Car Rental in Iceland

We did not rent a car in Iceland (we were on a guided tour), so I can't comment on specific companies. However, driving in Iceland is relatively easy, especially if you stick to the Ring Road (Route 1) and surroundings. In summer, you wouldn't necessarily need a 4x4 unless you intend to drive up through the mountains or leave the main highways. Once outside of Reykjavik, traffic is light. On our next trip, whenever that is, we plan to rent a car so that we can get back to those places we loved and go to new places that were not on our tour. If you've never been there, it is a gorgeous country. Enjoy.

We rented a 4X4 in April 2015 from Sixt. The Sixt reservation Website indicated we'd have a Dacia (or similar vehicle), but they wound up giving us an all-wheel drive Chevrolet crossover, a model I don't think is offered in the USA.. We'd been staying at the Icelandair Hotel Reykjavik Marina (by the harbor, just down the block from the Elding Whale Watching tour dock, the Volcano House museum/theater, and close to the Harpa Hall, the TI, and central Reykjavik, and the Sixt office was just a 5 minute walk from the hotel, so very convenient for us. We stayed in the city for the first few days, arriving from the airport via the Flybus, then took off to see more of the country in our rental.

The highways are wide compared to some places (like Scotland or rural France), in good condition (as compared to pothole-riddled Bulgaria), well-marked, and weren't crowded in April. However, at least in early April, some side roads had mud, snow, and/or ice, so we were glad we paid more (a lot more!) for having 4-wheel drive. Some locals agreed that if you venture anywhere off of the main highway, you're better off not having the cheapest economy car with only 2-wheel drive.

Some advice (which may not be needed in July): there's a joke in Colorado that if you don't like the weather, wait 10 minutes and it will change. That's true - especially in the Colorado mountains, where it can be sunny one moment and raining or snowing the next, any time of year -- the mountains make their own weather. In Iceland, it's more like wait 10 seconds. The added element of having moist ocean air nearby makes Colorado weather seem stable. We walked in Reykjavic and down one block, it was sunny, then snow was blowing sideways (yes, sideways) for the next block, then the snow stopped and it was just overcast the next block. The highway along the south coast had wind speed advisory billboards, and they can close the highways if the wind gets too high (again, maybe not an issue in July?). Twenty meters per second is pretty strong wind.

The other thing: know the emergency phone number, which is 112 (unlike the 911 in the USA). Also know where the jack is in your rental, and how to get it out. We were driving down the road at 8PM, it was still light being so far north, and the road was clear and dry. Suddenly, an approaching VW station wagon became airborne, rolled several times, and landed in the snow off the road to our right. Turns out there was black ice just ahead us. Two people were thrown from the car, but it landed on one of them. We were the first on the scene, and called 112. We (with others who stopped, plus people in the VW who actually had been wearing their seatbelts) got the guy out from under the car, after using 2 jacks and lots of human lifting. The emergency responders showed up a moment later, and helecoptered the guy to the hospital in Reykjavik (the only emergency room in the country) 90 miles away but, sadly, he died. The girl who was face-down on the snow and not moving when we pulled up alongside the car was taken to the hospital and survived. Four-wheel drive doesn't guarantee safety, but it's essential in Iceland, especially if you intend to drive anywhere on the interior backcounty tracks (which weren't even open in April). You may be tempted to take side roads once you're there, even if you think you'll just be sticking to Highway 1.

Our trip was in July and the weather varied from 50º F and rainy to almost 70º F and sunny. Some locations were extremely windy as well. Almost 70º is a major heatwave, by the way. We didn't experience any torrential rain -- only mild showers every two or three days. In July, snow shouldn't be of any concern unless you go up into the mountains.

We rented through Holiday Autos, a European consolidator and had no issues when we went late June. We had a compact and found that apart from one road which was still closed by snow to all traffic that a 4WD was completely unnecessary. The roads were quiet.

Thank you guys so much for all the helpful responses!

Hi there Melissa.
Choose the company you like (hint hint)..lol... but we really just wanted to add that driving off road in Iceland is strictly forbidden. There has been too many incidents where both visitors and Icelanders drive off road and create big wounds in the landscape that might take decades to repair. We wrote a small article about the matter I recommend you read.
Driving off road in Iceland

Hope someone finds it useful!

Safe travels

Team Go Iceland car rental

Melissa,

We will be in Iceland in June. From what I have read, it is a really good idea to spring for the extra insurance on the rental car to cover ash and gravel damages as well as the super cdw. There are fierce dust storms in Iceland that can literally strip the paint off a car and driving on a gravel road it is easy to get a crack in the windshield when another car throws gravel chunks in your path. I have read horror stories so we are springing for the extra insurance. A new paint job for a car or a replacement windshield can cost big bucks and I would rather be safe than sorry.