Keflavik International Airport

About Keflavik International Airport

Keflavik International Airport (KEF) is Iceland’s only major international gateway, located near the town of Keflavík on the Reykjanes peninsula, about 50 km southwest of the capital, Reykjavík. All arrivals and departures pass through the single Leif Erikson Air Terminal, named after the Norse explorer credited as the first European to reach North America.

The airport is entirely separate from the smaller Reykjavík Airport (RKV) inside the city, which handles only domestic flights to places like Akureyri and Ísafjörður; every international flight, including all the routes airlines market as flying “to Reykjavík”, lands at Keflavik.

Getting from Keflavik Airport to Reykjavík

A pre-booked transfer to Reykjavík takes around 45 minutes on Route 41, passing through the black lava fields of the Reykjanes peninsula. There is no train link, and the drive is long enough with luggage and jet lag that most visitors prefer a private transfer with a driver already at the terminal over waiting for a shared shuttle to fill up.

Terminals and pickup points

Keflavik International Airport operates from a single terminal, the Leif Erikson Air Terminal, handling all international arrivals and departures. Pre-booked transfer drivers wait in the arrivals hall with a name sign confirmed in your booking, just past baggage claim and customs.

Common transfer routes from Keflavik Airport

Typical routes from KEF include:

• KEF to central Reykjavík, around 45 minutes.
• KEF to the Blue Lagoon, around 20 minutes.
• KEF to Reykjavík’s cruise terminal at Skarfabakki, around 45 to 50 minutes.
• KEF to Reykjanesbær and Keflavík town, around 5 to 10 minutes.

A Blue Lagoon stop between the airport and Reykjavík is one of the most common transfer add-ons on this route, whether on arrival to unwind after a long flight or on departure day before an evening flight home.

Booking your Keflavik Airport transfer

Compare licensed Icelandic operators on this site for any KEF route. You get one fixed price up front, meet-and-greet at the terminal, flight tracking and free cancellation up to 24 hours before pickup. Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Alipay, iDEAL, Wero and PayPal are all accepted.

Because Iceland’s weather can add time to any drive, booking a vehicle with some buffer before a flight, especially in winter, is worth the extra margin, and the fixed price does not change if conditions slow the journey down.