Rental vs. Bus for 2 night stopover in Reykjavik

Posted by FiddlerKate (New England) on 03/29/26 04:41 AM

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.

Posted by mikliz97

Snohomish, WA

03/29/26 01:16 PM

3901 posts

I would rent a car as that gives you the most flexibility and is not that much more than the Flybus. That is what we almost always do.

Are you locked into staying in Reykjavik? If not, I would just stay at the Aurora Hotel the night of arrival and then pick up the car in the morning. You could do part of the south coast or Snaefelsness that next day. I would stay the night in one of those places to maximize your time. Then in the morning head back towards Reykjavik or KEF. You could go to Reykjavik for a couple of hours, could do a hot spring, or see some of the Reykjanes Peninsula.

If you are locked into the Reykjavik Hotel, do not worry about on street parking. It is very easy and does not cost much.

If you rent a car, I highly recommend taking the full insurance and not using AAA or anything like that. Book local and use a local company. If you ge the full insurance, then you are not on the hook for anything. If you use your own credit card for insurance, remember that if anything happens that you have to pay upfront and then deal with getting reimbursed. On our trip just the other week, we were stuck behind an accident where the roof had to be cut off the car to get the people out. They were visitors, and I cannot imagine having to deal with insurance after that.

Also, if you rent a car, you need to allow time to get to KEF, which from Reykjavik is about 45 minutes. Plus time to return the car and then you still want a full 3 hours at KEF before your flight. Security has never had long lines, but Passport Control can be incredibly long, and there have been a few times that we needed that full 3 hours.

Now, if you do not want to rent a car, then you could consider a taxi instead. We don't bother with Flybus anymore as we are not fans of transferring at the central bus terminal, so the times the we do not rent a car, we take a taxi. They have a flat rate now, 22,500KR, so $180 or so. We use Hreyfill, which you can call upon arrival or book it ahead of time.

If you do not rent a car, then look at local companies for a tour. We have used Troll, Nice Travel, and Bus Travel Iceland for day tours and they are all very good. We did have one booked with Arctic Adventures but it was cancelled due to weather. I will say though that they processed the refund immediately, so we were obviously pleased with them.

Do not book through Viator, Get Your Guide or anyone that is a 3rd party reseller and stick to local companies.

For specific tours, I would not do the Golden Circle unless you just want a fairly short tour. You will see much more if you do a south coast or Snaefellsness tour. Then on that second day you could do the Citywalk "free" walking tour in Reykjavik, or the food tour, or both. Both are excellent and we have done both of them several times each. Just walking around the city it nice and there is a lot to see.

I hope some of this helps in your decision making. We have been many times, so if you have more questions, just ask.