Iceland wild camping?
- Thread starter Jacana851
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CampersIceland
Guest
A good question. I really have no idea how people can find the owners except ask at for example gas station. Not sure about signs either. The new laws aren't exactly detailed! Sorry for not having more information!
CampersIceland
Guest
Ferry to Iceland
Hey there. You can take a ferry from Denmark that goes to Iceland. It also stops in Faroe islands which is a big plus!
Hey there. You can take a ferry from Denmark that goes to Iceland. It also stops in Faroe islands which is a big plus!
Morphology
Full Member
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I'm just back from a 10-Day Solo trip to Iceland, and thought some might be interested in the costs etc.
In partial answer to my earlier question about where you can wildcamp, the Geysir motorhome rental guy said "you can stay anywhere as long as you are more than 100m form another building", though I don't think you could take that as being the letter of the law.
Most of the better-known attractions had 'No Overnight Camping' signs, and there were signs on entry to all of the national parks saying no Overnight camping except in designated camp sites. However there are loads of laybys, harbours etc where I'd feeel completely happy wildcamping.
As far as I know, and judging by comments in theis thread, the only way I could have got there with my own 'van would have been ferry via Denmark. That actually might have been cheaper than flying and renting a van, but would have taken longer and, as I still currently have a day job, time off is difficult.
So, I flew Gatwick - Reykjavik with Easyjet (leaving my car at Gatwick), and rented a van from motorhome.is I'm still slightly unsure what part they play in the process, but I *think* they are just a booking agent, as closer to my departure time they passed on details of where I should collect the Motorhome, which was from the Geysir car rental company. [Edit: it looks like motorhome.is is Geysir's dedicated motorhome rental website, rather than an agency]
Perhaps I was stung a bit, but Geysir were great, I was happy with the motorhome, and I bought all the additional insurances (Collision Damage waiver, Gravel protection etc).
I'm used to driving a 7m motorhome in the UK, so I went for a 'proper' Motorhome - there are loads of kids circuiting Iceland in what are essentially just Nissan NV200 vans with a bed in the back, a porta-potti, and a camping stove but I'm afraid that's not for me - you get used to being able to stand up, having a shower, heating, decent fridge & cooking facilities etc.
The van I ended up with was a Plasy H63 - coachbuilt on a Citroen chassis. 6-Speed manual, Diesel, about 6.3m long, 100 litre Water & Waste tanks. Although it was billed as a 3-Berth, you could have got 4 in it as it has 4 front-facing belted seats, and a drop-down bed in the lounge that could have slept 2 in addition to the fixed double at the back.
fairly conventional layout - Fixed cross-ways bed at the back, 3-burner stove, sink, low-level fridge, toilet & shower, with separate door for the shower. Front seats both swivelled round. It has a pretty large garage, which could have held bikes, tables & chairs etc., but was a bit wasted on me as I didn't rent any of those.
It had Truma heating, but it appeared to be gas-only. It didn't give me the option to use EHU on the one occasion I had mains hook-up.
It only had a single 10Kg LPG bottle so if it ran out in the middle of the night you'd be without cooking / heating until you bought a replacement. These seemed to be available at every petrol station but, rather than take the risk, I replaced mine before it completely ran out.
I was travelling in the last week of April / First week in May, which is before the main tourist season kicks off. I chose this time deliberately - I wanted some hours of darkness as I am more interested in the Northern Lights than the Midnight Sun, the Puffins and Whales should hopefully have already arrived for the summer, not too many tourists. The risks were that winter wasn't completely finished.
The only plan I had was that I'd quite like to be able to get all the way round Iceland on the N1 ring road which, according to Google should be about 800 miles - I felt that was easily do-able on a 10-day trip and Easyjet had flights on a Sunday & Wednesday so, out Sunday 23rd April, back a week the following Wednesday (3rd May). This also took in the UK May bank holiday, which saved me a day's annual leave.
Some assorted facts & observations:
- The scenery is pretty stunning
- I actually drove 1,600 miles. Not quite sure how that happened. I definitely didn't go round the N1 twice, but I did detour off it quite a bit
- I only stayed 2 nights on paid campsites
- A number (though by no means all) of garages have chemical toilet disposal points, gas bottle exchange, free water.
- A lot of the more popular sights have 'No Overnight Parking' signs in their car parks
- Some of the National parks have 'No camping except on designated campsites' signs as you enter them.
- There are still lots of rural laybys, picnic areas etc, with no visible restrictions and where I felt very happy to stay the night
- I stayed two nights on a campsites that hadn't yet opened for the summer. All the water / Showers etc., were off/locked, but they were a convenient stopover
- I ate mainly in the van, and only had a couple of meals out
- There are sections of the N1 in the east that are gravel, rather than tarmac
- A lot of the roads out to the rural communities are gravel, and often have a lot of potholes, which made slow going.
- At this time of the year, the F-roads into the interior are all still closed, but I believe I wouldn't have been permitted to take the van onto those, as they are 4x4 only, often cross fords etc.
- I saw the Northern Lights, Puffins and Whales which were the big-3 I hoped to see
- It was cold and very very windy. Max daytime temp was around 9C and there were days when the wind gusts were over 20 meters a second, which made driving difficult, though I only had 3 wet days - the rest were cold but clear.
- Mobile 3G data coverage was widespread and I was never knowingly out of signal. I just used roaming data on my normal O2 mobile contract (£1.66 per day), and used my phone as a hotspot when I wanted to access the Internet on my tablet. A lot of restaurants / campsites etc. have free wi fi.
- I was running a tracker on my phone so that friends / family could keep track of my progress. This posted live location updates to a Spotwalla map (see screenshot).
- The weather and road condition websites (www.road.is and en.vedur.is) are excellent and an invaluable resource
- I visited 4 geothermal pools. Two of which had paid entry, and one of which I was the only person there. I did NOT go to the Blue Lagoon
- The best place to buy alcohol is the Airport duty free on your way into Iceland
- Alcohol can only be bought in the government-run Vinbudin stores, which are scattered around the country, but which only open during certain fairly restricted hours.
The van came with a Garmin sat-nav, but I didn't use it. Instead I used Osmand+ on an 8" tablet, which is what I use in my own van. I had spent time before I went adding POIs for things I'd really like to visit, some nice-looking possible night spots etc., then Osmand+ really comes into its own when you want to find the next nearest petrol station / supermarket / campsite / government liquor store etc., absolutely invaluable and never put a foot wrong.
When I arrived in Iceland, sections of the N1 were still closed in the North East due to snow, though the weather forecast was good, so I set off round anyway and, sure enough, they were open by the time I got to those sections.
I sort-of immersed myself in Icelandic before I went:
- I did an 18-Hour audio course in Icelandic
- I read some of the Sagas
- I read translations of some modern & some classic Icelandic literature
- I watched numerous Youtube vids, Icelandic news websites
Having a smattering of Icelandic was nice, and was appreciated by the Icelanders I met though was absolutely not necessary - English is very widely spoken, and I think I spoke more French than Icelandic (there seemed to be more French tourists than any other Nationality, for some reason), but it was great to be able to sit in a cafe / supermarket / listen to spoken-word radio and be able to pick out the odd word here and there.
There were lots of North American tourists - it seems that if you fly from USA / Canada to Europe with Iceland Air, you can stopover for up to 7 Days in Iceland en route at no extra charge, so of course lots do.
Finally, a couple of photos, a map of my trip, and a breakdown of the cost - a slightly eye-watering £3,448.97
Enjoy!
Morph
In partial answer to my earlier question about where you can wildcamp, the Geysir motorhome rental guy said "you can stay anywhere as long as you are more than 100m form another building", though I don't think you could take that as being the letter of the law.
Most of the better-known attractions had 'No Overnight Camping' signs, and there were signs on entry to all of the national parks saying no Overnight camping except in designated camp sites. However there are loads of laybys, harbours etc where I'd feeel completely happy wildcamping.
As far as I know, and judging by comments in theis thread, the only way I could have got there with my own 'van would have been ferry via Denmark. That actually might have been cheaper than flying and renting a van, but would have taken longer and, as I still currently have a day job, time off is difficult.
So, I flew Gatwick - Reykjavik with Easyjet (leaving my car at Gatwick), and rented a van from motorhome.is I'm still slightly unsure what part they play in the process, but I *think* they are just a booking agent, as closer to my departure time they passed on details of where I should collect the Motorhome, which was from the Geysir car rental company. [Edit: it looks like motorhome.is is Geysir's dedicated motorhome rental website, rather than an agency]
Perhaps I was stung a bit, but Geysir were great, I was happy with the motorhome, and I bought all the additional insurances (Collision Damage waiver, Gravel protection etc).
I'm used to driving a 7m motorhome in the UK, so I went for a 'proper' Motorhome - there are loads of kids circuiting Iceland in what are essentially just Nissan NV200 vans with a bed in the back, a porta-potti, and a camping stove but I'm afraid that's not for me - you get used to being able to stand up, having a shower, heating, decent fridge & cooking facilities etc.
The van I ended up with was a Plasy H63 - coachbuilt on a Citroen chassis. 6-Speed manual, Diesel, about 6.3m long, 100 litre Water & Waste tanks. Although it was billed as a 3-Berth, you could have got 4 in it as it has 4 front-facing belted seats, and a drop-down bed in the lounge that could have slept 2 in addition to the fixed double at the back.
fairly conventional layout - Fixed cross-ways bed at the back, 3-burner stove, sink, low-level fridge, toilet & shower, with separate door for the shower. Front seats both swivelled round. It has a pretty large garage, which could have held bikes, tables & chairs etc., but was a bit wasted on me as I didn't rent any of those.
It had Truma heating, but it appeared to be gas-only. It didn't give me the option to use EHU on the one occasion I had mains hook-up.
It only had a single 10Kg LPG bottle so if it ran out in the middle of the night you'd be without cooking / heating until you bought a replacement. These seemed to be available at every petrol station but, rather than take the risk, I replaced mine before it completely ran out.
I was travelling in the last week of April / First week in May, which is before the main tourist season kicks off. I chose this time deliberately - I wanted some hours of darkness as I am more interested in the Northern Lights than the Midnight Sun, the Puffins and Whales should hopefully have already arrived for the summer, not too many tourists. The risks were that winter wasn't completely finished.
The only plan I had was that I'd quite like to be able to get all the way round Iceland on the N1 ring road which, according to Google should be about 800 miles - I felt that was easily do-able on a 10-day trip and Easyjet had flights on a Sunday & Wednesday so, out Sunday 23rd April, back a week the following Wednesday (3rd May). This also took in the UK May bank holiday, which saved me a day's annual leave.
Some assorted facts & observations:
- The scenery is pretty stunning
- I actually drove 1,600 miles. Not quite sure how that happened. I definitely didn't go round the N1 twice, but I did detour off it quite a bit
- I only stayed 2 nights on paid campsites
- A number (though by no means all) of garages have chemical toilet disposal points, gas bottle exchange, free water.
- A lot of the more popular sights have 'No Overnight Parking' signs in their car parks
- Some of the National parks have 'No camping except on designated campsites' signs as you enter them.
- There are still lots of rural laybys, picnic areas etc, with no visible restrictions and where I felt very happy to stay the night
- I stayed two nights on a campsites that hadn't yet opened for the summer. All the water / Showers etc., were off/locked, but they were a convenient stopover
- I ate mainly in the van, and only had a couple of meals out
- There are sections of the N1 in the east that are gravel, rather than tarmac
- A lot of the roads out to the rural communities are gravel, and often have a lot of potholes, which made slow going.
- At this time of the year, the F-roads into the interior are all still closed, but I believe I wouldn't have been permitted to take the van onto those, as they are 4x4 only, often cross fords etc.
- I saw the Northern Lights, Puffins and Whales which were the big-3 I hoped to see
- It was cold and very very windy. Max daytime temp was around 9C and there were days when the wind gusts were over 20 meters a second, which made driving difficult, though I only had 3 wet days - the rest were cold but clear.
- Mobile 3G data coverage was widespread and I was never knowingly out of signal. I just used roaming data on my normal O2 mobile contract (£1.66 per day), and used my phone as a hotspot when I wanted to access the Internet on my tablet. A lot of restaurants / campsites etc. have free wi fi.
- I was running a tracker on my phone so that friends / family could keep track of my progress. This posted live location updates to a Spotwalla map (see screenshot).
- The weather and road condition websites (www.road.is and en.vedur.is) are excellent and an invaluable resource
- I visited 4 geothermal pools. Two of which had paid entry, and one of which I was the only person there. I did NOT go to the Blue Lagoon
- The best place to buy alcohol is the Airport duty free on your way into Iceland
- Alcohol can only be bought in the government-run Vinbudin stores, which are scattered around the country, but which only open during certain fairly restricted hours.
The van came with a Garmin sat-nav, but I didn't use it. Instead I used Osmand+ on an 8" tablet, which is what I use in my own van. I had spent time before I went adding POIs for things I'd really like to visit, some nice-looking possible night spots etc., then Osmand+ really comes into its own when you want to find the next nearest petrol station / supermarket / campsite / government liquor store etc., absolutely invaluable and never put a foot wrong.
When I arrived in Iceland, sections of the N1 were still closed in the North East due to snow, though the weather forecast was good, so I set off round anyway and, sure enough, they were open by the time I got to those sections.
I sort-of immersed myself in Icelandic before I went:
- I did an 18-Hour audio course in Icelandic
- I read some of the Sagas
- I read translations of some modern & some classic Icelandic literature
- I watched numerous Youtube vids, Icelandic news websites
Having a smattering of Icelandic was nice, and was appreciated by the Icelanders I met though was absolutely not necessary - English is very widely spoken, and I think I spoke more French than Icelandic (there seemed to be more French tourists than any other Nationality, for some reason), but it was great to be able to sit in a cafe / supermarket / listen to spoken-word radio and be able to pick out the odd word here and there.
There were lots of North American tourists - it seems that if you fly from USA / Canada to Europe with Iceland Air, you can stopover for up to 7 Days in Iceland en route at no extra charge, so of course lots do.
Finally, a couple of photos, a map of my trip, and a breakdown of the cost - a slightly eye-watering £3,448.97
Enjoy!
Morph
Last edited:
john1974
Guest
I did sort of similar a couple of years ago for my 40th.. I took a group there and hired a 4x4 and we took tents. fascinating place .. would like to return and get off the beaten track in various areas .I did the n1 anticlockwise but crossed an f road back..think f28 but not sure..I did track the route and have that somewhere .. agree that if you have the time and cash Denmark Fareo with your own vehicle. otherwise well worth a 'WOWAIR' flight and a long weekend there