan Brugghús craft beer bar)
Eight-minute walk to Vesturbæjarlaug — the locals' geothermal pool, €11 entry, far better than the tourist Blue Lagoon for actual Icelandic hot-tub culture

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★ 8.51,819 reviews€54/night

Loft - HI Eco Hostel

Loft is the top-of-Laugavegur party hostel that's actually rated well (8.5 from 1,819 reviews). Rooftop bar with Esja-mountain views and weekly live music, shared kitchen big enough to cook a lamb stew, and the single most central address in 101 Reykjavik — at Bankastræti 7, the moment Laugavegur changes its name as it hits Parliament.

Most central hostel address in Reykjavik — Bankastræti 7, the exact top of Laugavegur where it meets the pedestrianised shopping street and the Parliament building
Rooftop bar open late with 360° views of Esja mountain and the Old Harbour — locals come up here for the sunset, not just guests
Weekly live acoustic sessions on Thursday and Friday nights — Icelandic indie acts, free for guests, €10 for the public, one of the city's underrated scenes
8.5 rating from 1,819 reviews — the most reviewed hostel in our Reykjavik set, which means this score is earned across thousands of real stays

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★ 8.5552 reviews€45/night

B14 Hostel

B14 is the 108 Reykjavik hostel backpackers with a rental car pick over 101 hostels — free parking, spotless dorms, and €45 beds that cost 15-20% less than Laugavegur equivalents. 8.5 from 552 reviews, with guests flagging cleanliness, self check-in, and staff manager Jackielyn by name. 20 min to Laugavegur by bus, 12 min walk to Laugardalslaug pool.

Free on-site parking — the deciding factor if you're driving the Ring Road, since 101 hostels charge €20-30/day or have no parking at all
8.5 from 552 reviews — 9.4 cleanliness, 9.0 staff, with reviewers naming manager Jackielyn by name in review after review
Twelve-minute walk to Laugardalslaug geothermal pool — the biggest pool in Reykjavik, €11 entry, open until 22:00 most days
Self check-in 24/7 via code-lock — land at Keflavik at 02:00 and you're in a dorm by 04:30 with no reception fuss

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★ 8.41,298 reviews€42/night

Gardur Student Hostel

Gardur is the seasonal summer hostel on the University of Iceland campus — an actual student residence that converts into a budget hostel from June to August. 8.4 from 1,298 reviews, €42 dorm beds (the cheapest 8.0+ rated pick in 101), and an 8-minute walk to the BSÍ bus terminal where every Golden Circle and South Coast tour departs.

Cheapest 8.0+ rated hostel bed in 101 Reykjavik — €42 dorm in July beats Loft by €12/night and KEX by €10
Eight-minute walk to BSÍ main bus terminal — where every Gray Line, Reykjavik Excursions, and Sterna Golden Circle tour departs
Next door to the National Museum of Iceland (Þjóðminjasafn) — the underrated winter-afternoon museum with €13 entry, most backpackers miss it
Summer-only: mid-June to late August, closed September-May (the building reverts to student housing) — book 3-4 months ahead for July/August

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★ 8.22,626 reviews€48/night

Dalur - HI Eco Hostel

Dalur (formerly Reykjavik City Hostel) is the most-reviewed hostel in the city — 8.2 from 2,626 reviews, set next to Iceland's biggest geothermal pool and the family-activity park in Laugardalur. Bikes to rent, campsite next door, and a proper restaurant-bar on site. 15 min bus to Laugavegur, 12 min to Bus Stop 11 for Flybus.

Next door to Laugardalslaug — the biggest geothermal pool in Reykjavik (€11 entry, open until 22:00), a 3-minute walk from reception
2,626 reviews at 8.2 — the most-reviewed hostel in our Reykjavik set, which means this score is statistically bulletproof
On-site bar and restaurant with breakfast buffet (€13) — the only hostel in our Reykjavik set with a proper sit-down breakfast
Bike rental on site (€20/day), plus the Laugardalur Family Park and Reykjavik Zoo a 5-minute walk — the family-friendliest hostel in town

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★ 8.14,198 reviews€50/night

KEX Hostel

KEX is Iceland's most famous hostel — a converted biscuit factory on the waterfront with a gastropub-restaurant that Rough Guides and Lonely Planet both feature, 4,198 reviews at 8.1, and a design aesthetic every other hostel in town has tried to copy. Live music three nights a week, proper brunch until 14:00, and the Esja mountain and Harpa concert hall framed in every window.

4,198 reviews at 8.1 — the most-reviewed hostel in Iceland, an aggregate that cannot be faked or gamed
On-site gastropub-restaurant serves brunch until 14:00 (locals' favourite), dinner mains €18-28, and live music three nights a week
Waterfront location on Skúlagata — every north-facing dorm has a view of Esja mountain across the bay, sunsets over Harpa
Converted 1930s biscuit factory (hence the name — 'kex' is Icelandic for biscuit) with polished-concrete-and-steel interior every designer hostel in Europe has copied

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★ 8.14,645 reviews€47/night

Hostel B47

Hostel B47 is the 4,645-review workhorse of 101 Reykjavik — a converted residential building on Baronstigur, 3 min on foot from Hallgrímskirkja, with self check-in, free on-street parking, and €47 dorm beds that run €5-7 under KEX and Loft for a similar 101 location. 8.1 rating, clean, functional, staff-light — the smart-saver pick for a long Reykjavik stay.

4,645 reviews at 8.1 — the second-most-reviewed hostel in our Reykjavik set, statistically robust data across 5+ years of backpackers
Three-minute walk to Hallgrímskirkja and the Skólavörðustígur rainbow-painted street — closest 101 hostel to the iconic photo spots
Free on-street parking on Baronstigur and adjacent blocks — rare in 101, saves €20-30/day that other central hostels charge
Self check-in 24/7 via a code-lock entry — matches Nordic Hostel on late-night airport arrivals

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§ 03 — Tips

Tips for Choosing a Hostel with Shared Kitchen in Reykjavik

Tip Nº 01

Bónus supermarkets open 11:00-18:30 on weekdays, 11:00-18:00 Saturdays, 12:00-18:00 Sundays — plan your shop before the hostel kitchen fills up at 19:00

Tip Nº 02

Rúgbrauð (geothermally-baked rye bread) is sold pre-sliced at Bónus for €3 — pair with butter and Icelandic smoked salmon for the cheapest breakfast possible in Reykjavik

Tip Nº 03

Vínbúðin (state liquor store) closes 18:00 weekdays, 14:00 Saturdays, closed Sundays — stock up on local Icelandic beer (Einstök, Borg) before 18:00 on Saturday if you're cooking into Monday

Tip Nº 04

Skyr (cultured milk) at Bónus is €1.20 for a 170g tub — the €6 café skyr bowl isn't giving you anything extra, it's just a bowl

§ 04 — Other vibes