Cheapest Way to Travel From Iceland to Norway

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Cheapest Way to Travel From Iceland to Norway

I sat in the Keflavik departures hall last September with a cinnamon snail and a lukewarm coffee, scrolling through Skyscanner for the third time that morning. And the cheapest fare I've ever paid Iceland to Norway was 92 EUR one-way on Play Airlines. The most expensive was 410 EUR on a last-minute Icelandair ticket two days before Christmas. Same route. Same 1,200 km across the North Atlantic.

This guide is written from actual receipts. I've flown KEF to OSL six times, KEF to BGO twice, and once spent three foggy days on the Smyril Line ferry from Seydisfjordur to Hirtshals to see if the slow route was worth it. Below is everything I wish someone had handed me before my first trip.

How Far Is It Really From Iceland to Norway

Reykjavik to Oslo is roughly 1,750 km as the gull flies. Plus reykjavik to Bergen is closer, about 1,500 km. The flight time on the direct hop runs 2 hours 30 minutes to 3 hours 10 minutes depending on jet stream and which Norwegian city you land at. The ferry route, which loops through the Faroe Islands and Denmark, covers about 2,000 nautical miles and takes three full days door to door once you add the Hirtshals to Oslo train.

There's no land bridge. There's no short hop through the UK that beats a direct flight on price. But the honest answer is that flying is almost always the right call unless you're bringing a vehicle or you genuinely want the sea passage as part of the holiday.

Option 1: Icelandair Direct From KEF

Icelandair runs the bread-and-butter route. And kEF to Oslo Gardermoen (OSL) is on the schedule year-round, usually three to five times a week in shoulder season and daily in peak summer. KEF to Bergen (BGO) is more seasonal, mostly May through September, with two or three flights a week. They sometimes add Stavanger and Trondheim in summer, but those routes come and go.

What I've actually paid:
- KEF to OSL booked 8 weeks out for a May trip: 184 EUR one-way with one checked bag. - KEF to OSL booked 3 weeks out for a July trip: 312 EUR one-way. - KEF to BGO booked 6 weeks out for September: 221 EUR one-way. - KEF to BGO booked 4 days before departure in August: 418 EUR.

Icelandair fares typically sit between 180 and 380 EUR for KEF-OSL and 200 to 420 EUR for KEF-BGO. The Saga Premium upgrade is often only 80 to 120 EUR more, which gets you a proper meal and lounge access at Keflavik. Worth it if you've a long layover before going home.

The big advantage of Icelandair is luggage allowance and the schedule. Their Economy Light fare includes a personal item only, but Economy Standard adds a 23 kg checked bag and a carry-on, and the price difference is usually 30 to 45 EUR. For a week in Norway with hiking gear, I always pay it.

More on the airport itself at the Wikipedia entry for Keflavik International Airport.

Option 2: Play Airlines, the Iceland Low-Cost Option

Play is the spiritual successor to WOW Air. But they started in 2021 and they fly out of the same Keflavik terminal. Their KEF-OSL route is the cheapest published fare on the market most of the year.

What I've paid on Play:
- KEF to OSL in late April: 92 EUR one-way, no bag. - KEF to OSL in October: 118 EUR one-way, no bag. - KEF to OSL in mid-July: 197 EUR one-way, no bag.

The catch is the bag. Play's basic fare is hand luggage only, and even the cabin bag is restricted to a small personal item. A full carry-on costs 35 to 55 EUR each way. Plus a 20 kg checked bag costs 45 to 75 EUR each way. Add seat selection at 8 to 18 EUR, and a 95 EUR ticket can become a 200 EUR ticket if you're not careful.

My rule with Play: if you can fit your trip into a backpack and you book bag-free, it's unbeatable. If you need checked luggage, run the math against Icelandair's all-in fare before assuming you're saving money. I've had trips where Icelandair came out 18 EUR cheaper once Play's bag fees were added.

The Play schedule is leaner than Icelandair. So they typically run KEF-OSL three to five times a week and they don't currently fly to Bergen. Booking direct on their site usually beats third-party aggregators by 5 to 12 EUR.

