Keflavik airport (or KEF when you may be booking your next flight) is the quietest airport I have ever traveled through. There were no loud announcements about flights that were taking off or passengers that were missing like American airports might have. So the tip here is: Be on time, know where you’re going!

Arriving in the airport customs and inspection is very different from American airports. We arrived around 7 am Iceland time, exited the plane and walked through the quiet airport, inspection was a hallway with one way glass that you walked down like any other hallway. No one was there to stop you, or to ask any questions. From there you went through customs, stated you were there for business or pleasure and received a stamp in the good ol’ passport, and from here moved on to collect your baggage.

Picking up the Rental was extremely easy as well. All the pickups (that were located directly inside the airport) were at one desk, with friendly and competent attendants that wanted to get you out on your adventure as soon as possible! With a whole plane full of folks we only waited for about 10 minutes and we were on the road!

There is another group of rental companies located on the airport property, but they were not located inside the terminal. From what I had overheard those other car rental locations were available via a shuttle that ran back and forth between the terminal and the rental location about 5 minutes away.

On the way back..

Returning the rental was a little more interesting. We knew that we had to fill the gas tank before returning the vehicle, but we were not sure exactly were the closest gas station was to the airport. Eventually we were at the airport and still gas-less, we were told we could fill up at the airport gas station but it was overpriced, unattended, and had special credit card requirements so we decided to pay the fee and get to our plane! We later found out that the next closest gas station was right on Reykjanesbraut about 6 kilometers ( 10 minutes) out. It’s a Orkan gas station on the right hand side heading towards the airport.

The final drop off of the vehicle was not in the main terminal, but they provided a shuttle which we had to wait about 10 minutes for. Arriving back in the main terminal where we started our journey we approached the lines for check in. They moved very slowly the day we were there, we waited approximately an hour in line, guess it’s a good thing we got there early?

While waiting in line we noticed it was all Iceland Air…Everywhere. This is great because we knew for sure we were in the right place. While we were waiting in line we prepared our passports and baggage and made VAT refund slips were in order.

From baggage drop off we made our way through security, and into the main hub of the airport.  There are tons of shops as well as a duty free, good food in the cafeteria, and clean bathrooms.  The food was relatively inexpensive compared to the $17 plate of “nachos” we had at JFK just 5 days before.  We purchased a few sodas and sandwiches which cost about $12 American before we jumped on the plane.

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