When Lukáš and I first stepped off the plane at Keflavík Airport at the turn of September and October 2018, the local oceanic weather gave us an instant slap in the face. The wind was blowing with such intensity that I felt like it would carry off not just my winter hat, but possibly my entire head. The air smelled of salt, sulphur and absolutely raw wilderness.

Right there in the car park we learned the single most important rule of any Icelandic road trip — one that can save you thousands. Whenever you get out of the car, you must always hold the door firmly with both hands.

Renting a car in Iceland is genuinely a bit of a specialist discipline, because the local landscape can torment drivers in all sorts of unexpected ways. In the end, we put our reliable four-wheel-drive Suzuki Grand Vitara through 3,500 kilometres of stunning and downright scary roads.

Iceland simply isn’t the kind of destination where you flop onto a sun lounger to relax. It’s more of an expedition into places where the Earth’s crust splits in two, magma seethes beneath the glaciers, and a glimpse of the endless emptiness forces you to rethink your own size. At the same time, according to the prestigious Global Peace Index, it’s the safest country in the world.

Homes here go unlocked, crime is almost non-existent, and your only real enemy is the unpredictable Mother Nature. In this article you’ll find a detailed guide on how to handle driving in the land of fire and ice without a single furrow of worry. We’ll look at the new mileage tax for 2026, break down the tricky insurance, and tell you where to eat well and cheaply on the road.

TL;DR

• Choosing a car: For a summer loop of the main Ring Road, an ordinary two-wheel-drive car (2WD) will do just fine. But if you’re travelling off-season or want to explore the rougher interior (F-roads), you’re legally required to rent a four-wheel drive (4×4).
• Insurance is a must: Standard cover isn’t enough, so always pay extra for protection against flying gravel (Gravel Protection) and possibly against sand and ash (Sand & Ash) too, because the Icelandic wind can strip the paint clean off your car and the damages run into thousands of euros.
• What’s new for 2026: The government has introduced a new mileage tax of 6.95 ISK per kilometre driven, which feeds through into your rental bill. On the upside, petrol prices have dropped significantly, to around 210–225 ISK per litre.
• Treacherous doors: No insurance on earth covers doors ripped off by the wind. Keep that in mind every time you get out, because strong gusts of wind are an everyday occurrence in Iceland.
• Payment cards: Iceland is fully cashless. But you’ll need a physical card and its PIN, because without it you can’t refuel at the self-service petrol stations.

When to go and how to get there

The Icelandic season splits into an expensive, overcrowded summer and an unpredictable rest of the year. The Gulf Stream keeps temperatures surprisingly high — Reykjavík rarely sees prolonged frost in winter — but the real dictator here is the wind.

It can knock the feels-like temperature down by a good ten degrees. A waterproof and windproof jacket is an absolute necessity even in July.

If you want to see the Northern Lights, you’ll need to come during the dark season, from September to April. We chose the turn of September and October and it was simply magical — the tourist crowds had thinned out and the autumn colours contrasted beautifully with the snow-capped mountain peaks.

If you’re planning to hunt the aurora borealis, there’s one crucial thing I have to point out. In the summer months from May to August you have no chance of seeing anything at all, because the island experiences the so-called midnight sun and it never properly gets dark.

For a successful hunt you need pitch-black darkness, a clear, cloudless sky and high solar activity (KP index). In any case, experts at NOAA are forecasting that the autumn of 2026 will be absolutely exceptional for this celestial show. Just don’t forget to bring a sturdy tripod, because you simply won’t capture the Northern Lights on automatic mode handheld.

Air connections are very convenient these days, even though the market has seen some fairly major changes recently. If you’re used to flying with the low-cost airline PLAY in their bright red planes, I’m afraid I have bad news. The company went bust at the end of September 2025, leaving thousands of passengers stranded at airports.

From the UK, though, you can still reach Iceland very easily. Both London and Manchester have frequent direct flights to Keflavík with Icelandair and easyJet, with the hop from London taking around three hours. If you’re heading on further to North America, you can take advantage of the popular Icelandair Stopover programme. It lets you stop off on the island for up to seven days at no extra charge on top of your airfare.

A huge draw for 2026 is the total solar eclipse taking place on Wednesday 12 August. It’s a massive astronomical event — the last comparable eclipse seen from Iceland was in 1954, and the next chance won’t come for nearly two hundred years. The band of deepest darkness will cross the Westfjords and the Snæfellsnes peninsula, and will be best visible from the western part of the island.

The darkness will last longest at the Látrabjarg cliffs, where the eclipse will run for over two minutes. Just bear in mind that for August, much of the accommodation is already hopelessly sold out. Prices for even an ordinary guesthouse in the west have shot up to extreme heights, and the whole month the island will be bursting at the seams. The Snæfellsnes peninsula is even hosting a massive festival, so don’t go looking for peace and quiet there in summer.

Where to stay + how much it costs

Although many travellers opt for camping or sleeping in vans, Lukáš and I prefer a bit more comfort and chose to sleep under a solid roof. Over our two-week road trip we stayed in a whole string of friendly guesthouses, smaller B&Bs and the occasional cosy apartment where we could cook ourselves dinner in the evening. Iceland is simply one of the most expensive countries in the world, and you have to be ready for accommodation to take a serious bite out of your budget.

A week-long road trip for two people at a mid-range standard (guesthouses, a solid rental car and self-catering with local ingredients) will set you back roughly £2,700 to £4,400 in 2026, excluding flights. A night in an ordinary guesthouse with a private or shared bathroom works out to around £70 to £130 per night.

If you’d rather stay in classic, larger hotels, budget anywhere from £160 to £320 per night. A great and popular alternative is the farmstays offered through the Hey Iceland network, where you often have a large shared kitchen and can get a glimpse into the lives of local farmers. The lowest price bracket for sleeping under a roof is hostels, where a bed in a shared dorm costs around £32 to £50.

Back then we paid around £530 to rent our 4×4 for two weeks, but these days prices can easily double in peak summer season. I’d recommend booking accommodation as early as possible, because capacity outside the capital is genuinely very limited and the best spots vanish in the blink of an eye. If you decide to slash your budget radically, you can squeeze it down to around £1,700 to £2,400 for two people for a week, but that means extreme frugality and sleeping exclusively in tents or basic cars.

💡 Specific accommodation tips (check prices and availability via Booking.com, and book early — in season and around the 2026 eclipse they sell out months ahead):

• Center Hotels Grandi (Reykjavík)
• Hótel Kea (Akureyri)
• Hótel Katla by Keahotels (Vík)

Renting a car: 2WD or 4×4?

Browse any travel forum and you’ll find that the topic of renting a car in Iceland dominates almost every discussion, with people endlessly arguing about which vehicle you actually need. The truth is that both options have their place, and it all comes down to exactly where you’re heading and what time of year you’re flying out. So let’s break it down in detail, so you don’t needlessly overpay for something you’ll never even use.

1. When a standard car (2WD) is enough

If you’re flying to Iceland purely in the summer months and plan to drive only the famous Ring Road (Route 1) or the popular Golden Circle, a smaller two-wheel-drive car will be more than enough. Most of these main routes are beautifully tarmacked and well maintained these days.

You do need to bear in mind, though, that even on the Ring Road itself, roughly thirty percent of the stretches are still unpaved surface. The smaller gravel tracks you’ll occasionally hit on detours to waterfalls and accommodation can be driven with care and at slow speed.

