Iceland : Has anybody driven in Iceland before?

[lookingforsword]

I forgot to mention, best to take out comprehensive insurance in case you wreck the car. the weather and terrain up north and in the interior is quite wild. In autumn:winter, some roads are not passable at all and you cannot take the car there or the warranty or insurance will be void.

 

It's true that human wise it's quite safe. Crime rates are low. There was one stop up in the far north I decided to leave my car engine running to keep it warm. I went for a short walk near a waterfall and got lost for nearly two hours in the rapidly worsening snow. I thought I was a goner. When I finally retraced my footsteps, the car was still there. Amazing. Thing is, there was not a single other person for miles around.

[Celicar]

The living standard there is extremely expensive compared to ours. A hot dog bun at the petrol kioks similar to Ikea one is about SGD 7 per piece. A pizza, fish and chip lunch with drinks at their fast food restaurant for 2 persons will cost somewhere between SGD 50-100.

All this talk makes me very gian to go, although this part about the per meal cost almost made me fall off my chair.Fast food for 100 buckeroos! OMG!!

[lookingforsword]

The "fast food" is actually almost like proper restaurant dining.

 

Most petrol stations will have an attached diner and you can order lamb steak or fish just like at a western restaurant here. My average price for lunch or dinner was about $70 for two people. The other way is to stock up from a grocery but it's not so fun.

[lookingforsword]

 

The next trip I make to Iceland, I am intending to drive round the Westfjords. the locals tell me to allocated two weeks for that alone! Also the north east is worth exploring if you like moonscapes. Some parts are so deserted I drove for several hours without passing a single car.

 

 

It was more than 2 years ago, I don't remember the details. My wife did the planning. She read the lonely planet guide book, and reference to those tour packages brochure, from there, we pick up the places we wanted to visit.

 

We transited at London, one transit from Singapore, then over to Reykjavi, which is the capital of Iceland. There's a main trunk road round Iceland that link all the major cities. The trunk road is well paved, very good condition. Some part of the trunk road goes through the mountainous area which have steep up and down sloop, and sharp turn near cliff. As long as you don't drive beyond excessive speed, it's definitely safe. There are hardcore off road tracks which I feel is definitely not suitable for the rental 4WD, you can try some of the mild one, which I did for few, but don't push your luck as we are normally not used to such off road driving, back off once you don't feel comfortable, better be safe than sorry.

 

Most tour group takes the clock wise direction round the trunk road; I took anti-clock wise, simply because that lead us to most of the places we wanted to go in the initial part of the trip, so it's up to you.

 

I remember I went to one of the off road track, which is strictly for 4WD only according to guide book instruction and the road number marking. The road suppose to lead to a mountain top with a nice cafe. It was raining and with heavy fog, the road was rocky and slippery, and mostly along cliff. I traveled for some distance with the rental 4WD SUV, and really could feel my that body part shrinking as the car was slipping left and right over the wet rocks, so I decided to back off. On my way down, a local auntie driving a Suzuki swift past me at very high speed up the mountain, so I guess she's might be the owner of that cafe, running the same road everyday, probably it all voice down to experience and how much guts you have.

 

To get to some of the towns, you need to travel off the trunk road, especially to those in the northern half of Iceland, there's lots of peninsular, which is called "fingers", but the roads are equally good as the trunk road. I skipped all those "fingers" on the north-west part of Iceland, because it's mostly quite deserted, and also it's near end of my trip and running out of time.

 

We took a one day cruise, can't remember from which city. We went out to the sea, visited few of the glaciers. The crew member took the ice block from the sea to make cold drinks for us, very interesting, taking icy drink at sub zero degree temperature.

 

Safety wise, it's extremely safe if you are talking about human threat, such as robbery, etc. As I mentioned in my previous post, I feel that the country is practically crime free. Before my trip, I read somewhere that it's common to meet the drunken, but I didn't meet any at all during my trip. The people are extremely nice and helpful, you can really experience what's the meaning of matured society mentality. Everyone take pride of their work and show professionalism no matter what's their job.

 

Overall, yes, I feel it's definitely safe to drive in Iceland, as long as you take your own precaution not to get into any trouble yourself.

[Hiphiphoray]

Hmmm.....looks like a damn good place for a self drive.

 

How much u paid for the air-ticket ?.....i have browse around.

 

FinAir seems to be the cheapest.

 

Air fare for 1 adult = SG$1,268.80/- including airport tax.

 

Singapore (2355hrs) --> Helsinisk (0615hrs)

Helsinisk (1420hrs) --> Reykjavik (1555hrs)

 

Reykjavik (0730hrs) --> Helsinisk (1255hr)

Helsinisk (2355hrs) --> Singapore (1730hrs)

 

Might consider it for the year-end holidays.

[Jtis]

Errrrmmmm...... Suggest don't go during year end, not unless u like sightseeing in wintry darkness. Year end is winter, Iceland is quite far up north. Daylight hrs is very limited, weather likely to be harsh. Summer months are much much better.

 

Hmmm.....looks like a damn good place for a self drive.

 

How much u paid for the air-ticket ?.....i have browse around.

