Getting to Blönduós has been a concern from the beginning. Strætó is the one bus company that services the entire country, in addition to the city buses in Reykjavik. It has been hard to get accurate information on how it works for trips outside the city center. I couldn’t get the app to work. I couldn’t find any information on fares outside Reykjavik. It was hard to figure out if a route was cancelled. In December 2021, their website was hacked and Strætó‘s website was down. I was able to get some information on their Facebook page. After a little sleuthing, here’s what I know:
Here’s a great explanation of how to use the bus outside the city center. I was relieved to find out I can use a credit card on the bus to pay for my ticket and that I should expect it to be around $60 one-way.
FYI – I took the city bus today expecting to be able to pay with a credit card. The driver was very impatient with my ignorance! In the city a ticket, cash, or a ticket purchased on the app are required. Luckily I had 500 krona (the ticket was 490 but they don’t give change).
I found a page that shows changes to routes or cancelled routes. When I shared it with another resident, they couldn’t see what I could see. There had to be a logical explanation for that so after some digging, I discovered the page is blank on the English version of the Strætó website. I could see the information because I was using my browser to translate the page – I wasn’t using the English version of the site.
I took bus #57 to Blönduós. It leaves from the Mjódd bus station. The night before, I hadn’t checked the schedule – only if the route had been cancelled. The bus departure time used to be 9 am now it’s 10:30 on the website, however, the static route timetable lists the 9 am departure. I decided to show up for the 9 am bus and luckily, that was the correct time.
The trip to Blönduós was beautiful and comfortable. The bus had free wifi and we made two stops at really nice gas stations. It cost $61 USD. There were two other residents on the bus with me. Luckily, someone from the Textile Center picked us up in a big truck that fit all of our luggage. There is a bit of snow and it would have been difficult to pull my two bags a mile.
Here’s a picture from the bus:
