Iceland : Has anybody driven in Iceland before?

[Sp4wn]

Planning for a self drive trips in Iceland. Initially plan to go in June but chances to catch nothern lights seems almost zero as sky is bright in June.

But if go in Dec might be too cold and challenging to drive as road cover with snow. Any advice?

 

Seems some forumers here travel in Dec and Feb. do your manage to catch the northern lights?

 

 

this is one of the better pictures my wife managed to take (my hands were freezing by then). this was in our hotel backyard (it was actually a horse farm  lol ... but the owner was very nice, and because the area was so open and dark, it was easy to catch the northern lights)

 

was worth the 9-10 days we spent there (we drove the entire circumference of iceland, about 2000+ km (but make sure there's more than 1 driver ... i was dying by the end of the trip from driving 4-6 hours daily ...)

 

edit: for driving in the snow, its not THAT bad. we rented a 4x4 (no snow tires) and just kept to the road (never going off road). if in doubt, just cut your speed. there were certain portions i was not confident, so if there was a car behind me, i'd pull over slowly and let them pass, since those icelanders are very gung ho about speeding lol ... and then i just carry on my way safely ...

Edited July 27, 2016 by Sp4wn

[Giordanogavin]

 

this is one of the better pictures my wife managed to take (my hands were freezing by then). this was in our hotel backyard (it was actually a horse farm  lol ... but the owner was very nice, and because the area was so open and dark, it was easy to catch the northern lights)

 

was worth the 9-10 days we spent there (we drove the entire circumference of iceland, about 2000+ km (but make sure there's more than 1 driver ... i was dying by the end of the trip from driving 4-6 hours daily ...)

 

edit: for driving in the snow, its not THAT bad. we rented a 4x4 (no snow tires) and just kept to the road (never going off road). if in doubt, just cut your speed. there were certain portions i was not confident, so if there was a car behind me, i'd pull over slowly and let them pass, since those icelanders are very gung ho about speeding lol ... and then i just carry on my way safely ...

 

Nice Photo. U r the one went during Feb rite. Could share what is your itinery like?

 

Initially thought Iceland is just a small island. But google shows the land area~103000km2 vs Spore~710km2. More than 100x larger than Spore

[Wind30]

If you are interested in northern lights I think it is best to join a tour. They have a network of drivers everynight and they radio each other on sightings.

 

We saw a huge display on our tour but I did not have a tripod and more importantly a flashlight which makes camera operation in pitch darkness so difficult. If you wan to shoot northern lights, bring a flashlight. 

 

 

[Sp4wn]

Nice Photo. U r the one went during Feb rite. Could share what is your itinery like?

 

Initially thought Iceland is just a small island. But google shows the land area~103000km2 vs Spore~710km2. More than 100x larger than Spore

 

i booked everything through https://www.nordicvisitor.com/

 

including the car, insurance (they also threw in a mobile phone and data chip as well!) plus the hotel, activities etc all booked by them. i just got to drive (they provided gps with all the points) see the sight, and move on to the next one

 

i did the iceland full circle winter tour: https://www.nordicvisitor.com/package-search/?destination=2&season=1&season=2

 

i'd definitely recommend them because they took the hassle out of booking everything ... i had zero hiccups on my trip in and out of iceland ...

[therock]

Nice Photo. U r the one went during Feb rite. Could share what is your itinery like?

 

Initially thought Iceland is just a small island. But google shows the land area~103000km2 vs Spore~710km2. More than 100x larger than Spore

Have you gone yet?

If not, I have a guide book I can share with you.

 

It's quite simple, it's not too big, and there's a ring round that goes round. So long as you avoid the "Singapore Refugee Syndrome", you will be fine. Take time to enjoy all the sights. 

 

Most of the famous sites are near the capital in a Golden Circle. You can drive or take day trips. Having a car means that you can visit many nice places and eat at interesting locations.

 

But I would strongly suggest a SUV or 4x4 vehicle. Driving in winter is no joke, and you should have at least two drivers to take turn, and someone to look out. I have some good friends who actually drove onto a lake without realising!

 

The day is also shorter in winter, so bring lots of stuff to do at night, eg card games etc. Most places have no form of entertainment at night. The upside is that you will get a lot of sunrise / sunset shots.

 

Sometimes it's good to join a tour, as the driver knows the best places to get good shots of the lights. And you have to be patient, you can go for days without a sighting, but when you see it, it's truly magnificent. 

[Giordanogavin]

Have you gone yet?

If not, I have a guide book I can share with you.

 

It's quite simple, it's not too big, and there's a ring round that goes round. So long as you avoid the "Singapore Refugee Syndrome", you will be fine. Take time to enjoy all the sights. 

 

Most of the famous sites are near the capital in a Golden Circle. You can drive or take day trips. Having a car means that you can visit many nice places and eat at interesting locations.

