My name is Mohamed. My sister Dina, her husband Reda, and I embarked on a road trip to Iceland during the second half of September 2024. This time was ideal for our trip: the tourist crowds were thinner, the weather pleasant (averaging 15°C), and it was also when the first northern lights began to appear.
The goal of this article is to highlight how, through careful preparation, we managed to visit renowned and expensive destinations like Iceland (as well as the Dolomites recently) on a reasonable budget.
Planning Your Road Trip
This preparation method may seem straightforward, but it aims simply to provide a guiding thread to anticipate key elements that will allow you to save money.
Step | Description |
---|---|
1. Choose the right time | The best periods are from June to August for long daylight hours and clear roads. Winter is great for seeing the Northern Lights, but conditions can be challenging. |
2. Plan the itinerary | Identify the must-see spots: Golden Circle, Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon, waterfalls (Gullfoss, Skógafoss), black sand beaches, volcanoes, and glaciers. Plan your route based on your priorities. |
3. Rent a suitable vehicle | Rent a 4×4 for winter or mountainous areas, or a van/camper for more flexibility. Ensure the vehicle is in good condition and suited for Icelandic roads. |
4. Check the weather and road conditions | Check the weather forecasts and sites like road.is for road closures, especially during winter. |
5. Pack appropriately | Bring clothes suited to Iceland’s climate (layers, waterproofs), sturdy hiking boots, and camping gear if needed. |
6. Book accommodations | During peak season, book your accommodations in advance, especially if staying in hotels or guesthouses. Camping is more flexible but can be crowded in summer. |
7. Prepare for high costs | Iceland is expensive. Budget accordingly for fuel, food, and activities. Supermarkets like Bonus are more affordable for groceries. |
8. Know the driving rules | Obey speed limits, be cautious of animals on the roads (sheep), and don’t drive off-road (it’s prohibited). |
9. Download useful apps | Download offline maps (Google Maps, Maps.me), the 112 Iceland app for emergencies, and Veður for weather updates. |
10. Respect nature | Iceland has a fragile environment. Follow park rules, don’t leave trash behind, and avoid disturbing wildlife. |
Long-Term Preparation: Finding What to Visit
This phase is the earliest part of planning. It involves cataloging all the places you can explore by browsing Instagram (Bruno Maltor offers great spots), Flickr, or equivalent sites, as well as listening to people you know talk about their travels. The principle is to gradually create a database that you can consult when preparing for a trip.
For example, you can catalog places as follows: every monument, square, building, or location available on Google has a “save” option. You can create address lists to organize the places you’ve saved, linked to your Google account, and accessible in the “your addresses” section of Google Maps. You can also hide or display these lists in real-time on Google Maps and see what you’ve cataloged around you. There is the possibility to sync everything with MyMaps, a tool I will discuss later (though I have never tried it).
Short-Term Preparation: Finding What to Visit, Renting a Car, and Booking Accommodations and Flights
A) Finding What to Visit
To plan your arrival and departure dates, and subsequently book a car and accommodations, you need to have a clearer idea of what you’d like to visit. The main tool we’ll cover in this section is a service provided by Google: Google MyMaps (not to be confused with Google Maps). This space allows you to create a map by adding layers (which can be points, areas, or routes). The two main advantages of this tool are:
The first is that the data used comes from Google Maps, so they are relatively accurate, and you won’t feel lost if you’re used to this service. The second is that you can save and share the created map with other trip participants. Thus, after adding the places you inserted in your list, you will need to enhance your map by including locations found in forums, blogs, videos, or elsewhere. Below is an example of a MyMaps map: our trip to Iceland.
It’s essential to have a clear idea of what you wish to visit so you can plan and organize the trip around certain elements. For example, let’s discuss Landmannalaugar, an unmissable area. However, one thing to know is that it is only accessible by 4×4 or on foot (for hiking enthusiasts). The weather can prevent access to this area at certain times of the year: there are some river crossings, potentially muddy roads, etc. We had read in several places that F-Roads (I will revisit this term later) leading to Landmannalaugar close in October. So, we had to factor this information in to fully enjoy the area.
There are other tips for finding places to visit. Here are a few that I use most:
- A service offered by Google, “Things to See and Do” on Google Travel.
- Google Maps’ Street View, very helpful when you want to venture off the beaten path and find unusual or lesser-known spots (for example: Gjain, another must-see that I’ll discuss later).
- Having had it in our possession: Pocket Reykjavik & Southwest Iceland 5ed is excellent and very comprehensive. In addition to providing numerous locations, it includes anecdotes and good deals. I highly recommend it.
As mentioned earlier, consult as many blogs/videos about the destination as possible.
Don’t hesitate to include more places than you can realistically visit, as you may need to prioritize some over others. This provides backup plans or ways to fill free time. You’ll quickly find that some travel times are overestimated by Google Maps (or any GPS), allowing you to save a lot of time.