A smaller car is, of course, significantly cheaper to rent and will reward you with considerably lower fuel consumption. Especially at the current prices in 2026 and with the introduction of the new mileage tax, that’s a saving that could buy you entry to one of the pricier hot springs.

But remember one absolutely crucial thing. With a standard 2WD car you are strictly forbidden from driving on mountain roads, which are marked on all maps with the letter F (F-roads). If you break this rule, all your insurance is void and if you get stuck, you’ll be paying for the rescue operation out of your own pocket.

2. Why we chose a powerful 4×4

Lukáš and I picked a Suzuki Grand Vitara with all-wheel drive through the RentalCars search engine, because we were travelling in autumn and simply wanted peace of mind. In Iceland the weather can change in just five minutes, and we didn’t want to dread every little hill coated in morning frost. We’ve long had a good experience with RentalCars, which we use all over the world, and this time too everything went off perfectly, from pick-up to drop-off.

Some of the more remote roads, especially if you want to reach the less touristy spots off the main loop, were quite similar in quality to what we experienced on the dusty tracks of far-off Uganda.

A 4×4 is also an outright necessity and a legal requirement if you plan to explore the wild interior (the Highlands). Places like the rainbow mountains of Landmannalaugar or the lunar landscape of the Askja volcanic area are completely inaccessible without a proper off-road vehicle. Without a 4×4 you risk not only wrecking the car, but also an astronomical fine.

3. Renting a campervan as an alternative

An increasingly popular option for the more adventurous is to book a campervan or even a large motorhome on the island. Renting a campervan in Iceland gives you enormous freedom, because you don’t have to deal with a daily hotel check-in, you don’t have to stress about precise schedules, and you can sleep just a few steps from the most beautiful waterfalls and cliffs.

On top of that, you can comfortably cook your own breakfast and dinner inside, which will dramatically cut your overall spend on expensive restaurants.

You do need to bear in mind, though, that wild camping is now banned in Iceland to protect the fragile environment. So with a van you have to head to one of the official campsites every evening. It’s well worth getting the so-called Camping Card, which in 2026 costs around 26,000 ISK (about £150).

It’s valid for a full 28 nights, covers two adults and up to four children, and gets you into more than forty different campsites across the island. On site, you’ll then only top it up with a small overnight tax of around 400 ISK per night. Be very careful when driving, though, because large campervans are extremely susceptible to the ever-present strong crosswinds.

Insurance, or what you definitely shouldn’t skimp on

I’ll admit that when renting cars somewhere in southern Europe I don’t usually bother with premium zero-excess insurance, but Iceland is a huge exception. The landscape here is so brutally harsh and the roads hide so many small pitfalls that scrimping a few quid a day on insurance can backfire spectacularly. Travel forums online are full of horror stories — and even more horrifying bills from rental companies that unlucky travellers had to cover out of their own pockets.

1. Basic insurance and Gravel Protection

Every rental car comes with basic CDW (Collision Damage Waiver) insurance included in the price, but it carries a very high excess and, crucially, doesn’t cover a lot of Iceland-specific risks. To give you an idea, this basic cover costs roughly 3,190 ISK per day for a small car and around 4,090 ISK for a 4×4. The absolute minimum you should always add on is special protection against flying stones, known as Gravel Protection (GP).

In Iceland, even the famous tarmacked Ring Road occasionally turns into a gravel stretch out of nowhere, sometimes for several dozen kilometres. When a heavy lorry or another robust off-roader then passes you at high speed, a shower of sharp stones from their wheels is almost inevitable. Smashed windscreens and nastily scratched bonnets are by far the most common claim that rental companies deal with practically every single day.

2. Sand, ash and why to consider SAAP

If you plan to drive the windy south and south-east coast, the rental desk will probably also offer you a very specific insurance against sand and volcanic ash (Sand & Ash Protection, or SAAP for short). It might sound at first like a pointless luxury or a trick to fleece tourists, but trust me — sandstorms are a very real and enormous threat in Iceland.

When a strong wind picks up on the black volcanic beaches or in open areas near active volcanoes, the fine volcanic dust acts like a giant industrial sandblaster. Within just a few kilometres of driving it can strip the paint right down to bare matte metal and totally destroy every window. The bills for a full respray and repair of a car wrecked like this then run into utterly astronomical figures, from 500,000 to 1,500,000 Icelandic krónur.

3. What no insurance covers

Even if you buy the most expensive premium zero-excess insurance and feel like you’re covered for everything, there are situations in Iceland that simply nothing covers. The most famous and most expensive mistake is wind damage to the car doors (door-ripping). When you stop somewhere at a viewpoint and carelessly open the door, the Icelandic gale immediately catches it and literally tears it off its hinges with brutal force. Always open them incredibly slowly and hold them firmly with both hands the whole time.

Another big exception is any damage to the undercarriage and damage caused by water when fording wild rivers. Even if you have a big, powerful 4×4 from the rental company and can legally drive the rough F-roads under the contract, you enter every river crossing entirely and solely at your own risk. If you suck water into the engine or drown the car in an unexpectedly strong current, all the costs of recovery and repair are entirely down to you, and the figures easily climb into the tens of thousands of pounds.

Hidden fees and the new mileage tax for 2026

Iceland’s economy and complex tax system are constantly evolving, something you’ll feel very keenly as a tourist right at the rental company’s counter. As of 1 January 2026, a fairly fundamental legislative change came into effect that alters how you’ll pay for your summer or winter travels. It’s not necessarily about making the whole trip more expensive, but rather a complete shift of costs from the petrol stations themselves straight to the rental companies and their contracts.

1. How the mileage tax works in practice

The government decided to overhaul transport taxation and introduced the so-called mileage tax (Kilometer Fee), which applies to all passenger cars, hulking SUVs and modern EVs alike. The current rate is exactly 6.95 ISK (roughly £0.04) for every kilometre driven. Rental companies naturally aren’t happy about this new government charge and pass it straight on to you as the end customer.

Some companies will charge you a fixed flat rate when you collect the vehicle, somewhere around 1,390 to 1,550 ISK per rental day, while other rental firms carefully note down the starting odometer reading and, once you return the car, deduct the exact distance driven from your credit card.

If you decide to drive around the whole island — which is roughly 1,330 kilometres on the main road plus detours — it’ll add just under nine to ten thousand Icelandic krónur to your bill. I’d recommend always reading the contract terms carefully, so you’re not needlessly surprised at the end of your holiday when an unexpected sum leaves your account.

2. Petrol prices and paying by card

The new mileage tax has one very positive side for all travellers. As a form of compensation, the state scrapped part of the fuel excise duty directly at the pumps, so petrol prices in 2026 have fortunately dropped significantly. While as recently as the autumn of the previous year a litre was dangerously approaching a frightening 305 ISK, you can now fill up for a very pleasant 210 to 225 ISK per litre (around £1.20 to £1.30). Decent prices tend to be found at the big chains like N1 and Olís, and it’s especially cheap at the Costco hypermarket.

Refuelling itself is an experience for many first-timers, because almost all the petrol stations here are completely self-service. You insert a physical card into the pump, enter your PIN, select an exact amount or simply a full tank, and start filling up.

I want to stress that without a physical plastic card with a chip and knowledge of your PIN, you simply won’t get any fuel into your car here. With the popular option of paying via your phone using Apple Pay or Google Pay, you’ll usually get nowhere at the deserted rural petrol stations, because the machines require you to insert the card.

