Living in Iceland · Community

Where to meet people in Iceland

Many people move here, find work and a flat, and still feel alone after a year. This page lists the places that are open to everyone, cost little or nothing, and happen again and again.

Guided by a resident. I did not find these places alone: people pointed the way, and this page passes that on. Everything below is something that runs regularly and is open to the public. We list who runs it and where to check it, so you can see for yourself before you go.

Last verified 13 August 2026 · raudikrossinn.is, borgarbokasafn.is, island.is, municipality pages

One thing to understand first. In Iceland, people usually become friends by doing the same thing together many times: the same swim, the same choir, the same course, the same Tuesday group. A single meeting rarely turns into a friendship. Choosing one thing and going back every week works better than trying five things once.

Start with the Red Cross

The Icelandic Red Cross (Rauði krossinn, say: ROY-thi KROSS-inn) is the easiest first door. It runs free social activities in many towns, not only help for people in crisis. Depending on the branch, that can include language cafés, open houses where anyone can come for coffee, a visiting-friend service for people who are alone, and groups for young people and for newcomers.

You do not need to be poor, in trouble, or a member of anything. You also do not need good Icelandic. Volunteers are used to speaking slowly and in English.

Check what your branch runs: Icelandic Red Cross (English). Branches are listed by area, and each one publishes its own weekly activities. If nothing near you is listed, write to the branch and ask. Volunteering is also a way in: you meet the same people every week, and it counts as Icelandic experience on a CV.

Answers to the questions people actually ask

I moved here alone and I do not know anyone

What actually happens: Work is often the only place you see people, and Icelandic colleagues usually already have their friends from school. This is normal and it is not about you. What changes it is joining something that repeats: a course, a club, a volunteer shift.
What to do: Pick one weekly thing and commit to two months. The cheapest open options are your library, your swimming pool, and Red Cross activities. Your union may pay back part of a course fee, so ask your union before you pay for anything.
The common trap: Waiting until your Icelandic is good enough. It never feels good enough. People are far more patient in a group than they are in a shop queue.

I am a parent at home with a small child and I want to meet other parents

What actually happens: Before a child gets a daycare place, days can be very long and very quiet. Iceland has a quiet network for this, but it is not advertised in English: libraries hold free morning sessions with songs and stories for babies and toddlers, pools have quiet morning hours, and churches and Red Cross branches run open playgroups where you just walk in.
What to do: Ask three people who already know: the nurse at your health centre (heilsugæsla), your municipality's family or leisure page, and your local library. See Reykjavík City Library for an example of what libraries run. Also read our Education page for the childcare gap between parental leave and daycare.
The common trap: Only looking for groups in English. Mixed groups where everyone speaks a little of everything are usually warmer, and your child gains the language.

I want to practise Icelandic with real people

What actually happens: Classes teach grammar, but you learn to speak in rooms where mistakes are expected. Language cafés (tungumálakaffi or "Icelandic café") are run free by the Red Cross and by libraries. Nobody tests you.
What to do: Search your library's and your Red Cross branch's programme for a language café, and ask your union about paying back a course. Course groups themselves are one of the best places to meet people in the same situation as you.
The common trap: Going once, feeling lost, and never returning. The second and third visits are the ones where people start to know your face.

I want to meet Icelanders, not only other foreigners

What actually happens: Foreigner groups are useful and kind, but they can become the whole social life. Icelanders meet each other in structured activity: sports clubs, choirs, handball and football stands, dance, hiking clubs, rescue teams, allotment gardens, church groups.
What to do: Join an activity with a fixed time each week near your home. Ask your municipality's leisure department (íþrótta- og tómstundasvið) what runs in your area. If you have children, their sports club is the fastest route: parents stand together every week.
The common trap: Choosing something far from where you live. In winter darkness and wind, distance decides whether you keep going.

Winter is hard and I am becoming isolated

What actually happens: The dark months make people cancel plans and stay home, and that makes the next month harder. Being alone in winter is a health matter here, not a small thing.
What to do: Fix one thing in your week that happens whatever the weather: the pool, one class, one volunteer shift. If your mood is low for weeks, talk to your health centre; you can also call the free helpline 1717 (Red Cross), which answers in English.
The common trap: Waiting for spring. The point of a weekly anchor is that it carries you through the part of the year when nothing feels worth leaving the house for.

I live outside the capital area and there seems to be nothing

What actually happens: Smaller towns often have more, not less, but almost nothing is published in English. Everything runs through the municipality, the pool, the school, the church and a Facebook page for the town.
What to do: Go to your municipality's own website and look for tómstundir (leisure) or félagsstarf (social activity), and ask at the pool desk and the library. Our Municipal support page explains how to reach your sveitarfélag.
The common trap: Assuming an activity is closed to you because it is advertised only in Icelandic. Almost all of it is open to anyone living in the town.

Places that are open to everyone

The swimming pool (sundlaug). The most ordinary social place in Iceland. The hot tubs are where people talk. Going at the same time each week is enough to become a familiar face.
The library (bókasafn). Free to enter, warm, and full of activity: story mornings for children, language cafés, handwork groups, talks. Ask at the desk for the printed programme.
Your union (stéttarfélag). Unions run courses, trips and social events for members, and often pay back part of a course fee. Many people never look at what they already pay for.
Sports and hobby clubs (íþróttafélag). Adult training groups, choirs, hiking clubs, dance. Fixed times, same people.
Churches and faith communities. Many run open coffee mornings and playgroups for anyone, whether or not you belong.
Volunteering. Red Cross shops and visiting services, rescue teams, school and sports clubs. It gives you a reason to be somewhere every week.

Just visiting Iceland rather than living here? Our sister site Fylgja Iceland covers short stays and travel.

How we keep this page current

Groups change, and a list that goes stale helps nobody. So this page only names things that run all year and are owned by an institution: the Red Cross, libraries, pools, municipalities, unions, churches and clubs. We check those sources when we update the page, and we put the date at the top.

If you run something open and regular for people who live here, or you know a group that should be listed, write to hello@yourcompanion.is. We will check it against the organiser before adding it.

Sources

Was this page helpful?

We are still building this site. If something was missing, wrong, or hard to understand, tell us. One line is enough. You do not have to give your name, and we do not track you.

Write to hello@yourcompanion.is

Tell us what you were looking for and what you could not find. It is how the next version of this page gets written.