TDY Gouge - Iceland

Keflavik NAS, Iceland - (Jul '09). Kef/Reykjavik is awesome. The only problem we had is we landed too early (1600L) on a Saturday, and had to depart early the next afternoon. The FBO (South Air) will hook you up with rental cars and hotel. Ask to stay in the middle of thie city. We stayed at the Grand Hotel Reykjavik (clean and very nice) which was about a 10 minute drive to city center, they have a sister property that is downtown. Don't expect to go out til around midnight though, bars didn't have lines forming til about 0200, and the FBO dude said they go until aroung 0700. Lots of good nightlife to be had all around the downtown area. Definitely recommend as a RON during the summer months.

Here is the current (Sept 06) story with Kef. Its CLOSED...at least the Navy side of the base. I used to run 3 weeks deployments to Keft in the late 90's. The Navy has packed up shop and left town. Its really a shame to see so many empty buildings. When we landed there we parked on the mil ramp...we were the only plane (or vehicle for that matter) on the base. An Iceland airfield guy met us at the plane. He works for the FBO on the civilian side of base. They will provide fuel, trans, flight planning (take your charts along with you) computers. The had a bus take us off base to the Hotel Kef. Not a bad place, but nothing special either. Not worth the $$$ that is for sure. Within walking distance of a few good bars and restaurants. Cafe Duce has excellent food and the bar in the hotel is not bad either. If you have the time then catch the bus to Reyk. If you cant have fun there then you are doing something wrong, but bring your Visa and a bankroll b/c it is gonna cost you. Like I said before, if you are expected the red carpet, don't. A heartbreaking tale actually considering this place was great in its prime.

~NAS Keflavik has been handed over to the locals as of 9/30/06 due to base closure. There are no military to worry about, so things are looking up. We stopped here and found excellent services from South Air (www.southair.is). They were waiting in a line as we pulled up with fuel, power & our IMT package in hard copy, floppy disk and CD ROM. For those hercs heading home against the wind, this is a quick and easy stop. We didn't RON this time, but I've got to believe it's better with no crappy Navy billeting to worry about.

~I read the other comments about NAS Keflavik being a bad place to RON. If you are looking for a night of hell raising, then maybe this is true, but if you are looking for a clean, decent place to stay the night as you cross the Atlantic, this place is fine. We landed on Sunday night (NAS is closed on Sundays) and were parked on the civilian side of the airfield. Had a very attractive Icelandic young lady meet us at our plane, and transport us (she even helped with the bags) to the FBO. The civilian FBO is as nice as any in the States...full service. They will take care of your flight plan and wx needs. Another taxi brought us to the NAS side of the airfield, and right to the BOQ. The BOQ front desk is staffed by several more attractive Icelandic young ladies. Rooms were very clean, and had all the stuff (many cable channels) in the states. All on the base were very courteous.... I didn't detect any of the "anti-American" sentiment (at least not till we flew over France). Typical exchange with Subway, Wendy's, etc.. One place that stood out, was JavaLava coffee house located in the exchange. Very Starbucks-like atmosphere (although quite small)...had the Hippy-looking, ungroomed owner and characteristic young blonde gal working the register. Both were very nice, and coffee was noteworthy. RON at KEF ain't that bad!

NOTES for aircew: Kef Baseops has very specific "preferred routings" going east and west - check their gouge book and file exactly how they want - or you will be copying down a lengthy clearance while holding # 1... Also, they want Estim. Time at each significant Longitudinal Line. Last thing, Navy ATOC can prepare box lunches for you and the pax - call ahead DSN, or by radio inbound -Other notes of interest the box lunches prepared by the Navy chow hall are shitty and are packed with low quality food. Do yourself a favor and get food from the shopette (if you have time) and take it with you. One bright spot is the Lava Java in the shopette complex-good coffee/warm drinks.

