Manage booking
39 km
About 35 min
Car 1–4 · Van 5–7
Free cancellation 24 h
Capital area · from KEF
About Garðabær and the drive
Garðabær lies between Hafnarfjörður and Kópavogur, a largely residential town of lava-edged neighbourhoods, lakes and open heathland. Since 2013 it has also included Álftanes, the low peninsula out in the bay where Bessastaðir, the official residence of the President of Iceland, stands with its small white church. Many visitors stay here with friends or family, or in rented houses, and use it as a quieter base for exploring the capital area.
It is also one of the quickest drives from Keflavík into the capital region. Route 41 crosses the lava fields of the Reykjanes peninsula, passes Hafnarfjörður and runs straight through Garðabær, so you are off the main road and at your door soon after leaving the airport, without any city traffic. If you are heading to Álftanes, the driver simply carries on along the peninsula road.
Garðabær is also where you find the big shopping area at Kauptún, with IKEA and a large warehouse store, which some newly arrived residents and long-stay visitors find useful. For something more cultural, the Museum of Design and Applied Art (Hönnunarsafn Íslands) is in the town centre at Garðatorg, and the paths around Vífilsstaðavatn lake and into the Heiðmörk woodland start on the edge of town.