Option 3: SAS Via Copenhagen

Scandinavian Airlines doesn't fly nonstop from Keflavik to Norway, but they connect through Copenhagen (CPH) regularly. The KEF-CPH-OSL routing takes about 6 to 7 hours total with a 90 to 150 minute layover.

Why would you take a longer route? Sometimes the price drops. SAS releases promotional fares on Star Alliance partners and the connecting itinerary occasionally undercuts direct flights, especially around quieter Tuesday and Wednesday departures.

Real prices I've seen for KEF-CPH-OSL on SAS:
- Mid-October booking 6 weeks out: 248 EUR one-way with 23 kg bag included. - Late January booking 10 weeks out: 261 EUR one-way. - Peak July: 412 EUR one-way.

The range is roughly 250 to 450 EUR. The other reason to consider SAS is if you're flying onward into Norway beyond Oslo. Their network into Tromso, Bodo, and Stavanger is dense, and a single ticket covers your luggage all the way through.

The downside is layover risk. A snowy December at Copenhagen with a 90-minute connection has caught me out once. I missed the onward flight and had to pay for a hotel because the delay was weather-related and not a covered scenario. And if you book this routing in winter, pad your connection to at least 2 hours 30 minutes.

Option 4: Norwegian Air

Norwegian Air had a wild decade, went through restructuring, and is now flying a leaner network. They don't currently run KEF nonstop, but they fly Oslo to many European hubs that connect to Iceland through codeshares.

In practice, Norwegian shows up in search results for routings like KEF-LHR-OSL or KEF-AMS-OSL with prices between 220 and 380 EUR. The total trip time is 8 to 11 hours, which is brutal compared to a 3-hour direct flight. I would only choose this if the savings were 100 EUR or more versus the direct option, and they rarely are.

Norwegian's better use case is the return leg. If you're flying onward in Norway domestically (Oslo to Tromso, Oslo to Bergen) after landing, Norwegian's domestic fares are often 35 to 70 EUR each way, which is cheaper than SAS for short hops.

Option 5: The Smyril Line Ferry

This is the slow road and I won't pretend it's cheap unless you skip the cabin. Smyril Line runs a single ferry, the Norrona, which sails Seydisfjordur (east Iceland) to Torshavn (Faroe Islands) to Hirtshals (north Denmark). And from Hirtshals you take a train or bus to Oslo, which adds another 8 hours and 60 to 110 EUR.

The ferry runs once a week, mostly Wednesday to Saturday, with a heavily summer-loaded schedule. April to October is the operating window for full sailings, with reduced service in winter.

Real prices in shoulder season (May, September) for one passenger one-way:
- Couchette (shared bunk room): 180 to 220 EUR. - Inside cabin (private): 240 to 290 EUR. - Outside cabin with window: 300 to 340 EUR. - Adding a small car: 280 to 380 EUR extra.

Total time from Reykjavik to Oslo via ferry:
- Reykjavik to Seydisfjordur drive: 9 to 11 hours, or 1 hour flight to Egilsstadir plus 30-minute taxi. - Ferry Seydisfjordur to Hirtshals: 47 hours with a Faroe Islands stopover (you can stay 2 days in Torshavn for the same fare, which is the best part of the deal). - Hirtshals to Oslo by train via Aalborg and Copenhagen: 9 to 12 hours, or by bus and ferry through Kristiansand: 7 to 10 hours.

Total ferry-route cost door to door: 320 to 540 EUR depending on cabin class and ground transport. Total time: 3 days minimum.

This route makes sense if you're bringing a campervan, if you've severe flight anxiety, or if the Faroes detour is itself part of your holiday. For a pure budget calculation, it's more expensive than Play and Icelandair. I did it once and I don't regret it, but I would not call it the cheapest option.

Schedule and booking at smyrilline.com.

Comparison Table: All Five Options

Option	Total Hours	EUR Low Season	EUR Peak	Verdict
Icelandair KEF-OSL direct	3h 0m	180	380	Best balance of price, time, and luggage
Icelandair KEF-BGO direct	2h 45m	200	420	Best for west Norway and fjord trips
Play KEF-OSL low-cost	3h 0m	92	220	Cheapest if you can travel hand-luggage only
SAS via Copenhagen	6-7h	248	450	Worth it for onward connections in Norway
Norwegian via OSL hub connections	8-11h	220	380	Skip unless onward Norwegian domestic flight
Smyril Line ferry + train	72h+	240	540	Only if you want the trip itself

When to Travel for Cheaper Fares

The Iceland to Norway corridor has a clear pricing pattern.

