Renting a camper van in Iceland is a nature lover’s dream trip. In any case, one doesn’t go to Iceland to spend all their time in a lodge room, however most don’t wish to courageous the chilly nights in a tent.
The Ring Street, or Route 1, is the highway that circles your entire island nation of Iceland. We’ve talked about this improbable journey earlier than, however its recognition means we get lots of requests for extra insights to journey in Iceland.
Exploring Iceland in a campervan is among the greatest methods to deal with the Ring Street. There isn’t any different solution to do it as a result of your freedom in a campervan. Nonetheless, there are some issues I discovered after renting a camper van in Iceland that can assist you in your Iceland journey!
Suggestions for Renting a Camper van in Iceland!
1. Have a Normal Iceland Itinerary
When taking our campervan round Iceland, our objective was to drive the Ring Street. The title of the Ring Street must be fairly self-explanatory. It’s a highway that covers round 1,300 kilometers and circumnavigates the entire nation of Iceland – like a hoop! The entire route ought to take about 16 hours in the event you drive continuous – however who needs to do this?
It’s inconceivable to nail the right Ring Street itinerary. Our largest suggestion is to journey at your individual tempo, it doesn’t matter in the event you go quick or sluggish or miss some sights alongside the way in which.
So long as you might be completely happy touring on the tempo you’re going. Should you’re in search of a superb period of time, we’d counsel someplace between one to 2 weeks. We went for ten days, and it felt like a great period of time. It left us wanting extra however by no means uninterested in the journey.
When planning your itinerary, map out all of your stops. There will likely be loads of unplanned stops, and it’s greatest to not really feel rushed. We strive our greatest to keep away from setting our days to a strict timetable as a result of we all know we are going to by no means be completely happy if we do this. Right here’s our precise route beginning in Reykjavik and transferring clockwise. You’ll be able to learn all concerning the locations right here.
2. Select a Respected Iceland Campervan Firm
One of many first steps in planning your Iceland campervan journey is figuring out your rental firm. We drove across the Ring Street in a Glad Campers van and liked it.
Glad Campers is a household run by native Icelanders, and you will discover the entire household concerned. We had been checked out by the Sverrir or the “Glad Boss.” Whereas his son was chargeable for organising our reserving, one other picked us up from the airport. They’re a household enterprise wanting to point out guests the most effective of the nation, and one thing we respect.
The van comes with all you might want for a tenting journey in Iceland. It has superior options corresponding to a heater for chilly nights, a working water sink, and a fridge/freezer. If you wish to be taught extra, learn our Glad Campers assessment. Alternatively, one other native firm referred to as Lava Automotive Rental affords camper leases on your journey to Iceland
3. Selecting Your Campervan
Guide vs. Computerized
You ought to be ready to drive a guide campervan in Iceland. As with the remainder of the world (apart from the US), most campervans in Iceland are guide, however there are just a few computerized automobiles. Should you require an computerized car, ensure to ebook properly upfront and anticipate to pay a premium.
Measurement of Your Campervan
Think about the scale of your campervan earlier than you ebook. Just a few completely different measurement choices are perfect for one, two, three, and as much as 5 individuals. We went with a Glad 2 for the 2 of us. The van was spacious and comfy for 2 individuals.
Nonetheless, with a bigger campervan comes diminished gas financial system so that you’ll be paying extra for that bigger car in additional methods than one. Fuel is basically costly in Iceland, nearly $8 a gallon. Consider carefully concerning the campervan mannequin you select.
4. When to Ebook Your Campervan
Should you’re planning on renting a campervan in Iceland through the summer time, you need to begin planning and ebook your journey at the least six months out. They do promote out quick, particularly between the months of June-October.
5. What’s Included within the Glad Campers Campervan?
Our Glad Camper was geared up with the whole lot we may probably want for 10 days on the highway. That included issues like:
Fuel Range with Fuel
Cooler
Privateness Curtains
Pots and Pans
Plastic plates, cutlery, and drinkware
Knife and slicing board
Dustpan
2 pillows
2 blankets
Mattress
You’ll be able to pay further for an inverter, chairs, a desk, a BBQ grill, and a WiFi hotspot.
6. Insurance coverage on the Campervan
When trying out a camper van in Iceland, you’ve got many choices for selecting insurance coverage. Glad Campers consists of CDW as it’s necessary in Iceland. Should you go along with the usual insurance coverage, your legal responsibility restrict is €2500. In addition they provide packages that scale back the waiver, corresponding to sand and gravel harm.
We went with the gravel insurance coverage, however I discovered it a waste, because the roads had been nice in Iceland throughout October. Had we traveled through the winter and windier months, I consider it may have been extra helpful. Additionally, look into what your bank card covers for auto insurance coverage.
Most American bank cards provide auto rental insurance coverage as a profit, and I like to recommend calling your bank card firm beforehand to double-check what they cowl. Should you don’t have a bank card, it’s time to get one, because it’s an necessary a part of journey banking.
7. Examine Your Iceland Campervan
Should you run right into a guardrail along with your campervan rental you’re going to be charged for damages. If another person ran right into a guardrail earlier than you and also you don’t notice it whenever you decide up the rental automotive you may be charged for damages. At all times, all the time, all the time, examine each single rental automotive you get with nice element – inside and outside.
Observe any damages with the corporate and take photographs simply in case. Cam and I are meticulous with rental automotive dings, scratches, windshield cracks, and cigarette burns. By no means assume {that a} scratch or ding is unimportant or large enough to notice. While you return your rental, be sure you get a slip signing off that every one was okay on the automotive, so that they don’t come again and attempt to cost you later.
We’ve been blamed a number of instances for issues like “extreme sand on the ground in Mozambique,” random items of low-cost plastic falling off in Mexico, and we had been even charged for a small scratch on the hubcap in South Africa. Take photographs and put up a battle in the event you suppose you might be in the proper.
8. Get the Proper Credit score Card
Bringing me to my subsequent level – bank cards with major rental insurance coverage. The Chase Sapphire Reserve is my favourite journey bank card for a lot of causes, however the major rental insurance coverage is one among its greatest perks (together with Precedence Cross membership).
While you put your rental campervan in your Chase Sapphire Reserve card you get major protection worldwide for as much as $75,000.
That works out nice since we’re nomadic and don’t have a automotive or house. Automotive rental firms in Iceland and worldwide like to scare clients and upsell all their insurance coverage packages. That you must ensure in the event you want it or not earlier than falling sufferer to their lure. Name your bank card firm and all the time discover out earlier than you get to Iceland
9. Campervan Choose Up and Drop Off
After all of the paperwork is sorted with the rental firm, you’ll be requested if you wish to be proven across the car. We all the time really feel a little bit silly agreeing to this, but it surely’s all the time value it!
Until your rental car is exactly the identical as your automotive at house, a number of techniques are prone to be completely different. Should you resolve to go along with a rental automotive, you 100% must be proven round. There are lots of features to a campervan!
When the agent reveals you round, ask them to point out you ways all of the important techniques operate. You ought to be fully pleased with utilizing your Iceland van rental whenever you depart – bear in mind, you might be legally chargeable for it. So, be sure you know find out how to function the headlights, indicator lights, hazard lights, and windscreen wipers. Additionally, make sure you perceive find out how to interact reverse gear.
10. Anticipate a Maintain Cost for Your Iceland Campervan
Each single one among our forty or so rental vehicles has put a maintain on our bank card for the rental interval. Holds can vary anyplace from just a few hundred bucks to $1000+ in some international locations. The “extra cost,” as it’s referred to as, is often said in your reservation particulars, however it’s simple to overlook.
We’re conscious that they have to put this maintain on our card, however it may be an enormous shocker if you’re unsuspecting and find yourself over your credit score restrict in your bank card. These extra fees are for eventualities the place you disappear with the automotive and are by no means seen once more, or get in a crash and refuse to pay.
11. Hire Your Campervan From Keflavik Airport (KEF)
Should you plan to hire a campervan to get round, ensure to choose it up and drop it off on the airport. It may find yourself saving you a buck. There isn’t any public transport, and the Reykjavik Categorical, one of many solely buses from Reykjavik metropolis to Keflavik airport, is 2400 Icelandic Kroner a technique.
