Iceland Souvenirs: The 15 Best Things to Buy in Iceland

After years of shopping these same stores and markets, we'd tell you to aim for souvenirs you'll keep using, not the ones that end up in a drawer. Think about the afterlife of each gift: something to wear, cook with, read, or display. Most pack easily, though a couple, like fish and full-strength alcohol, come with rules on where to buy and how to carry them home.

Quick facts

• Most popular souvenir: the lopapeysa, Iceland's traditional wool sweater.
• Best value gifts: chocolate, licorice, and sea salt from a supermarket like Bónus.
• Boldest bottle: Brennivín, a caraway-flavored spirit nicknamed Black Death.
• Most unusual craft: fish leather, tanned in the town of Sauðárkrókur in North Iceland and used by fashion houses like Dior and Prada.
• Buy full-strength alcohol at: Vínbúðin state stores or the Keflavík Duty Free, since supermarkets sell only low-alcohol beer.
• Skip: mass-produced puffin trinkets and anything made from wild birds or marine mammals.

• Bringing it home: declare all food at US customs; chocolate, candy, and dried fish are allowed, but whale and seal products are banned.

All 15 picks side by side, with a rough starting price and where each is sold. Prices are approximate as of July 2026 and vary by maker and shop.

Food, candy, and beer are the cheap wins, most under 1,000 ISK ($8 / €7), while the lopapeysa, sheepskin, spirits, and design are where prices climb and differ most from one shop to the next. The latter buys are also where quality and authenticity are least consistent, so they reward a closer look before you spend.

Choose one lasting keepsake and a few consumables you'll finish. For most people, that's the lopapeysa, the piece to keep for yourself. Match the rest to the recipient: chocolate or licorice for coworkers, skincare or a bottle of Brennivín for a treat, and jewelry or fish leather when the gift should feel like an occasion.

A lot of the wool sold to visitors is machine-made or knitted abroad, so the genuine article, hand-knit from Icelandic wool, is the one that holds up. Prices range from a few hundred ISK for a ball of yarn to tens of thousands for a sweater.

The lopapeysa is Iceland's traditional yoke-patterned wool sweater, knit from lopi. The yarn pairs a soft, insulating inner fiber (þel) with a coarse, water-repellent outer fiber (tog), so it stays warm even in damp weather. The classic version keeps to natural sheep shades of white, gray, black, and brown, while modern ones add brighter dyed colors. You'll find it as a pullover, cardigan, or zip-up, and our Icelandic wool sweaters page covers styling and care.

If a full sweater is out of budget, Icelandic wool also comes as hats, socks, scarves, blankets, and yarn. Knitters can buy lopi yarn by the ball at the Handknitting Association or other wool shops and make their own at home. Lopi can feel scratchy against bare skin, so many people wear it over a thin base layer, and it softens a little after a few wears.

The country’s food and drink range from pocket-change candy to a premium bottle of Brennivín or Icelandic gin. Supermarkets like Bónus and Krónan are far cheaper than gift shops for anything edible.

Icelandic chocolate and licorice are the go-to edible souvenirs, with Nói Síríus and Omnom leading the way. Nói Síríus is behind the Síríus milk chocolate bars and Nóa Kropp, chocolate-covered puffed corn, while Omnom makes small-batch bean-to-bar chocolate in Reykjavík. Lakkrís (licorice) is a national obsession that turns up throughout Icelandic candy, from salty salmiak to chocolate-coated bars like Draumur, and it’s worth trying even if you think you don’t like it.

Flaky sea salt is light and crunchy, made by evaporating Arctic seawater with geothermal heat. Saltverk produces it in the Westfjords, and Norður makes a similar salt in Breiðafjörður Bay. You’ll find plain flakes plus flavors like licorice, Arctic thyme, and birch-smoked.