 

But I would strongly suggest a SUV or 4x4 vehicle. Driving in winter is no joke, and you should have at least two drivers to take turn, and someone to look out. I have some good friends who actually drove onto a lake without realising!

 

The day is also shorter in winter, so bring lots of stuff to do at night, eg card games etc. Most places have no form of entertainment at night. The upside is that you will get a lot of sunrise / sunset shots.

 

Sometimes it's good to join a tour, as the driver knows the best places to get good shots of the lights. And you have to be patient, you can go for days without a sighting, but when you see it, it's truly magnificent. 

 

Nope. not yet.

 

Still thinking of which season to go. if go winter better chance to see northern light but day time will be short plus extreme weather. If go summer no chance to see northen light but day time longer and able to visit other scenery.

Seems like no ideal season which can do this both.

[therock]

Nope. not yet.

 

Still thinking of which season to go. if go winter better chance to see northern light but day time will be short plus extreme weather. If go summer no chance to see northen light but day time longer and able to visit other scenery.

Seems like no ideal season which can do this both.

Nope, you have to pick one, then enjoy.

Either season is wonderful, and you will return again.

People often use UK or Denmark / Finland to enter. UK offers totally different set of sights, and shopping for the missus.

Denmark is another nice place with good food.

Finland, less so, but Finnair is cheap. 

[Wind30]

Nope. not yet.

 

Still thinking of which season to go. if go winter better chance to see northern light but day time will be short plus extreme weather. If go summer no chance to see northen light but day time longer and able to visit other scenery.

Seems like no ideal season which can do this both.

 

I would vote for early winter if you have never seen northern lights. The winter in iceland is not that harsh actually. Maybe something to do with the currents or volcanoes. It is pretty ok.

 

The short days are not a problem if you do northern light hunting at night. The light is always better in winter anyway for pictures. 

[therock]

Nope. not yet.

 

Still thinking of which season to go. if go winter better chance to see northern light but day time will be short plus extreme weather. If go summer no chance to see northen light but day time longer and able to visit other scenery.

Seems like no ideal season which can do this both.

 

Each season has it's enjoyable parts, so it's up to you to figure out if the lights are important enough for you to spend long cold days looking for it..

I have that guide book from Lonely Planet, if you need it, just pm me, cheers. 

[Sapl86]

Cool. 

 

You should try and is a good experience. 

[Jungus]

Would January 2017 be a good time? I read that the flare activity would be diminished after 2016...

[therock]

Would January 2017 be a good time? I read that the flare activity would be diminished after 2016...

It will be ok, but bear in mind, you can be in the most optimal season, and not see the lights for a week.

Each night you need to sit up and look for it, or join a tour.

We can't do the ''I want it now"thing and get it.

But winter is as good as any a time for it.

Cheers 

[Winningeleven]

Hi, me and wife also just did a self drive iceland trip on the 2nd weeks of oct. We managed to catch the northern light on the last night before departure the next day. So heng!!!

 

For those who worried about driving in winter or no experience of driving on this kind of condition like me and yet still like to witness northern light. Then plan your visit from mid sept to mid oct or Mid march to April. During my time there.Except for a whole long 3 days of rainy whole day on the east, south and east side of the island. I didnt see a single snow on the road, The day and night during that period are equally same as what we have in singapore, sunrise at 7am and sunset at 6pm. Somemore it was a off peak season and car rental and accommodation are the cheapest as long u booked early. As for the weather . it is about 0 to 5 degree. 

 

I didn't plan a whole round trip route 1 caused i only have 6 nights there and from being too ambitious . In the end, i still clocked a 2000km mileage and i was the only driver. I rented my car from caricelands which is a 4x4 toyota rav 4. Went to gjain which u definitely need a 4x4

 

As for the fuel pump. Just make sure u have your credit card 6 pins number. 9 out of 10 times i pumped were self service. Only In Reykjavik, u have manned counter for petrol kiosk.Cards i used are citibank, i kiasu and even have another 5 credit cards with pins standby. Over there  I used N1 and olis petrol the most. As for the currency . I never even change a single Icelandic krona over there. I used credit card for everything!

 

I went to many European countries and iceland is definitely worth for me to revisit if i can.

 

Lastly. do take note about the speed camera scattered around the route 1 ring road. Please google search the sign and familiar with it. Speed limit over there is 90km/hr and i even drove 140km/hr without knowing since the car in front of me was even faster than me.

[S4vtec]

beware of the snow covered run offs along the way. We unknowingly drive into one while " chasing the lights" and got stuck .

