Lava Show Reykjavík tickets compared

Classic or Premium?

There are two ways into the Reykjavík show, and both are options on the same booking. Classic is the standard entry. A live host welcomes you, a short film explains Icelandic volcanism, and real lava is poured into a darkened showroom while you wear protective glasses. Premium keeps all of that and adds a welcome drink, a lounge, balcony seats, a backstage tour and a lava souvenir. Expect roughly an hour for either, with Premium running a little longer. Both happen indoors, so the weather outside changes nothing for your seat or your start time.

• Classic: ground-level seating, close to the lava
• Premium: balcony seats, lounge, drink, backstage tour, souvenir
• Premium is sold at the Reykjavík venue only

Where the seats are

Classic seating is first come, first served, so the room fills from the front. The front rows sit closest to the lava and feel strong radiant heat. The balcony is raised, gives a full view of the showroom and is the hottest area, because heat rises. Premium balcony seats are the one exception to first-come seating, since they come with the ticket and you do not compete for them. The venue asks you to arrive early, and for Classic that also means a wider choice of where to sit. Pick the front rows if you want to feel the heat and the balcony if you want the whole view.

What Premium really adds

Premium is mostly about the extras around the show, not a different show. The welcome drink and the lounge frame your arrival, the backstage tour takes you behind the scenes, and the lava souvenir goes home with you. The practical gain is the seat: you watch from above with the whole room in view, and nobody sits in front of you. Some past guests have wished the Premium benefits were spelled out more clearly, so read the option description before you pay. If you mainly want to see lava pour, Classic covers it. If you are marking a birthday or a honeymoon, the extras suit the moment.

What every ticket covers

Every ticket admits you to the Lava Show at its Reykjavík venue, where a live host speaks English. The show opens with a short film about Icelandic volcanism, the volcanoes close to the capital and the largest eruptions in the country's history. Safety glasses are provided, so you do not need to bring any. The ticket is a mobile one and nothing needs printing. Getting to the venue is up to you, and food and drink are not allowed in the showroom itself. The ticket also does not include the other attractions in the district, which are sold separately.

How the show runs

The show begins with a short welcome from the host and the film, then the room darkens and the lava comes in. The venue describes a darkened showroom lit only by the glow of the lava, with the sound of crackling, flowing rock, and a live host guiding you through what you are seeing. The lava is real Icelandic rock, melted and poured a few metres from the audience. The host mixes geology with performance, and visitors describe the hosts as knowledgeable and funny. Allow roughly an hour from the start of the welcome to the final glow, and keep your protective glasses on while the lava flows.

Reykjavík or Vík?

This page books the Reykjavík venue, at Fiskislóð 73 in the Grandi harbour district. The same company runs a second Lava Show in Vík, a village on the South Coast, and that one is a separate ticket. The venue describes the Reykjavík show as focused on Iceland's volcanic systems and recent eruptions, and the Vík show as focused on Katla and South Coast geology. Premium is not offered in Vík. If your trip stays around the capital, Reykjavík is the one to book. If you are driving the South Coast anyway, Vík may suit your route better.

Read next: Reykjavík or Vík: which Lava Show

Other ways to see lava

A show is not the only way, and it helps to know the alternatives. Active eruptions occur unpredictably, and access to eruption areas has changed at short notice because of volcanic gases and unstable ground. Even during an eruption, lava may not be visible from public viewing areas. Lava tunnels and old lava fields show solidified lava, not molten rock. The venue says its show runs every day whatever the volcanoes are doing, which is the point of a showroom. For eruption advice, check Safetravel, run by ICE-SAR, the Icelandic Association for Search and Rescue, before you travel anywhere.

Booking here or with the venue

The venue sells tickets on its own site for both locations, so booking here is a choice, not a requirement. This booking can be cancelled free of charge until 24 hours before the start, and you pay later rather than at the moment you book, which suits a trip with moving parts. If you book on the venue's site instead, compare its cancellation terms and the exact option names first. The venue also sells a bundle that combines the Lava Show with two other attractions in the same harbour district, which can suit a longer afternoon there and may be better value than three separate bookings.

Children and the age guidance

The show is described as family friendly, but under-fives are not recommended. If you bring a younger child, the booking needs a children's ticket. The venue welcomes babies and infants, who sit in the third row near an exit, and asks parents to keep young children calm and seated. Guests may be asked to step outside briefly if a child becomes unsettled. The room is dark and the heat is strong, so you are the best judge of whether your child will be comfortable. Families with older children often find the host's explanations the part that holds attention.

Dates and starting times

The calendar lists the starting times open on your date when you book, and your confirmation names the one you chose. Ask yourself whether you want the show early or late in your day, because the free Grandi Shuttle runs in the daytime only and may not be running at all on your dates. Because payment comes later and cancelling is free until 24 hours before, you can hold a date while you settle the rest of your plans. Arrive early on the day, as seating is first come, first served.

Who this isn't for

If you want to stand beside a live eruption, this is not that: the lava is melted and poured indoors, and real eruptions are unpredictable and often out of reach. If you dislike heat, darkness or crackling noise, the front rows and the balcony will be uncomfortable. If you have a child under five, think carefully before booking. And if you are driving the South Coast and will not return to the capital, the Vík venue suits your route better, though it has no Premium option.