That’s a $24 airport switch on a bus! I’d advocate selecting up and dropping off your automotive on the airport to avoid wasting on this price.
If you wish to hire a camper, Glad Campers has a location on the airport. We had an gratifying expertise with them, and they’ll give you a free switch to their workplaces as soon as your flight lands.
You’ll be able to simply ebook utilizing this hyperlink, however ensure to ebook properly upfront throughout excessive season. Critically – they made our journey to Iceland so wonderful.
12. Fuel for Your Iceland Camper van
Be ready to shell out some cash whenever you head to the pump in Iceland. Fuel prices a little bit over $2 USD a liter or nearly $9 a gallon! We additionally discovered that American bank cards don’t work at many pumps.
To pay, be sure you ask an attendant to unlock the pump after which pay afterward inside with a bank card. Or you may pay with a debit card that has a pin quantity.
Concentrate on distances between gas stations. We discovered them throughout Iceland and by no means ran low on gas. For our 10-day itinerary, we spent round $400 on gas – YIKES. Be sure to funds for this one, because it’s simple to overlook.
13. A 4×4 Iceland Campervan is Not Crucial for Exploring
Should you’re planning to drive Iceland’s iconic Ring Street (Route 1 across the nation) or the Golden Circle, a 4×4 car is pointless. A lot of the roads are paved and straightforward to navigate with a sedan.
If you wish to go down an unpaved or unmarked highway, ensure your automotive can deal with it first! We noticed quite a few small sedans making an attempt to push their automotive an excessive amount of down bumpy roads and getting caught or tearing out the underside of their rental!
14. Make Certain You Don’t Have Mileage Limits
It may be widespread for Iceland campervans to have mileage limits. Often, that is one thing like 200 km/day might be pushed. In fact, they’ll’t know which day you might be driving 200km/day and what days you aren’t, so all of it totals as much as the top.
Say you hire a automotive for six days, and it has a mileage restrict of 200 km/day. Meaning on your whole rental, you’ve got 1200 km of free driving. Should you return the automotive having pushed 1300 km, you’ll be charged for the overage of 100 km. In order for you full freedom when driving round Iceland, select a rental with limitless mileage. (Our Glad Camper had no mileage limits).
15. Navigation in Iceland
It’s value mentioning that distances and speeds in Iceland are recorded in kilometers quite than miles. This could make sights appear additional away than they’re, though the winding nation roads you’re prone to encounter imply journey instances are a little bit longer than these within the US.
It’s unlikely your rental car could have a built-in GPS navigation system, usually known as SatNav (satellite tv for pc navigation); nevertheless, it’s probably that you’ll be supplied a separate GPS (at further value, after all), as a substitute. The excellent news is that if you’re driving the ring highway, it’s a hoop across the nation and straightforward to observe.
Nonetheless, whether or not you might be touring by yourself or as a gaggle, we expect navigation is a should. It takes a lot of the stress out of driving on roads you aren’t used to and counting on highway signage. You could be completely happy utilizing paper maps, but it surely’s not regular for them to be equipped with a rental automotive, which implies you might as properly go for the GPS as a substitute.
Smartphone apps corresponding to Google Maps are a superb free various, which supplies you the extra benefit of realizing up-to-the-minute visitors and highway situations. You need to obtain a map of Iceland to your telephone from Google Maps whilst you’re on good WiFi. Should you overlook to do that, Reykjavik Airpot has free WiFi the place you may obtain Google Maps to your telephone earlier than you hit the highway.
16. Look ahead to Pace Traps!
Iceland has quite a few digicam pace traps across the ring highway. So it’s greatest to all the time keep throughout the pace restrict. Fines are extraordinarily costly in Iceland. Between ISK 50,000 and ISK 130,000, it’s greatest to observe the foundations.
The excellent news is there’s all the time an indication warning you concerning the pace digicam just a few hundred meters earlier than. If you’re rushing in Iceland, now’s the time to decelerate!
You might suppose that as a result of you’re a foreigner and leaving the nation, you’ll get away with not paying for a ticket. Nonetheless, the rental automotive firm has a duplicate of your bank card and is permitted to cost it within the circumstances like this.
