Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
on a budget will find cycling a cheaper
alternative.
On the ground, you'll probably spend a good
deal of time on Route 1, or
Hringbraut
(known in
English as the
Ringroad
), which largely follows the
coast in a 1500km circuit of the country via
Reykjavík, Akureyri and Egilsstaðir. The entire
Ringroad is sealed, and in winter snowploughs do
their best to keep the route accessible to conven-
tional vehicles, though you'll still need to take care
and use snow tyres.
Elsewhere, while stretches around towns might
be surfaced, the majority of Icelandic roads are
gravel
. Some of these are perfectly decent (if
bumpy) to travel over, while many others - such as
most
roads through the Interior
- are only
navigable in high-clearance four-wheel-drives.
Note that Interior roads are only open between
June and August; exactly when each opens and
closes each year - or whether some open at all -
depends on the weather, and the going can be
di
cult even then.
By bus
There are currently four long-distance
bus
companies
in Iceland: Kynnisferðir, aka Reykjavík
Excursions (
W
re.is) and Sterna (
W
sterna.is), both
operating out of Reykjavík's
BSÍ
bus terminal (
W
bsi
.is); SBA-Norðurleið (
W
sba.is) based in Akureyri; and
Trex (
W
trex.is). Between them, they cover the entire
Ringroad, the West Fjords, and summer-only routes
across the Interior, including many places you could
otherwise only reach in your own four-wheel-drive.
Unfortunately, however, the companies act
independently of each other, meaning that some
Ringroad towns have four different bus stops.
Bus travel is convenient but expensive: one-way
fares from Reykjavík
are 11,800kr to Akureyri;
13,700kr to Höfn; and around 20,500kr to Egilsstaðir.
In purely point-to-point terms it costs less to fly, and
if you can get a group together, car rental might
work out cheaper, depending on how far you're
going and for how long. Between October and
June, the range of buses is also greatly reduced:
Interior roads close, local services dry up, and even
along the Ringroad there is no bus service between
Egilsstaðir and Höfn.
Bookings
for main-road services can be made
online, at the BSÍ terminal in Reykjavík or the SBA
terminal in Akureyri, though they're not really
necessary as you can always pay on board, and
extra buses are laid on if more than one busload of
passengers turns up. Buses into the Interior, or local
tours, will require advance booking, however.
By air
Flying
in Iceland is good value: a discounted single
airfare
from Reykjavík to Egilsstaðir, for instance, is
9500kr, far less than the cheapest bus fare for the
same journey - and takes just one hour instead of
two days. As an added bonus, you'll get a different
take on Iceland's unique landscape from above -
flying over Vatnajökull's vast expanse of ice is about
the only way to get a grasp of its scale.
The main
domestic airline
is Flugfélag Íslands
(
W
airiceland.is), which flies all year from Reykjavík
to Akureyri, Egilsstaðir, Ísafjörður, Westman Islands
and Höfn (Hornafjörður) almost daily. From
Akureyri, they have less frequent connections
between April and October to Grímsey,
Vopnafjörður and Þórshöfn. Their various
ticket
types
are Priority, which are the most expensive
and valid for a year; Value, which offer less flexi-
bility, but are twenty percent cheaper; Bonus, valid
for a month and some forty percent cheaper than
Priority; and various Net fares, which are cheaper
again but can't be altered. Note that bad weather
can cause cancellations at short notice and that
it's best to book well ahead for summer weekends
and holidays.
Luggage allowance
is 20kg, and
you need to
check in
thirty minutes before
departure.
Sample
Value fares
for one-way tickets from
Reykjavík are: Akureyri 13,500kr; Egilsstaðir 15,600kr;
Ísafjörður 13,500kr; and Westman Islands 13,500kr.
Bus tours and buses through the Interior
SBA and Reykjavík Express also run
tours
, from
year-round excursions along the Golden Circle to
explorations of the Interior in summer. Though
most tours only last a single day, you can get off
along the way to camp or make use of mountain
huts, and pick up a later bus - let the company
know your plans in advance so a space can be
reserved for you. Make sure, too, that you know
when the next bus is due, as only the Kjölur route is
covered daily.
BUS SCHEDULES
Unless otherwise stated,
bus schedules
given throughout the guide are for
summer only, approximately June to
mid-September. Winter timetables can
vary considerably, so always check with
the relevant bus company websites
outside these months.
