Best Dog-Friendly Hotels in Reykjavik

Before you go

What happens when you get there

Quarantine, and there's no way round it

Every dog entering Iceland spends a minimum of fourteen days at one of two approved quarantine stations, Einangrunarstöðin í Reykjanesbæ or Einangrunarstöðin Mósel, billed separately from the import permit. Home quarantine is only available to certified assistance dogs and must be applied for at least a month before import. Arrivals are 06:00 to 17:00 on the stations' own predetermined days and weekends are refused, because the stations run all-in all-out. Owner visits during quarantine are at each station's discretion and aren't published, so ask them directly.

The import process and how long it takes

An import permit application to MAST with a photo of the dog, then a rabies vaccination followed by an antibody test at an EU-approved lab at least 30 days later reading 0.5 IU/ml or better. A leptospirosis vaccination at least 14 days before entry, two doses three to four weeks apart if you're starting the course. Two parasite treatments, at 21 to 28 days and at 5 to 10 days before travel. A microchip and a D1 or D2 health certificate, which MAST says commonly takes two to three weeks to arrive. Realistically that's about two months of preparation from the UK or Ireland and five months or more from the United States.

Which country you're coming from

Category 1 countries are rabies-free and have no waiting period after the antibody result. They include the UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Norway outside Svalbard, Switzerland, Austria, Australia, Japan, Singapore and the UAE. Category 2 countries wait 90 days from the date of the blood sample, and they include the USA, Canada, Greenland, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Taiwan and Turkey. The dog must have been in an approved country for the six months before import.

Banned breeds

MAST refuses import of the Pit Bull Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier, Staffordshire Bull Terrier, American Bulldog, Fila Brasileiro, Tosa Inu, Dogo Argentino, Cane Corso, Presa Canario and Boerboel, along with their crosses for at least five generations and wolf hybrids for ten, plus any dog it assesses as comparable in origin, physique or temperament. Pregnant and lactating bitches are also refused. Check this before you spend anything, because it catches owners late.

Flights, and the Icelandair problem

A dog may arrive in the cabin if the airline agrees, as checked baggage in the hold, or as air cargo. Icelandair says that because of fleet changes it has been unable to carry animals in the hold on international flights since 1 November 2024, with hold carriage still available on domestic routes and service dogs free in the cabin. That pushes most owners towards air cargo. A dog arriving in the cabin has to be handed to the approved airport service provider at Keflavík, named as Aviör and paid in advance, who takes it to the pet reception.

Leads, and where a dog may run

Reykjavik's dog bylaw, in force since March 2022, requires a lead across the whole city area unless stated otherwise, and dogs may not run loose in the built-up area. The named exceptions are Geirsnef, Geldinganes, a defined area on Austurheiðar north of Rauðavatn, fenced dog runs and training areas, and uninhabited land outside developed areas and laid paths. Geirsnef, on the spit where the Elliðaár meets the sea, is the one that matters for a visitor and it's where local dogs swim. Dogs are kept out of school grounds, playgrounds and sports grounds, and out of premises covered by health regulations, which is what keeps them out of cafés and shops unless the operator holds specific authorisation. Assume no dogs in Reykjavik restaurants and be pleased if you're wrong.

City buses

Dogs travel free on Strætó's capital-area buses and aren't allowed on the rural long-distance ones at all. Pay at the front door, then board through the middle or rear door and stay in the rear section. No pets at peak times, defined as weekdays 07:00 to 09:00 and 15:00 to 18:00. The person with the dog must be 18 or over, one dog per passenger, and the dog wears a collar or harness with a short lead. Retractable leads aren't allowed. Marked guide dogs are exempt from all of it.

Vets

Dýraspítalinn í Víðidal at Vatnsveituvegur 4, 110 Reykjavík, on +354 540 9900, is open Monday to Friday 08:00 to 17:00 and Saturday 10:00 to 12:00, closed Sunday. Outside those hours the Animalía emergency service takes cases on +354 555 0112. Save both numbers, because Víðidal sits on the eastern edge of the city and is a twenty-minute drive from 101 in traffic.

Best walks

Öskjuhlíð behind Hotel Reykjavík Askja, wooded paths climbing to the Perlan dome, then down to the Nauthólsvík shore and west along the Ægisíða coastal path towards Seltjarnarnes. Laugardalur park with its botanic garden and the lawns around Laugardalslaug, 300 metres from the Grand and about 600 from the Hilton. Geirsnef at the mouth of the Elliðaár, the closest thing the city has to a dog beach and one of the few places a dog may legally be off the lead. The Elliðaárdalur river valley paths for a proper hour. In the centre, the Tjörnin lake with Hljómskálagarður along its southern shore, and the Sæbraut shore path north past the Sun Voyager towards Harpa.

When to go

If you're coming from abroad, the honest answer is that the quarantine dates decide this, not the weather, because the stations publish their own arrival days and refuse weekends. For the walking, May to September gives long light and near-continuous daylight in June. Late December gives about four hours of daylight, and in Reykjavik the wind does more to a walk than the temperature does. In a rooms-only hotel, winter means three or four short outings in the dark rather than one long one, which is a real argument for the Askja or Grand positions with a park at the door over a central 101 address.