Driving in Iceland is absolute bliss! Everywhere you go you see breathtaking landscapes with impressive rock formations, lava fields, waterfalls, cute houses, snowcapped mountains and volcanoes, glaciers, rivers, lakes,… It’s like driving through a fairytale. But don’t let the beautiful landscape fool you. Iceland is one of those places where nature is boss! The forces of nature rule here and if you don’t respect that, accidents happen quickly! There are some things you need to keep in mind to avoid getting into trouble.
What you need to know about driving in Iceland
Rent a 4×4 with complete insurance coverage
If you want to explore Iceland to the fullest I recommend renting a 4×4 WD SUV. You’ll be able to drive the non paved roads more easily, especially the F-roads. I drove some very bumpy roads and was so happy I was able to do them! Make sure to include all insurances when renting a car like CDW, PAI, SCDW, GP, TP, SAAP/SADW and Premium Insurance and don’t forget to add gravel protection. I rented a car with a special package including all these insurances. Often I heard stones and gravel hurt my car, even on the main roads!
Speeding
Iceland may be the safest country in the world, so I never saw any police cars during my road trip, but there are speed cameras! Fines are crazy high and even jail time could be hanging over your head! It’s also dangerous to speed, because there can be sudden strong winds, but more about that later.
Do not stop on the road
A lot of accidents happen in Iceland because people stop on the road to take pictures and loose their attention or because the car isn’t visible from every angle (e.g. blind summits). If you really want to stop, drive until you find a spot at the side of the road where you can park. There are a lot of parking spaces to enjoy nice views.
Do not drive off road
This one really broke my heart when I saw someone doing this. Always stay on the roads. Do not ever drive somewhere else. You’ll destroy Iceland’s nature forever. There’s no reason to drive off road.
Check online for closed roads
Every morning before departure I checked the Road.is website. This website shows the conditions of the roads and the weather. That way I knew what roads I could drive on and which ones were closed. That way I didn’t loose time looking for alternative routes or driving to a place I couldn’t reach.
Do not drive on closed roads
If there is a sign saying that the road is closed, don’t drive the road. There are serious reasons why roads are closed (bad road conditions, dangerous weather,…) and if you get busted you’ll get a serious fine or even jail time!
“Book your hotel in Iceland here!”
The wind is your worst enemy
The first advice I got from the rental car guy, who just got back from 2 car accidents, about driving in Iceland was: “There are 2 dangers in Iceland on the road; number one is the wind and the second one; Asians behind the wheel. If you see them, run away!” According to him 80% of the car accidents in Iceland happen with Asians. I don’t know if that is true. But I can surely confirm he was right about the wind! Many times I had to strongly hold my steering wheel because of some serious gusts of wind! Winds in Iceland can blow your car off the road, not kidding! Also be careful when opening car doors. I almost lost one on the top of Dyrholaey!
Crossing sheep
It can happen that suddenly there is a bunch of sheep standing on the road. When you’re driving 90 km/hour, this can be very dangerous! So always keep in mind there could be something crossing the road.
Always use headlights
Icelandic law requires to always drive with your headlights on.
Parking & driving in Reykjavik
I have to admit that even though I loved driving in Iceland, I hated driving in Reykjavik. All these one direction streets drove me crazy. Especially because my GPS had no idea and was guiding me into one direction streets. So what did I do? I stayed on the main road and parked my car for free at the parking lot of a Bonus supermarket! In the city center you often have to pay for a parking space, so I didn’t mind to walk a little further.
Gas prices and discount
The price of gas (95 octane) was around 218 ISK per litre when I was in Iceland (May 2018). I received a petrol discount card from the car rental company. It gives you about 3-4 ISK discount per liter.
If you like the pictures in this “Driving in Iceland” article, I suggest to follow my Instagram account where you can find a lot more!
Don’t hesitate to leave your comments down below!
Amazing photo’s, it has convinced me to go! I do have a question: at which company did you rent your car? The total packages including all insurances sounds like a good deal. That way you don’t have to worry.
It is really disappointing to see a “world traveler” as yourself repeat a horribly racist comment about an entire group of people. One would think that all the travel you post here would make you more aware of these generalizations. Mark Twain said that travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow mindedness…Ah well! I suppose that’s not the case when all one cares about is getting that perfect photograph for Instagram.
Hi!
I don’t think the rental car guy meant to be rascist since he works with tourists from all over the world every day. He just stated it from his own personal experience since he told me 80% of the car accidents in Iceland involve Asians. And he made a joke based on it. I guess that is just his way of dealing with it, because it must stress him out. Driving in Iceland is no joke and distances are always big.
When I arrived at the airport I had to wait for an hour because he was late. Why was he late? Because he had to go help Asians who were in an accident with one of his rental cars.
So no I don’t consider his comment rascist and yes I decided to add it in my article because I like to add people’s quotes.
Sorry you feel differently.
And no, I am not the kind of traveler who all does it for the Gram… but if you really followed my blog and YouTube. You would have known that.
Have a nice day.
Kind regards