I just returned from Iceland earlier this week and it was an absolutely fantastic time! It was my first time in Iceland and I am already mentally planning when I can go back. I thought I would give a quick rundown of my trip and hopefully my info is useful for others.
I flew United from EWR to KEV and the flight was completely full. I uploaded my CDC card to the flight ready center on United’s website but I still needed to check in at the airport where they verified my proof of vaccination as well as checked the barcode I received from registering on the covid.is website. Once at the gate, I had my documents rechecked by the gate agent who put an “ok” on my boarding pass. Once the flight landed we walked to boarder control where I got my passport stamped (they only asked for my passport) and then it was off to baggage claim. You could shop in duty free here but I wanted to get in line for testing ASAP so I headed straight towards the other end of baggage claim. The line was a bit long but went very quickly. Once to the front of the line, my vaccination card was checked again and my barcode scanned. I was then handed a test tube and ushered to the testing area. From the time I walked off the plane until I was finished with testing was about an hour process. I was tested around 8am and got a text with the results at 12:15pm.
I rented a car from Blue Car Rental and was able to rent a car for 4 days for a very affordable price. About $100 less than any other rental company I came across and that was with an added driver and an automatic car. It was a very smooth process at both pick up and drop off.
I stayed at Alfred’s Studios and a cannot recommend this place enough. I got the studio with the balcony and it came with the most AMAZING view of the ocean and mountains. It’s very well located to central Reykjavik and easy to get out of town. Parking is also convenient as we were able to find street parking right out front everyday. You’re just two blocks from the ocean and less than two blocks from the grocery store. Alfred’s also has two other apartment buildings in Reykjavik that offer a bit more space but I found the size of the studio perfectly fit our needs.
Two days before our flight home we booked an appointment through the visit.covid.is site for our covid test to return to the US. They have both rapid and PCR testing available and they were 4000isk/€30 and 6500isk/€50 respectively. You can be charged in either isk or euro and although the site suggested foreign currency to be charged in euro, the conversion from isk to usd was more in our favor. We chose the rapid test and made the appointment for 10:30. We got to the testing center at 9:30 and saw a line that was out the door and all the way down the parking lot. However, it still took less than 30 minutes for us to be done and on our way.
For the flight home we again needed to check in at the airport. The agent at the desk checked our passports and covid test results. These results were not checked again for the duration of our journey. From the time we dropped off the car to the time we sat at our gate took an hour and a half, so definitely allot a lot of time before your flight. Upon returning to the US, we were just asked if we were claiming anything at border control. When we said no, our passports were stamped and our trip was officially over. All and all it was a smooth trip and definitely worth it to see Iceland in a time with much fewer tourist than usual.