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Touring Iceland in a Motorhome for 15 days

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We are in the planning stages of an Iceland adventure next year leaving the US June 22nd and returning July 7th. We are both Senior Seniors (very healthy seniors). Were thinking of renting a totally self contained motorhome with beds, bathroom, shower, and kitchen versus a 4wd car and having set dates with hotel rooms. We are not interested in a small van just for sleeping. We have a lot of years experience with motorhomes having owned a few over the last 30 years. Our thinking is to be able to take extra time when needed or change our itinerary if needed and have the convenience of the motorhome with us at all times. One problem that I have been reading about is the quality of the Motorhomes available it seems to be pretty poor with horror stories about various situations. Wanted to get your thoughts on any past experience good or bad. Are there known problems maneuvering an RV around the Ring Road, or Golden Circle, problems parking at various sights, problems parking in general? In my reading it looks as though in the summer months there seems to be no problems with campground availability and no need to make prior reservations at campgrounds.

Appreciate any input.

Posted by
834 posts

There are people on the TripAdvisor Iceland forum who can share their personal experience with you, including recommending companies they've rented from.

Posted by
10556 posts

mikliz97 on this forum has traveled extensively to Iceland and she is very familiar with the climate and the roads and has rented all kinds of vehicles there. I'm sure she will probably see this and step in to give you some advice. But I know there are a lot of issues with weather and roads that might be cause some difficulty renting a motorhome. But I am NOT an expert by any means, so I will let her hopefully give you some advice.

Posted by
3587 posts

Mardee--You are so kind:)

dbtravels2--The biggest problem will be the size of a motorhome and trying to drive it on the narrow Icelandic roads. The roads there are narrow and there really are no shoulders and the roads are built up, so if you get a burst of wind or are not paying attention, it is very easy to go down an embankment and roll. Even this past August when we were in a regular Dacia Duster, a gust of wind caught us and thankfully my husband was able to keep us on the road. Motorhomes are not the best way to go, IMO. I would do a camper van, which we have done, and just get a decent size one so you are not cramped. We used Happy Campers and were very pleased. We had the Happy 4x4 which was nice to have the extra room and we were able to leave the bed down the entire time and still have room to maneuver. We had a sink, small refrigerator, and a propane cooktop along with a gas grill so we were easily able to cook decent meals ourselves. The campgrounds have toilets and showers, so it is not a big deal, and they have communal kitchens if you don't want to cook in the camper. Parking can be difficult with anything larger than a camper at some places as well. You are correct, the campgrounds do not even take reservations, except one that I know of near Reykjavik, but almost all the rest you just show up and pay. The other issue with motorhomes is that they sit higher, so the wind affects them more than other vehicles. The time we had a camper, we did not have to hunker down, but we did because it was just not safe to be driving anything higher clearance. A motorhome would be affected even more. You can do a Google search for vehicles blown off the roads in Iceland and you will see how bad it can be. We have seen a few after the fact, and really hoped the people had the full insurance, but more so were hoping they were ok.

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