Travel To Iceland
Travelling to Iceland
Iceland couldn’t be further away from Australia than it presently is. You have to travel across half the earth to get there. The quickest way to do that is of course by flying. Your main two travel choices are to fly across Asia to Europe and from there to Iceland (Red route on map), or fly to the west coast of the United States, across the USA and from the East Coast of USA to Iceland (Blue route on map).
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RED Route goes via Asia to Europe and from there to Iceland BLUE Route goes via Pacific Ocean, across |
Alternatively, you can go a full circle and use your return trip to go the opposite route to your outwards travel. But beware of the fact that getting to Iceland using around the world trip tickets can be difficult due to the fact that Icelandair doesn’t code share or participate in such schemes. Check with your travel agent.
The actual flying time varies in accordance with the route and stop-over cities. It is in the range of 23 – 26 hours. An example could be as is shown in the table below:
| Via Asia | Flying Time | Via America | Flying Time |
| Australia to Asia | 7 – 8 Hours | Australia to West Coast of USA |
13 – 14 Hours |
| Asia to Europe | 13 -14 Hours | West to East Coast of USA | 5 – 6 Hours |
| Europe to Iceland | 3 – 4 Hours | East coast of USA to Iceland | 5 – 6 Hours |
With stop-overs you can add another 10 to 15 hours to the journey if you go direct.
The main airline to fly from Iceland to Europe or America is Icelandair. Also during summer in Europe you can get very cheap flights to Iceland from the UK with Icelandexpress airlines.
On average, you can expect to pay around AUD $2.500 to $3.000 for a return flight to Iceland. Also take note that the Icelandair prices have date restrictions on them. That is if your stay in Iceland exceeds 30 days, the price will be much higher. Check with your travel agent and plan your trip carefully.
Australian citizens travelling to Iceland for up to 3 Months do not need to apply for a Visa. See the Foreign Affairs website for the latest update.
The International Airport (Keflavik Airport) in Iceland is located in a peninsula, about 50km south of the capital city, Reykjavik. This airport is shared with the US Armed forces which have a military presence in Iceland. Buses operate in conjunction with all International flights to and from Reykjavik.
Iceland is a paradise for Nature lovers. It’s pure air, water and unspoilt nature are the main tourist attraction. About 280.000 travellers visit Iceland annually. The best time to visit is during the European summer from early June to late August. During this time the temperatures are on average about 9 – 10 Celsius in Reykjavik with occasions where they reach 24C, so do take some warm clothing despite it being summer.
For more Tourist and Travel information on Iceland see the Icelandic Tourist Board Website, which has a lot of information and links to various other sites. Also checkout Virtual Iceland and Iceland Naturally, websites with heaps of information and links as well.