💡 Tip: Tickets and organised tours (in Iceland and beyond) are well worth booking in advance online via GetYourGuide — they fill up fast in season.

Driving in Iceland: What to watch out for

Icelandic roads are visually absolutely stunning, with cinematic scenery changing around every sharp bend, but the driving itself demands your constant concentration. There are no complicated motorway junctions or tedious traffic jams (except in central Reykjavík), but instead plenty of pitfalls await in the form of ever-present inattentive animals and incredibly treacherous weather conditions. Lukáš and I diligently took turns at the wheel of our Vitara, and some evenings, once we’d reached our accommodation, we were genuinely fed up.

1. Single-lane bridges and inattentive sheep

One of the most iconic and occasionally slightly stressful features of Icelandic roads are the so-called single-lane bridges. You’ll spot them safely in advance, because they’re always clearly marked with a yellow reflective sign reading “Einbreið brú”. The rule for crossing them safely is dead simple: the driver who reaches the narrow bridge first and drives onto it simply has priority. From both directions, though, it requires maximum courtesy, common sense and slowing down in good time, because these bridges often appear sneakily just after a blind bend.

Besides bridges, you’ll be accompanied the whole way by Icelandic sheep, of which there are more on this inhospitable island than there are human inhabitants. In summer they graze freely across the landscape and, unfortunately, have a habit of dashing across the road for no apparent reason right in front of fast-moving cars. Take particular care with little lambs, which easily panic and bolt straight under your wheels, even when their mother stands perfectly calm and safe on the verge.

2. Treacherous weather and useful apps

The locals are fond of saying that if you don’t like the current island weather, you simply have to wait five minutes. It might sound like a worn-out cliché, but it perfectly captures the reality here. A sunny, calm autumn day can change within a few brief moments into impenetrable thick fog or driving horizontal rain that your wipers simply can’t keep up with.

So before every morning departure from our warm accommodation, Lukáš and I made it a ritual to check the so-called holy trinity of Icelandic websites. First we looked at vedur.is, which posts detailed weather forecasts including wind maps.

Then we carefully checked all the safety alerts on the safetravel.is portal, and we always verified the passability of specific road sections on the state website road.is. I guarantee you’ll have these three essential tabs open in your phone browser constantly.

3. Parking and speed limits

Fines for exceeding the speed limit in Iceland are downright draconian and can effortlessly wreck the carefully calculated budget for your entire holiday. The maximum speed on tarmacked roads outside towns is just 90 km/h, on gravel and unpaved stretches you must slow down to 80 km/h, and in all towns it’s 50 km/h. The police have relatively few physical patrols, but the entire enchanting landscape is literally studded with discreet hidden radars and modern cameras.

Another big change over the past few years is the massive introduction of paid parking. Most of the gorgeous natural wonders and enormous waterfalls are, fortunately, still free to see, but parking your rental car next to them now comes at a steep cost.

At famous spots like Skógafoss waterfall or the iconic Þingvellir National Park, there are smart cameras mounted on poles that carefully scan your number plate. You can quickly and easily pay for parking (usually around 1,000 ISK) via mobile apps such as Parka.is, EasyPark or Checkit.is. If you decide to sneak off without paying, the rental company will mercilessly deduct the outstanding fee from your card and add a very hefty administrative surcharge on top.

Lukáš and Lucie recommend

Where to Stay in Iceland

3 accommodations — hotels and other lodging options

⭐ TOP CHOICE 🏨 Hotel

Center Hotels Grandi

Hotel in Reykjavik, the capital of Iceland. Suitable as a base for exploring the city and surrounding attractions.

★★★★ Check prices

Check availability 🏨 Hotel

Hótel Kea

Hotel in Akureyri, the capital of northern Iceland. Ideal base for exploring the Diamond Circle, whale watching, and visiting geothermal baths.

★★★★ Check prices

Check availability 🏨 Hotel

Hótel Katla by Keahotels

Hotel in the picturesque town of Vík on the south coast. Near the stunning black beach of Reynisfjara with basalt columns and iconic waterfalls.

★★★★ Check prices

Check availability

The most beautiful places and regions: What to see and do

The famous tarmacked Ring Road runs around the entire island and is over 1,300 kilometres long. If you want to comfortably drive the whole thing without spending eight hours a day cramped behind the wheel, you’ll need at least eight to ten days. During our trip we met plenty of people trying to fit absolutely everything into five days, and the result was just tired faces and blurry photos shot through a grubby passenger window. Better to pick just a few regions and get to know them properly.

1. Reykjavík and the Reykjanes peninsula

The capital, Reykjavík, is endearingly tiny and a single day is plenty for a relaxed look around. Don’t miss a glimpse of the iconic concrete Hallgrímskirkja church, where entry to the tall viewing tower will cost you around 1,400 ISK. Stroll past the modern glass Harpa opera house all the way to the gleaming steel Sun Voyager sculpture, and in the evening head into the streets for the so-called rúntur — the famous and rather wild bar crawl among the locals.

Just outside the city lies the volcanic Reykjanes peninsula, which has been undergoing a genuinely wild geological awakening since 2021. You’ll find the interesting Bridge Between Continents, where the tectonic plates pull apart, but the main story here is the Svartsengi area and the volcanoes of the Sundhnúkur system.

The eruptions are local and safe for aviation, but the famous thermal Blue Lagoon spa has to operate on a dynamic safety footing because of them, and the town of Grindavík has been completely evacuated. So before travelling to this area, always check the latest updates on the government websites.

2. The Golden Circle and its classics

The Golden Circle is the absolute Icelandic classic and the most visited area on the entire island. It’s an ideal day trip from the capital, covering roughly 250 kilometres of pure beauty. Your first stop will be Þingvellir National Park, the place where the very first Icelandic parliament was established way back in the year 930. It’s also home to the magical Silfra tectonic fissure, where the brave can dive in water a chilly 2 degrees Celsius.

The next point on the route is the renowned Geysir geothermal area, which gave its name to all the geysers in the world. The original great geyser is now mostly dormant, but its smaller brother Strokkur reliably shoots boiling water up to thirty metres high roughly every five to ten minutes. The circuit is then grandly rounded off by the massive two-tiered Gullfoss waterfall, where in cold weather you’ll definitely want your hood up, because it constantly throws up an enormous spray of water.

3. The south coast: Waterfalls and treacherous waves

As soon as you head out of Reykjavík along the south coast on the main road, one photogenic icon after another awaits you. You’ll walk a narrow path right behind the falling wall of Seljalandsfoss waterfall, climb dozens of long wooden steps alongside the incredibly mighty Skógafoss, and if you have a taste for gloomy atmospheres, you’ll reach the abandoned rusty DC-3 plane wreck lying on the endless black sands of Sólheimasandur.

A little further on lies the picturesque little town of Vík and, next to it, the gorgeous black Reynisfjara beach with its basalt columns. But take huge care here. Reynisfjara is one of the most dangerous spots on the island because of the so-called sneaker waves.

These ocean waves arrive completely unexpectedly, reaching tens of metres further up the land than the previous waves, and they have deadly force. Sadly, six tourists have died here over the past twenty years, so always strictly respect the warning beach traffic light and never turn your back on the roaring ocean.