Harðfiskur, Iceland’s dried fish, is a practical food to carry home: drying makes it shelf-stable and light, so it survives a suitcase without refrigeration. One of the oldest staples of traditional Icelandic food, it’s usually made from cod, haddock, or wolffish and eaten torn into strips with butter. Smoked salmon and Arctic char are sold vacuum-packed too. The USDA doesn’t regulate most seafood, so US travelers can usually bring fish home, as long as they declare it at customs.

Brennivín, Iceland’s signature spirit, is a caraway-flavored aquavit by Ölgerðin, nicknamed Black Death (Svarti dauði). Unlike vodka, the caraway gives it a savory, herbal flavor, often compared to fresh rye bread. Iceland’s gins, whisky, and liqueurs are worth a look too. Ólafsson and Vor gins use foraged Arctic botanicals, Eimverk’s Flóki is a single malt from Icelandic barley, and Björk is a birch liqueur from Foss Distillery. Full-strength spirits are sold mainly at Vínbúðin, the state-run liquor stores, and at the Keflavík Duty Free, which is cheaper. Vínbúðin is closed on Sundays, and the smallest rural stores open only a few hours a day.

Craft beer is the lighter, lower-cost option, with Einstök and Kaldi among the names to look for. The brewing scene has grown fast since full-strength beer was legalized on March 1, 1989, and Icelandic beer now ranges from crisp pilsners to strong stouts, with Einstök, brewed in Akureyri in North Iceland, sold well beyond Iceland. Vínbúðin sells full-strength beer, and some small breweries can now sell bottles and cans on-site, while supermarkets stock only low-alcohol beer.

Compact and giftable, the country's skincare is built around geothermal and Arctic ingredients. The Silica Mud Mask at the Blue Lagoon is a signature buy, made from the white silica that gives the water its milky-blue color. Bioeffect, founded in 2010 by three Icelandic scientists, produces a well-known EGF serum, with the skin-renewing protein derived from barley grown in a geothermal greenhouse. Sóley Organics, created by actress Sóley Elíasdóttir, draws on her family's herbalist heritage and uses wild Icelandic herbs. Travel sizes are handy for several small presents, and all three turn up around Reykjavík and at the Keflavík Duty Free.

Beyond food and wool, these souvenirs stand apart, spanning jewelry, fish leather, books, music, and Christmas figures. Most are made or written by someone you can name.

Jewelry is a small, durable pick, usually silver, handmade by local designers and often set with black lava rock. Many pieces echo the landscape, from basalt columns to volcanic stone. Downtown studios and shops carry ceramics and prints, and the Kolaportið weekend flea market sells jewelry and crafts straight from the stall.

Fish leather is Iceland’s most unusual craft, tanned from salmon and wolffish skin that would otherwise go to waste. Atlantic Leather, the country’s only working tannery, in the town of Sauðárkrókur in North Iceland, has supplied fish leather to fashion houses like Dior and Prada. Fish-leather wallets and bags are sold at design collectives like Kirsuberjatréð in Reykjavík. Long-haired Icelandic sheepskin comes from the same use-everything tradition and makes a warm, distinctive throw or rug, sold in shops around the country.

Books and music are distinctly local, from a country that publishes more books per head than almost anywhere. Books are also Iceland’s classic Christmas gift: on Christmas Eve, families exchange new titles and spend the night reading, a tradition called Jólabókaflóð, the Christmas Book Flood. Translated novels and sagas are the standouts, and learning about the best Icelandic authors is a good place to begin. Record shops like 12 Tónar sell vinyl and CDs by local artists, from Björk to Sigur Rós, that you won’t find easily at home.

For a Christmas keepsake with real local roots, look for Iceland’s Yule Lads (jólasveinar), sold as ornaments and illustrated books in souvenir and design shops. In Icelandic folklore, the thirteen Yule Lads are mischievous brothers who come to town one by one on the 13 nights before Christmas, each leaving a small gift in children’s shoes. They make a more local gift than the puffin toys that fill the gift shops, which are often imported.

