This post provides more details related to how we traveled to Iceland and back from Iceland for our first visit to the land of fire and ice.
We arranged much of our winter trip to Iceland via Gate 1 Travel, the company we used for our Danube River cruise through central Europe. The core offering of the Gate 1 package we selected ("6 Day Iceland's Northern Lights") included flights, lodging, and transport between the airport and the lodging. We used this Gate 1 offering as the core basis of the trip and built extra days and activities upon it for a full winter week in Iceland.
Flights
When we used Gate 1 to schedule our flights from Denver to Munich and from Budapest (via Frankfurt) back to Denver for our Danube River cruise, it was only slightly more expensive to fly directly from and back to Denver than it was to have a layover in New York City or Toronto. However, when we were scheduling this Iceland trip with Gate 1 Travel, direct flights from Denver to Reykjavik (Keflavík International Airport: KEF) were significantly more expensive than arranging for the Gate 1 flights to be between New York City and Reykjavik and then arranging separately for flights between Denver and New York City. In fact, the difference in cost was so significant that we could rent a hotel room in New York City area both going to Iceland and returning from Iceland and still save hundreds of dollars over the direct flight.
We stayed a night in New York City in each direction partially to break up the overall flight time in each direction. The more important reason for spending a night in New York City in each direction, however, was to improve our chances of not missing winter connection flights in New York City. Gate 1 Travel recommends direct flights to Iceland from one's hometown or, if that's not possible, "consider purchasing an overnight at the connecting airport."
To get to Iceland, we flew from Denver International Airport (DEN) to John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) via a Delta Airlines flight and stayed the night at the Days Inn by Wyndham Jamaica / JFK Airport. We had several hours until our departure flight for Iceland, so we used those hours to take a taxi to Manhattan to see the 911 Memorial and Museum and to eat lunch at the One World Observatory (a future blog post will cover these in with more details). We then returned to JDK to depart on an Icelandair flight for Iceland. The flights from North America to Iceland typically arrive in Iceland very early in the morning and we arrived at Keflavík International Airport (KEF) just after 6 am Iceland time (GMT). We rented a car for the first couple of days in Iceland and I'll cover renting a car and driving in Iceland in a future blog post.
We departed Iceland on an Icelandair flight that departed KEF in the early evening (GMT) and arrived at JFK in New York City in the mid-evening (thanks to time zones). We spent the night in the Hampton Inn New York - LaGuardia. We flew out of LaGuardia Airport (LGA) the next morning on a Delta Airlines flight. We flew First Class on this Delta flight from LaGuardia to DIA and it was our first time to fly in this class. We flew First Class this time because it was not significantly more to upgrade to that than to upgrade to Comfort Plus. Of course, it was pretty nice to be treated significantly better than we're used to on the airplane and to have so much extra room.
Our flights into and out of Keflavík International Airport went smoothly. We had to ride buses from the airplane to the terminal on arrival and then rode buses from the terminal out to the airplane on departure. Both rides were a bit cold in winter in Iceland, but getting onto and off of the bus on arrival was particularly interesting because there was significant blowing wind mixed with snow.
Boarding the Icelandair flight in JFK to go to Iceland was done in an orderly fashion. The normal initial boarding groups of those requiring additional time and those with elite (Saga) status boarding first. The regular section of the airplane was boarded from the back to the front with certain specified back rows boarding first and moving forward in the main cabin. We rode in the exit row from New York City to Reykjavik and the language requirement for sitting in that row was the ability to speak English.
Boarding the Icelandair flight in KEF to return to the United States was less advertised and orderly. The preferred initial boarding groups were allowed to board first and then the flood gates were essentially opened for everyone else to get in line to board. It was less chaotic than it sounds because we boarded in an isolated "downstairs" gate away from the main terminal hall and there were roped off lines. Once the crowd narrowed into the roped lines, it was fairly orderly. We walked to a bus and when the bus was filled as much as possible with people squeezed in, the bus made the short drive to the airplane, where we walked up the stairs to the airplane.
I have flown Delta Airlines many times and generally am happy with them. I really liked flying First Class for one leg of the trip this time. We also enjoyed Icelandair. The Gate 1 initial purchase had included a checked bag and assigned seat in the price and we later paid a premium to change to seats with more legroom when we pre-purchased meals for our Icelandair flights. We noticed that Icelandair is more picky about the size of a carry-on than any airline we've flown before. The check-in agents at both JFK and KEF were having everyone show that their carry-on luggage fit into the box there that was sized for carry-on luggage.
There were definite advantages to breaking up our flights (roughly in half) between Denver and Reykjavik. An obvious advantage was the saved cost (which may not always be the case). In some ways, it was easier to do two flights of ~5 hours each direction rather than a single ~10 hour flight, especially with hotel nights between the two flights each direction. We also enjoyed the opportunity to spend some time in New York City. A downside to this approach was having to deal with airports and going through security twice as much.
Storing Luggage for Day in Manhattan
For the day spent in Manhattan before departing for Iceland, we stored our luggage at a storage facility in Terminal 1 of JFK. This storage facility charged per bag and charged by bag size. They also only accepted cash (but there's an ATM right by them in Terminal 1) and that cash payment was made upon pickup of the stored luggage. Their limited hours were sufficient for us, but apparently Terminal 4 at JFK has a storage facility that's open 24 hours per day. It was nice to not have to carry that luggage around Manhattan.
New York City Airport Lodging
When going from Denver to Reykjavik, we stayed a night at Days Inn by Wyndham Jamaica / JFK Airport because it was near JFK and we were flying into JFK from Denver and were flying out of JFK to go to Iceland. This Days Inn was really close to JFK, provided a free shuttle from JFK to the hotel and from the hotel to JFK, and was comfortable. There's not much to see or do in the immediate vicinity of the Days Inn. There is no restaurant in the hotel (though they do provide a free breakfast in the mornings) and we did not see any restaurants nearby. Fortunately, they offered complimentary use of DoorDash at the time and we were able to order dinner and have it delivered. On the day we used the airport shuttle to get to JFK (1 January 2020), the shuttle left the hotel every hour on the half-hour; in other words, it departed at times such as 5:30 am, 6:30 am, 7:30 am, etc.
When flying from Reykjavik to Denver, we stayed a night at Hampton Inn New York - LaGuardia because we were flying out of LaGuardia early the next morning. This was a nice, quiet, and comfortable hotel. This hotel does not have a restaurant (though it does serve a complimentary breakfast in the morning), but it is next-door to a "sister property" (LaGuardia Plaza Hotel) that has a bar/restaurant called "Elements." On the day we used the airport shuttle to get to LGA (9 January 2020), it picked up passengers from the hotel every 20 minutes.
Conclusion
There were several advantages to breaking our flights between Denver and Reykjavik roughly in half each way and spending a hotel night between each leg. We really appreciated this approach on the return home where it helped with the time zones adjustment significantly. The factor that closed the deal on using this approach was the saving of hundreds of dollars, even when hotel costs were included in the comparison. Had the direct flights been closer in price to the overnight layover in New York City prices, we likely would have gone with the direct flights instead. Another important advantage to having a hotel night between legs of the flights in each direction was the buffer that gave us in case an earlier flight was delayed or canceled. This buffer is especially important when flying into or out of cities such as Reykjavik and Denver in the winter. We were fortunate to fly out of Iceland as scheduled, but we saw many flights canceled and the road between Reykjavik and KEF closed multiple times during our week in Iceland.
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