4. The south-east: The glacier lagoon and the Eastfjords

Once you leave Vík behind, the tourist crowds begin to thin out pleasantly and the landscape opens up even more. The south-eastern part of the island is utterly dominated by Vatnajökull National Park, home to the glacier of the same name — the largest in all of Europe, covering an impressive eight percent of Iceland’s surface. The absolute visual highlight here is the Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon, where huge blue ice floes crack and break off. The ocean currents then wash them up onto the black sand of the beach opposite, aptly nicknamed Diamond Beach.

From here the road flows smoothly on into the tranquil Eastfjords. It’s a beautiful, remote landscape full of sharp cliffs, winding roads and the occasional wild reindeer, which were introduced here in the past.

Definitely make a detour to the charming little town of Seyðisfjörður, tucked away at the very end of a long fjord and famous for its lovely blue church, reached by a painted rainbow street. But don’t forget to check your fuel tank more often in the east, because the distances between petrol stations grow dramatically out here.

5. North Iceland: The Diamond Circle and whales

The role of unofficial capital of the cold north is played by the easygoing little town of Akureyri. The whole area is breathtaking and, from a tourist’s point of view, forms the so-called Diamond Circle. Along it you’ll admire the divine Goðafoss waterfall, the wonderfully smelly geothermal area of Lake Mývatn with its bubbling mud and mysterious lava formations, and finally stand face to face with the majestic Dettifoss, the single most powerful and most intimidating waterfall in all of Europe.

The north is also a worldwide mecca for watching wild whales in their natural habitat. The boats setting out from the picturesque port of Húsavík have an incredible success rate (over 98 percent, it’s said), and in the summer months, with a bit of luck, you might even spot a gigantic blue whale.

After a long day in the cold wind, you’ll definitely appreciate sinking into hot thermal water. The local spa has undergone a huge renovation and, in spring 2026, reopens under the new name Earth Lagoon; alternatively, you can visit the luxurious Forest Lagoon right by Akureyri or the magical GeoSea in Húsavík.

6. The Snæfellsnes peninsula and the Westfjords

The Snæfellsnes peninsula, which lies west of the capital, is fondly and very aptly nicknamed “Iceland in miniature”. In a single day you’ll find here everything the country is known for. There’s a gorgeous volcano with a white glacier, dramatic cliffs near the village of Arnarstapi that will amaze you, the solitary black wooden church of Búðir, and of course the most photographed mountain in all of Iceland, the pointed Kirkjufell (made famous by the legendary Game of Thrones saga).

Further out in the remote north-west lie the wild Westfjords, which for most tourists are a completely uncharted world. Only a fraction of travellers head here, because the roads cling precariously to incredibly deep fjords and the tarmac often unexpectedly turns into treacherous gravel. The reward for slow, careful driving, though, is absolute silence and isolation. The highlights of the area are the cascading Dynjandi waterfall and the steep Látrabjarg cliffs, home to thousands of pairs of adorable puffins.

7. The Highlands: Untamed wilderness for 4×4s

The harsh and utterly remote heart of Iceland is a chapter all of its own. No comfortable tarmacked roads lead here, and you’ll find no safe petrol stations or cosy warm hotels. There are only rocky, bumpy mountain tracks (F-roads), deep crossings through wild rivers full of glacial water, and endless wastelands. Yet it’s right here that the breathtaking, colourful rhyolite mountains of the Landmannalaugar area lie, along with the utterly fascinating lunar landscape around the restless Askja volcano.

Because of heavy snowfall, the interior is only accessible to the public for a very limited window, roughly from mid-June to mid-September. To drive here you need exclusively a quality vehicle with 4×4 drive. I want to stress firmly that entering any F-road with an ordinary 2WD vehicle is completely illegal under the law.

What’s more, doing so voids absolutely all your agreed insurance, and if you get stuck somewhere in the mud or wreck your car on the rocks, you face downright ruinous fines in the hundreds of thousands of krónur and bills for paid recovery by special heavy machinery.

8. Bathing like a local: Strict etiquette in the thermal pools

While most ordinary tourists rush straight to the well-known and extremely pricey luxury spas after arriving (where you can easily pay twelve thousand or more Icelandic krónur for a single ritual), the locals flock en masse to relax in the classic municipal heated pools (Sundlaug). You’ll find them in pretty much every larger village, the entry fee is a tiny fraction of the cost, and sinking into the hot water under the open sky is a wonderful experience. They do have their strict rules, though, which you need to know.

Icelandic pools use only an absolute minimum of chlorine in the water, so cleanliness is mainly down to the visitors themselves before they enter the water. Before you head into the pool, you must wash thoroughly, completely naked. Not just a quick rinse in your swimsuit. Completely naked.

For a bashful Brit this can be a huge culture shock, but for Icelanders, public hygiene is absolutely sacred. In the changing rooms you’ll even often encounter strict shower attendants who’ll send you straight back without mercy if they see you trying to wash hidden under your swimsuit. Don’t be embarrassed — honestly, no stranger is looking at you while you shower.

Where to eat (for vegetarians and the curious alike)

Icelandic cuisine is very particular, raw and traditionally revolves mostly around lamb and the gifts of the sea. Probably the most famous local speciality, which daring tourists occasionally try to sample for a laugh with a face full of disgust, is the notorious hákarl (fermented and fairly pungent shark) or the ubiquitous harðfiskur (hard, chewy dried fish). Since Lukáš and I are both lifelong vegetarians, though, we gave all these meaty island traditions a very wide berth without a shred of regret and focused on other things instead.

Eating out in an ordinary restaurant here costs a fair bit of money. A main course can easily run to around two to three thousand Icelandic krónur, which is comfortably £12 to £18, so for most of the trip we relied heavily on self-catering. We mainly shopped at the Bónus supermarkets, which you’ll easily recognise by the unmissable bright pink piggy in their logo and which are reliably the cheapest on the whole island.

A slightly pricier alternative for groceries is the Krónan or Nettó chain, while the most expensive of all are the premium Hagkaup stores, which we mostly just went into to gawk. For dinner back at our accommodation, we happily knocked up enormous bowls of pasta, warm vegetable bowls or salads.

We got through an enormous amount of fantastic Icelandic skyr. This delicious, thick dairy treat, which packs roughly 16 grams of pure protein per portion and is completely vegetarian, saved us at pretty much every breakfast ☺️.

When we did fancy heading out among people and eating out, we had a surprisingly great experience right in the centre of rainy Reykjavík at a small, cosy spot called Mandi, where they made us excellent crispy falafel with a bowl of fresh creamy hummus. And if you love good Italian dough as much as we do, I can warmly recommend the popular Flatey pizzeria, where they bake a perfect vegetarian pizza in authentic Neapolitan style with gorgeous charred edges.

As for staying hydrated, don’t waste a single penny buying water. The local tap water is superb, ice-cold, crystal clear and full of healthy minerals, so all you need for life is to carry your own reusable bottle everywhere. And if you fancy opening a bottle of wine with your pasta in the evening, bear in mind that you won’t find any alcohol in Bónus — you’ll have to head to the specialised state-run Vínbúðin shops.

Where to go next

If the idea of a wild car rental in Iceland, treacherous weather and steep Nordic prices no longer scares you at all and you’re sure you’ll be heading there soon, we’ve put together plenty of other articles on the blog for you. We firmly believe they’ll make that stressful planning a little easier.