Cheapest months: April, May, September, and the first three weeks of October. These are the shoulder seasons when Iceland's tourism dips and Norway's summer crowds have thinned. I've consistently found Play fares under 130 EUR and Icelandair fares under 220 EUR in these windows.

Most expensive: mid-June through mid-August (peak summer for both countries), the week of Christmas through New Year, and the Easter holiday week. Prices in late December genuinely run 3x normal. A Play ticket I bought in May for 95 EUR was selling for 295 EUR the week of Christmas the same year.

Mid-tier months: November, January, February, and March. Cold, dark, but quiet. I find these months pleasant for city visits if you're not chasing northern lights specifically.

For a longer Europe planning view, my notes on the best European destination for a month-long vacation cover when each country's prices spike.

Tuesday and Wednesday Bookings

I've logged my bookings for two years and the pattern holds: Tuesday and Wednesday departures are 8 to 18 percent cheaper than Friday and Sunday departures on this route. Saturday is the worst day to fly from Keflavik in summer because the post-stopover crowd creates demand pressure.

Booking window matters less than you might think. The sweet spot for Iceland-Norway is 5 to 9 weeks before departure. Booking 3 months ahead doesn't save money. Booking less than 2 weeks out gets punishing fast.

Iceland Tax-Free and Airport Logistics

Keflavik's airport has a duty-free shop that's genuinely useful. But iceland charges 24 percent VAT, and as a non-resident you can claim back tax on purchases over 6,000 ISK (around 40 EUR) with the tax-free form. I've saved 35 to 60 EUR on wool sweaters and Icelandic chocolate this way. Get the form stamped at the customs desk before bag drop, then claim at the refund counter past security.

The airport has decent food but it's expensive. So a sandwich and coffee runs 18 to 24 EUR. I usually fill a water bottle from the fountains past security and eat one solid meal in Reykjavik before the FlyBus to KEF.

For more on Iceland prices generally, my 15-day Iceland trip cost in Indian rupees and best time breakdown has the daily numbers.

Arriving in Norway: Currency and First Steps

Norway uses the Norwegian krone (NOK), not the euro. Roughly 1 EUR equals 11.5 NOK at current rates, though check the day you travel. Plus cards work everywhere in Norway, including for 20 NOK transactions, so I rarely pull cash. When I do, the ATMs at OSL airport (Minibank or Nokas) charge a 30 to 50 NOK fee per withdrawal, so I take 1,500 NOK in one go to amortize the fee.

The Flytoget airport express train from OSL to Oslo Sentralstasjon costs 230 NOK (around 20 EUR) and takes 19 minutes. The slower NSB regional train costs 124 NOK (around 11 EUR) and takes 25 minutes. I always take the regional unless I'm running tight on a connection.

Bergen Flesland (BGO) airport connects to the city center by light rail (Bybanen line 1) for 49 NOK, about 4 EUR, and takes 45 minutes. It's one of the cheapest airport-to-city links in northern Europe.

For deeper Norway and Scandinavian tips, see general country information on Wikivoyage Iceland before you leave and Wikivoyage Norway when you arrive.

Luggage Strategy on This Route

I've learned to pack for this corridor specifically. But norway in summer is 12 to 22 C, often rainy. Iceland in summer is 8 to 16 C, almost always windy. A single waterproof shell, two midweight layers, and one warm fleece covers both countries for a 10-day trip.

If you're going hand-luggage only on Play, the 10 kg cabin bag limit is enforced. I've seen them weigh bags at the gate and charge 75 EUR on the spot for overage. Buy a luggage scale before your trip if you don't own one.

Icelandair's 23 kg checked bag is generous. SAS varies by fare class but typically 23 kg is included in standard economy and above.