17. Ingesting and Driving in Iceland
This could go with out saying, however ingesting and driving is a grave offense in Iceland. The brink blood alcohol check (BAT) stage is extraordinarily low. Drivers might be charged with DUI with a BAT as little as .05%, and sure, foreigners might be charged too.
The Icelandic individuals take this very severely, and most don’t drive in the event that they plan on ingesting. If you wish to exit for an evening at a bar, be sure you have a accountable means again to your lodging.
18. Seatbelts and Security in Iceland
It’s a authorized requirement for all passengers to put on a seat belt/security belt when the engine is working.
Likewise, it’s not permitted to make use of a cellular phone when driving in Iceland to make calls or ship/obtain SMS textual content messages. You need to use your smartphone for navigation functions, but it surely should be hands-free solely (corresponding to safely stowed on the windscreen), and you should not program navigation whereas the car’s engine is working.
I like to recommend getting a telephone holder on your automotive dashboard on your travels.
19. How A lot Will an Iceland Campervan Rental Price?
It will depend on the season! In the summertime, your rental automotive will probably be greater than within the low season months from October to February. Glad Campers affords off-season, mid-season, and excessive season charges. So in the event you’re objective is to save cash, ebook a automotive rental within the low season. Listed below are some ideas for getting a superb deal on campervan Iceland:
The earlier you ebook, the higher. Campervans, particularly with the nice firms, promote out.
Do your analysis and go along with the businesses which have good evaluations. They’re typically those who gained’t rip you off for further fees.
Keep away from peak season, which is late June-early September.
20. Emergency Numbers in Iceland
112 is the one emergency quantity in Iceland. Keep in mind it and retailer it in your telephone in the event you ever want it. You by no means know whenever you’ll be confronted with a life-threatening scenario – however bear in mind, solely use it if it’s essential to. Safetravel.is places up all related alerts and warnings and must be checked often when driving in Iceland.
I additionally like to hitch related Fb teams to remain up to date on present journey conditions. Persons are usually fairly useful!
21. Do You Want an Iceland Van Rental to Have a Good Time?
No! Iceland campervans are usually not important to your enjoyment in Iceland. Nonetheless, it’ll significantly improve your expertise, particularly if you’re brief on time or wish to discover as a lot as potential with infinite freedom.
Should you love the good outdoor, parking below the northern lights or midnight solar, and having fun with home-cooked campervan meals as a substitute of high-priced Iceland restaurant meals, then a campervan is for you.
The way to Take pleasure in Your Iceland Campervan to the Fullest!
1. Maintain the Door in your Iceland Campervan
Earlier than our journey to Iceland, we got here from a North Coast 500 highway journey in Scotland and a highway journey across the Faroe Islands so we knew what to anticipate.
The North Atlantic and Iceland have some severely excessive winds. While you’re exiting a automotive, maintain firmly to your automotive door – in any other case, it might blow proper off the automotive and isn’t lined by insurance coverage. We’re not kidding!
2. Take pleasure in Your Sleep
Anticipate it to be fairly chilly in Iceland. Our Glad Camper had a heater we may run all night time if we needed, and it stored us toasty heat within the brisk Autumn air. Carry a heat sleeping bag in the event you’re renting a van with no heater or don’t wish to run the warmth all night time.
I counsel a down comforter from house in the event you’re in search of consolation. The beds in campervans might be agency, so a tenting pad will make all of the distinction. While you’re able to camp for the night time, park the van on a stage floor until you take pleasure in sleeping along with your toes greater than your head.
The important thing right here is to carry the whole lot you’re comfy with to make the van really feel like house for the following week or few days.
3. There’s No Unhealthy Climate, Simply Unhealthy Garments
Do not forget that you’re touring round Iceland in a campervan. The smallest fashions don’t go away lots of room for an enormous checked bag. The plain factor to pack is heat climate clothes. An awesome choice is to pack a duffel bag or backpack that has smooth sides and might be stuffed below a seat.
In fact, all the time pack a down jacket, sweater, wool socks, and a journey towel. The towel is basically necessary in the event you go to scorching springs and public swimming pools. We’ve got a publish on what to pack for Iceland if you would like extra garments suggestions. It also needs to go with out saying that Iceland is severely photogenic, so that you’ll need an important digicam for journey pictures.