• Want to know honestly how much the whole thing will cost and what the weather is really like in autumn? Read our article What Iceland is like in October and how much it costs.
• If you want to rest from driving and demanding treks in wonderfully warm water, we’ve put together a huge list of the 16 best hot springs in Iceland.
• No idea where to go or which way to head? Be fully inspired by our detailed guide to the most beautiful places in Iceland.
• And if you’re hunting the Northern Lights and don’t want to freeze for nothing, we’ve put together our most practical tips on how and where to catch them for sure.

🚗 Car rental on the road Verified car rentals in Iceland

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Frequently asked questions

When Lukáš and I set off on our big island roadtrip at the turn of September and October, we had a pretty clear idea of how cold it would get. After all, the thermometer showed a merciful minus one degree. But then we stepped out of the car and the Icelandic wind gave us a proper slap in the face. If you’re wondering when to visit Iceland, this is exactly the kind of detail that makes all the difference.

Thanks to those icy gusts, the wind-chill felt more like minus thirty, and we quickly piled on every single layer we had stuffed in our suitcase. 😅

At the same time, it was an absolutely magical season. We fell head over heels for the autumn colours, the endless mossy lava fields, and that divine sense of calm now that the crowds had thinned out dramatically. The greatest reward of all was the Northern Lights, which we eagerly chased in the remote Westfjords.

It did have its downside, though. From the 1st of October, signs reading “closed for winter, reopening in April” started popping up at many of the less touristy spots, and we sometimes searched in vain for an open restaurant. In this article you’ll find detailed tips on the best time to visit Iceland, what the weather is really like, and exactly what to expect from each month, so you can make the most of your trip and avoid any nasty surprises.

TL;DR

• Best time for waterfalls and treks: June to August offers the most pleasant climate, endless midnight sun, and the only window to reach the raw interior (the Highlands) with a 4×4.
• When to go for wildlife: If you want to see the adorable puffins, the ideal window runs from late April to early August. For whales, head north to Húsavík, best in the summer months.
• When to chase the Northern Lights: If you’re dreaming of the aurora, the season runs from late August to early April. Your very best chances are from November to February, when the darkness lasts longest.
• Ice caves: The fascinating natural blue caves beneath the Vatnajökull glacier are only safely accessible during the freezing months, from mid-October to March.
• Special event of summer 2026: On Wednesday 12 August 2026, western Iceland will experience a total solar eclipse. Accommodation in this area is already extremely expensive and sold out.
• How to save money: From November to March (outside the holidays), accommodation and flight prices drop by 30 to 50%. A good compromise is the shoulder months of May and September, when there are fewer people but the days are still fairly long.

When to go and how to get there

Getting to this northern island from the UK is very convenient, though your mode of transport will depend on which season you ultimately choose for your trip. The summer months are the absolute peak of the season, with direct flights from several UK airports getting you to the land of fire and ice in just over two hours.

Once the summer holidays are over, however, you’ll most likely have to settle for a flight with a connection, which is exactly what happened to us in autumn.

The most common options are Icelandair, easyJet and British Airways, with plenty of direct routes from London, Manchester and Edinburgh in season, and connecting flights through London or Copenhagen the rest of the year. Don’t worry about connections, they tend to be quick, and Keflavík International Airport is fairly small and incredibly easy to navigate.

People sometimes ask us whether flights are threatened by the volcanic activity on the Reykjanes Peninsula, which awoke in 2021. Rest assured, the current eruptions are what’s known as effusive, meaning lava flows out of the fissures but they don’t produce clouds of choking volcanic ash that would ground air traffic, as happened with the famous Eyjafjallajökull volcano back in 2010.

We regularly search for flights on Skyscanner and Kiwi, our favourite portals for easily comparing all the options. Price-wise, in the off-season you can land a return flight for roughly £90 to £180, while in summer you should budget around £270 to £500 for direct flights.

If you don’t fancy renting a car and facing the harsh weather, or you’re not keen on fording rivers in the interior, you can leave it to the professionals. There are plenty of well-organised guided tours from the UK that take you on summer treks in Landmannalaugar or winter aurora hunts, so you won’t have to worry about a single thing.

Where to stay and how much it all costs

The local currency is the Icelandic króna (ISK), and for quick reference, just remember that 1,000 ISK is roughly £5.80 (the rate hovers around 1 ISK = £0.0058). You can forget about exchanging wads of banknotes at a counter.

This is probably the most cashless country in the world, and even to use a public toilet in the middle of nowhere you simply pay by card or phone via Apple Pay and Google Pay. Just make sure you don’t forget your physical card and your PIN, because self-service N1 petrol stations and parking machines will strictly require them, and without those four digits they simply won’t let you proceed.

When planning your budget, bear in mind this isn’t exactly a cheap destination and prices vary dramatically by season. For a stay in an ordinary guesthouse for two with a private bathroom, you’ll commonly pay around £120 to £170 per night in the high summer season, even more in Reykjavík, while from November to March prices easily drop by 30 to 50 percent.

Accommodation in more remote areas tends to be limited, so if you’re planning a summer roadtrip around the whole island along Route 1, you’ll need to book your rooms many months in advance. Booking.com is our favourite hotel search engine, and we warmly recommend booking options with free cancellation.

On top of that, from 1 January 2026 a new per-kilometre tax has been introduced for all rental cars and SUVs up to 3.5 tonnes. The fee is 6.95 ISK per kilometre driven (roughly £0.04), so a week-long roadtrip will set you back an extra £100 to £150 in state charges alone.

Most rental companies handle this either by charging a daily flat rate of around 1,390 to 1,550 ISK, or by settling up exactly when you hand back the keys. The good news is that fuel has become a little cheaper in return, since the state simultaneously scrapped the original fuel tax.

💡 Specific accommodation tips (check prices and availability via Booking, and book early — in season and around the 2026 eclipse, rooms vanish months ahead):

• Center Hotels Grandi (Reykjavík)
• Hótel Kea (Akureyri)
• Fosshótel Glacier Lagoon (Hof)
• Hótel Katla by Keahotels (Vík)

Spring and summer: 5 reasons to chase the sun and greenery

If you’re weighing up the ideal date for your very first visit to Iceland, the spring and summer months from late May to early August are the safest and most comfortable choice. Nature wakes up after the long winter, the mossy fields turn a beautiful green, and you won’t have to deal with frozen roads or unexpected snowstorms that could overturn your painstakingly planned itinerary overnight.

Let’s take a look at what you can experience during this fragrant season.

1. The midnight sun and endless days

The biggest phenomenon of summer is undoubtedly the midnight sun, which peaks around the summer solstice on 21 June. At that time, the sun in Reykjavík doesn’t set until four minutes past midnight and rises again less than three hours later. In practice, it never really gets dark at all.

The sky takes on gorgeous orange and pink hues, it just dims slightly, and you have an incredible 21 hours of daylight to explore all the natural wonders. In the north of the island, around Akureyri, this phenomenon is even more extreme.

This gives you a huge tactical advantage when building your itinerary and lets you experience some truly magical moments. You can calmly head to the most famous spots, like the mighty Skógafoss waterfall, at midnight if you like. That way you completely dodge the enormous crowds and capture absolutely breathtaking photos without a single stranger in the frame.

We’d love to enjoy that kind of freedom ourselves, because honestly we hate the crush at viewpoints, and summer afternoons in the south of the island really are packed with tour buses.