Multi-Country Trips: Is It Worth Adding Iceland to a Norway Holiday

Yes, if you've at least 10 days. The Iceland stopover program through Icelandair lets you stay in Iceland up to 7 days at no extra airfare on a transatlantic ticket. But so if you're coming from North America to Norway anyway, you can break the trip in Reykjavik for free.

For dedicated Iceland-Norway trips, I recommend 4 to 5 days in Iceland and 5 to 7 days in Norway. So less than 3 days in either country and you're spending most of the trip in transit. My itinerary notes on the best 6 days in Switzerland follow a similar logic for tight-window planning.

If you're extending the trip to other Nordic or European destinations, the best cooler European destinations to visit in August post pairs well with this route in summer.

Booking Tools and Tactics

Sites I actually use:

Google Flights for the price calendar grid view.
Skyscanner for "everywhere" searches when flexible on Norwegian city.
Direct on icelandair.com and flyplay.com for final booking; aggregators sometimes mark up.
Momondo as a sanity check on SAS connections.

I avoid third-party booking sites here. Savings are minimal and handling cancellations through a middleman is painful. Direct bookings give better service when something goes wrong.

For broader Europe ground options, the slow rail and ferry approach in cheapest London to Venice travel by train and boat applies the same logic to a different corridor. If you're mulling buying a car instead of flying, the cheapest European country to buy a used car might shift your math.

Insurance, Cards, and Small Money Tips

Travel insurance for this route runs 25 to 50 EUR for a 10-day trip. Both Iceland and Norway are in the Schengen Area, so a single visa covers both countries with no internal border checks.

I use a Wise debit card for both countries. No foreign transaction fees and real mid-market rates. But a Revolut card works equally well. Tipping in Norway isn't expected; service is included. Iceland is the same.

For travelers who measure beauty in shoreline rather than spreadsheet, my favorites list in most beautiful country in the world top picks puts Norway and Iceland in good company.

FAQ

Is it cheaper to fly Iceland to Norway or take the ferry?
Flying is almost always cheaper and faster. Play Airlines fares from 92 EUR beat the Smyril Line ferry's 240 EUR cabin plus ground transport. The ferry only makes financial sense if you're bringing a vehicle or you want the Faroes stopover as part of the trip.

What is the shortest flight from Iceland to Norway?
Icelandair's KEF to Bergen (BGO) at roughly 2 hours 45 minutes is the shortest scheduled flight. KEF to Oslo (OSL) is slightly longer at 3 hours due to the more easterly track.

Can I fly Iceland to Norway with carry-on only?
Yes. Play Airlines, Icelandair Economy Light, and SAS Go Light all support hand-luggage-only fares. Play has the strictest size and weight limits at 10 kg, so weigh your bag before the airport.

Do I need a separate visa for Iceland and Norway?
No. Both are Schengen Area members. A single Schengen visa or visa-free entry covers both countries with no internal border checks.

Are credit cards accepted everywhere in Norway?
Yes, Norway is one of the most card-friendly countries in the world. Even small kiosks and rural cabins accept Visa and Mastercard. I rarely carry more than 500 NOK in cash.

What is the cheapest day to fly Iceland to Norway?
Tuesday and Wednesday departures are consistently 8 to 18 percent cheaper than Friday and Sunday on this route. Mid-week return flights compound the saving.

How early should I book a Keflavik to Oslo flight?
Five to nine weeks ahead is the sweet spot. Earlier than 12 weeks rarely saves money. Later than 2 weeks gets expensive fast, especially in summer.

Can I claim Iceland VAT back at Keflavik airport?
Yes. On purchases over 6,000 ISK (around 40 EUR), get a tax-free form from the shop, have it stamped at customs before bag drop, and claim the refund at the counter past security. The refund is 14 to 18 percent of the purchase value.

Final Math

Carry-on only in shoulder season: Play under 130 EUR. Checked bag or flexibility needed: Icelandair 200 to 250 EUR. But onward connection into northern Norway: SAS through Copenhagen around 280 EUR with bag included on a single ticket. The ferry stays on the list for the year I bring a campervan or want two days in Torshavn.

Pick the option that matches your luggage and calendar, book five to nine weeks out on a Tuesday departure, and you'll land in Oslo or Bergen for a price that doesn't ruin the rest of the trip.

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