In Iceland

Driving in Iceland

• By law, you must always drive with your headlights on, even during the day.
• Everyone must fasten their seatbelts at all times. Not doing so can result in fines.
• There is no tolerance for drinking and driving. The breathalyzer will pick up as little as one beer.
• You cannot turn right on a red light.
• Children must be in a child seat or a booster seat.
• You should never stop the car on the side of the road unless you have to.
• Park your car upwind. Both when short-term parking and overnight.

Driver’s License Requirements

Is your driver’s license valid? If you have a license from the U.S.A, Canada, or the EEA (European Economic Area), your driver’s license is valid. If your license is from anywhere else, it’s only valid if it fulfills these requirements:

• The driver’s license has a license number
• It has a picture of the license holder
• It has a valid date
• It’s printed/written in Latin characters
• If your license doesn’t fulfill all the requirements above, you’ll need to apply for an international driver’s license.

Roads in Iceland

Road Signs

You might want to familiarize yourself with Icelandic road signs before you start driving in Iceland. They might seem a bit confusing, especially if you are coming from afar, and some of them you should know for your safety on the roads. At the time these road signs were designed, there weren’t a lot of foreigners around. And unfortunately, the road signs haven’t been updated much to make life easier for non-Icelandic-speaking visitors. Some road signs have graphics on them and should be comprehensible, like a picture of a car driving into a river, meaning that there’s no bridge. The Icelandic Road and Coastal Administration (Road.is) has excellent information on driving in Iceland. Using the included tablet, we will show you how to use Road.is and Vedur.is (weather) to your advantage.

The Biggest Differences For Most

Give Way

You yield to all other traffic. Very common in Iceland. It’s the only upside-down triangle, so you can tell from the other direction if others must give way/yield to you.

In Iceland, there is almost no intersection with “First Come, First Go” or a “4-Way Full Stop”. If there is no Give Way or Stop sign, we yield to traffic coming from our right, or if we are crossing lanes.

Roundabout Ahead

We always yield to those already in the roundabout, and the inside lane when exiting. Very Common.

Entering the roundabout (Yield): 
Outside Lane: When using the first exit.
Inside Lane: When you intend to leave on the 2nd, or subsequent exit.

Exiting the roundabout:
Outside Lane: Yields to interior lane, both when continuing or exiting.
Inside Lane: Has priority to exit.

Gravel Road Ahead

Gravel Road Ahead signs are also prevalent, even on the #1 Ring Road. And when they say gravel, they mean gravel. It can be extremely slippery, and even though the speed limit says 80 on gravel roads (default max speed), that speed can be disastrous in certain conditions. 

Watch out for these, and slow down just a tad more than you usually would.

Forbidden Signs | Circular

No Entry

You can not drive down this street from this direction.

No Driving

No driving at all. Not even a bicycle, from any direction.

No Parking

You can stop, but you can not leave your vehicle.

No Stopping

You are not allowed to pull over or stop your vehicle.

Information + Warning Signs | Rectangular | Important

Extremely Bad Road

In most cases, only usable by specially modified jeeps. Closed to CampEasy Campers.

Bad Road

Not all F-Roads are “Bad Roads” and not all “Bad Roads” are F-Roads.

Unbridged River Ahead

Traversing rivers is only allowed on 4×4 campers and with Zero-Risk Insurance.

Blind Spot

Frequent and shouldn’t be treated lightly. On single-lane roads, paying attention is vital.

Warning Signs | Triangular

Multiple Curves, First One To The Left

Icelandic roads are winding. Keep an eye out for sharp turns.

Sheep on Road

There are a lot of sheep and horses (with or without rider) on/around the road.

F-Roads

F-Roads are mountain roads in Iceland. They aren’t accessible all year round and are often poorly maintained. The only CampEasy campers that can handle the large rocks, muddy tracks, and steeper hills are:

• Easy Monster 4×4
• Easy Luxury 4×4
• Easy Viking 4×4
• Easy Viking 4×4 EXP
• Easy Clever 4×4
• Easy Clever 4×4 EXP
• Easy Ranger 4×4
• Easy Ranger 4×4 EXP
• Tesla Camper 4×4

Always check Road.is or log into your Campeasy client area to see if the mountain roads are open.