There’s one small but very practical catch you mustn’t underestimate, though. Don’t forget to pack a really good sleep mask. Plenty of small family guesthouses and farmhouses simply don’t have perfect blackout curtains, and if you’re not used to sleeping in full daylight, your body clock will take a serious hit on the very first night.

2. Watching adorable puffins and giant whales

Animal lovers are in for an absolute feast during the summer months, and we were utterly enchanted by the local fauna. From late April to mid-August the island becomes a temporary home to millions of puffins that fly in from the ocean to nest.

You’ll find these adorable black-and-white birds with their brightly coloured beaks, affectionately nicknamed sea parrots, mainly on the towering Látrabjarg cliffs in the wild Westfjords, where they tend to be very tame and easy to photograph up close. For huge colonies you can also head to Borgarfjörður eystri in the east or the Vestmannaeyjar islands, where up to a million pairs reportedly nest.

The ideal time to spot them is the absolute height of summer, namely June and July. From our own experience, though, we know that access can sometimes be restricted at sites where these little birds nest, due to strict protection. Especially around the popular sea arch and Dyrhólaey cliff in the south, the trail may be completely closed in May and June so as not to disturb the nesting pairs, so always respect the marked ropes and barriers.

Summer is also the very best season for whale watching. Although tour boats leave the harbour in Reykjavík all year round, your best chance of success is from April to early October. If you want near-total certainty (boats here officially report success rates of a stellar 98 to 99 percent), head north to the charming little town of Húsavík.

This is known as the whale-watching capital of Europe, and in June and July even magnificent blue whales appear in these waters, which must be a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

3. The open interior and the rainbow mountains of Landmannalaugar

While the famous Route 1 (known as the Ring Road) that circles the entire island is fairly reliably passable year-round, the wild Icelandic interior, or Highlands, is sealed off in winter beneath many metres of heavy snow. Only depending on the speed of the spring thaw, usually between mid and late June, do the so-called mountain F-roads finally open.

These rough, dusty roads legally require a 4×4 vehicle, and we warmly recommend reading up in advance on the rules for fording rivers.

Venturing here is absolutely worth every extra pound, though. It opens up a world of raw, deserted wilderness that looks like another planet. Probably the most famous destination is the rainbow mountains of Landmannalaugar, which dazzle with seemingly every imaginable colour, from bright yellow through green to deep red, thanks to the high rhyolite content in the rock.

The roads into the Askja volcanic wilderness usually don’t open until the first or second week of July.

If you love hiking and have decent fitness, the famous Laugavegur trek also opens here in the summer months. It stretches an impressive 55 kilometres, leading from Landmannalaugar to the green valley of Þórsmörk, and is generally walked only in the short window from late June to early September.

Bear in mind, though, that beds in the mountain huts managed by the Ferðafélag Íslands association tend to be hopelessly sold out many months in advance. When we toured the island in autumn, we were gutted that the roads into the interior were already slowly filling with snow and we had to skip this other world entirely.

4. Descending right into the throat of the Þríhnúkagígur volcano

If you’re after an absolute world-first, summer offers an experience you won’t find just anywhere. In Iceland you have the unique chance to descend in a special open lift, reminiscent of a skyscraper window-cleaner’s platform, a full 198 metres down into the magma chamber of the dormant Þríhnúkagígur volcano.

This exclusive experience, called Inside the Volcano, runs only within a set window from 5 May to 30 October, when safety and weather conditions allow. Down below, an enormous underground dome awaits, glowing with every colour from purple through yellow to deep red, all thanks to minerals baked by extreme heat thousands of years ago.

We have to honestly warn you, though, that this is a very pricey bit of fun that will give your travel budget a serious airing. Prices for this roughly half-day trip start at around 300 US dollars per person.

Even so, slots in the high summer season fill up extremely quickly, so if you dream of this unique descent, definitely don’t leave your booking until the last minute.

5. The extreme solar eclipse of August 2026

If you’re planning a trip for summer 2026, you absolutely need to know about one huge event that will affect the entire island. On Wednesday 12 August 2026, western Iceland will be struck by a total solar eclipse.

This is the first such astronomical event in the country since 1954, and the next one won’t come until 2196. The path of totality will pass directly across the remote Westfjords, the magical Snæfellsnes Peninsula, Reykjavík itself, and the Reykjanes Peninsula.

This unique event has caused absolute logistical chaos on the island. People flocking in from all over the world snapped up the accommodation in the path of totality often as early as the start of 2025.

Prices for the last remaining rooms are hitting unbelievable extremes, and it’s no exception at all to come across an ordinary older guesthouse in the town of Ísafjörður charging up to 700 US dollars a night. Snæfellsnes Peninsula is even preparing a huge festival.

The experience will certainly be incredible. In the fjord by the Látrabjarg cliffs, complete darkness will last more than two minutes, and in Reykjavík the sun will disappear around 17:48 for roughly a minute. Historical data shows, however, that August in Iceland is 70 to 80 percent overcast, so it’s a rather expensive lottery with the clouds.

For precise details on the best locations, check out the official website eclipse2026.is. If the eclipse isn’t your primary goal, we honestly recommend giving the western part of the island a very wide berth in mid-August 2026 and heading east instead, where the price situation will be a touch more bearable.

Autumn and winter: 5 experiences that will keep you up at night

A winter holiday near the Arctic Circle might sound a little crazy, but trust us, it has its own utterly indescribable charm. The winter and autumn months from late September to April will force you to slow right down.

Whereas in a summer itinerary you can race the car around and tick off five waterfalls in a day, winter shows its harsh face and you have to choose much more carefully what you can actually cover in those few precious hours of daylight.

1. Hunting the magical Northern Lights

People often ask us on Instagram which month they should go in to capture the best photos of the Northern Lights, or Aurora Borealis. The answer is surprisingly simple: what you need is as much darkness as possible. The season officially begins in late August and lasts roughly until early April.

The best conditions are from November to February, when the sun is above the horizon for only a very short time and darkness rules the landscape. We saw the aurora ourselves in the Westfjords, and that feeling, when green ribbons start dancing overhead and you’re standing in the freezing cold in the middle of the wilderness, simply can’t be compared to anything.

For a successful hunt you need three basic things: complete darkness, clear skies, and the sun’s geomagnetic activity (the so-called KP index, measured on a scale from zero to nine). 2026 is especially favourable for hunters, as we’re at the peak of the so-called Solar Cycle 25, which brings the strongest auroras in over a decade.

It’s the cloud cover that tends to be the biggest stumbling block of all, though. So always check the official weather website en.vedur.is in the Aurora tab, where on the cloud map white means clear skies and green shows those pesky clouds.

Don’t be put off at all when the KP index shows only a 2 or 3. Even at these relatively lower values the show in the sky can be absolutely fantastic, provided you’re far enough from the light pollution of the big cities.

If you want to photograph the aurora, holding your phone in your hand usually won’t cut it. You definitely need a tripod, set the ISO to 1600–3200, open the aperture all the way (for example f/2.8), and stretch the shutter speed to 5–15 seconds with manual focus set to infinity.

💡 Tip: Tickets and organised excursions (in Iceland and around) are worth booking ahead online with GetYourGuide, as they fill up fast in season.

