Iceland May 2019

[tmarton05]

My girlfriend and I are planning a trip to Iceland for May 2019. We are planning on renting a camper-van and exploring the country. I have been doing some research on different rental companies and am leaning towards https://happycampers.is/ They get great reviews and seem to have a good fleet of vans.

Anyone on here have any tips or recommendations for things to do/see or other bits of advice.

Let me know

Thanks!

 

[NotGumby]

I spent about 4 weeks there this summer touring with a LC and RTT. How much time will you have? Saw many happy camper branded vehicles and they all seemed in good shape. Spoke to some renters and no mention of problems. We came in on the ferry on the east coast. Traveled west on the northern route hitting some fjords and the Myvatn area. Went in to the West Fjords for three days, then down to the ferry at Stykkisholmur and in to Reykjavik for two days. Golden circle, highlands, southern coast, highlands around Hekkla, southern coast, then east and back to Seydisfjödur to catch the ferry. I can give you some ideas but it’ll depend on how much time you have and if you want or need to concentrate on a specific region.

 

[tmarton05]

That sounds like an awesome trip. We will be there for a week and are planning on basing our trip around the Ring Road. Still in the early planning stages but if you have any recommendations for must see places(other than the obvious ones) let me know

 

[NotGumby]

Okay, a week will probably keep you in Reykjavik, the golden circle, and the southern coast. The F- roads will still be closed, which is okay because you’re in a happy camper which isn’t ideal for the f- roads, and just to drive it (f-35 for example) would burn too much time. In the coming days I’ll go through our travel journal and post some things WE found great, good, or could’ve been skipped. I’m sure you’ve read about the weather. It’s no joke. Mid July to mid August we were in wool teeshirt, flannel shirt, thin down jacket or fleece, often with rain shell, hat and boots. It was either rainy, windy, cold, or a combination of the three every day. They did have their worst summer this year. More to come.

 

[smlobx]

Interested in people's reports.
Iceland is on our radar as well.
I also hear that it is crazy expensive there so be prepared for that..

 

[CampWithChin]

@tmarton05 Did you visited Iceland on May? Bring back this as I'm planning to do similar trip in April 2020. I read that it's illegal to wild/van camping in Iceland since they pass the law in 2015. Only can camp in designated campground. Any insight?

 

[tmarton05]

@CampWithChin yes we went last May and it was amazing! I can't wait to go back! You are correct that you can no longer wild camp or just camp on the side of the road in your van. That being said there are campgrounds all over the island that are very affordable, generally 10-15 Euro per person. Here are a few links to sites that are helpful when planning camping:

The Ultimate List Of Open All Year Campsites in Iceland

If you want to enjoy camping regardless of the season, here you have The Ultimate List Of Open All Year Campsites in Iceland.

www.campingiceland.com

Open all year Campsites in Iceland - Rent.is

Find the all year around Campingsites in Iceland for your Camper rental. An interactive map with information of facilities, locations & local attractions

www.rent.is

Feel free to reach out to me as you plan.

 

[CampWithChin]

@CampWithChin yes we went last May and it was amazing! I can't wait to go back! You are correct that you can no longer wild camp or just camp on the side of the road in your van. That being said there are campgrounds all over the island that are very affordable, generally 10-15 Euro per person. Here are a few links to sites that are helpful when planning camping:

The Ultimate List Of Open All Year Campsites in Iceland

If you want to enjoy camping regardless of the season, here you have The Ultimate List Of Open All Year Campsites in Iceland.

www.campingiceland.com

Open all year Campsites in Iceland - Rent.is

Find the all year around Campingsites in Iceland for your Camper rental. An interactive map with information of facilities, locations & local attractions

www.rent.is

Feel free to reach out to me as you plan.

Thanks for the info. Iceland is not overlanding/vanlife friendly now. But, the scenery still worth to experience. Looking forward to our trip in April 2020. Research has been done for 2+ year already. We just have the time to commit the adventure.

 

[OutsideSeth]

My wife (then girlfriend) and I did Iceland back in 2017 and loved it. We rented a Suzuki Jimny and tent camped half of the nights and airbnb'd the other half for a little more comfort, showers, etc. This was our first major trip together and I think the first overlanding type trip either of us had done. We spent 7 days driving the ring road and taking some side trips down F roads to visit hot springs and other places off the beaten path. We looked into a van, but it was more expensive than the route we went and don't forget to account for the cost of gas there. It was around $7.25 a gallon when we were there I believe.

