Travel sentences are where two Icelandic cases collide in a single breath. The means of transport — by bus, by plane — goes in the dative with með; the destination goes in the genitive with til. So "I'm flying to London by plane" packs a dative (með flugi) and a genitive (til Lundúna) into one clause, and English-speaking learners reliably get one or both wrong. Get the two patterns straight and the whole travel domain opens up. One practical note up front: Iceland has no railways, so train vocabulary is something you'll use abroad, not at home. Every noun below is tagged for gender (kk, kvk, hk).
The vehicles
| Icelandic | Gender | English |
|---|---|---|
| bíll | kk | car |
| strætó / strætisvagn | kk | (city) bus |
| rúta | kvk | coach / long-distance bus |
| leigubíll | kk | taxi |
| flugvél | kvk | aeroplane |
| flug | hk | flight |
| bátur | kk | boat |
| ferja | kvk | ferry |
| reiðhjól / hjól | hk | bicycle / bike |
| lest | kvk | train (used abroad — none in Iceland) |
Strætó is the everyday word for the city bus (the Reykjavík network is Strætó); rúta is the long-distance coach. Flug (hk) is "a flight," while flugvél (kvk) is the physical aeroplane — and as you'll see, "by plane" idiomatically uses flugi, the dative of flug.
Það er ódýrara að taka rútuna en að leigja bíl.
It's cheaper to take the coach than to rent a car. 'rútuna' (kvk) is the accusative object of 'taka'.
"By bus / by plane": fara með + DATIVE
To express the means of transport, Icelandic uses fara með ("go with") + the dative of the vehicle. This is the instrumental með — "by means of" — and it always takes the dative. It is not í strætó for the means; í strætó would just describe physically sitting inside the bus.
| Vehicle | Dative | "by ..." |
|---|---|---|
| strætó (kk) | strætó | fara með strætó |
| flug (hk) | flugi | fara með flugi / fljúga |
| rúta (kvk) | rútu | fara með rútu |
| bátur (kk) | báti | fara með báti |
| lest (kvk) | lest | fara með lest |
Ég fer alltaf með strætó í vinnuna.
I always take the bus to work. 'fara með strætó' — the means, with 'með' + dative.
Eigum við að fara með rútu eða keyra sjálf?
Should we take the coach or drive ourselves? 'með rútu' (dative); 'keyra sjálf' = drive ourselves.
Þau fóru með báti út í eyjuna.
They went to the island by boat. 'með báti' — dative of 'bátur'.
"Take" a bus or taxi: taka + accusative
Alongside fara með, you can say taka ("take") + the vehicle in the accusative, exactly like English "take the bus / take a taxi." Use taka when you mean catching a specific service.
Tökum bara leigubíl, það er að rigna.
Let's just take a taxi, it's raining. 'taka leigubíl' — accusative object.
Taktu strætó númer fjórtán, hann stoppar fyrir utan.
Take bus number fourteen, it stops right outside. 'taktu strætó' — imperative + accusative.
Þegar ég var í París tók ég lestina á hverjum degi.
When I was in Paris I took the train every day. 'tók lestina' — said about travel abroad, since Iceland has no trains.
"To" a destination: fara til + GENITIVE vs fara á + place
Now the other case. Destinations split into two patterns:
- fara til + genitive — for countries, cities, and named places: fara til Íslands (go to Iceland), fljúga til Lundúna (fly to London). Til is a genitive preposition.
- fara á + accusative — for many specific spots and events you go onto/to: fara á flugvöllinn (go to the airport), fara á tónleika (go to a concert). And fara í + accusative for enclosed places: fara í bæinn (go into town).
The London example is worth a close look. The traditional Icelandic name for London is Lundúnir (kvk plural), whose genitive is Lundúna — so the careful form is til Lundúna. In casual modern speech many simply borrow London and leave it undeclined: til London. Both are heard; Lundúna is the more established written form.
| Pattern | Example | English |
|---|---|---|
| fara til + gen | fara til Íslands | go to Iceland |
| fljúga til + gen | fljúga til Lundúna | fly to London |
| fara á + acc | fara á flugvöllinn | go to the airport |
| fara í + acc | fara í bæinn | go into town |
Við fljúgum til Lundúna á föstudaginn.