2. Exploring the stunning ice caves

The second biggest magnet of the harsh Icelandic winter is the amazing natural ice caves, known worldwide as Ice Caves. They form entirely naturally through summer melting followed by the refreezing of water beneath the massive Vatnajökull glacier in the southeast of the island. Those enormous, translucent, crystal-blue tunnels near the Jökulsárlón lagoon or in Skaftafell National Park are only safely accessible during the genuinely freezing months, specifically from mid-October to March.

For safety reasons, you can only enter them with a certified guide, who carries the necessary equipment, hands out crampons and helmets, and crucially knows the current state of the glacier inside out. These mighty ice structures are constantly changing, shifting, and occasionally even collapsing.

The one exception to this winter rule is the slightly darker cave beneath the Katla glacier near the town of Vík, which is accessible more or less year-round, but the biggest translucent beauties simply require a proper, bone-chilling winter frost.

3. The treacherous winter beaches and waves at Reynisfjara

Iceland’s winter coastline is wild and incredibly photogenic, but it can also be deadly dangerous. This applies above all to the famous Reynisfjara beach near Vík, with its iconic black sand and basalt columns, lashed by icy winds in winter.

This is exactly where the so-called sneaker waves, or treacherous waves, regularly occur. At first the sea seems fairly calm and you happily snap photos, but out of nowhere comes a huge wave that surges tens of metres further up the beach than the previous ones.

These waves have enormous power, easily sweep your feet out from under you, and a strong undertow drags you mercilessly into the icy ocean, from which there’s practically no return thanks to heavy winter clothing. Over the past twenty years, several inattentive tourists have lost their lives here this way.

There’s now a large warning traffic light on the beach, and we sincerely beg you to respect it. If it shows yellow or red, keep a respectful distance of at least 30 metres from the water, and remember the locals’ golden rule: never turn your back on the wild ocean, not even for the most beautiful Instagram shot.

Lukáš and Lucie recommend

Where to Stay in Iceland

4 accommodations — hotels and other lodging options

⭐ TOP CHOICE 🏨 Hotel

Center Hotels Grandi

Accommodation in Iceland’s capital Reykjavik, ideal as a base for exploring the surroundings.

★★★★ Check prices

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Hótel Kea

Hotel in northern Iceland in the town of Akureyri, in an area with the best conditions for whale watching.

★★★★ Check prices

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Fosshótel Glacier Lagoon

Accommodation in the Hof area in southeastern Iceland, near the Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon and access to glacier caves.

★★★★ Check prices

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Hótel Katla by Keahotels

Hotel in the town of Vík on Iceland’s south coast, near the famous Reynisfjara black sand beach with basalt columns.

★★★★ Check prices

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4. Hot springs with a view of the snow

Warming up in hot geothermal water while snowflakes settle on your hat is one of our absolute favourite winter experiences. Open-air bathing is done here all year round, but only in winter does it have that truly magical contrast.

You can of course head to the famous Blue Lagoon near the airport (which, incidentally, has an excellently managed evacuation plan in case of a volcanic eruption on the nearby Reykjanes Peninsula), or try the architecturally gorgeous, modern Sky Lagoon right in Reykjavík with its luxurious seven-step cleansing ritual.

If you’re heading north in 2026 towards the volcanic lake Mývatn, however, you need to know about one major change. The old and beloved Mývatn Nature Baths closed completely on 1 January 2026 for a huge renovation. Reopening under a new modern name, Earth Lagoon, is planned for roughly the turn of June and July 2026.

Until then, there’s no need to despair, because in the north you can warm up beautifully in the excellent Forest Lagoon near the town of Akureyri, or in the breathtaking GeoSea pools in Húsavík with a view straight out over the open ocean.

5. Autumn colours and the shoulder season

The transitional period, the so-called shoulder season at the turn of September and October, is exactly when Lukáš and I were here. From a nature point of view it was incredibly photogenic. The endless lava fields covered in that typical coarse moss turned gorgeous deep yellow shades, contrasting perfectly with the grey sky and the dark blue ocean in the background.

What’s more, we hugely appreciated that the crowds had thinned out dramatically. We weren’t jostling on the narrow viewing paths, guesthouse prices were noticeably friendlier than in jam-packed July, and at the famous waterfalls you could park completely stress-free.

September is also the month when, usually in the first half, you can still make a last-minute dash into the interior before the roads are sealed off by snow for many long months.

On the other hand, you need to know that October already brings sharp autumn winds and very heavy rain. From around the 1st of October, many smaller services outside the big towns, the little toilets near more remote sights, and the charming countryside bistros shut up shop without mercy, with a sign saying they’ll see you again in April, come spring.

You simply have to factor this in ahead of time and, to be safe, always carry a decent stash of snacks bought in town.

Weather month by month: what to expect

Although scary tales of Arctic frost do the rounds, thanks to the strong influence of the warm Gulf Stream, Icelandic winters are surprisingly mild and summers, by contrast, cooler. In the capital Reykjavík, the average temperature rarely drops far below freezing.

The real and unpredictable enemy here isn’t the mercury in the thermometer, but the constantly changing conditions and the extremely strong wind, which works absolute wonders on the wind-chill. Let’s break the year down in detail, step by step.

1. January to March (winter in full force)

The start of the year is marked by cold, long dark nights, and wild, unpredictable weather. In January, average temperatures in the capital hover just around zero, usually between -2 and +2 degrees Celsius.

The sun peeks out for just a sad five hours or so a day, and statistically this is the windiest month of the entire year. Roads are commonly and dangerously covered in ice and drifting snow, so a 4×4 vehicle is an absolute necessity for your safety.

February (with temperatures of -2 to +3 degrees) and March slowly start adding precious daylight. By March the sun shines for a fantastic 11 hours or so, giving you far more room to manoeuvre when exploring the waterfalls in the south of the island.

These are absolutely ideal months for exploring the blue ice caves by day and hunting the Northern Lights in the evenings. A big bonus is the cost, because aside from the holidays, the winter months are generally the cheapest time of all, when you can easily save 30 to 50 percent on flights and accommodation compared with the high summer season.

2. April and May (the awakening and the puffins)

April and May mark the great spring awakening. The days suddenly grow rapidly longer, and in May you’ll enjoy a luxurious 18 hours of daylight.

Temperatures slowly climb to more pleasant values, usually measuring between 4 and 9 degrees Celsius. May is also statistically one of the driest months in Iceland, which in such a rainy place we count as a huge plus, with no small relief.

In these months nature finally returns to life and the beloved flocks of puffins start arriving on the island en masse. The roads along the southern and northern coasts tend to be clear and easily passable without much stress, but the interior is still firmly gripped by snow and the mountain F-roads remain firmly closed.

It’s simply a great spring compromise, when you can enjoy beautiful awakening nature and whales in the bays, all completely without the jostling crowds of the summer holidays.

3. June to August (the high season)

These are by far the most popular months of the whole year. In June, rainfall drops to its annual minimum, and in July the wind is finally at its calmest of the year.

Temperatures during the day climb to a spring-like 9 to 13 degrees Celsius, and even though that doesn’t sound like much, in direct sunshine somewhere sheltered behind a rock you can quite happily sunbathe in a short-sleeved T-shirt. The magical midnight sun draws tens of thousands of visitors, and at the end of June the longed-for dusty roads to the Askja volcano and to colourful Landmannalaugar finally open.

In July the island is at the absolute peak of the summer tourist rush. Well-known sites in the south, like the beautiful Skógafoss waterfall or the Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon, are literally bursting at the seams under the onslaught of tour buses.