Listed below are some issues we’d advocate to make your campervan extra at house in Iceland.
Espresso press
Down comforter
Spare tenting burner
Favourite pillow
Tenting pad
Leatherman (I carry the Wingman mannequin)
Tripod ({Photograph} the Northern Lights!)
Specialty meals merchandise
4. Keep Organized
It’s essential to maintain your Iceland campervan organized in your Iceland journey. That is necessary in additional methods than one. It gained’t take lengthy to determine that unfastened objects within the again behavior shifting in all places. We labored onerous to maintain the again of the van organized, so we didn’t lose something.
This meant we may simply entry something, and it stored the small area from turning right into a pigsty. Ten days in a van with two individuals could be simple to let the whole lot get out of hand.
Additionally, decide up just a few fundamental cleansing provides like a rag and multi-purpose cleaner. Our van got here with a brush that we used to maintain our flooring clear. With out this, the van would have been a catastrophe zone.
If it’s your first time tenting, we can’t advocate bamboo child wipes sufficient as they make it simple to maintain your self recent. In fact, any child wipe will do, however they’re horrible for the setting, so attempt to go for biodegradable ones.
5. Select a Good Campsite
You cannot camp freely in a motorcar in Iceland. It’s required by regulation that you’ve written permission from the landowner, or in different phrases, a receipt. There are a plethora of campsites round Iceland in the summertime, and Glad Campers created this map on their web site that can assist you discover one.
Campsites in Iceland are usually first rate, with showers, bathrooms, and generally even WiFi amenities. The typical tenting price ranges from 1000 ISK ($10US) to 2000 ISK ($20 US) per particular person, per night time. Typically, showers are usually not included on this worth and value 300-500ISK for a 3 to five-minute bathe. Because it showers value cash we love getting bare in Iceland’s public swimming swimming pools as a substitute.
Nonetheless…
The vast majority of campsites shut down for the winter. We drove the Ring Street in October and located most of the campsites to have already closed on September thirtieth.
The supply of campsites will rely on the time of yr. Touring in October, we discovered it to be hit and miss. The excellent news is that even when the campsites are closed, they’re nonetheless accessible and also you technically nonetheless park there and camp if want be. This implies you don’t need to pay – you simply gained’t have entry to amenities like bathrooms through the offseason. Keep in mind after I talked about child wipes?
6. Eat Good Meals!
We aren’t any strangers to prepping simple meals, and we’ve gotten higher over time. Campervans don’t present a ton of prep area, so you need to persist with easy meals. If you wish to find out about meals prices, we now have outlined them in our information to grocery shops in Iceland. Listed below are the widespread meals we made in our campervan.
Wraps: These are tremendous easy. Cameron made scorching wraps by cooking a stir fry in a pan utilizing vegan hoisin duck, frozen veggies, and mushrooms. Dish it out in some wraps and high with vegan cheese. (You need to use the true stuff too!)
Rice: It’s a staple, and discovering a solution to make it your individual will take you for miles. We wish to high our rice with peas, corn, avocado, eggs, and a candy Thai chili sauce. (There are lots of of variations of this!)
Soup: We like to make soup as a result of it’s scrumptious, requires one pot, and it fills you up. For a straightforward and wholesome soup, Cameron recommends the next: Saute onions in a pot till translucent, add mushrooms, tomatoes, vegetable inventory (bouillon cubes to avoid wasting area), rice, potatoes, carrots, and season with paprika. Should you’re a meat-eater, prepare dinner it first with the onions. The important thing to a soup is layering flavors and letting it simmer for a very long time.
Pancakes: Who doesn’t love pancakes? They’re lifeless easy and whenever you high them with peanut butter, they’ll maintain you going for hours. For tenting, we advise the premade combine from the shop.
Pasta: Roasted pink pepper, pesto, avocado, or mushroom stroganoff there are numerous variations of pasta you may make. We love to combine them with frozen veggies when tenting in Iceland. Recent produce is dear in Iceland!
7. BYOB
Iceland is dear, and alcohol prices are obscene. A bottle of the funds vodka Smirnoff prices $70. You’re permitted to carry a bottle of your individual booze into the nation, so we got here ready with an important bottle of gin from the U.Ok.
