Arrival at KEF Reykjavík 6:20am

[skatie]

Our plane arrives at KEF on September 5 at 6:20am - our cruise departs on Sept 7.  We were just planning on hanging around Reykjavík and doing the sky Lagoon prior to cruise.  We were not planning on renting a car and just getting Flybus from airport to hotel.   With such an early arrival I’m wondering what we can do and if we will even be able to drop bags at hotel.  Any thoughts on what to do on first day with such early arrival?

[janetcbl]

21 minutes ago, skatie said:

Our plane arrives at KEF on September 5 at 6:20am - our cruise departs on Sept 7.  We were just planning on hanging around Reykjavík and doing the sky Lagoon prior to cruise.  We were not planning on renting a car and just getting Flybus from airport to hotel.   With such an early arrival I’m wondering what we can do and if we will even be able to drop bags at hotel.  Any thoughts on what to do on first day with such early arrival?

Check out tours with transportation that take you from the airport to the Blue Lagoon (where you can store luggage) for a few hours, then picks you up again and takes you to your hotel. I believe there is a public bus tour that does the same, but takes you to the bus station and you need to get a taxi to the ship. This was true a couple of years ago.

[PLee]

Suggestion:  Sky Lagoon has it's own transportation or take the Grey Line bus.  Either should be able to pick you up from the airport.  The Sky Lagoon offers storage of your bags for a minimal fee.  Then take the bus back to your hotel or a nearby bus stop.  SL is closest to the airport, so I would go there first.  

[Nitemare]

I think @PLee is confusing Sky Lagoon, which is on the outskirts of Reykjavik, with Blue Lagoon, which is near the airport

 

2 full days in Iceland?  I'd book the Blue Lagoon for arrival day and use their transportation to get you from the airport to the Lagoon and on to your hotel.  And on the 6th I'd take a Golden Circle or South Coast tour with a local provider.  Reykjavik is a cute city, but the nature in Iceland is spectacular, and you won't really see it in the city or at Blue or Sky Lagoon (which are both great).

[Meander Ingwa]

Check with your hotel.  Many flights arrive very early and the hotels can accommodate.  Transfers into the city via Flybus are highly efficient.  You will transfer to a shuttle van at the central station and be taken to your hotel.

 

 

You can book a hotel transfer with a stop at Blue Lagoon on Reykjavik Excursions.  They will take you to BL where you can store bags and enjoy.  Then have transfer to your hotel where you probably need a nap.  The company has a lot of excursion options.  They gave me excellent service.

[PLee]

Correct, I did confuse the two.  Thanks for clarifying.  South Coast tour was exceptional.

[skatie]

2 hours ago, PLee said:

Correct, I did confuse the two.  Thanks for clarifying.  South Coast tour was exceptional.

I was thinking of a south coast tour on the second day but I’m worried that it’s a 10 hour day and jet lag hits me hard - don’t want to be sleeping half the tour!

[PLee]

It might be just what you need as you are on a bus for a good part of the time to allow for naps in between stops.

[WisRiver]

We are doing an Iceland stopover on our way to Europe this fall.  We will rent a car.

 

We have made three trips to Iceland including a Hurtigruten cruise around Iceland last year.  We were in the same situation as the OP.  We were to arrive at 6:30 AM and did not start our cruise until two days later.  We rented a car from Blue Rental at the airport.  We were staying at the Radisson Blu in the center of Reykjavik.  We drove to the hotel in hope that we could get an early checkin.  No such luck, but we did leave our luggage at the hotel.  We had breakfast in a nearby cafe.  We had booked tickets at the Sky Lagoon for noon.  We drove out to the Sky Lagoon, had a wonderful two hours in the warm water, sauna and steam bath.  We drove back to the hotel, checked in, took a nap and wandered around the city center.  The next day we checked out, and drove along the south coast to overnight in Vik.  We drove back towards Reykjavik stopping to see the new volcano.   We dropped the car at the Blue location in Reykjavik  and embarked late in the afternoon.  Taxis are very expensive and I do not like riding the bus with luggage.  The rental car did not save us much money, but it gave us lots of flexibility.  Icelandic highways are well maintained with good signage.  We did not go off road so did not need an AWD vehicle.  

[skatie]

@WisRiver we are staying at Radison Blu in September - did you like it?   We are also planning to head to Sky Lagoon and may do as you did - just drop luggage and head over there.   The last time I was in Iceland (2016 I think), we rented a car and did the Golden Circle tour on our own.  However, the jet lag really hit us about half way through and I had to pull over for a bit - I know Iceland is extremely expensive but I think this time we will rely on walking, taxi and buses

[WisRiver]

We liked the Radisson Blu;  central location, nice staff, good (not great) breakfast, clean quiet rooms.  It is a good business class hotel, without a lot of charm.   On our next trip to Iceland in October, we will be staying at the nearby Center Plaza Hotel.  

[skatie]

1 hour ago, WisRiver said:

We liked the Radisson Blu;  central location, nice staff, good (not great) breakfast, clean quiet rooms.  It is a good business class hotel, without a lot of charm.   On our next trip to Iceland in October, we will be staying at the nearby Center Plaza Hotel.  

Thanks for your input!   Did you catch the shuttle to the cruise port.  It looks like it’s only about five minute walk from hotel at Harpa building.  

[WisRiver]

When we stayed at the Radisson we were starting a Hurtingruten Expedition cruise.  Their ship was able to dock in the Old Harbor, about a five minute walk to the ship.  In 2019 we were on Voyage of the Vikings, and the Zuiderdam did an overnight stay in Reykjavik, and docked at the cruise port.  We took a taxi to and from the Harpa.  

[Turtles06]

On 7/7/2023 at 11:03 AM, Nitemare said:

And on the 6th I'd take a Golden Circle or South Coast tour with a local provider. 

I had the same thought. With a full day, I would not hang around Reykjavik, jet lag or not. The spectacular beauty of Iceland is outside the cities/towns. 
 

@skatie the Golden Circle tour is shorter than the South Coast tour (which is a really full day but well worth it), so perhaps that might work better for you. 

Enjoy your trip! 

 

[Meander Ingwa]

Agree there are 6 and 8 hour Golden Circle tours and they are to wonderful geologic sites.  I particularly enjoyed the Tomato Greenhouse.

 

Your hotel may be able to provide you with a bix lunch.  My hotel did ( a non corporate hotel) and it was an excellent value 

 

If you choose to stay in town there are a wide variety of museums to enjoy.  Dont miss out on the popular hot dog stands.  

[skatie]

12 hours ago, Turtles06 said:

I had the same thought. With a full day, I would not hang around Reykjavik, jet lag or not. The spectacular beauty of Iceland is outside the cities/towns. 
 

@skatie the Golden Circle tour is shorter than the South Coast tour (which is a really full day but well worth it), so perhaps that might work better for you. 

Enjoy your trip! 

 

We have done the Golden Circle tour when we were in Iceland in 2018, so feel our only other good option is South tour which is a 10 hour day. I’d just hate to waste all that money if I’m dozing half the tour away as it’s a lot of driving.  I’ll check out those tour options tho as maybe we can join one last minute if we shake the jet lag quickly!

 

we have a tour booked from Akuryeri to see Godafiss waterfall and Myvatn Lake and baths so will get a good look  at Icelandic nature that day

Edited July 16, 2023 by skatie