B) Booking a Flight
Once you have a clearer vision of what you want to do, it’s time to book your flight. This will solidify your arrival and return dates, allowing you to organize everything else around those dates. I won’t dwell further on this point; personally, I use Google Flights as a comparator, which has a very handy feature: once you select the duration of the trip and the round-trip dates, you can see a price graph showing price variations if you were to leave a few days earlier or later.
C) Booking Accommodations
Everyone can have their own vision of a road trip. While some see it as a trip where they take their tent and hitchhike, others envision a journey by bus from hotel to hotel. Our vision was different.
We wanted to explore as much of Iceland as possible in a relatively short time. We opted for a trip where we stayed in different Airbnbs, with days averaging about 3 hours of driving.
To find the most suitable accommodation, I’ll provide links to specialized sites:
- Airbnb: A site for renting apartments directly from owners.
- Hotels.com: For hotels, where you can check all ongoing promotions in each city.
- Hostelworld.com: The site to consult for finding hostels.
Our itinerary was gradually taking shape on the MyMaps map. It was important for us to sleep well because our days were quite packed, and we wanted to fully enjoy this trip without being exhausted by the drive or hiking. We chose accommodations based on the following criteria:
- Proximity to a town with a grocery store or similar. In Iceland, this isn’t as common as one might think.
- Proximity to a gas station.
- Unique accommodations: By planning ahead, almost all lodgings are still available, allowing you to search for unique stays at very reasonable rates (for example, a place with a jacuzzi, overlooking the sea and the famous Kirkjufell mountain, known to some from the Game of Thrones series, or a cottage hidden in the plains).
- Seaside accommodations
- Cottage in the plains
- Price. It may sound obvious, but it’s crucial to keep your feet on the ground. For this type of trip, it’s easy to get carried away; changing accommodations often leads to thinking an extra 10 euros a night isn’t much, but it can quickly increase your trip cost. To counter this, we set a total budget of 500 euros per person for eleven nights. When we chose to slightly exceed our budget for a unique accommodation, we balanced it out with a cheaper place for the next stop.
- The host might seem like a strange criterion, but it’s worth noting that more and more non-Icelandic people are buying properties in Iceland to rent to tourists. We wanted to meet Icelanders and have the chance to talk with them. Their mentality is so different from ours that we didn’t want to miss out on these encounters. Icelanders are genuinely generous, kind, and welcoming; we had the opportunity to talk with several hosts, and it was an enriching experience.
D) Renting a Car
Once the previous steps are completed, you should have a clearer picture of how many kilometers you will travel. This is a crucial factor for car rental: the pricing for unlimited mileage is different from that for limited mileage.
In general, you have two choices:
- A road trip by following the single road that circles the island.
- A road trip renting a 4×4 to venture off the main road traveled by most.
I highly recommend the second option. Iceland is known for its stunning landscapes, but also for their diversity. You may not be surprised to find that in a mere twenty kilometers, you can go from a green plain to a lunar landscape bordering on apocalyptic. To fully enjoy these diverse sceneries, you will need occasionally to take F-Roads. F-Roads are heavily discouraged or even prohibited for vehicles other than 4x4s, and you may encounter river crossings; the roads are, in reality, more or less gravel paths. There is even a website listing all Icelandic roads with real-time road conditions: http://www.road.is.
We went through Blue Car Rental and had a very positive experience: the agency was quick and very professional, and it offered the best value for money at the time of our trip. We opted for a Duster and were upgraded to a Qashqai (booking in advance can sometimes lead to such nice surprises).
We had a flat tire due to improper alignment (which itself was caused by a poorly repaired puncture by previous users), so it wasn’t our fault. We simply went to a mechanic to have it fixed (I recommend Dekkjahöllin if you’re unfortunate enough to need a mechanic). We didn’t incur any costs; the agency covered everything and dealt directly with the mechanic.
One last thing to anticipate regarding cars is the gas stations. I’m not saying there are only three gas stations for the entire island; there are enough. What I mean to stress is that these stations are generally located close to the national road that circles the island. It’s easy to venture off this road and lose sight of the gas stations. We preemptively added all the gas stations to our map.
Money
This last part about trip preparation focuses on finances. It is essential to prepare financially for a trip (even more so when the local currency isn’t the euro). In our case, the local currency in Iceland is the Icelandic króna (ISK). To simplify, 1 euro is approximately equal to 135 ISK.
You need to check if your bank allows you to withdraw or spend money in the destination country without extra fees. Personally, I no longer use this method. For all my travels, I use a Revolut card (or equivalents, like Wise). It’s a MasterCard that, regardless of the country, does not add extra fees to your spending.