Iceland - Offbase: The fishing village of Keflavik is worth a visit. For the best food in town try Cafe Doos on the northern end of the main street (there's only one main road). Cafe Doos serves a soup of the day in a bread bowl--absolutely fantastic. They also serve some great fish and lamb meals definitely worth the $$$. If you like seafood go to the "Rain" (pronounced "Raun") try the lobster bisque! On Friday and Saturday, after 2200 the Rain converts into a European Night Club that rocks and is complete with hot viking chicks. I was surprised at how crowded the place got (100+ folks). For those of you looking for a something a little more risque. Try the strip club called "Casino". This place is hard to find. No advertisement and its in the industrial area above a hardware store. Its about two blocks up the road from Cafe Doos. Very pricey, $10 cover, but the girls are VERY hot.

Iceland can really rock on weekends! Friday and Saturday nights in Reykjavik are outstanding! But be prepared to spend some bucks. Kaffi Reykjavik has been a real hotspot for some years. The raging does not start till late however. 11PM at the earliest. By 2 AM, the place is in full tilt. A beer here will run $7-9. Pretty steep. Hard stuff is a touch cheaper. Try priming up on base with the cheap beer before hitting the town. Also, the U.S.O. has a van service on Friday and Saturday night. I think its about $10-12. It leaves at 10PM and RTB's at about 3:30AM. The van will drop you off in Downtown Reykjavik, just a hop, skip, and a jump from the bars. The Glum Bar and Astro's are other good spots. Downtown, stay at the Hotel Blue Lagoon. Bathrobe and free ticket to enter the hot springs that bubble up through the lava rocks. Like staying on an outpost on the moon. Dinner/Breakfast provided by the hotel, gratis. Don't rent a car to do downtown Rejkavik (don't waste a trip if it's not Friday or Sat night either). Talk to the taxi van dude who can arrange to chauffeur you to/from Keflavik and stay with you the whole night (no kidding). For 8 dudes, we tossed in $20 bucks a head for this sweet service. Definitely see the strip clubs here but BRING U.S .singles. The smallest paper bill denomination for stuffing your sweetheart is worth a whopping $7 (yikes). Lots of Norwegian and Icelandic hotties. It looks like you've already got some good gouge on Reykjavik. The only thing to add would be visit the restauraunt called "The Pearl". Its looks like a big silver dome and is visible from almost anywhere in the city. It will be on your left as you take highway 41 from Keflavik to Reykjavik and sits up on a hill. Anyway, the food is absolutely fantastic and the entire restauraunt rotates on a dias so your view is just stunning. VERY pricey, collared shirt required, but well worth it.

Contrary to the previously published note that you cannot stay off base while at Keflavik, you can. The Blue Lagoon runs about $80.00 a night... within per diem rates... and is very nice. It does have a sulfur smell to it because of the geothermal lake out back but you get used to it fast. The hotel will pay for the 20 minute taxi ride to the hotel. The staff is super nice and the rooms are nice for European standards. If you get in early enough or coordinate in advance, they will cook you a fantastic meal for a reasonable rate. You can end your day in the 8 person hotel jacuzzi. In the morning, they will drive you out to the Blue Lagoon for a "thermal swim." This is wonderful. You swim around in a 95 degree thermal lake that is thoroughly relaxing. If you are in town for a couple of days, you can hire the taxi for about $20 a head and they will drive you to Reykjavic and wait on you. They will take you to anywhere you want to go in the city and are very knowledgable on all the hot spots. The hotel can also arrange fishing trips and several sight seeing trips. This is the place to go if you are going to RON in Iceland. All I had to do was ask billeting if it was OK and they said "we don't care where you go." They have the number for the Blue Lagoon also. One more point to make and a big one: Purchase your beer on base. The hotel runs about $5 a bottle for beer. Just remember - your finance may not pay for off-base billeting without a Non-A Slip! ~There were no rooms on base so we were able to get rooms at Hotel Keflavik for two nights. They tried to send us to Reykavik for the second night, but when we threatened to go to the hotel next door, they suddenly had rooms for us. There is a nice restaurant in the hotel and a fitness center. The hotel is right in the middle of Keflavik so you can easily walk places. Free internet access is available on the second floor of the hotel. Definitely take a cab to the Blue Lagoon ($7 to get in).