Bus tour of Iceland.

Out the door turn right ~ Iceland 2016.  

Easier said than done, Keflavik International Airport is located about 32 miles south west of Reykjavik and claims to be a major hub for all those flying between the US and Europe. It is however, overused, crowded and inefficient, as is Icelandair who never knowingly fly on time. After an hour and a half wait for the luggage, it is 'out the door' but don’t be too hasty with the turning right, because first there is the coach park.

If the airport has one redeeming feature it is the close proximity of most coaches and buses to the main terminal building, and so before departing on a epic adventure just linger a while, get the camera out and snap away.

Reykjavik Excursions DZ F78, Volvo 9700 operating the Keflavik-Reykjavik airport express . The company is based at the BSI Bus Terminal, 101 Reykjavik, Iceland.

SBA-Nordurleid, Hjalteyrargotu 10, 600 Akureyri, Iceland. SBA OO T57, Mercedes Benz Tourismo C56Ft.

Straeto IE M62. Straeto (public transport), Reykjavik, Iceland. Iveco service bus.

The service departs some distance from the terminal building, requiring a lengthy walk across the car park. Service 55 is the cheapest, but slowest of the options for getting into Reykjavik. The timetabled journey is 1hr 12 mins for 43km. The first journey departs the airport at 6.35am with one further journey at 7.42am before a gap until the next direct journey at 1.42pm, after which it remains hourly until the last full through journey at 6.42pm.  

Why turn right? Simple, Iceland has a ring road, Route 1, and we are going around it anti-clockwise. Before starting the adventure, learn some simple rules. First, check in the Government Highways Department log for Elves activity in the vicinity of any bus stops or interchanges to be used. Elves are generally harmless and keep their distance from humans, but can become mischievous if their habitat was disturbed during infrastructure projects. Second, try to avoid travel during the hours of darkness when trolls are active as these are very large and malicious creatures: just look at the fossilised remains that pepper the landscape of those trolls caught out in daylight. It is important to always believe the locals!

The first town of any size is Selfoss, its entrance guarded by the large open expanse of the depot belonging to Guðmundur Tyrfingsson Ltd (GT Travel). Selfoss has a limited town and local village service provided by Strætó. Routes 72 and 73 operate a total of five journeys a day requiring one bus, whilst two other rural routes terminate in the town centre. 

NB J52. Hópbílar, Reykjavik, Iceland. Iveco Crossway coach at Seljalandsfoss just off highway 1 and marking the start of Eyjafjallajökull national park.

VO 160. Scania truck with coach body outside the Skógar folk museum  and inside (below) a Chevrolet post bus.

YF 842. A rather old Mercedes Benz at  Skaftafell truck stop with the mountains of Vatnajökull National Park as a backdrop.

We are heading north - if Iceland was a clockface, we are at five-past-the-hour.

AF 478. Trex Travel. Mercedes Benz with Marcopolo body at  Dettifoss, Europe’s most powerful waterfall.

The most northern point on trip (12 noon on the clock) was Húsavík. A small tourist town with no local public transport.

Parked on the quay in Húsavík is VS 37343, a Setra S516HD of Zerzuben from  Eyholz, Swizerland. Now that is a long distance coach tour!

Continuing anti-clockwise and hugging the coast line of Eyjafjorour to arrive in Iceland‘s second city, Akureyri. As those of you who took an interest in last year’s football world cup will know, the total population of Iceland is equal to the population of Leicester, as they keep insisting on telling us. So being the second largest city with a population of 18,191 doesn't equate to a large urban environment, but Akureyri does have its own municipal bus service and it is free to use. Six city routes radiate from a small roadside bus terminus just off the high street on a peak-time hourly headway. Each bus completing at least two routes per hour. Four routes are scheduled to take between twenty-two and twenty-seven minutes and two routes take thirty-five minutes.

LT S93. SVA, Akureyri city transport, Iveco Crossway, departing from the city centre terminus on route 1 which climbs through the very steep residential area to the hospital and passes the two major tourist attractions outside of the city centre - the large cathedral like church and the botanic gardens. 

RZ J84. SVA, Akureyri city transport, Mercedes Benz Citaro at the bus station.

BZ 318. Iveco Irisbus GX117 at the bus station.

Up at the botanic gardens, R 22814 a Mercedes Benz of The Icelandic Travel Company.

Iveco Crossway with (dual purpose) body, including toilet, on Strætó service 57, operated by Hòpbilar, Hafnarfiròi. Photographed on a thirty minute layover at the Staðarskáli service area on the N1. This is one of two daily through journeys from Akureyri to Reykjavík, scheduled to take 6hs 29mins. On our clock face tour we are now at ten-to-the-hour.

Heading south for the next 191 miles we start to encounter more tourists which reaches its peak as we enter the Golden Circle, an area promoted by tour operators from Reykjavik as 'Iceland in a Day'.

The first large coach/bus park is at Geysir geothermal area, with an odd assortment of vehicles, including:-

EB 160, an older style Mercedes Benz all-wheel-drive.

KU Z02, a Mercedes Benz Sprinter having had a double dose of Icelandic steroids. Note the comparison wiht the white liveried standard C19F Sprinter behind.

Something more conventional, BO J13 of Hópferdabílar from Akureyri. A Volvo coach with Drogmoller body.

Finally, into Reykjavik, by comparison to other capital cities this one is small, but perfectly formed. Situated around a vast bay, this is Iceland's major port, with modern development around the shoreline and an historical centre built on the surrounding hill. The historical heart  with narrow streets in a grid pattern is impregnable  by public transport. City buses use a scruffy and unwelcoming bus station at Hlemmur on the western side and a roadside interchange at Lækjartorg on the eastern side, whilst the regional services use a terminal located some distance from the centre, just off the ring road.

Reykjavik Excursions, operating the airport express, has its own interchange and depot slightly to the north of the city centre.  

JR 272, Scania Omnicity at Hlemmur bus station on route 15 to Mosfellsbær. The service operates every thiry minutes, with a running 

time of 56 minutes. 

NS P98, Iveco Crossway at Hlemmur on route 6 to Háholt. The service has a 15 minute headway with a 55 minute running time.

UH X25, one of the ex Copenhagen East Lancs Nordics loading at the futuristic Harpa Concert Hall on the sea front. Quite why anybody would use this service, it cannot penetrate the old city and you can see virtually the whole tourist area from this point.

So that is it, anti-clockwise around Iceland, a fantastic country, wonderful natural beauty, fascinating history, lovely people. Time to go and buy your ticket whilst I make the final 32 mile journey back to the airport.   

Iceland