A perfect trip to Iceland requires a bit more planning, or in other words, you need to go to Iceland with your homework done. Before you book your plane tickets you need to choose the most suitable time of year, decide on an itinerary, a way of getting around the island and a travel budget. So, in the first article of the ‘Iceland’ series I’ll share a few things to keep in mind that will help you plan your holiday in Iceland more easily. So here we have 6 Essential Things To Know Before Traveling to Iceland.
You need a car!
“In Iceland you need a car!” is the first advice I have to give you. There is no way to talk about public transport in Iceland, as it is non-existent outside Reykjavik, so the only options to visit all the wonderful places in Iceland are: renting a car or buying excursions from local agencies. Clearly, if you want to visit Iceland at your own pace, renting a car is a must.
On the other hand, if you just want to tick off a few places – three waterfalls and two glaciers – you can always take an organised tour. But it’s something I would do or recommend.
How do you rent a car in Iceland?
For my first trip to Iceland I rented a car from RentalCars at a pretty good price (160 euro/5 days). We were going to go to Iceland in the off-season (September), the prices are significantly lower in the off-season compared to July-August. This time, as we chose to go in high season, early August, the price for the same car, which we booked last year, was 120 euro/day. A lot if you ask me! Later, a week before we left for Iceland, we looked to see how much the car would cost, and the price shocked us! 1800 euro/5 days.
Traveller’s tip – trips to Iceland should be planned well in advance, especially if you are going to travel in season. Keep an eye on prices on Rental Cars and book the car as far in advance as possible (if you find a better deal, you can always cancel your booking).
4×4 car
Depending on what you want to do in Iceland, you’ll need to consider whether you’ll need a 4×4 or a non-4×4 car. In Iceland there are roads (F-roads) on which you can only drive a 4×4 and it is not advisable to drive on those roads with a car that is not properly equipped (it is not safe either, and the fines in this situation are very high). Most of the major attractions – The Golden Circle and Ring Road, you can get to with a normal car. But if you plan to get to slightly more hidden locations, you should check whether or not you need a special vechicle.
It’s good to know that in autumn, winter and spring, all F-roads are closed.
Ideal time to visit Iceland (for the first time)
Iceland is famous for two things: its breathtaking natural landscapes and its northern lights. Iceland is one of the most accessible locations in Europe from which to admire the light show. As the Northern Lights are visible in the cold months (mid-October to late March), November to March would be the best time to witness the event.
However, if you’re going to Iceland for the first time, it would be best to go in summer. Indeed, the northern lights are a man’s dream, but even in the winter months, it’s quite possible that during your stay in Iceland you won’t have the opportunity to admire them.
To see the Northern Lights, certain conditions must be met:
- the sky must be clear
- it must be completely dark (the latter being the reason why the Northern Lights cannot be seen in the summer/early autumn months).
Traffic rules and speed limits
Iceland has no motorways, and traffic rules are a little different from what we’re used to. Speed limits are calculated according to the type of road and are as follows:
- gravel road – 80km/h
- asphalt road – 90 km/h
- in built-up areas (village, town) – 30-50 km/h
The roads in Iceland, even the well-known Ring Road*, are narrow and more like national roads. For this reason, roadside parking is illegal (lots of people stop in unauthorised places to take photos), except in designated places. Another thing to be aware of when driving through Iceland is that most bridges (and there are a lot of them) are one-way and you’ll need to be careful and give way where appropriate.
Parking in Iceland
Most of the main attractions – the black beach, the ice lagoon, the glaciers – have a parking lot nearby. Often parking is free – except at Seljalandfoss waterfall, where you have to pay 700 ISK/24 hours, regardless of how long you spend there. There are probably other places where you have to pay for parking, but of all the places we visited this was the only one that had paid parking.
Parking in Reykjavik
There are several types of parking in the city, and each type of parking has a different price. In general, parking lots are free at night and sometimes even on Sundays.
P-1
Monday – Friday: 09:00-18:00, Saturday: 10:00-16:00, Sunday: Free of charge
Cost: 370 ISK/hour
P-2
Monday – Friday: 09:00-18:00, Saturday: 10:00-16:00, Sunday: Free of charge
Cost: 190 ISK/hour
P-3
Monday – Friday: 09:00-18:00, Saturday: 10:00-16:00, Sunday: Free of charge
Cost: 190 ISK/hour. After 2 hours, 55 ISK/hour.
P-4
Monday – Friday: 09:00-18:00, Saturday and Sunday: Free of charge
Cost: 190 ISK/hour
We plan our walks around Reyjkavik after 6pm, and we always leave our car at this car park (click here for location) as it’s extremely close to the centre and very easy to find. More info about parking in Reykjavik can be found here.
You need reservation for Blue Lagoon
Blue Lagoon is arguably Iceland’s most famous tourist attraction and the perfect way to start or end a holiday there. This spa – because Blue Lagoon is actually a giant spa – is one of the 25 World’s Wonderful Spas by National Geographic, and because of its popularity and publicity, it’s also an extremely expensive, touristy and crowded place. That’s why if you’re dreaming of a dip in the lagoon’s warm, mineral-rich waters, you should know that you’ll need a reservation.
Visitors have a choice of two packages:
- Comfort: priced from 6990 isk – the package includes: entrance to the Blue Lagoon, a silicon face mask, towel and a drink of your choice from the Water Bar.
- Premium: priced from 8990 isk – entrance to the Blue Lagoon, a silicon face mask, another face mask of your choice, towel, bathrobe and two drinks of your choice from the Water Bar
Important: It’s best to book your Blue Lagoon entry as far in advance as possible. We weren’t so sure we’d make it to Iceland (after two cancelled holidays) and chose to get our tickets the day before. For that day, the comfort package cost us 8000 isk. Also, prices differ from hour to hour and day to day respectively.
Read this: Visiting the Blue Lagoon in Iceland: Everything You Need to Know
6 Essential Things To Know Before Traveling to Iceland
These are the things we learned from our holiday there that you should keep in mind if you’re planning a trip to Iceland. As we said above, in order to have a great time in Iceland, you need to do a bit more planning than usual. We had the misfortune of missing two trips to Iceland, which is why we had to have everything thought out and rethought a few times. So when we arrived in Iceland, we already knew what we wanted to see, where we would stay, roughly what budget we would have and how we would travel. After all, our time was limited and we wanted to make the most of every second. Probably, if we could have, we wouldn’t have slept at all…anyway, our reality was more beautiful than any dream we could have had.
I hope you found this article helpful, and if you have any more questions, I invite you to leave them in the comments section or DM us on Instagram.
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