The F-roads can be in a dreadful state, even when Road.is says they’re open. There can be large rocks on the roads, unbridged rivers, slippery mud, and snow, even during summer. The roads are most often narrow, and the edges wet and loose. Most bridges are one way and you should always slow down when approaching an oncoming car, the maximum speed allowed is often way too fast. In the winter, most of the F-roads are closed or impassable. In the highlands, you might not get cell phone reception, and the weather can be harsh, so make sure you notify people and have someone check if you’ve arrived safely at your destination at the correct time.

Please note that all off-road driving is strictly forbidden in Iceland.
We will provide further instructions and advice when you pick up the camper.

Camping in Iceland

Since 2015, you can only park campers overnight at camping grounds, with occasional guesthouses and hotels that allow overnight stays on their premise. It is strictly forbidden to park overnight outside camping grounds if you are in an urban area. For shorter stops, you can park everywhere where there is legal parking, just like other cars.

There are camping grounds all over the country, and during summer you won’t have more than an hour’s drive to the nearest one, at the most. But if you are traveling outside the summer months, between early October and April, please check our segment on Winter Camping for more information on open campsites.

Below you’ll also find a map of campsites that are open during the Winter / Low-Season months.

Maps of Campsites in Iceland

Summer Campsites in Iceland

Winter Campsites in Iceland

Gas Stations, Fuel and how it relates to your Heating System

Like all the nordic countries, Iceland has plenty of gas stations, more so in densely populated areas. Most of them are automatic (self-service) and accept the most common Visa/Euro credit or debit cards. In cities, you can find some gas stations that provide service at the pump. You will need to know your card’s PIN in most cases. The automated machines only accept cards that use a 4-digit pin, not 5-digit pins. Gas price in Iceland is similar to the gas price in Europe.

WARNING: In the US, the hose/handle at the pump is green for Diesel and black for Petrol, but here it is black for Diesel and Green for Petrol. All our campers have a Diesel engine.

Keep a close eye on the fuel gauge when driving out in the edges of the country, where gas stations are fewer and further apart. It’s a good rule of thumb to fill up when the gauge reaches half. We don’t recommend you let the tank be below 1/3 when you park for the night, as the heating system is entirely reliant on the Diesel in the fuel tank.

Included in your rental is an N1 fuel discount card. It provides a small discount on fuel and allows access to the Wifi, but only where there is full service. N1 stations are the most widely spread around the country and the most common in Iceland.

Weather in Iceland

The weather in Iceland is unpredictable. It is hard to plan a trip many days in advance, especially during winter. You need to check the weather forecast regularly to see if you can keep your schedule or not. If you look at temperature alone, sure, we benefit enough from the Gulf stream that our temperatures are remarkably mild for Iceland’s latitude. During the summer months, the temperatures rarely go above 20°C (with mean temperatures around 10 – 15°c in South Iceland in July). In winter, it generally doesn’t go below -5°C.

However, when you go more inland, like to Egilsstaðir in the east and Mývatn in the north, the temperatures can get higher and lower. But the wind, combined with intermittent precipitation, can make those -5 °C feel a lot colder. Even in high summer, there can be specific areas along your route that regularly see extreme gusts of wind. Enough to toss around a high-roof van. But then around the next hill, there’s barely a breeze. In your tablet (your Easy Guide), you can look up the weather and road conditions. We’ll show you how to monitor these maps, special warnings, and more when you arrive here at CampEasy.

Mobile Network Coverage (Internet)

There are three major cell phone carriers in Iceland. Nova, Vodafone, and Síminn. There isn’t much difference in coverage between them.

With the internet becoming a larger part of our daily routines every day, it’s difficult to leave it behind when traveling abroad. To address that, we provide wifi through the included Easy Guide tablet and provide access for 700 ISK a day. It allows five devices to connect at the same time and where you find coverage, the equipment works well.

Mobile coverage is becoming better every year with the tourism boom, as it emphasizes the need for a more thorough network to cover the areas outside of the main population centers. Even so, we’ve still got a way to go when it comes to 3G and 4G coverage.

2G / GSM (Extremely slow internet or no internet at all)

Highlands: You’ll be able to find a 2G connection in a portion of the Highlands, but you might have to hike to the next hill.
Lowlands: You’ll have a good connection everywhere. (Almost)

3G (Decent internet connection)

Highlands: You’ll be very lucky to get a spotty 3G connection in a few places. Extremely limited.
Lowlands: Most areas along the coastline, but not all. You’ll find limited connections in some fjords, behind or on top of certain mountains and such.

4G (Very good internet)

Highlands: Not a chance.
Lowlands: Limited to larger population centers.