The convenience lies in the simplified budget management: you can add X euros to the account and see everything from the mobile app. When making a purchase, you receive a notification within seconds showing the amount in euros as well as ISK (based on the current exchange rate). Monthly summaries by country are available, allowing you to review all your expenses, and the app directly lists the locations where these expenses were incurred.
Another very useful tool for sharing and dividing costs is Lydia. This service enables instant transfers via phone numbers: you link your bank account or card (you can even link the Revolut card) to your Lydia account and quickly make transfers to your travel companions. You could alternatively use bank account details to transfer funds, but that requires planning ahead and informing the banks. Some banks impose a waiting period when adding an account before you can make any transfer, while others impose a delay before transferring requested funds from abroad.
Finally, another indispensable tool for any trip with shared expenses is Tricount. This tool allows you to add expenses, manage who pays, and provides solutions for intelligent reimbursement (minimizing transfers among participants). Simply add who is participating and input each expense, defining who paid and for whom.
Feedback on Experience
Now, let’s address the feedback from this trip. This section is centered on the places we were able to visit.
A) The Route Taken
Our aim was to do a near-complete tour of the island. We favored the west coast over the east coast, which we did not have time to explore.
B) The 4 Must-Sees of Our Trip
- Krafla and Its Surroundings
The first place I recommend is Krafla and its surroundings (which I labeled “Sulfur Lands” on the map linked above). This area features ancient lava flows, small almost-white ponds, and land in shades of yellow, white, orange, red, and even gray or blue in places. These unique landscapes are genuinely worth the detour.
- Landmannalaugar
Following the unique landscapes, Landmannalaugar is a destination famous for its colors and reliefs. As I mentioned earlier, this area is only accessible by 4×4 (or on foot for those who enjoy multi-day treks), providing yet another reason to opt for a 4×4 rather than a regular rental car. There are several relatively easy hikes that allow for tours of 2 to 3 hours. Below is an example of a hike: www.komoot.com.
The link directs you to Komoot, an application I highly recommend for planning and saving hikes (or other types of routes). You don’t need a Garmin watch to use the website or the app. I have always used the free version (which is ad-free, by the way) without feeling limited: real-time navigation is available, Komoot adjusts according to the chosen activities (mountain biking, jogging, hiking, etc.), hike profiles are available, difficulty is estimated based on various parameters such as elevation, types of trails, and you can save as many routes as you’d like and share them, etc.
- Hot Springs
The third recommendation I have is to experience as many hot springs as possible (natural hot water springs). Iceland is home to numerous distinct natural hot springs.
Several websites list these springs, and here’s one we used: hotpoticeland.com.
This adds a lovely pause to your journey and allows for some great encounters. We had the opportunity to share a beer with a group including Canadians, Swiss Germans, and Norwegians at Reykjafoss, a pleasant and enriching experience.
- Gjain
Talking with Martin about this trip, we totally agreed that Gjain is one of our best memories. Gjain is a must-see in Iceland, though difficult to access by car; it’s a small natural park amid barren landscapes. After several kilometers through lunar scenery, we reached this destination. What we loved was the feeling of having a park all to ourselves. The place is stunning and completely unspoiled by tourism. The contrast between the parking area where you leave your car and Gjain, thirty meters lower, is striking: rivers, caves, lakes, waterfalls, green spaces, etc. The peak in the center of the park treated us to a memorable sunset. In short, don’t miss this park; try to visit it in the late afternoon for a sunset you won’t soon forget.
C) The South: A “Disappointment”
The south of Iceland is a beautiful region, featuring black sand beaches, the famous wreckage of the Solheimasandur plane, stunning waterfalls, and the Golden Circle. However, it is also… overcrowded, even in the off-season. This somewhat marred our experience. This area is extremely sought after: it’s less than an hour’s drive from the capital, Reykjavik, doesn’t require a 4×4, is well-served by buses, and is heavily discussed in all kinds of forums.
It’s a “disappointment” because we didn’t expect to see so many tourists in natural areas designed for tourism: we had just returned from northern Iceland, and the contrast was significant. We allocated only two days to this region, which, in hindsight, was a good decision. You should visit this area, but don’t limit yourself to it; don’t fall into the narrow perspective offered by some forums that only talk about Geysir, Thingvellir, Skogafoss, Seljalandsfoss, etc.
- Conclusion
In conclusion, I would say that a trip requires planning well in advance when considering each of the phases discussed. This is one approach for a specific type of journey; many others exist. I aimed to share tips and addresses that we could use for our trip to Iceland. By taking this approach, we manage to save a lot on each journey, as long as we try to anticipate as much as possible.
Iceland is a corner of the world worth visiting, with an impressive diversity of landscapes. I mention only our four must-sees based on our travels, but we have seen many places, and there are still plenty more to explore. I will definitely return at least once; I am drawn to the Westfjords and the East coast as well.
I hope this article has provided you with insights you may not have been familiar with. I wish you good luck and happy travels!