We will fly into Iceland in June on the way back to the US from the UK.
We'll arrive after midnight (i.e. early on Sat am) and leave in the evening on Sunday, so just the 1 full day Saturday (having arrived just after midnight), and then leaving the city Sunday afternoon in time for a flight to the US around 8pm, but we feel lucky to be fitting it in at all.
It seems that the cost of 2 people taking Flybus round trip from the international (KEF) airport to Reykjavik and back again is relatively (to us) expensive and that renting a car for the same period of time wouldn't cost much more. We know we won't have time to drive too far out of Reykjavik, but given the similarity in price it seems like the rental doesn't cost much more than the airport bus round trip and could give us more flexibility.
Our lodging is in the city but has no parking. It seems nearby parking garages will be closed between midnight and early morning, so if we rent a car we'll be using the on-street parking near the lodging, probably not ideal.
Typically when we travel we use public transport and avoid renting: to us rental is risky and involves hidden costs that add up before you're done, making what looks like a good price not such a great deal in the end. We would just as soon be car-free temporary locals. There are also accounts in the travel community here of unpleasant rental experiences.
Maybe we'd be better off (both in terms of money / hassle and potential for things going wrong) taking the airport bus round trip and just signing up for a quick tour out of town for a half day or something. If so, would appreciate tour company recommendations for a short trip out of the city.
If we rent we will check w/ spouse's credit card for car insurance protection, and we have AAA and I'm leaning towards booking the car through them, if possible.
We would appreciate any thoughts about renting vs. airport bus and perhaps recommendations for a half-day bus trip to take us out of the city without renting a car. Thanks.