 

FinAir seems to be the cheapest.

 

Air fare for 1 adult = SG$1,268.80/- including airport tax.

 

Singapore (2355hrs) --> Helsinisk (0615hrs)

Helsinisk (1420hrs) --> Reykjavik (1555hrs)

 

Reykjavik (0730hrs) --> Helsinisk (1255hr)

Helsinisk (2355hrs) --> Singapore (1730hrs)

 

Might consider it for the year-end holidays.

[Boringchap]

Yeah, I'm back, after my cruise.

 

A very interesting experience, even though I was only in Iceland for a very short time.

 

Got to drive the Volvo XC90 while in Rekyjavik, and the Ford Explorer in Akureyri.

 

 

[3ply]

Just a question, for those who rented to drive in Iceland, which company did you rent your car from?

 

I checked out Hertz, and the price for 1 week rental of a midsize SUV is around SGD$2.5k, excluding all the extras (collision damage waiver etc). Are there any cheaper ones?

[Mercury1]

I stayed at the hostel and got a car package for about a week, it was a 4WD Station Wagon with snow tires came up to be about 1200 SGD for both car and accommodation (unfortunately I can't recall the breakdown). This was in 2008 so maybe prices may have changed, the hostels there are pretty good and you can get private rooms. Maybe you wanna consider?

 

You can opt for their car pickup and drop off at airport svc.

 

http://www.hostel.is/CarRentalPackages/CarRentalPrices/

 

 

Just a question, for those who rented to drive in Iceland, which company did you rent your car from?

 

I checked out Hertz, and the price for 1 week rental of a midsize SUV is around SGD$2.5k, excluding all the extras (collision damage waiver etc). Are there any cheaper ones?

 

[3ply]

I stayed at the hostel and got a car package for about a week, it was a 4WD Station Wagon with snow tires came up to be about 1200 SGD for both car and accommodation (unfortunately I can't recall the breakdown). This was in 2008 so maybe prices may have changed, the hostels there are pretty good and you can get private rooms. Maybe you wanna consider?

 

You can opt for their car pickup and drop off at airport svc.

 

http://www.hostel.is/CarRentalPackages/CarRentalPrices/

 

 

 

 

Thanks! Will check it out!

[Mercury1]

Mate forgot to mention, you can books hostels around Iceland (don't have to be the same one) and pick a car to drive around in, so you can do the golden circle stay in various hostels over the 7 days. I rented the Skoda previously good/solid car, I check the prices for 7 days maybe you are looking at 2.5K with accommodation I think.

 

Enjoy ur trip, please make some time and check out the blue lagoon.

 

 

 

Thanks! Will check it out!

 

[Boringchap]

Just a question, for those who rented to drive in Iceland, which company did you rent your car from?

 

I checked out Hertz, and the price for 1 week rental of a midsize SUV is around SGD$2.5k, excluding all the extras (collision damage waiver etc). Are there any cheaper ones?

 

I rented from a company called Enterprise Car Rental.

[Dice]

Just a question, for those who rented to drive in Iceland, which company did you rent your car from?

 

I checked out Hertz, and the price for 1 week rental of a midsize SUV is around SGD$2.5k, excluding all the extras (collision damage waiver etc). Are there any cheaper ones?

Bro I got my rental from Budget

Budget Car Rental

Vatnsmýrarvegur 10, 101 Reykjavík, Iceland ‎

+354 562 6060

budget.is

 

They gave me a Nissan Note which is a regular FWD and it was good enuff. No winter tires and we were there in March 2013.

 

Yes Iceland will be an awesome road trip but remember to buy enuff fuel card and learn to use it coz there are unmanned gas stations and so u will have to DIY.

[3ply]

 

I rented from a company called Enterprise Car Rental.

 

Thanks!

Bro I got my rental from Budget

Budget Car Rental

Vatnsmýrarvegur 10, 101 Reykjavík, Iceland ‎

+354 562 6060

budget.is

 

They gave me a Nissan Note which is a regular FWD and it was good enuff. No winter tires and we were there in March 2013.

 

Yes Iceland will be an awesome road trip but remember to buy enuff fuel card and learn to use it coz there are unmanned gas stations and so u will have to DIY.

 

Thanks!

[3ply]

Just came back from a road trip in Iceland. Awesome place. The place is so beautiful.

 

But the driving was more tiring than expected. Still worth it to fly all the way there.

 

Now thinking of going back again sometime in the future.

[Mercury1]

Did you go by the blue lagoon and cake yourself with the mud? hehe

 

Just came back from a road trip in Iceland. Awesome place. The place is so beautiful.

 

But the driving was more tiring than expected. Still worth it to fly all the way there.

 

Now thinking of going back again sometime in the future.

 

[Bata]

Sounds like super fun. Must save up and go. My friend said he drove through a waterfall too.

[alphard96]

The next trip I make to Iceland, I am intending to drive round the Westfjords. the locals tell me to allocated two weeks for that alone! Also the north east is worth exploring if you like moonscapes. Some parts are so deserted I drove for several hours without passing a single car.

 

Oops.

already booked airline and car rental before i read this.

Departing early December.....