August is then marked by the departure of the puffins back out to the ocean (usually around mid-month) and the gradual shortening of the long days, while rainfall slowly starts to increase. So always book your rental car and all your hotel rooms many months in advance for the summer months, especially around the 2026 eclipse.

4. September to December (from colourful autumn to darkness)

September is immensely beautiful, but a little treacherous. Nature takes on gorgeous golden colours, the crowds thin out, and the green aurora returns to the sky with the longer nights, but according to the statistics it’s the single rainiest month of all.

October (when temperatures range from 2 to 7 degrees) is a genuine lottery. Strong autumn storms often blow in from the ocean, along with wind so powerful it can literally rip the door off your rental car if you’re not careful. Most services outside the big towns also close their gates.

November and December are months mainly for the hardier adventurers. In December, around the winter solstice, it doesn’t get light until just before noon and the sun stays above the horizon for a meagre 4 hours, while temperatures constantly teeter around freezing.

In return, though, you can experience the incredibly magical pre-Christmas atmosphere in the streets of Reykjavík, warm up for hours on end in the hot springs without a shred of guilt, and every single evening, mug of tea in hand, watch the green aurora dancing over the snow-capped mountain peaks.

What to pack for the Icelandic wind and cold

There’s a lovely and one hundred percent true local saying that here, you can experience all four seasons during lunch. In the morning we set off from the guesthouse bathed in sunshine in just a light hoodie, at noon a strong horizontal rain caught us on a cliff, in the afternoon huge hailstones began to fall, and in the evening the aurora lit up a starry sky.

The key to survival and good spirits is quite simply smart, sensible packing.

1. Layering is absolutely essential

The number one basic rule is dressing in multiple layers. You can leave your classic jeans at home in the wardrobe with a clear conscience, because once they get soaked in the Icelandic wind, they probably won’t dry out until you’ve landed back home.

For your first base layer, always go for quality merino wool thermals, which wick away sweat brilliantly and keep you wonderfully warm even when slightly damp from the effort of a trek. On top of that comes a good insulating mid-layer, ideally a warm fleece or a thin, easily packable down jacket.

By far the most important item in your bag, though, is the outer layer. You absolutely need a completely waterproof and one hundred percent windproof jacket and quality trousers (this is where it pays to invest in a good Gore-Tex membrane). The Icelandic wind can very quickly lower the temperature you feel on your skin, and chills you far more than whatever the thermometer in the car shows.

A warm hat that covers your ears, waterproof gloves, and sturdy ankle-high hiking boots (which you mustn’t forget to treat properly with waterproofing before you fly) are a given in any weather. If you’re going in the winter months, definitely also pack good ice grips for the icy paths near the waterfalls and a powerful head torch.

Closely tied to this harsh and unpredictable weather is our strong recommendation about the rental car. The fierce wind here regularly lifts fine volcanic sand and sharp pebbles off the long plains, which within a few hours can literally strip the paint off the car down to bare metal and destroy the windscreen. We’ve had a long-standing good experience with the DiscoverCars search engine, which we use all over the world.

Definitely take out the special add-on insurances in Iceland: Gravel Protection (against flying gravel) and SAAP (against destructive ash and sand, where damage can otherwise climb to 500,000–1.5 million ISK, which is over £8,000). And remember, no insurance covers wrenched-off doors, so when it’s blowing on the car park, always hold them firmly with both hands as you get out.

2. Why to leave the umbrella at home and bring your swimsuit

It might seem obvious, but seriously, really don’t bring an umbrella in your suitcase. It’ll be utterly useless here, because the notorious Icelandic wind would turn it inside out and ruin it beyond repair within roughly five seconds of its ceremonial opening.

Instead of an umbrella, reach straight for a good rain jacket or a large poncho, which can be neatly thrown over a backpack full of camera gear too. In the summer months definitely pack the sleep mask mentioned earlier, and if you’re heading for Lake Mývatn, insect repellent against the annoying tiny midges comes in handy.

The thing you mustn’t forget at home under any circumstances whatsoever (and that holds even if you’re going in the middle of a dark January blizzard) is your swimsuit. Thermal baths are the absolute alpha and omega of the local culture, and warming up in hot water with a view of snow-white hills is the best relaxing feeling in the world after a demanding day in the car.

Bear in mind one crucial thing, though, namely the strict etiquette of the local pools (sundlaug). Before entering the hot water, you must always thoroughly wash with soap completely naked in the separate showers (and yes, that means a proper wash of your armpits, legs, and intimate areas). Icelanders deliberately don’t use as much chemical chlorine in the water and they take this strict hygiene incredibly seriously.

A quick shower with your swimsuit already on is considered a huge, rude faux pas here, often loudly criticised by the locals. Before each morning’s drive out of the hotel, don’t forget to check the current road conditions at umferdin.is and the safety wind warnings on the official rescue services website safetravel.is.

Where to eat in Iceland: a guide not just for vegetarians

The food in the island’s small cafés and restaurants is absolutely delicious, though you should be prepared in advance for it to reliably give your travel wallet an airing a touch more than similar places in the rest of Europe. Lukáš and I are both vegetarians, so a lot of the classic, celebrated fish restaurants on the coast passed us by completely on our roadtrip.

The locals love to offer traditional meaty specialities in the guidebooks, like fermented shark Hákarl (which these days is more of a pricey adrenaline-fuelled tourist attraction) or the warming lamb soup Kjötsúpa, which meat eaters rave about for its heartiness after a demanding, frosty day, but we always found something great and hot without meat here without any trouble.

Our absolute favourite during our travels around the south was the amazing tomato farm Friðheimar, cleverly located on the route of the popular Golden Circle, and we recommend booking a table. You sit right inside a warm, glowing greenhouse among hundreds of tall plants laden with ripe tomatoes, and they serve the best creamy tomato soup there with fresh homemade bread.

On top of that, it works on a brilliant “all you can eat” system, so for one fixed price you can keep ladling more until you’re about to burst, which after a cold, windswept morning at the geysers we appreciated enormously, polishing off about three bowls.

If hunger strikes in the afternoon in the small town of Selfoss while travelling along the south coast, we warmly recommend stopping at the wonderfully cosy family-run Kaffi Krús. You step into a little yellow house with a lovely atmosphere, where they make absolutely fantastic vegetarian pizzas in the oven with generous toppings and hearty pasta.

And if you wander the colourful streets of the capital Reykjavík, definitely stop for lunch at the lovely Kaffi Vínyl bistro or treat yourself to a luxurious veggie burger with a hefty portion of chips at the renowned hipster spot Block Burger. Surprisingly, the vegan scene works very well and naturally for us here, and at almost every larger petrol station (even the famous self-service N1 pumps) you can grab a decent hot vegan wrap or a fresh sandwich for the road without much searching. 😉

Where to go next

If you’re busy enthusiastically putting together plans for your island roadtrip, definitely check out our other articles full of detailed tips and specific routes that we’ve prepared for you on the blog.

• Iceland: The Complete Traveller’s Guide – Everything you need to know before you fly, all in one place.
• What Iceland Is Like in October and How Much It Costs – A detailed look at our autumn budget.
• The Most Beautiful Places in Iceland: What You Must See – Our favourite stops with parking tips.
• Where and How to Catch the Northern Lights: Iceland, Finland and Norway – A practical guide to photographing and hunting the aurora.

🚗 Car rental on the road Verified rental cars in Iceland

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