Planning your trip

Travel to and from Iceland

Iceland, in case you hadn't noticed, is an island. That means you can not get there by car. This leaves flight or boat, flight being by far the more usual and convenient.

Flight

It may surprise you that Iceland is only a 3-4 hour flight away from Europe, and only 5-6 hours away from the east coast of The United States. Because of its central location, you can even stop by there for a few days layover on your way between Europe and the US. 

Your airplane will land at Keflavik international airport (KEF), 40 minutes away from Reykjavik, with easy bus travel to wherever you're staying. On the Reykjavik excursions flybus, you can read our magazine, for a consise and entertaining overview of what there is to do when you're there. There are a number of carriers worth looking at when booking your trip:

 

 

 

Icelandair connects Iceland with both continents on a daily basis. The airline offers flights from London, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Berlin, Barcelona, Paris, Helsinki, New York, Boston, Orlando, Toronto and Halifax – to name a few.

- Wow air offers flights to and from various European destinations such as London, Copenhagen, Berlin, Warsaw and Paris, depending on the time of year.

SAS offers flights to Iceland from Oslo, Norway. Every week SAS schedules 6 flights to and from Iceland.

- Norwegian air flies between Oslo and Iceland three times a week.

- EasyJet flies between Iceland and various locations in England 3-4 times a week.

- Delta Air Lines fly between New York (JFK) and Iceland at least once a week.

Travel by boat
There is also the option of sailing to Iceland with Smyril Line. Their ferry travels from the Nordic countries to the east part of Iceland, for the majority of the year. If you choose to go by the ferry, you will arrive in Seydisfjordur, a small fishing village on the east coast.
From that point there are two ways to get to Reykjavik, via domestic flight or car/bus. Flights are available from Air Iceland. The flight takes about 1 hour, but driving to Reykjavik can take up to 12 hours.

 

Accommodation:

There is a large number of possibilities when it comes to accommodation, depending on preferences, price range and what part of the country you want to see. Iceland is a rather large island, so it is not recommended to stay in Reykjavik and daytrip to the north. Please browse our listings for accommodations here.

Other:

Other things to think about when planning your trip such as what time of year to come, which parts of the country to visit (see regional info), weather, prices, and events. On this site you will find comprehensive guides to everything you need to think about, split up into easy-to-use segments. Here is a list of some relevant articles:

When should I visit Iceland?

 

 

Getting around: Travelling within Iceland

 

Driving in Iceland