Should you’re apprehensive concerning the weight of a bottle breaking, your subsequent choice is to buy alcohol on the Airport duty-free earlier than you enter the nation. Exterior of duty-free shops on the airport, you may solely buy alcohol on the state-run shops referred to as Vinbudin.
8. Obtain a Good Journey Playlist
Be ready for some lengthy drives and loads of time on the highway. We’ve bought you lined in the event you’re in search of a superb journey playlist or music. Simply be sure you obtain all of your music to your telephone, as you might not all the time have a connection.
9. Professionals and Cons of Renting a Camper van in Iceland
Professionals of Campervan Dwelling in Iceland
Saves Cash – because you don’t need to pay for motels.
Handy – no must plan out the whole lot upfront
Versatile – capable of change your route everytime you need.
Views – By no means a nasty view!
Cons of Campervan Dwelling in Iceland
Cramped – Little question about it, a campervan with a couple of particular person is cramped residing.
Showers/Bogs – It’s onerous to return by bathrooms in Iceland until you’re at a delegated campsite. Showers might be hit and miss too.
Climate – When you’ve got dangerous climate, there’s no escaping it.
Plan Your Epic Campervan Journey to Iceland
Renting a Camper Van in Iceland!
A campervan is the easiest way to get round Iceland on a funds. Whereas a camper is barely costlier than a automotive, you may sleep and prepare dinner in it! This implies you don’t need to seek for any motels or take care of costly eating places in Iceland.
Plus, you get to sleep in nature each night time and nonetheless use a heater if you want! If you wish to journey with a Glad Campers van as we did (and you need to, they’re the BEST!), learn our full assessment. You’ll be able to simply ebook utilizing this hyperlink, however ensure to ebook properly upfront throughout excessive season.
Ebook a Tour
Typically it’s good to not do all of the journey planning and let another person do it.
When is the Greatest Time to Go to Iceland?
In my view, the most effective instances to go to Iceland are June, July, September, October, and December – but it surely all will depend on what you need! June-August is the excessive season, however it’s also summer time in Iceland and when one can find essentially the most nice temperatures. It’s additionally when you’ll expertise essentially the most daylight and get essentially the most of your journey. December is nice as a result of it’s winter, you stand a robust likelihood of seeing the Northern Lights, it’s off-season, and the temperatures haven’t gone to finish freezing but.
Nonetheless, my private favourite time to journey to Iceland is through the fall months. The leaves change vibrant colours across the nation throughout September and October. Temperatures are nonetheless delicate, and tourism is slowing down. You’ll be able to see the complete month-by-month breakdown for Iceland journey right here.
Issues to do in Iceland
There are such a lot of issues to do in Iceland I may write a ebook about it. Sadly, I don’t have that point, so I’m displaying you the final word Iceland bucket listing right here. Some issues which might be a must-do are going to an Iceland swimming pool, soaking in a pure scorching spring, standing below a waterfall, and seeing the Northern Lights.
Images Gear for Iceland
A high-quality digicam is a necessary packing merchandise for Iceland if you would like some nice photographs throughout your trip. We journey with our Fujifilm Digicam and 200mm telephoto lens. Drones have taken Iceland by storm and may also seize improbable footage. We had our DJI Mavic in Iceland, however ensure to make use of your drone responsibly as many locals are aggravated at their sight.
Don’t forget a tripod for Iceland – particularly in the event you plan on photographing the Northern Lights, as you’ll want one for the lengthy exposures.
Is Iceland Costly?
Iceland is mega costly. One of the costly international locations in your entire world. Just be sure you plan accordingly and according to your funds. It’s actually potential to do Iceland on a funds of lower than $100 if you’re tenting, cooking all of your fundamental meals, touring by public transport, or rating a superb deal on a rental. The excellent news is that nature is free, and also you’ll be capable of see Iceland’s magnificence with out paying for it. So sure – it’s fully doable to have an inexpensive Iceland trip.
Should you plan on ingesting, make sure you decide up duty-free alcohol earlier than you allow the airport. A pint of beer can simply run you $15-$20!