Route 55 is the rock-bottom price option from KEF
Strætó Route 55 is the local public bus between Keflavik International Airport (Terminal 1) and Reykjavík, and it’s usually the absolute cheapest way into the city. You pay standard Strætó fares instead of the 3,000–4,000 ISK airport coach prices. The tradeoff: this is not an airport shuttle, it’s a regular regional bus with a limited timetable.
The stop is not at the main arrivals curb. To reach Route 55, you exit on the departures side of KEF, cross the short-term parking lot directly in front of the terminal, then walk a short distance up the access road to a small bus shelter on the right side. Several Reddit users say they missed it on the first try, so give yourself an extra 10–15 minutes to locate it the first time.
Service is not frequent: depending on the day and season, Route 55 might run only every 60–120 minutes, compared with near-hourly dedicated airport coaches. One FlyerTalk-style review flatly says “the schedule isn't very frequent,” and they’re right. If your flight lands late at night or outside peak windows, you may have a long wait or no useful bus at all.
Regulars treat Route 55 as the strict-budget play. They pull up the official Strætó timetable for Route 55 before even booking flights, then decide if the savings beat the risk of a one- to two-hour wait. They absolutely do not assume turn-up-and-go frequency like the commercial airport buses from KEF.
Watch out for: the hard-to-spot stop and tight timing. One Redditor notes you must exit via departures, cross the short-term car park, and look for that small shelter on the right; if you follow signs for the big airport coaches instead, you’re in the wrong place. With an infrequent timetable, missing one departure can add over an hour to your arrival time.
Practical tip: the night before you fly, screenshot the current Route 55 timetable and a map pin for the bus shelter, then plan to clear immigration, collect bags, and walk to the stop at least 10–15 minutes before the printed departure time.