Iceland Travel GuideLOCAL TRAVEL AGENCY IN ICELAND
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Iceland Travel GuideLOCAL TRAVEL AGENCY IN ICELAND
My trip
Talk to a local
Keflavík is a coastal town on the Reykjanes peninsula, right next to Keflavík International Airport, Iceland's main airport. Its name means 'Driftwood Bay'. It began as a fishing settlement and later grew around the US military airbase built here in the 1940s. It is about 45 km, or around 40–45 minutes, from Reykjavík, and free to explore.
Keflavík is now part of the municipality of Reykjanesbær, together with the neighbouring towns of Njarðvík and Hafnir. The three merged in 1994, and the town is still called by both names. With around 22,000 people, Reykjanesbær is the fourth largest municipality in Iceland.
For centuries Keflavík was a fishing and trading post, and its old harbour area still has some 19th and 20th century buildings and warehouses. From the 1940s the town grew quickly around the airbase built by the US military, which operated here through the Cold War until 2006.
For most travellers, Keflavík is simply the first or last stop of an Iceland trip, since the international airport sits right on the edge of town. Most drive straight past, so it sees far fewer visitors than you would expect for a place this close to the airport. It is worth knowing about if you have a long layover or an early flight: it has hotels, cafés, restaurants, shops and a few museums that can fill a spare afternoon without driving all the way to Reykjavík.
Keflavík's harbour was a trading post as far back as the 16th century, developed in part by Scottish merchants and entrepreneurs. It grew as a fishing port and a centre for fish processing.
Everything changed in the Second World War. In the early 1940s US forces stationed in Iceland built an airfield on the heath above the town. It gave the Allies a base in the middle of the North Atlantic, kept Germany from gaining a foothold in Iceland, and served as a stopover for refuelling and supplies for aircraft crossing the ocean. That airfield later became Keflavík International Airport.
During the Cold War it was known as Naval Air Station Keflavik. NATO forces used it to watch ship and submarine traffic in the North Atlantic, and the US Air Force later added radar, fighter aircraft, in-flight refuelling and sea rescue. After the Soviet Union broke up, the United States began to wind down its operations, and the base finally closed in 2006. The old barracks area, now called Ásbrú, has been turned into student housing, schools, hotels and guesthouses.
The American presence was controversial. From the early days, relationships between local women and the soldiers were frowned upon, and a large number of Icelanders opposed NATO membership and having a military base in the country. At the same time the base brought jobs and money, which helped to build roads, the airport and other infrastructure in Iceland.
The base also brought American radio and rock 'n' roll. Keflavík became a hub for bands in the 1960s and 70s and is still nicknamed 'the Beatle town' (bítlabærinn) and 'the Liverpool of the North' for the number of musicians it produced.
Route 41 is kept open all year, but it crosses open lava fields and can be windy and icy in winter. Allow extra time before a flight.
For a small town, Keflavík has left a big mark on Icelandic music, and its museums are the main things to see between flights.
Because it is so close to the airport, some travellers book all their nights in Keflavík. We do not recommend that. There is not much going on in town in the evenings, very few guided tours and activities start here, and if you are driving yourself, most day trips begin with 40 minutes on the road towards Reykjavík before you get anywhere.
If you want one base for your whole stay, choose Reykjavík. Keflavík is a very good choice for the first night after a long flight, or for the last night before an early departure. Use the spare hours to see the Reykjanes peninsula: the Blue Lagoon, the Bridge Between Continents, the Gunnuhver hot springs and the Garðskagi lighthouse are all within half an hour's drive.
Keflavík has hotels, guesthouses, restaurants, a swimming pool and shops, making it a reasonable base for a first or last night in Iceland.
Keflavík has more hotel options than most towns its size, largely because of the airport, which makes it a convenient base for a first or last night in Iceland.
The airport takes its name from the town and sits right next to it, but they are not the same place. The airport is officially called Keflavík International Airport.
Keflavík is the largest of the three towns that merged in 1994 to form the municipality of Reykjanesbær, along with Njarðvík and Hafnir. People use both names for the town.
Driftwood Bay.
About 45–50 km, roughly 40–45 minutes by car.
Visit Viking World and, when it is open, the Icelandic Museum of Rock 'n' Roll, walk the old harbour, swim at the local pool, and drive out to the sights of the Reykjanes peninsula.
It can make sense for a very early flight or a late arrival, since it saves the drive to and from Reykjavík, though there is less to do in the evenings. For a whole trip, Reykjavík is the better base.
The airfield was built by US forces in the Second World War as an Allied base in the North Atlantic. It became a NATO base in the Cold War and closed in 2006.
