Would you rather...KEF vs ARN Layover
 

First time in both of these airports!

Would you rather have 9.5 hrs in KEF or 3.5 hrs in Arlanda?

- I don't mind spending a bit of money to escape the airport and look around (less than 100 Euro ideally)
- Then again, I don't mind looking around interesting airports and just stretching my legs with a free walkabout


Thank you for your tips and insight.

Plenty of time to go have a look-see in Reykjavik (and not much to see in the airport). Stockholm is cutting it close ... maybe 90 minutes in the city under the best assumptions. Both assuming midday timing.

Me? Reykjavik.

I <i>think</i> the question is would you rather spend a long layover seeing a bit of Reykjavik OR a short layover staying airside in ARN . . . right?

If so -- Arlanda is an OK airport but it might depend on which terminal(s). The only time I've been there I found the signage and layout confusing.

Is that 3.5 hours total, from landing to next departure, at Arlanda? In that case, don't leave the airport. It's not much fun there, but you can get something to eat and maybe take a short walk around at the airport. If it's 3.5 hours plus whatever time you need for next check-in (probably a couple of hours) the Arlanda Express takes ca 20 minutes to central Stockholm. I wouldn't want to risk missing the next flight, though.

I've never been to the other airport (Reykjavik?) but with 9.5 hours you should have time for something much more fun than sitting in a boring airport.

Blur Lagoon is not too far from Keflavik and if you are travelling Icelandair I'm sure they could sort out a tour for you from Keflavik. BUT why not overnight in Iceland - you could do a day tour which would be WELL worth it.

I was at KEF in February. It is not an interesting airport. But agree that Blue Lagoon is very doable. You can book a package with transport to/from KEF and Blue Lagoon and there is luggage storage at Blue Lagoon. They have lockers for incidental valuables a nice little cafe and full-service restaurant. Nothing is inexpensive in Iceland, so plan accordingly. And everyone uses plastic for everything - no need to even get any Iceland cash.

Going into Reykjavik city I would not recommend. We encountered some transportation mess and transit time to/from was twice as long as predicted - I would not want you to miss your flight.

Several airlines are advertising stop-over in Reykjavik at no additional air fare. So as suggested above, you might want to consider that for a couple of days.