Practical Tips for your Roadtrip Iceland
Iceland is a perfect destination for the outdoor traveler. You’ll find fantastic waterfalls in beautiful natural surroundings. We collected some usefull practical tips for your roadtrip Iceland!
1. Rent a Car on Iceland
Prices are high, but it is a must to rent a car on Iceland. Without car your trip will be limited to Reykjavik and The Golden Circle only, as there is no public transport on the rest of the island. We always rent our car through Sunnycars. They always provide an all-in rent price, insurance included and without hidden fees.
2. Do you need a 4×4?
In April-May we mainly drove on the ring road and we never had any problems with our rental car (no 4×4) on this road. Some attractions we visited were a little further away from the ringroad and some parts were unpaved. However, we were able to get everywhere with our car. If you want to go off the tracks (the inlands of Iceland), a 4×4 is compulsory.
3. Parking Areas
You can easily park your car at an attraction almost anywhere, parking areas are spacious and paved most of the time. However, pay attention to whether you have to pay for your parking spot. There are cameras above the entrance scanning your license plate at multiple famous tourist attractions. This makes it really easy to leave without paying the parking ticket. We made this mistake once and received a fine through the rental company, having to pay their rediculously high “administration fee” in addition.
4. Make your Own Dinner
Iceland is known for higher prices for food and drinks. If you want to keep the costs under control, we recommend cooking your own dinner. Most hostels provide kitchen facilities and prices in supermarkets are reasonable.
5. Pack Different Types of Clothing
The weather can change at any moment, so prepare yourself to all weather conditions. We were quite lucky with the weather, but still wore a raincoat and winter coat every day. A raincoat is also very useful at a sunny day if you want to walk behind a waterfall, like the Kvernufoss.
Furthermore we mainly wore sturdy walking shoes and brought many ‘layers’. Sometimes we could take off our jacket and the next moment we needed to wear a wintercoat and raincoat as well because of the wind and cold. Furhter, a hat and gloves are quite handy even in April/May.
