Iceland (Lonely Planet, 7th Edition) - Fran Parnell [83]
The Blue Line (Bláa Línan; 420 6000, 425 0381) service operates three or four buses per day between Keflavík airport, Reykjanesbær and the Blue Lagoon. A one-way ticket costs Ikr1150.
CAR
Four car-rental companies have stands at the international airport: Avis ( 491 4000; www.avis.is), Bílaleiga Akureyrar/National ( 425 0300, 840 6042; www.holdur.is), Budget ( 521 5551, 562 6060; www.budget.is) and Hertz ( 522 4430, 505 0600; www.hertz.is); prices cost around Ikr18,000 for a day’s hire in summer.
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NORTHWESTERN REYKJANES
The western edge of the Reykjanes Peninsula is rugged and exposed – perfect if you love wild rain-lashed cliffs and beaches! There are several fishing villages and some quirky sights to be seen among the lava fields.
GETTING THERE & AWAY
On weekdays, SBK ( 420 6000; www.sbk.is) has two buses (Ikr570/285/350 per adult/child four to 11 years/12 to 18 years) from Keflavík to Sandgerði (10 minutes) and Garður (15 minutes), with one bus on Saturday and Sunday. Heading back to Keflavík, you should book with SBK.
Garðskagi
From Keflavík, if you follow Rte 41 for 9km, on through the village of Garður, you’ll reach the beautiful wind-battered Garðskagi headland, one of the best places in Iceland for bird spotting – it’s a big breeding ground for sea birds, and it’s often the place where migratory species first touch down. It’s also possible to see seals, and maybe whales, from here.
Two splendid lighthouses, one old and one new, add drama – you can get near-360-degree sea views from the old lighthouse. There’s also a small folk museum ( 422 7220; www.svgardur.is; admission free; 1-5pm Apr-Oct), filled with a pleasing mishmash of fishing boats, birds’ eggs and sewing machines. It contains the balconied Flösin Cafeteria ( 422 7214; 1-5pm daily Apr-Dec, 1-5pm Fri, Sat & Sun Jan-Mar, later in Jul & Aug), with superb views over the ocean to Snæfellsjökull.
There’s a tranquil, free camping area by the lighthouse, with toilets and fresh water.
Sandgerði
Five kilometres south of Garður, it’s worth stopping at this industrious fishing village to see the classroom-like but interesting Fræðasetrið nature centre ( 423 7551; Gerðavegur 1; adult/child Ikr400/300; 9am-noon & 1-5pm Mon-Fri, 1-5pm Sat & Sun year-round), where there are stuffed Icelandic creatures (including a monstrous moth-eaten walrus), jars of pickled things (look out for the freaky Gorgonocephalus), and a small aquarium with sea squirts, crabs and anemones.
There are some quite nice beaches on the coast south of Sandgerði, and the surrounding marshes are frequented by more than 170 species of birds. About 7km south, you can walk to the ruins of the fishing village Básendar, which was destroyed by a giant tidal wave in 1799.
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SOUTHWESTERN REYKJANES
The vast lava flows at Reykjanesviti were spewed out by a series of small shield volcanoes. The area is crisscrossed by walking tracks that are marked on the Reykjanes map, available from most tourist offices, including those in Keflavík and at the international airport. However, the terrain is tough and not all the paths are clearly marked.
GETTING THERE & AWAY
There are no public bus routes in this area. If you’re driving, you’ll need enough petrol to last you from Keflavík to Grindavík.
Keflavík to Reykjanesviti
If you turn off Rte 41 onto Rte 44 just outside Keflavík, you’ll first pass the deserted barracks, barbed-wire fences and tank ranges of the old US military base (see the boxed text).
After several kilometres the road zooms past the fading fishing village of Hafnir. There’s nothing much to see here – just humps and bumps in a field, thought to be a 9th-century longhouse belonging to Ingólfur Arnarson’s foster brother, and the anchor of the ‘ghost ship’ Jamestown, which drifted ashore mysteriously in 1870 with a full cargo of timber but no crew.
About 8km south, a 30-minute walk