 

It was a 4WD Grand vitara with snow tyres, Was eventually rescued by a lifted Toyota Hilux driven by a local

[Vertiga]

Roads are a bit narrow, but use the center lane dividing white lines as a guide during driving. Keep about a foot inside the line and you should be safe. Slightly snow covered roads are not too bad but if it rains, expect water ponding at certain stretch and the ponding always occur at the location where most car tyres travelled caused by bitumen settlement.

 

Night driving will be similiar to Malaysia Highway 3 (Kota Tinggi) style, except road conditions in Iceland much better

 

Driving with headlight on is compulsory, even daytime.

 

Use mobile data (3G only) with Apple Map or Google Map is better than the rental GPS. The GPS's map database not as accurate. One way is to get a mobile data for Europe use costing about GBP30 with a HuaWei MiFi router.

 

Parking in the city is seldom free. Need to buy tickets from booth and display. About ISK250 per half hour. Only free lots available right in city is those in front of the church.

 

For car rental, those who are not confident of handling and think may get into some minor incidents, please buy insurance for the excess. The excess liable for the driver is ISK195,000 there abouts depending on rental company. It works out to be another SGD10 per day for the insurance. Even the windscreen is not covered if you don't buy insurance for the excess. For the peace of mind, why not.

 

For car rental companys that give cheap rates (AVIS/Budget), need to queue quite long for collection and plan extra time for return in order not to miss your out going flight.

 

Thats all I could think of.

Edited November 29, 2016 by Vertiga

[Bluepica]

Just in time I came across this thread..

Am planning a northern Eu trip next year 2017 March and that includes 6 days 5 nights in Iceland.

I got mixed review about driving during this time of the year, some says it's not save to drive due to strong wind/ snow...some says it's perfect normal and just get a 4WD and drive safely. I have driven LHD in Alaska during winter last year but the weather there is not as erratic as Iceland I guess. Even there in Alaska, I see many car skidded when coming to a stop or moving off from traffic junction.

I was thinking on the southern coast up to Jokulsarlon, then Golden circle. Given the distance of the places and limited time for me, it will be just a touch and go.

Having heard about different bad experience with the car rental there, I am still deciding of which car rental company to book my car from...

 

My main aim for this trip is to see the Northern lights, but of course some will say if you use that as your main aim, then you might get disappointed, treat it as a bonus.... That's because I didn't see any in Alaska last year (for the same period of time this year I saw so many FB posting on NL sighting at the same location !!)

 

 

this is one of the better pictures my wife managed to take (my hands were freezing by then). this was in our hotel backyard (it was actually a horse farm  lol ... but the owner was very nice, and because the area was so open and dark, it was easy to catch the northern lights)

 

was worth the 9-10 days we spent there (we drove the entire circumference of iceland, about 2000+ km (but make sure there's more than 1 driver ... i was dying by the end of the trip from driving 4-6 hours daily ...)

 

edit: for driving in the snow, its not THAT bad. we rented a 4x4 (no snow tires) and just kept to the road (never going off road). if in doubt, just cut your speed. there were certain portions i was not confident, so if there was a car behind me, i'd pull over slowly and let them pass, since those icelanders are very gung ho about speeding lol ... and then i just carry on my way safely ...

 

mind to share where is this farm stay location?

[Sp4wn]

Just in time I came across this thread..

Am planning a northern Eu trip next year 2017 March and that includes 6 days 5 nights in Iceland.

I got mixed review about driving during this time of the year, some says it's not save to drive due to strong wind/ snow...some says it's perfect normal and just get a 4WD and drive safely. I have driven LHD in Alaska during winter last year but the weather there is not as erratic as Iceland I guess. Even there in Alaska, I see many car skidded when coming to a stop or moving off from traffic junction.

I was thinking on the southern coast up to Jokulsarlon, then Golden circle. Given the distance of the places and limited time for me, it will be just a touch and go.

Having heard about different bad experience with the car rental there, I am still deciding of which car rental company to book my car from...

 

My main aim for this trip is to see the Northern lights, but of course some will say if you use that as your main aim, then you might get disappointed, treat it as a bonus.... That's because I didn't see any in Alaska last year (for the same period of time this year I saw so many FB posting on NL sighting at the same location !!)

 

 

mind to share where is this farm stay location?

 

http://www.visitskagafjordur.is/en/where-to-eat/hofsstadir-guesthouse

 

its a horse farm or something.

 

at firs ti was like wtf, but there is nth in that area for milesssss.

 

but it was a great place cos there was nth for miles and the northern lights was very, very clear. literally from the back of the room.

[Bluepica]

http://www.visitskagafjordur.is/en/where-to-eat/hofsstadir-guesthouse

 

its a horse farm or something.

 

at firs ti was like wtf, but there is nth in that area for milesssss.

 

but it was a great place cos there was nth for miles and the northern lights was very, very clear. literally from the back of the room.

Ah thank you! But out of my route :(