The Outdoor Retreat
Another picturesque volcano eruption may be about to begin. A earthquake of magnitude 4.7 just occurred on Christmas Eve in Iceland.
Direct flights to Iceland from (there are many more requiring just one stop):
Austria, Vienna (VIE) Wizz Air, Salzburg (SZG) Wizz Air
Belgium, Brussels (BRU) Icelandair, Play
Canada, (Edmonton (YEA) Icelandair, Toronto (YTO) Icelandair, Vancouver (YVR) Icelandair
Czech Prague (PRG) Play (((Czech Airlines CSA)))
Denmark, (((Billund (BLL)))), Copenhagen (CPH) SAS, Play, Icelandair
Faro Islands Vagar (FAE) Atlantic Airways
Finland, Helsinki (HEL) Icelandair
France, Paris (PAR Icelandair, (CDG) Play , ORY Icelandair Transavia
Germany, Berlin (BER) Icelandair, Play Dortmund (DTM) Wizz Air, Frankfurt (FRA Icelandair, Lufthansa), Hamburg (HAM), Munich (MUC) Icelandair, Lufthansa, Stuttgart (STR) Play
Greenland, Ilulissat (JAV), Icelandair Kulusuk (KUS) Icelandair, Narsarsuaq (UAK) Icelandair Nuuk (GOH) Air Greenland, Icelandair
Hungary, Budapest (Bud) Wizz Air
Ireland, Dublin (DUB) Play
(((Israel, Tel Aviv (TLV El Al))))
Italy, Milano (MXP) Wizz Air, Rome (FCO) Wizz Air, Napoli (NAP) Wizz Air,
Latvia, Riga (RIX) Air Baltic
Lithuania Vilnius (VNO) Wizz Air
Netherlands, Amsterdam (AMS) Icelandair, Transavia, Play
Norway, Bergen (BGO), Oslo (OSL) Norwegian SAS , (((Tromsoe (TOS ) Atlantic Airways))))
Poland, Warsaw (WAW) Wizz Air, Katowice (KTW) Wizz Air, Krakow (KRK) Wizz Air, Gdansk (GDN) Wizz Air Wroclaw (WRO) Wizz Air
Portugal, Lisbon (LIS) Play
Spain, Alicante (ALC ) Play, Barcelona (BCN) Icelandair, Vueling, Play) Madrid (MAD), Palma de Mallorca (PMI) Play Tenerife (TFS) Play Icelandair
Sweden, Stockholm Arlanda (STO ARN) Icelandair
Switzerland, Geneva (GVA) Icelandair, Zürich (ZRH) Edelweiss Icelandair
UK, Birmingham (BHX) Jet2, Bristol (BRS) Easy Jet, Tui East Midlands (EMA) Jet2, Edinburgh (EDI) Easy Jet, Glasgow (GLA) Jet2, Leeds (LBA) Jet2, London (LON), Wizz Air (LTN) EasyJet (LGW) EasyJet, Tui (STN) Jet2, Play , (LHR), Icelandair, British Airways), Manchester (MAN) Easy Jet, Tui Easy Jet Icelandair, Jet2, Newcastle (NCL) Jet2
USA, Anchorage (ANC) Icelandair, Boston (BOS) Icelandair, Play and Delta, Chicago (CHI, ORD), Icelandair, Denver Colorado (DEN) Icelandair, Minneapolis Minnesota (MSP) (Icelandair, Delta, New York (NYC) Icelandair and Delta, (JFK) Icelandair, (EWR) Icelandair, Orlando (MCO) Icelandair Seattle Washington (SEA) Icelandair, Washington DC (WAS, IAD) Icelandair and Play
See Arkia, Atlantic Airways, British Airways, CSA, Delta, EasyJet, El Al, Air Greenland, Icelandair, Jet2, Lufthansa, Norwegian, Play, SAS, Tui, Transavia, Vueling, Wizz Air, WoW
In the aftermath of ridiculous flight restrictions around the world Iceland is coming out on top. Never before has there been such a great supply of flights from all over Europe and North America. In Europe there are direct flights available as far south as Rome and as far east as Budapest. From many countries there are flights from multiple airports such as from Switzerland, Germany, Poland and the United Kingdom and from some cities you have flights from all the airports such as from London and/or flights from multiple airlines such as Copenhagen.
Quarantine information and exceptions for Switzerland and Iceland further down this page.