We fly to London on Friday. 'til' + genitive 'Lundúna' (from Lundúnir, kvk pl).
Ég er að fara til Íslands í sumar.
I'm going to Iceland this summer. 'til' + genitive 'Íslands'.
Hvenær eigum við að fara á flugvöllinn?
When should we head to the airport? 'fara á' + accusative 'flugvöllinn'.
Ég fer með flugi til Lundúna á morgun.
I'm flying to London tomorrow. The dative means ('með flugi') and the genitive destination ('til Lundúna') in one sentence.
The verbs: fara, ferðast, fljúga, keyra
| Verb | Meaning | Note |
|---|---|---|
| fara | to go | the general motion verb; pairs with með / til / á |
| ferðast | to travel | middle-voice verb; the activity of travelling |
| fljúga | to fly | 'fljúga til' + genitive destination |
| keyra / aka | to drive | 'keyra' is everyday; 'aka' (formal/literary) |
| ganga | to walk / go | also 'fara gangandi' = go on foot |
The distinction to draw: fara is going to a place (a single trip with a destination), while ferðast is travelling as an activity — the experience of touring around. "I'm going to Akureyri" is fara; "I love travelling" is ferðast.
Mig langar að ferðast um allt Ísland í sumar.
I want to travel all around Iceland this summer. 'ferðast' — travelling as an activity, with 'um' (around) + accusative.
Hann keyrir norður á hverjum föstudegi.
He drives north every Friday. 'keyra' = to drive (everyday verb).
Tickets and times
| Icelandic | Gender | English |
|---|---|---|
| miði | kk | ticket |
| farmiði | kk | (travel) ticket |
| brottför | kvk | departure |
| koma | kvk | arrival |
| tafir | kvk pl | delays |
Hvenær fer flugið?
When does the flight leave? 'flugið' (hk, with article) is the subject; 'fer' from 'fara'.
Ég þarf að kaupa farmiða aðra leiðina, ekki fram og til baka.
I need to buy a one-way ticket, not a return. 'aðra leiðina' = one way; 'fram og til baka' = round trip.
Common Mistakes
❌ Ég fer í strætó í vinnuna.
Incorrect for the means — 'í strætó' describes sitting inside the bus, not travelling by bus.
✅ Ég fer með strætó í vinnuna.
I take the bus to work. The means is 'með' + dative.
❌ fara með flug
Incorrect — 'með' needs the dative; the dative of 'flug' is 'flugi'.
✅ fara með flugi
to go by plane. Dative 'flugi' after 'með'.
❌ Við fljúgum til London.
Acceptable colloquially, but the careful form declines the name to the genitive.
✅ Við fljúgum til Lundúna.
We fly to London. 'til' + genitive 'Lundúna' (from Lundúnir).
❌ fara til flugvöllinn
Incorrect — the airport takes 'á' + accusative, not 'til' + genitive.
✅ fara á flugvöllinn
to go to the airport. 'á' + accusative 'flugvöllinn'.
❌ Ég fer að Íslandi í sumar.
Incorrect — destinations like countries take 'til' + genitive, not 'að' + dative.
✅ Ég fer til Íslands í sumar.
I'm going to Iceland this summer. 'til' + genitive 'Íslands'.
Key Takeaways
- The means of transport is fara með + dative: með strætó, með flugi, með rútu, með báti. The instrumental með never takes the accusative.
- Don't say í strætó for the means — that only describes being physically inside the bus.
- You can also taka ("take") + accusative: taka leigubíl, taka strætó, taka lestina (the last one abroad — Iceland has no trains).
- The destination is fara til + genitive for places (til Íslands, til Lundúna), but fara á / í + accusative for spots like á flugvöllinn, í bæinn.
- One sentence often carries both: Ég fer með flugi til Lundúna — dative means, genitive destination.
- fara = go to a place; ferðast = travel as an activity; fljúga = fly; keyra = drive (everyday), aka (formal).
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