Trail transport
Fly into Keflavik (KEF), transfer to BSI Reykjavik Bus Terminal (roughly 45 minutes by Flybus or similar), then take the Reykjavik Excursions/Trex Highland Bus direct to Landmannalaugar (roughly 4 hours). THIS IS THE DEFINING TRANSPORT FACT FOR THIS TRAIL: the highland bus, and the F208 mountain road it uses, both run only for a short summer window -- 2026: the operator's own site states the bus runs 19 June-6 September, while F208 itself is only declared open by Vegagerdin once inspected, typically mid-to-late June, and is illegal (and dangerous) to drive once officially closed.
Fly into Keflavik (KEF), transfer to BSI Reykjavik Bus Terminal (roughly 45 minutes by Flybus or similar), then take the Reykjavik Excursions/Trex Highland Bus direct to Landmannalaugar (roughly 4 hours). THIS IS THE DEFINING TRANSPORT FACT FOR THIS TRAIL: the highland bus, and the F208 mountain road it uses, both run only for a short summer window -- 2026: the operator's own site states the bus runs 19 June-6 September, while F208 itself is only declared open by Vegagerdin once inspected, typically mid-to-late June, and is illegal (and dangerous) to drive once officially closed. Outside that roughly 10-12 week window, Landmannalaugar is genuinely unreachable by any ordinary means -- not 'infrequent', but closed. Marketing claims for 'year-round' private super-jeep transfers to Landmannalaugar were found (e.g. from general highland-tour operators) but these should be treated with caution against the official Vegagerdin road-closure rule; they most likely refer to specialised winter mountaineering access with different vehicles/permits, not a way to start an ordinary Laugavegur hike out of season.
Skogar sits directly on Route 1 (paved, year-round Ring Road), which is the key asymmetry with the start: a Fimmvorduhals hiker finishing here has two options, the same seasonal Reykjavik Excursions/Trex Hikers' Bus Pass return leg, OR the year-round public Straeto route 51 towards Reykjavik via Selfoss -- so, unlike Landmannalaugar, Skogar does not strand anyone outside the highland season.
This is the sharpest one-way problem of any trail in this set: Landmannalaugar and Skogar are not just different trailheads but are linked only by a road network that is itself seasonally closed for part of the year, roughly 110km apart by road even when everything is open, and there is no confirmed car-relocation or shuttle-your-car service of any kind. Landmannalaugar's own parking system is built and priced for day visitors , not for a car sitting for the 3-5 days a through-hike takes, and no source found any long-stay product there. The answer nearly everyone actually uses, reflected directly in Reykjavik Excursions/Trex's own 'Hikers' Bus Pass' product, is not to drive at all: take the highland bus one-way from Reykjavik to Landmannalaugar, walk the trail, and let the same company's bus collect you from Skogar (or Thorsmork, for a Laugavegur-only hike) and take you back to Reykjavik. Anyone who drives their own vehicle to Landmannalaugar needs a second driver to bring it back, or must accept the car will simply sit there with no confirmed long-stay arrangement.
Thorsmork (~55km in, served by huts at Basar/Husadalur/Langidalur) is the main mid-route escape point, but it is reached only by the same family of seasonal highland-bus/4x4 services -- the F249 road into Thorsmork crosses the Krossa river ford and follows the same open/closed seasonal pattern as F208, so there is no year-round vehicle access there either. Below Thorsmork, a hiker continuing onto the Fimmvorduhals extension is committed with no vehicle access at all until Skogar. Ferdafelag Islands, which runs the huts, states plainly that phone coverage is unstable along the trail -- there is no casual 'call a taxi' option anywhere on this route (see taxis, which is empty because no such service was found).
Flybus or similar airport-transfer operators run to BSI Reykjavik Bus Terminal (roughly 45 minutes), which is the departure point for the highland bus to Landmannalaugar and the arrival point on return from Skogar.
Year-round (the airport and Flybus link are unrelated to the highland season below).Departure point for Reykjavik Excursions/Trex's Highland Bus to Landmannalaugar (start) and the return leg of the Hikers' Bus Pass from Skogar (finish). Also a stop for Straeto's year-round regional network.
The terminal itself operates year-round; the highland bus services from it to Landmannalaugar/Skogar are strictly seasonal -- see bus network and getting to start.This is the trail start itself -- reached only by the seasonal highland bus, a private 4x4/super-jeep transfer, or a self-driven 4x4 on the F208 mountain road, all of which depend on the road being open . There is no scheduled public transport here outside the short summer window.
Reachable only when F208 is open and/or the highland bus is running -- 2026: highland bus 19 June-6 September per the operator's own site (a separate secondary source states 13 June-20 September; the disagreement is recorded, not resolved, since the operator's own page is preferred). F208 itself typically opens mid-to-late June and closes with the first serious highland snowfall, most often in the second half of September, though this varies year to year and is only confirmed close to the day by Vegagerdin (the Icelandic Road Administration).Unlike Landmannalaugar, Skogar sits directly on Route 1 (the paved, year-round Ring Road), so it has two ways out: the same seasonal Reykjavik Excursions/Trex Hikers' Bus Pass, or the year-round public Straeto route 51 (Reykjavik-Selfoss-Vik-Hofn), which calls at/near Skogar in every season.
Year-round via Straeto route 51 on Route 1; the dedicated hikers' bus back to Reykjavik is seasonal only (see bus network).