See the Reykjavik Volcano webcams below:
Play ( see flyPLAY.com ) offers cheap flights to Iceland from London, Copenhagen, Berlin, Brussel, Dublin, Paris, Madrid, Barcelona, Alicante and Tenerife and soon the United States. Direct flights are also available via Icelandair from some of these these places as well as from Zurich, Geneva, Munich, Milano, Berlin, Hamburg, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Brussels, Ireland, the Nordic countries and various points in the United States and Canada. Delta airlines is also flying from the United States. Wizz-air offers flights from Vienna, Dortmund, Budapest, Milan, Naples, Rome, Riga, Vilnius and Poland. If you are traveling between Europe and America making a vacation in between in Iceland is a great idea, it is actually normally on the flight path between the continents - why fly over when you can stop over. Iceland is among the best destinations when it comes to Covid-19. See further information below and here about how to fly (even more options are available) and how easy and safe it is in Iceland.
Quarantine (or not) information for Iceland
All people (except children under 18 traveling with adults) need a negative PCR test (less than78 hours old) or a antigen test (less than 48 hours old) before flying or boating to Iceland
People who are residents of and coming from the following countries can enter Iceland
Andorra
Armenia
Argentina
Australia
Austria
Bahrein
Belgium
Bosnia Hercegovina
Bulgaria
Canada
Chile
Colombia
Croatia
Cyprus
Czechia
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Hong Kong
Hungary
Ireland
Israel
Italy
Jordan
Kosovo
Kuwait
Latvia
Lebanon
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Macao
Malta
Moldova
Monaco
Montenegro
Namibia
Netherlands
New Zealand
North Macedonia
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Peru
Qatar
Romania
Rwanda
San Marino
Saudi Arabia
Singapore
Slovakia
Slovenia
South Korea
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Taiwan
Vatican
Ukraine
United Arab Emirates (UAE)
Uruguay
USA
People from all other countries need in addition one of the following:
Valid full vaccination certificate (to be valid it needs to be at least 14 days old)
Certificate of prior infection
To test at the border and do a another test 5 to 6 days later and quarantine in between, these tests are free in Iceland. But you can still take the FlyBus or a taxi and travel with your car to your place of accommodation/quarantine and go for walks near that place. If you do not have an adequate place to quarantine you will be provided with one free of charge.)
You will be in the safest country in Europe with not so many restrictions
Iceland is one of the safest countries to be in as almost 100% (official figure 90% plus, but most of the rest are believed not to be in Iceland) of the people are vaccinated and many people take Lýsi (Cod Liver Oil - a vitamin D) supplement - and so can you.
If you need a PCR or rapid test before returning home they are readily available in ICELAND.
Entry requirements for Switzerland (was Quarantine (or not) information for Switzerland)
Entry requirements for Switzerland (Updated 20 December 2021)
People traveling by car from the Schengen area probably DO NOT NEED to show a negative Covid-19 test.
Fully vaccinated people (including those vaccinated with Sinopharm, Sonovac and Covaxin) and those that have proof of recovery from Covid-19 and other people who are not traveling from high risk countries are allowed to come to Switzerland. They also need to take a PCR test before boarding the plane destined for Switzerland and to present a quick test within 24 hours or a PCR test within 72 hours. In Switzerland, foreigners need to pay for the tests themselves.
Certificates are valid from all EU, EFTA countries plus Albania, Andorra, Faroe Islands, Vatican, Israel, Monaco, Morocco, North Macedonia, Panama, San Marino, Turkey and Ukraine.
If you need to go to a quarantine on return to a country you might be able to shorten or do away with that quarantine by doing a Covid-19 test shortly before your departure.
People who are residents of and coming from the following countries can enter Switzerland (all other countries are considered high risk countries)
Andorra
Argentina
Australia
Austria
Bahrein
Belgium
Bulgaria
Canada
Chile
Colombia
Croatia
Cyprus
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Hong Kong
Hungary
Iceland
Indonesia
Ireland
Italy
Jordan
Kuwait
Latvia
Lebanon
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Macao
Malta
Monaco
Namibia
Netherlands
New Zealand
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Peru
Qatar
Romania
Rwanda
San Marino
Saudi Arabia
Slovakia
Slovenia
South Korea
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Taiwan
Vatican
United Arab Emirates (UAE)
Uruguay
Volcano Eruptions in Iceland
16 September 2021 update. Three other Volcanos are showing signs that they might erupt soon or in the next years. They are:
Grímsvötn, Vatnajökli (Grimsvotn, Vatnajokull) - There is magma build up below and a water reservoir under this biggest glacier in Europe has emptied.
