Reykjavík Cruise Port Transfers

Cruise day transfers in Reykjavík

Reykjavík is one of the busier stops on North-Atlantic and Arctic cruise itineraries. More than 150 ships call here in a typical season, between Princess and Holland America at Skarfabakki and the smaller expedition lines at Miðbakki. We run a dedicated cruise operation built around timing — the driver is at the gangway at the agreed minute, and you're back on board well before all-aboard.

The terminals themselves: Skarfabakki in Sundahöfn (postal code 104) handles most of the large modern ships — Princess, Holland America, Norwegian, Cunard, Royal Caribbean, MSC, Viking. It's about 5 km from downtown 101. Miðbakki at the Old Harbour, walking distance from Harpa, takes the smaller expedition vessels — Hurtigruten, Silversea, Ponant, Lindblad, HX. Sundahöfn proper (Korngarður / Vogabakki) is the overflow when Skarfabakki is full.

If you don't know which berth your ship uses, send the cruise line and the date — we'll check the official Faxaports schedule and get back within a few minutes.

Routes and prices

Live prices from the same dispatch system as the booking form. Skarfabakki ↔ city centre is short and runs on the metered tariff; airport and Blue Lagoon legs use the fixed price.

Prices include luggage handling, the meet-at-pier service and the wait at the gangway. Vehicles for parties of seven or more (minibus, midicoach) are quoted separately — see /for-groups.

How a cruise day works in practice

Embarkation. You land at KEF; the driver is waiting in the arrivals hall with a sign. Suitcases into the car, five minutes later you're on the road. The drive to Skarfabakki takes about 55 minutes via Route 41 and the Sæbraut waterfront — Mount Esja and the harbour come into view as you arrive. Drop-off is right at the cruise terminal entrance.

Port day. You disembark at the agreed time and the driver is at the pier with a name sign. From there it's the Blue Lagoon, the Golden Circle, downtown, or wherever you've decided to spend the day. The driver either waits or comes back at the agreed hour. We aim to have you back at the ship at least an hour before all-aboard, with the traffic checked in real time.

Disembarkation. Off the ship, suitcases loaded, straight to KEF. About 55 minutes. Drop-off at the correct terminal entrance for your airline.

Private taxi or the cruise-line shuttle?

Cruise-line shuttles work fine if you're not in a hurry. The trade-offs in practice are queueing at the pier (often 30–60 minutes with 50+ passengers), terminal-to-terminal drop-offs that still need a second hop to the hotel, fixed return times you can't change, and per-person pricing that quickly catches up with a fixed-price taxi for two people travelling together. A private car is also a noticeably calmer experience after a long disembarkation morning, and the driver actually loads the cruise suitcases instead of you.

When to book

Cruise schedules are published 6–12 months ahead, so the earlier the better — at least a week before arrival, and two or three weeks ahead in peak season (May to September). The lunch hours at Skarfabakki, 11:00 to 14:00, fill up first.

To book, the simplest channel is the airport-order form with the cruise terminal as origin or destination. Otherwise email [email protected] or message +354 793 7777 on WhatsApp with the cruise line, ship name, date and number of passengers and bags. Confirmation usually within an hour during the day, often within fifteen minutes.

Agencies, hotels and excursion operators with regular cruise traffic — the partner programme with monthly invoicing is described at /for-hotels and /for-groups.