A travel guide to Reykjavik and Keflavik
Reykjavik is the capital of Iceland and an estimated 117,000 people live there. Tourists will not find Reykjavik particularly suitable for them, but it is a place where they can enjoy watching the residents go about their daily lives.
Reykjavik is a charming city full of brightly colored buildings and a particularly picturesque area known as the Old Town. If you are in the old town, take a walk along Laugavegur street. It is a good place to buy various gifts and souvenirs from local craft shops. If you plan to do some shopping, keep in mind that Iceland is not part of the European Union. Therefore, all tourists are entitled to claim sales tax on goods if they spend SEK 4,000 or more per day in a shop.
To get your orientation of Reykjavik, head to the Perlan Tower. You can eat there or just enjoy the beautiful views. For those visitors on a budget, it’s worth knowing that you can still enjoy the view by eating at the Perlan cafe, which is less expensive than the restaurant.
Car rental in Reykjavik is the preferred way to get around, especially if you want to get out and see the spectacular Icelandic countryside. In the city itself you won’t experience much traffic congestion or lack of parking spaces. This makes Reykjavik a relatively stress-free place to drive. All this despite the fact that Reykjavik has the most cars per capita in the world!
If you find yourself in Reykjavik at a time of year when the weather is inhospitable, why not take refuge in buildings like the Reykjavik Museum of Photography and the National Museum of Iceland? If you’re traveling with young children, you might want to go to the Reykjavík Petting Zoo or Lake Tjornin, where you can feed the ducks bread.
You can rent cars from any of the airports in Iceland. Reykjavik has an airport in the center of the city, but it is mainly used for domestic traffic. In fact, the busiest airport is Keflavík International Airport, which is located in Keflavík, a city half an hour’s drive from Reykjavik. Having a car will save you money in the long run, as the taxi ride from the airport to Reykjavik tends to be expensive.
Regardless of which airport you enter, vehicles are available through major car rental companies such as Auto Europe, Hertz, Discount, Avis, National rent a car, and Advantage Car Rental.
Although renting a car in Iceland can be expensive, it is the best way to see as much of this huge country as possible. Car rental at Keflavík airport will help you have a cheaper vacation, as Iceland is also an expensive place to go out for a meal or a drink. You may want to consider staying in self-catering accommodation so you can cut costs by cooking for yourself. That said, Iceland’s recent economic woes have made traveling to the country up to 40% cheaper for tourists.
Iceland Express is one of the national airlines that has flights to many European cities. There are also Icelandair airlines that will fly you to Iceland from many destinations around the world, including cities in North America and Europe.
Amsterdam, Berlin, Bergen, Copenhagen, Frankfurt, Glasgow, Gothenburg, Helsinki, London, Oslo, Madrid, Munich, Manchester, Milan, Paris and Stockholm are among the European cities with flights to Reykjavik.
The Germanwings airline also has flights from Reykjavik to Cologne. If you come from Scandinavia look for flights on the airline Scandinavian Airlines Systems. For more information on flights from Keflavik International Airport, which has the airport code KEF, please contact + 354 425 0600.
One aspect of Icelandic culture not to be missed is the chance to swim in the geothermal ‘boilers’. The Laugardalslaug with its baths, steam baths and water slides is recommended and is the largest hot pot in Reykjavik.