Looking for a way to get to Europe/UK/US/UAE from India?? Then this is the blog for you.

How I travelled to Iceland from India

I chose to travel through Iceland because it was the only country on the UK’s green list so I felt like it was safer, as I could travel to the UK after without quarantine. I also didn’t need a visa to travel here.

Pre-travel documents from India

In advance of travelling, you must have filled in the Iceland arrival form. This is where you explain that you have been double vaccinated with Covishield, as Iceland is currently only open to fully vaccinated tourists outside of the EU/EEA and Covaxin is still not accepted here.

There is no direct flight to Iceland, so I travelled with KLM to Amsterdam from Mumbai and did a 6.5hr layover there. My second flight was with Iceland Air to Keflavik airport. The whole journey from home to hotel suite took me 23 hours, but it was worth it. If you don’t mind a longer wait in Amsterdam, you can fly with KLM all the way to Iceland.

Layover in Amsterdam

“Amsterdam Airport is one of the best layover airports in Europe”

— Life of Tanya

During the covid-19 pandemic, Amsterdam is one of the only EU cities, that allows all passport holders to do a layover. Therefore, it is one of the only options for non-EU passport holders to do a layover.

Currently, non-dutch citizens cannot leave Amsterdam airport during their layover unless they have a residency permit.

The sleep pods in the klm lounge 52 at amsterdam airport

Amsterdam airport, in my opinion, is one of the best layover airports in Europe. They have a hotel inside the airport called Yotel, where you can sleep and shower if you have a long layover.

If you’re flying business class with KLM like I did, you can stay in one of their sleep cabins and shower in the lounge. The KLM lounge (52) is HUGE, I would definitely recommend checking it out.

There are lots of places to eat at Amsterdam airport including multiple fast food restaurants (McDonalds/Burger king), dutch bakeries, Jamie’s Italian and even a dimsum restaurant. The shopping rivals that of London Heathrow, with high end designer brands like Hermes, Gucci, Rolex and Burberry; and you can purchase your favourite Amsterdam foods like gouda cheese and stroopwafels.

Landing in Iceland

When I landed in Iceland there was no passport control, which was so weird for me. You just go straight to duty free on your way to collect your luggage.

Once you have collected your luggage, you show your landing form barcode to security when leaving the airport. Here they check your passport and your covishield vaccine certificates and confirm your telephone number. You are then given a PCR-sample test tube and asked to follow the signs for testing which are just outside the airport. The testing process was very quick.

While awaiting your RT-PCR test results by SMS, which arrive up to 24 hours after you land. You must quarantine. This can be in the hotel room that you booked or at home. Your hotel will insist that you quarantine for 24 hours if you have not received your results. If you have not received your results after 24 hours, then all is fine and you are free to leave your accomodation and enjoy your holiday!

Travelling to Iceland if you have not been fully vaccinated

If you are a passport holder from the EU/EEA, you are allowed to travel to Iceland without being fully vaccinated if you:

Perform a RT-PCR test within 72 hours of leaving the EU/EEA for Iceland
Take two RT-PCR tests, one on arrival in Iceland, then one five days later, with home/hotel quarantine until you receive the second test results and they are negative.

For more information about arriving in Iceland, check out this link as from July 1st 2021, these restrictions may change.

Countries that you can fly to from India

With India being on the “Red List” for most countries, the idea of a summer holiday away from the rainy monsoon seems like something only capable in our dreams… however, after much research, I’ve found these solutions: