Practical Tips for Your Summer Iceland Trip

Planning makes your summer trip to Iceland even smoother. In this post, we will offer you some practical tips for your summer trip to Iceland to help you save money and plan a smooth trip.

If you are visiting Reykjavik after you land in Keflavik, please make arrangements for getting to Reykjavik ahead of time. Reykjavik is a 45-minute to one-hour ride from the International Airport.

Do your research by comparing options. If you choose not to drive, you will need to take the bus or a taxi. The bus will cost you around $34 per person one way or $61 per person round trip. A taxi will run you about $185 + $4 for the driver, one way. You could also hire a private ride, which will run you around $165, one way. Here’s a handy page from Keflavik’s airport to help you decide.

If you plan to rent a car, that’s another topic entirely. See Renting a Car, below. But if you are staying in Reykjavik the whole time or staying in Reykjavik mostly and taking tour buses for day trips, you probably can get by without a car. See our post about Reykjavik.

How to Use Your Phone to Help You Travel

If you already know how to use your phone while traveling, feel free to skip this section. It’s written for the travelers we met in Iceland who had no idea how to use their phones, particularly to get themselves from one point to another.

There are a lot of phone tips out there for people who travel, and that’s great, but the people we ran into didn’t know the basics of their phones. I think this is critical, especially for not getting lost! The single most important thing you need to know how to operate on your phone is a maps application. Either Google Maps or Apple Maps needs to be in your wheelhouse. I personally think Google Maps is better and more accurate. Rick likes to use Apple Maps because it pairs with his watch to give direction-by-direction updates that he can hear through his hearing aids.

The quick video tutorial below will help you not get lost!

Packing Essentials for Icelandic Summer Weather

Icelandic summer weather can change fast. Layering your clothes is key. Bring a waterproof and windproof jacket. Sturdy, waterproof hiking boots are also a must, even for city walks. Don’t forget sun protection, like sunscreen and sunglasses. Even on cool days, the sun can be strong due to the long daylight hours.

Clothing for the daytime

Before we went recently, I read all the things about what to pack. I read that it rarely gets to 60°F. Welp, while we were there, it was in the 70s in the east. I don’t like to get cold. So I took multiple outfits consisting of fleece-lined hiking pants, a thermal long-sleeved top, and a sweater with merino wool socks and hiking boots. I had a warm sweater that went under my rain jacket. When those 70+ degree days hit, I was warm. Thankfully, three of the top layers could come off. But then the volcano erupted, and days turned cold again. So, you just never know about the weather, especially in Iceland.

Rick recommends Columbia hiking pants because they’re lightweight and dirt can be easily brushed off, and they’re easily handwashed. The “non-convertible” version is the one you can’t zip off. While the convertible version can be zipped off into shorts. They also have a wide variety of sizes. Both versions have cargo-type pockets and seem dressier. You can put liners on underneath them for warmth. He also took layers: short-sleeved shirts, long-sleeved sweatshirts, and a waterproof windbreaker. He also wore merino wool socks and hiking boots.

Don’t forget a hat either. It can be windy and wet. Forget about making your hair do what you want it to do. Just put the hat on.

Clothing for the nighttime

Another thing to bring is something light to sleep in. Iceland heats its rooms using geothermal heat. They cannot turn it off. That’s why you’ll see smaller windows to the side of larger windows in all of the buildings. Those smaller ones are meant to stay open, to let the cooler air in. Consequently, in Reykjavik, you’ll be sleeping with your smaller windows open when the garbage trucks come around at 4 AM and 6 AM. I would suggest earplugs. And, because of the near-constant light, you also should bring sleep masks. Most places have blackout curtains. We found that some blackout curtains don’t stretch all the way across the windows. And some places don’t have them at all. Here are some window examples.

Getting Around Reykjavik and Beyond

Reykjavik’s city center is very walkable. You can easily explore many attractions on foot. For longer distances, public buses are available. If you plan day trips outside the city, consider renting a car. This gives you freedom to explore at your own pace. Many tour operators also offer guided excursions to popular sites. But you will find that with tour buses come crowds. And if you want to explore the rest of Iceland on your own, you’ll need a car.

Renting a Car

Which car rental agency to rent from depends on where you want to go. One of the places we went involved crossing a river without a bridge. These types of roads are known as F-roads in Iceland. I would highly recommend getting a vehicle that is F-road capable. I would also recommend getting the insurance that covers you for river crossings and water damage. Yes, this will cost a lot. But if you have it, you can go pretty much anywhere in Iceland.

We rented a Jeep Renegade from Lotus Car Rental. Don’t rent a Jeep Renegade. Upon returning that bloody thing to the company, the person at the desk told us he once had to try three different Jeep Renegades before he found one that could get him out of where he was. Their electrical systems are terrible! The people at Lotus were okay, although I wish I had known about the Jeep Renegade issues ahead of time. He recommended getting a Land Cruiser instead next time. That would be even more expensive, but probably worth the diminished anxiety from thinking that an airbag was about to explode in my face.

This one item got us everywhere we needed to go, but it accounted for almost 1/3 of the amount of money we spent on the entire trip. But if you don’t plan to cross rivers on F-roads, rent from your favorite car rental agency. Just book it well in advance. They sometimes sell out in the summer, and you will find better deals if you book way ahead, like at least six months in advance.

Driving in Iceland

It is illegal to drive without your headlights on. Why? Because it can be deadly if you don’t have your lights on. Your headlights are used to alert oncoming drivers to your presence when you arrive at a one-lane bridge. You should pull to the right, stop and flash your lights (high beams) to signal the other car to come across. This is especially true if the other side has a backup of cars.

There are no stop signs in Iceland. Well, not none, but very, very few. We saw a total of five and three of them were at the Keflavík airport. All of them were inappropriately placed. Larger cities have stoplights, roundabouts, and yield signs. Most rural places just have yield signs.

Other Drivers

Car rental agencies will rent cars to anyone, even those not capable of driving or understanding the rules. There are many tailgaters. Beware. There are also people that can’t seem to figure out what speed to go and just guess, even though the speed limits are posted frequently. It’s expected for you to pass cars going too slowly. Only do this if you can see that there is no on-coming traffic and if you’re sure you can keep a steady speed going faster than the car(s) you’ve passed.

If you have a slow car or van or RV in front of you, they will sometimes indicate that it’s okay to pass by putting on their left turn indicator. They are literally telling you, “please pass me.”

Obstructions in the Road

There are lots of things to gawk at while driving in Iceland. Be aware of oncoming traffic that veers into your lane. Also, beware of people who stop to take pictures in the middle of the road. If you find yourself inclined to stop, please pull over to a safe turnout. Also, be aware of animals that decide to run into or try to cross the highway. Some of the sheep run the other direction when traffic disturbs their breakfast. Others are obstinate and take the opportunity to block your progress. Finally, if a herd of horses runs toward your car in your path, stop your car and let them pass. Yes, all of these things happened to us.

Car rental agencies will also try to convince you not to speed, telling you, “It’s easy to get speeding tickets due to frequently placed speed cameras.” There are some cameras, true, but we saw a total of five, and we drove the entire Ring Road. A sign indicating the camera’s presence always precedes the cameras. Just don’t go too fast for the conditions.

Road Conditions and Tunnels

In some cases, the posted speed limits are way too high for the conditions. You should not drive 80 kph on gravel, pothole-filled roads, even though the posted limit is 80 kph. If you’re not comfortable with the terrain, go slower, but also pull over to the right to let others pass if you find yourself impeding traffic.

Tunnel etiquette: There are 14 tunnels in Iceland, many of which have dual lanes, with one lane running in each direction. If you encounter a single-lane tunnel where the M signs are only on your right, you are responsible for pulling into the M turnouts when you see headlights headed toward you. If you have two or more cars traveling in the same direction as you in front of you, it’s a good idea to leave enough space between you and those cars so that you will have a M turnout to get into. These turnouts are short. At most three cars could fit, and that’s tight. Avoid the headache and leave room in front of you.

The roads near Reykjavik, in the south, north, and east, are mostly adequate for the traffic. The roads in the Westfjords are wholly inadequate. Many times, you will be on a gravel road for 25+ km. They do appear to be trying to rectify this, as we saw a lot of construction going on or being prepped. Maybe 2026 will look different. In the meantime, plan for long drives.

Apps to Help Know About Hazards

Before you leave for your trip, download SafeTravel.is. This app will tell you about any dangers you might encounter either at the site you plan to visit or along the way to the site you plan to visit.

And, while we’re on the app topic, another useful app is 112 Iceland. (112 is Iceland’s version of the US’s 911.) It will send your location via text message to a 112 operator. So if you are out and about in the wilderness and you fall, for example, you can get help by using the 112 Iceland app.

Parking and the Parka App

And, speaking of apps, one of the first things our car rental company advised us to do was to watch for signs indicating where to pay the parking fee. Most parking lots charge a fee. Some record your entry into the parking lot with a video camera, and if you don’t pay the fee, they send the rental car agency a bill the next day, and that includes an administration fee. On this front, the rental car agency did not lie.

Some of the parking lots display a sign where you scan the code to get to the place where you need to pay the fee. Some, though not all, use an app called Parka. With Parka, you can pay a flat monthly fee, which saves you from paying a transaction fee for every parking lot that uses Parka. Of course, you still need to pay the parking fee even if you use the Parka app and pay the monthly flat fee, vs. paying the transaction fee.

Parka Monthly Fee vs Transaction Fee

If you’re going around the Ring Road and staying two to three weeks, it may make sense to pay the monthly flat fee instead of the transaction fee. But to check yourself whether the monthly fee is justified, determine how many times you will use Parka during your stay. (Here’s a handy post on Reddit about all the lots that use Parka.) If you’ll be going to more than 5, it makes sense to pay the monthly fee. Just cancel the subscription once you leave Iceland or when you’re done parking in Parka lots.

If the lot doesn’t use Parka, you still need to pay the fee. If you don’t, you will find out how much you owe (including the dreaded administration fees) once you turn the car in. Lotus staff told us of people who owed thousands of krona when they returned because they didn’t pay any parking fees.

We missed one parking lot, and I’m guessing it was because there were so many buses in the lot, we couldn’t find the sign. That was at Selljalandsfoss. We ended up paying triple the cost of the parking fee because of the added administration fees.

Budgeting for Your Summer Trip

Iceland can be an expensive destination. Still, there are ways to save money.

Where to Stay

Look for guesthouses or apartments with a kitchen to cook some meals. Instead of staying in the city centre, you can stay farther out, but still within walking distance. When I booked our stays, I looked for places that provided breakfast. This helped us start the day with full stomachs, and we could eat snacks or sandwiches along our routes for lunch, and eat a salad or something light for dinner.

Rick asked me to add a note about the breakfasts we had during our stays. So, in case you’re thinking Best Western’s free breakfast, that is not what I’m talking about. All of the places we stayed had exceptional breakfasts. There were fresh fruits and vegetables, a wide assortment of meats and cheeses, many had fish or shrimp, and most had eggs. For the regional posts in this series, I have included photos of our stay’s breakfast options.

To book our stays, I use booking.com. I like it because they list all kinds of places to stay: houses, apartments, B&Bs, hotels, you name it. And when you book your stays, you can see everything in one place.

Where to Find Laundry Services

If you are staying a couple of weeks or more, you will want to find places that have laundry facilities or can send out your laundry. And, if you stay at a place that provides laundry services, you also need to arrive early enough to drop off your clothes and stay long enough for them to return your clothes to you. If you don’t have time to stay long enough for the place to wash your clothes, you may be limited to hand washing some clothing.

Where to Eat

If you want to eat out, cities offer several options. In Reykjavik, food halls have more affordable eating options than sit-down restaurants. Street food and hot dog stands can also be budget-friendly. You can find prepackaged salads and sandwiches in grocery stores. Except for food halls, we found similar budget options to what Reykjavik offered in most of the other cities we visited.

Where to Shop

I read many things about where to shop in Iceland for groceries. Where we could, we went to Krónans. These seemed to be the best-stocked stores. The one thing we had the hardest time finding was ice. Ironic, eh? We brought a soft-sided cooler, thinking we’d be able to keep things cold in it while we were on the road. At one point, when we couldn’t find ice in stores, we picked up a chunk of ice from Diamond Beach. That thing lasted for three days.

What to Do

In general, walking and hiking are going to be low-cost ways to see the sights. But each region offers different things to see.

For more on what to do, I will tell you about specific budget-friendly things to do in each region we cover. You can find all of our posts on Iceland by going to our series on Iceland.