Steer clear of products made from wild animals, and check that anything labeled “Icelandic” really comes from Iceland. Whale meat, puffin meat, and sealskin are best left behind. Iceland’s 2025 Red List classes its breeding puffin population as critically endangered, and the US Marine Mammal Protection Act bans bringing whale and seal products into the country, from whale meat to sealskin wallets.

Watching puffins in Iceland on a summer sea cliff makes a far better memory. Be wary of mass-produced trinkets and puffin figurines, which are often imported rather than made in Iceland. For wool, jewelry, and design, look for a made-in-Iceland label or ask who made the piece, since many tourist-shop items come from overseas.

Yes, Icelandic souvenirs are worth it if you buy what’s made in Iceland and buy it in the right place. Prices in Iceland are high, and souvenir prices vary most: the same candy or salt costs far less at a supermarket than in a gift shop, and shops at attractions tend to charge more than stores in Reykjavík. On bigger buys, non-residents shopping in Iceland can reclaim up to about 14% of the price on receipts of 12,000 ISK ($95 / €84) or more from a single participating store.

For food, candy, and salt, head to supermarkets like Bónus and Krónan. For wool, the Handknitting Association of Iceland on Skólavörðustígur guarantees locally hand-knit sweaters, while the Red Cross charity shops on Laugavegur are the budget option for a secondhand one. Design and souvenir shops cluster along Laugavegur and Skólavörðustígur in downtown Reykjavík. Comparing a few shops pays off, since identical items are often priced differently along the same street. Full-strength alcohol is sold mainly at Vínbúðin and the airport Duty Free. Short on time? Omnom ships its chocolate to the US and Canada from its online store.

Iceland’s most popular souvenir is the lopapeysa, the wool sweater with a patterned yoke around the neck and shoulders. Look for a “Handknitted in Iceland” label, since “Designed in Iceland” usually means it was made abroad. For a smaller budget, hand-knit mittens from the Handknitting Association of Iceland cost 8,900 ISK ($71 / €62) as of July 2026. Chocolate and licorice are the cheapest edible alternatives.

Chocolate, licorice, and craft beer are the cheapest Icelandic souvenirs. As of July 2026, a standard chocolate bar costs about 350 to 500 ISK ($3 to $4) at supermarkets like Bónus and Krónan, and a bottle of Icelandic beer starts at about 385 ISK ($3 / €3) at Vínbúðin. For something non-edible, a ball of lopi yarn costs under 1,000 ISK ($8 / €7) at the Handknitting Association. Edible gifts cost far less in supermarkets than in gift shops, and they get used up, so they leave no clutter at home.

Most Icelandic food souvenirs can come home to the US as long as you declare them at customs. Chocolate and candy in unopened commercial packaging are allowed, as are butter and solid cheeses, and the USDA doesn’t regulate most seafood, including dried fish. Meat is the one to check: whether lamb or hangikjöt (smoked lamb) can enter depends on Iceland’s livestock-disease status, so look it up in the USDA rules for bringing food into the US and keep the package label and receipt as proof of origin. Declare every food item when you land, since declared items never lead to a penalty, even if an inspector turns them away.

Kolaportið is open weekends only, Saturday and Sunday, from 11 AM to 5 PM, year-round. You'll find it in the old customs house at Tryggvagata 19, by the harbor in downtown Reykjavík. The market is Iceland's largest and oldest, established in 1989. Bring cash, since stalls might not take cards. There's an ATM inside, but the line can be long, so it's better to withdraw beforehand.

Keflavík Airport sells wool, skincare, candy, and books, and its Duty Free has the cheapest alcohol in the country. The selection is smaller than downtown, so the airport suits last-minute gifts and a bottle or two, not a full haul. Note that duty-free prices already exclude tax, which is different from the tax-free VAT refund on purchases made in town. The arrivals shop by the baggage hall also lets you buy alcohol on the way in, which is when many locals stock up.