What will travel in Iceland look like in a post COVID-19 world? Will I still have access to the same quality tours? With news of unrestricted entry for vaccinated and antibody individuals worldwide, is Iceland now open for business? These are the types of questions that are now being asked when we talk about travelling to Iceland in a post COVID-19 world. This Hidden Iceland blog will hopefully give future travellers an understanding of what we think a post COVID-19 Iceland will look like.
UPDATED: March 17th, 2021
Thankfully, Iceland is poised to be one of the first countries to recover and enter a post COVID-19 world.
Despite a resurgence in autumn 2020, Iceland has relatively few domestic cases today. Barely one or two cases are being reported per week at the moment. This is thanks to decisive action from the Icelandic government and strict border control. Until the 1st of May, anyone who does not hold a valid double vaccine certificate or can show proof of antibodies will have to undergo a PCR test 72 hours before arrival, a test on arrival, 5 days of quarantine and a final test before being able to explore Iceland.
However, if you have received both doses of the vaccine or have antibodies then you can come to Iceland without any restrictions, regardless of where you are in the world. For full details check out the official Iceland government website, covid.is.
Tourism has changed in Iceland
Tourism is another matter entirely. The number of travellers will be tiny, meaning no crowds at even the most popular of sights!
For example, despite the expected increase of international flights, tourist numbers will remain at a very low level, with the number of arrivals capped by the border testing capacity each day. Thankfully, Iceland has been allowing travellers from the EU/ Schengen zone since the 15th of June 2020. Testing on these travellers has been a marked success. Therefore, Iceland, it would seem, is ready to say hello to the rest of the world.
Welcome news, yes! Back to normal, no. Aside from the new ‘safe countries’ the rest of the world will NOT be able to enter Iceland just yet.
Countries that can now travel to Iceland
There are currently a small number of safe countries outside of the EU & Schengen zone on this list. Rather than list them here please click the link to see the most up to date countries as the list is updated every 2 weeks with new countries being added and removed regularly.
However, many of these safe nations are still not allowing international travel outside of the country. Others sadly don’t have direct flights to Iceland either. Please review your countries current restrictions and check out if they are allowed into Iceland. If you are living in the EU & Schengen Zone then you are free to travel to Iceland with border testing restrictions.
Direct flights to Iceland
IcelandAir, WizzAir, Easyjet, SAS, Lufthansa, Norwegian Airlines and Transavia are all flying to and from Iceland depending on the time of year so there is plenty of availability expected soon.
Also, Iceland is closer than you think. Direct flight times often rival domestic flight durations. For example, from Toronto it only takes 5 hours. From New York it’s only 5.5 hours. Boston is only 4.5 hours. Across the pond is even quicker. From London it takes just 3 hours. From Paris, 3.5 hours and from Edinburgh, a tiny 2.5 hours.
Testing on Arrival
As of January 15th everyone entering Iceland needs to test on arrival, quarantine for 5 days in an appropriate hotel, and take a second test on the 5th day. Results are expected within 24 hours (usually back between 5-7 hours), but you are expected to quarantine in an approved hotel with arranged meals or food, between the two tests and until the second results are received.
So, assuming you test negative at the airport then you begin your 5 day quarantine. At the end of the 5 days you will need to take a second test and await the results. After that you are free to travel around Iceland.
Restrictions Easing in 2021
From May 1st cautious steps will be taken to ease restrictions at the border. With the ongoing vaccination programs throughout the world, a gradual improvement in the situation is expected. This will make it possible to ease restrictions for people travelling from areas where the pandemic is under control.
Countries will be risk-assessed into green, orange, and red zones according to data published by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. Passengers from low-risk countries will be exempt from quarantine and a second screening if they can provide proof of a negative PCR test prior to departure. For more information on the border restrictions, and the criteria for countries according to risk zones, read more here. Exceptions for those that have been vaccinated and/or certificates showing that they have recovered from COVID (with antibodies) will also be in place.
It’s time to travel, for some
So we cautiously say, it is time to consider travelling. This is of course with a balanced viewpoint as to the potential effects and risks. With the favourable currency exchange rates and promotions that we are offering, planning a trip for later may be a great option for those that aren’t in a position to travel in the short term. Keep reading to learn why Iceland may well be the best place to travel to in 2021 or beyond.
Is Iceland a good place to start my travels?
With its isolated location as a singular island in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean and being crowned number 1 on the global peace index for the past 12 years, Iceland is as good a country as any to be your first post COVID-19 destination. Mix this with; modern infrastructure, super fast internet, abundant clean drinking water, near unlimited renewable energy, a low population density (around 330,000 people in a country the size of Belgium), and an uncultivated outdoor landscape.
Iceland is dominated by volcanoes, glaciers and UNESCO World Heritage Sites so you can see why we think Iceland might just see a post COVID-19 boom. However, things have changed. There’s no doubt about that.
It’s also not as cold as you think
In fact, if you are coming from Canada you will be pleasantly surprised to hear that Iceland’s winters are a great deal warmer despite their northern latitude. The average temperature in January in Iceland sits around zero degrees celsius. Compare that to the chilly -6 or 7 that Toronto experiences and it may feel like a summer holiday in winter. Maybe not. But you get the idea. You get to experience the Arctic without the extreme cold temperatures.
Sadly, listing all the fantastic reasons to come to a destination will no longer cut it. Questions like; will I be exposed to large crowds? Is social distancing possible? How clean and how well equipped is the location for dealing with another outbreak? And, how long are the flights? These types of questions wouldn’t have entered our heads in the same way before, but seem to be taking precedence now. Rightly so. Thankfully for Hidden Iceland, our little country, in the middle of nowhere, caters for all these requirements and more.
So we’ve created this Travelling To Iceland in a post COVID-19 World blog to express our own thoughts on what our tours will be like when all this is behind us.
The great thing about Hidden Iceland is that we are already heavily geared towards avoiding the crowds, small group tours and off the beaten path travel. Maybe now is the time to take advantage of the benefits of a personalised service.
We hope the below list gives some reassurance and allows you to pick the appropriate time to travel in the future. Just remember, if you want to start planning now, even for 2021, we’ll be happy to help.
1. The crowds are gone
Iceland saw a reduction in overall tourist numbers in 2019 already with some quarters reporting as much as a 20% decline in travellers. We had already begun to suggest that the boom was over for Iceland. It appears that the tourism industry is maturing into a more experience based one. As opposed to mass tourism. We believe in a post COVID-19 world, these numbers are going to be way, way lower than that.
Iceland was never overcrowded. Popular, yes. Overcrowded, no.
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