Askja - There is magma build up 2-3 Km below the surface resulting in the rise of the whole area by 10cm.
Hekla - Nearby streams have dried up which also happened before the last eruption
Seeing Askja (Öskjugos) erupt would be an experience of a lifetime. It may be a good idea to be in Iceland but not too close. So The Outdoor Retreat, Iceland is perfect.
You can find out more about how accessible The Outdoor Retreat is from abroad in these times of Covid-19 further down this page.
The Reykjavik Volcano Erupted on Friday March 19th 2021 - See one of the Livestream WebCam Videos above and links to more below - Watch it full screen - it keeps changing at times less activity and at other times bursts of frantic activity.
The volcano somestimes actas lika a volcano geyser. It behaves just like a natural water geyser but instead of water it is magma that spurts up 100s of meters up in the air. You might be wondering how a geyser works or indeed a volcano that works like a geyser (fountain). Well there is probably a cavity that fills up at a faster rate than the liquid can escape from it, e.g. by being fed from below as well as being fed from above by the remnants of the last explosion and is mixed with a substance like water that would normally under this temperature turn to steam (gaseous form) but under this pressure remains in liquid form. Some liquid then escapes from the cavity reducing the pressure which triggers an action where the part of the liquid that is kept liquid only by the pressure takes on the gaseous form which requires 1600 times more space and hence the explosion. If you have the patients to watch the first webcam of what looks like a pretty dormant volcano you will be rewarded with a magnificent geyser of magma. See also below. It is possible to explore a similar cavity as described above inside a dormant volcano
Tiny tornado develops near the Reykjavik Volcano
These two photos show how the volcano changes from one minute to the other
What are described as Daredevils are just normal Icelandic people enjoying their day in the wild nature of Iceland.
You are welcome to visit both our Iceland and Switzerland locations. Iceland and Switzerland are now open under the following conditions.
The above music recording gives a sense of how it is to be there at night!
Volcanic details:
A volcano erupted in Iceland on the 19th of March not far from Reykjavik after 6000 years of no activity (no activity on the peninsula for 850 years). (The foreign news sites do not get this previous point exactly right.)
Intercontinental Eruption
This Volcanic eruption, 40 km from Reykjavik in Iceland is a very scenic as eruptions in Iceland tend to be and without threat to people or infrastructure. The eruption is not far from The Blue Lagoon which you or your friends might have visited. Iceland is held up by a magma. The eruption is caused because the European and American continents are drifting apart and the volcanic magma squeeze's through the gap caused by this process. It is certainly worth traveling to Iceland to witness all the natural beauty and this eruption at the same time. This is an unusual eruption in Iceland as the lava stream seems to be coming directly from the earths mantle rather than a magma chamber as is usually the case. A kind of eruption that usually only happens at the end of an Ice age. This kind of eruption is more likely to last longer, possibly years or decades. However if you want to witness this eruption with your own eyes you better plan your trip early than wait until it is potentially too late. If you want to be on the ultra save side from gas pollution you could stay a few hours drive away at The Outdoor Retreat, Iceland. As Iceland has the lowest Covid-19 death rate in Europe (followed by Norway and Finland) it may be a good choice to go there to stay during the pandemic. Most countries do not require a quarantine when coming back from Iceland. See the Covid-19 rules for Iceland (and Switzerland) at the bottom of this page. A lot of people have been hiking to the volcano. Some are a little bit reckless hiking at night despite unfavorable weather forecasts. Fortunately the Icelandic authorities respect people wishes to see the volcano with their own eyes, whereas in most other countries little and big bosses would bar people from exercising this right. (The kind of ill-advised over reaction we are seeing all over the world with Covid-19). This Page is updated from time to time with new information and links (see below):
Here is a map showing the drive and walk from The Outdoor Retreat to the Reykjavik Volcano
Instructions for hikers in Icelandic
Drone flight over the brand new fissure
A must see drone coverage of the eruption
Another Icelandic news site - An early collection of photographs and a video
Nice compilation of photos with a people perspective
Website showing the Keflavik town with the eruption behind
The eruption on ALJAZERRA Has a nice photo showing the radiant blue of the Blue Lagoon Power Plant and the radiant red of the eruption.