Iceland: the epitome of volcanos, geysers, fjords, ice caves, geothermal lagoons, and basically anything you could ever ask for in one place. And after flying here, not once, but twice this summer, I can tell you: people are flocking back in.
Lines are long, entry procedures are evolving, but Iceland remains steadfast; tourism will remain as long as it can be done safely. But this does mean things are a bit different than before.
After seeing just how Iceland manages the huge influx of tourists, I felt it necessary to inform anyone planning to come here about how it really is on the front line. You definitely should arrive prepared.
As long as you do, you’re going to have the time of your life.
So here are the top 10 things you need to know before your next trip to Iceland. Click on the links to skip ahead.
- Iceland is open for business
- There are no more Covid restrictions
- There’s an awesome new geothermal lagoon to explore!
- Plan extra time at the airport
- Avoid booking a tour the morning of your first day
- Rental cars aren’t cheap
- Tours fill up very early
- It’s super easy to get a covid test for your return
- The new, awesome, active volcano isn’t always exploding
- There are more flights to Iceland than ever!
Related: The Ultimate 4-7 Hour Frankfurt (FRA) Airport Layover: by a Pilot
1. Iceland is open for business, and they mean it.
Iceland was one of the first European countries to create an innovative, safe system allowing tourists to enter without confusion. In fact, last winter I even wrote about how Iceland was one of the first countries open to Americans.
If there’s something that speaks to Iceland’s tenacity and desire to keep its tourism industry alive, it’s the fact they’ve been open since well before the EU added the US to its “green list”. As such, even if the US is some day removed from the EU’s allowed list, it’s highly unlikely that it would affect your ability to enter Iceland.
The geothermal lagoons are open, the volcanos and fjords are open, the ice caves are open, the museums are open, the restaurants are open. Iceland is as lively as ever, and it’s the perfect time to come back to this magical place or make your first discovery of it.
2. No more Covid-19 restrictions!
According to the US Embassy in Iceland, “Effective February 25, 2022, all regulations pertaining to public restrictions and border restrictions, as well as the quarantine requirement for those infected by COVID-19, are removed.”
3. There’s a brand new geothermal lagoon to swim in!
Welcome to the Sky Lagoon, a name very attractive to a pilot like myself – or anyone else who likes a natural hot tub seeming to fade into the sky.
The biggest benefit to Sky Lagoon over the others is its proximity to Reykjavik, only 20 minutes away.
It also has a more authentic, natural feel, and much less crowding than the other hot lagoons.
Any extra reason to go to Iceland is good with me!
4. Plan an abundance of extra time to check in for your flight leaving Iceland.
I’ve been flying for 10 years, and many more before that as a passenger around the world. I’ve never seen lines like this in normal, daily conditions.
Each airline had lines about half a mile long for check-in, and they weren’t moving much at all.
I noticed that the lines seemed worse for earlier flights (departing before 9AM) than the ones in the late morning – but this may have been simply coincidental.
5. Avoid booking any morning tours on your first day in Iceland.
Assuming you’re arriving early in the morning, you shouldn’t book any tours leaving before noon.
Why? It could take 2 hours to get through customs, Covid document checks; the works.
Unfortunately, I know this from first hand experience, having missed a 930AM tour after landing minutes after 7AM. Non-refundable, by the way.
Iceland is very popular, and they have been open to Americans for awhile. But that doesn’t mean they’re lax with their travel restrictions. Iceland doesn’t play around.
Worst case, you can take a name when you arrive.
6. It costs a lot to rent a car in Iceland.
I’ve seen rentals charging over $1000USD… a day – for an economy car. Yeah.
Booking far ahead helps significantly, but don’t expect anything cheap – especially when you add rental insurance (damage waivers, etc).
In many cases, tours end up cheaper than renting a car, particularly if your group is small.
7. Book your tours way in advance.
And you thought tours would be the end-all, be-all?
Everything is expensive in Iceland. Though tours vary in price, many offer similar packages.
For example, everyone offers the Golden Circle Tour. You can find it much cheaper if you use a bus, or pay a little more for the comfort of sharing the experience with fewer people. That being said, you’re going to end up at the same 3-4 places with the same people from all the other tour groups.
Tours do fill up, particularly the more specialized ones, like hiking, snowmobiling, ice cave exploring, and going deeper into Iceland to more off the beaten path places.
On one of my trips to Iceland, I was unable to find any last minute tours. So if you don’t want to pay enormous fees for rental cars, but also want to explore more than just Reykjavik, book ahead.
8. It’s easy to get a Covid test in Iceland if you need one
Iceland has a well designed online system, but you have an even better option; taking an approved at-home test with you.
There are several companies offering these approved at-home tests, such as eMed. You can expect to take the test on a video conference with a medical expert, and have the results in 15 minutes.
Otherwise, covid tests in Iceland are inexpensive and efficient, but like everything else in Iceland, you need to plan ahead.
9. There are more flights to Iceland than ever!
Airline’s have doubled down on this increasingly popular travel destination. Between mostly Delta and United, you can find year-round flights here where they used to be only seasonal.
And of course, IcelandAir flies basically everywhere.
10. Iceland’s most recent active volcano (Fagradalsfjall) is still stunning to visit
When I embarked on my afternoon tour to visit Iceland’s famous new active volcano, I didn’t know what to expect.
The tour guide advised us not to expect too much, but either way the hike would be fun.
That’s when I jokingly said, “I bet that it’ll start going off as soon as we leave.”
After an hour of moderately intense hiking, we made it to the top, stopped about half an hour to enjoy the views of the huge lava fields, then pressed on to the top.
There was smoke billowing out of all the crevices in the lava field and even the volcano, indicating some activity. So we stayed an hour just in case.
Nothing.
So we turned around, hiked an hour back down the mountain, and when we got to the bus we heard the news. It was erupting again.
The live cam showed billowing streaks of red-hot lava emerging in blankets out of the volcano, streaking down the lava fields in fiery madness. It looked wonderful.
So yeah, the active volcano is spontaneous and has a mind of its own. You could shell out good money for a tour and miss it.
There is a live cam you can check ahead of time to give you better chances, but even this isn’t a guarantee. The hike takes about an hour (each way, unless you mountain bike it – which people do!)
I still thoroughly enjoyed the hike. No regrets.
But I will be back.
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