My advice:

• Take time to get off the beaten path. Iceland is a beautiful country.
  • Any travel on the F roads should be done in something with ground clearance and preferably 4x4
  • We followed signs for a random hot spring out to the coastline and found primitive stone pools right on the coast. I can't for the life of me figure out where exactly it was now looking at a map.
• Getting there is fairly cheap, but everything in-country is expensive.
  • If you drink alcohol, consider buying it duty-free before leaving the airport.
  • Food is also expensive. We took camping meals with us and stopped at gas stations for a lot of meals, the hot dogs were decent.
  • Coffee is expensive and comes in tiny cups. Think like a 6oz espesso cup. Definitely wish we'd taken coffee with us to make on the camp stove
  • The hostel and bar in Akureyi offers a nice stop for affordable food and beverage.
• Have fun and enjoy your adventure!

 

[Itacal]

Thanks for the info. Iceland is not overlanding/vanlife friendly now. But, the scenery still worth to experience. Looking forward to our trip in April 2020. Research has been done for 2+ year already. We just have the time to commit the adventure.

My wife and I have been to Iceland twice in the last three years. It is incredible. Touch base with OB Members 6113 (He has been on expeditions in Iceland and has a ton of information, a great deal of which he has either shared on OB or provided links to in some of his postings.). Also, OB Member 14789 once posted he lived over there several years ago and still has friends. Have a great trip and make sure to eat plenty of lamb dogs and Ris Buff, the best candy ever!

 

[Clean Drink Adventures]

I've traveled through Iceland several times, once via mountain bike when I did a 500 mile self-supported loop through the most remote part of the interior. The second trip was on foot, and then in a Suzuki Jimny. I've spent a couple of months there and have family and friends who still live there.

As others have said, camping is restricted, but campgrounds are easily found, and many quite isolated and quiet. Not to take a pot-shot at overlanders, but most don't really know how to find the more secluded and remote F-roads and regions. Most drive the Ring Road, which I too have done, and while not boring, it's certainly not imaginative. There are, however, places where I have been that I have not seen another soul for days.

That said, it is very touristy, and there is no escaping the throngs of tourists in Iceland.

 

[Clean Drink Adventures]

I will also add, in my humble opinion the proper horse for this course is not a Defender 110, a vehicle I own, but a Suzuki Jimny. Makes every road more fun.

 

[CampWithChin]

Thanks for all the info. Looking forward to visit iceland. Since it's our first visit, we will be semi-tourist doing the ring road. If time allowed, maybe some F road adventure. I will certainly will plan for another trip just for F road adventure and also in depth Westfjord. We are a family that love outdoor and will stay off city vicinity as much as possible. I know the fuel cost is high, but hoping having a diesel 4x4 camper van will get better mileage. Fuel is just part of the expenses. We save on cooking vs dining and camping vs airbnb. This is also our first camper van trip. It's a test to see if camper van fit my need for future adventure.

 

[Clean Drink Adventures]

Thanks for all the info. Looking forward to visit iceland. Since it's our first visit, we will be semi-tourist doing the ring road. If time allowed, maybe some F road adventure. I will certainly will plan for another trip just for F road adventure and also in depth Westfjord. We are a family that love outdoor and will stay off city vicinity as much as possible. I know the fuel cost is high, but hoping having a diesel 4x4 camper van will get better mileage. Fuel is just part of the expenses. We save on cooking vs dining and camping vs airbnb. This is also our first camper van trip. It's a test to see if camper van fit my need for future adventure.

If you're pressed for time, as in 7-10 days, skip the whole Ring Road. It's best used as a fast route to access better F-roads, many of which are not difficult. I do realize, many rental agencies restrict F-Roads for rentals. Let me put it to you this way. If you just drove the perimeter of America, you would miss Utah, Wyoming, Colorado... See what I mean? If you don't dip into the interior you miss the Fjallbak Mountains, and the vast and raw beauty of the interior.

However, there are some gems just off the Ring. To the south, near Vik, there is a place called Takgil, or Pakgil. It's one of my favorite places to camp and explore in the south, and nobody, nobody, ever goes there. There is also a waterfall to the west of Thakgil, about 2 hours away and just east of Eyjafjallajökull volcano called Axlarfoss. I've been there twice, and not seen another person out there for days. And again, never met a non-Icelander that's even heard of it. It's amazing.

Overlanders are TERRIBLE travelers. They only go from A to B, or point-to-point. In doing so, the always, and I mean with alarming consistency, miss the cool stuff. As the senior editor of Overland Journal it used to make me nuts. Just know, as you loop around the island, you'll miss a lot of the rad stuff people on tour buses, and overlanders, don't see.

Do the F-roads. It's pretty essential to the real Icelandic experience.