We landed at the empty Keflavik airport at roughly 6AM local time on 5/15/2021. We were here! It’s kind of surreal to realize that after all the isolation, life pauses, canceled plans, and hic ups that we’ve actually made it. Now we just need to see if they will let us in!
Covid-19 testing on arrival in Iceland: Before departing for Iceland, we had to pre-register with the government health department and received a bar code that will follow us through the Covid-19 testing and notification process. After landing and before clearing border control and customs, all arriving passengers are required to be tested.
First step was inspection of documentation to be exempt from mandatory quarantine (vaccination card or proof of recovery from C-19) and double COVID testing. Inspection was easy, no issue with our vaccine cards. The C-19 test was both throat and nasal culture. We are required to self isolate at an approved lodging until negative test results come back via text message or the smartphone app. The app requires an Iceland cell number so we have to rely on text. Arrival testing is free and results back within 24 hrs …
There was a bit of a snafu with the rental car. The rental office was off-site and the shuttles were not running. They were not answering the phone. The good news is that the office was a short walk across the parking lot from the terminal. When we got to the office there was a note on the door saying the office was closed for COVID and a “button” to push for more information. Pushing the button resulted in a recording and option to leave a message. A short time later someone showed up to open the office and we picked up our car.
We opted to stay at a hotel close to the airport (less then 2 miles) to self quarantine until results came back. We received our negative test results back within 8 hours! They will let us in! We are clear to explore the country ?.
