Car rental in Iceland

slipd

slipd

slipd

Soldato
Joined
26 Feb 2004
Posts
4,846
Location
Hampshire, England.
Hi guys,

I'm looking to rent a car in Iceland when I'm out there for a few days in February. Anyone here with experience?

I've rented cars all around the world but I can honestly say that renting one in Iceland appears to take things to another level :D I think it's all the extras; ash damage, rock damage, level of insurance etc. It's hard to know where to start.

Been looking at deals that claim to offer everything (no excesses, roadside protection etc.), then there are ones that let almost build a level of protection up - but some are failing to mention the level of insurance cover for example. It feels like a minefield compared to hiring a car in France/Italy/South Africa (my 3 most recent hires). They were all from different vendors, some booked in the UK, others on location, but they were all really straightforward. I usually try and go for full cover, just to play it safe.

Thoughts?

Thanks.
 
I think I've used Hertz and Blue car rental (a local company) in Iceland before, and both were fine - no bother at pick up or drop off etc. The car we got from Blue had a crack in the windscreen which we noted down but they didn't seem bothered, and heard nothing more about it when we dropped it off oven though it had grown over the week! I think insurance was comprehensive for both.

We rented from Hertz in winter and were wondering what driving on snowy roads would be like but it came with studded tyres so had no problems at all. The car from Blue was in summer and came with normal tyres.

We went for all the damage waivers just to avoid any potential faff, which is what we usually do. (Possibly a waste of money, but if something were to happen then gives a bit of peace of mind, and less worry about a rental place trying to scam you out of a deposit is the way I see it at least).

I think one thing to be aware of is if you're planning on driving on any of the f-roads then the damage waiver may not apply.

Really enjoyed the scenery and all the different places to go and see, am sure you'll have a great time!
 
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We hired a car in Iceland in 2024. From memory the only thing to bear in mind was that most rental companies do not give you insurance to drive through rivers, which is a necessity to get across some of the f roads. If you want that insurance rent with Blue Car or Lotus.

Otherwise just rent with any of the big name companies.
 
slipd said:
Hi guys,

I'm looking to rent a car in Iceland when I'm out there for a few days in February. Anyone here with experience?

I've rented cars all around the world but I can honestly say that renting one in Iceland appears to take things to another level :D I think it's all the extras; ash damage, rock damage, level of insurance etc. It's hard to know where to start.

Been looking at deals that claim to offer everything (no excesses, roadside protection etc.), then there are ones that let almost build a level of protection up - but some are failing to mention the level of insurance cover for example. It feels like a minefield compared to hiring a car in France/Italy/South Africa (my 3 most recent hires). They were all from different vendors, some booked in the UK, others on location, but they were all really straightforward. I usually try and go for full cover, just to play it safe.

Thoughts?

Thanks.
Click to expand...

Just read up on the Iceland driving. Ie don't stop and park at the side of the road, etc. There's a nice artwork of lots of crashed vehicles on a spike as there's typically very little save space at the sides of the road.

If I was you I'd use the car for the local stuff but take a guided tour.

Currently they're preparing for a big eruption soon. If you don't follow Just Icelandic then you should as he covers Iceland (not just eruptions!):


I did some business there many moons ago, we simply picked up a Hertz but that was before the volcanic activity started and we kept around the Keflavik/Reykjavik area (the customer was the mobile operator).
 
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We used Enterprise in 2024 and had no issues, got an upgrade on arrival which was nice.
Used standard insurance as my Travel insurance covers the hire vehicle costs if needed, have a read of local highway codes and don't go anywhere silly if the vehicle isn't up to it.

Hiring a car is the best way to see Iceland, so much just off the main roads that buses cant get too.
 
Hired one in 2022 - the normal cover tells you not to go off road essentially, and stick to tarmac only. It was a self-charging petrol hybrid, and I had to swap it back as the battery wasn’t charging but that wasn’t an issue.

We took it down to the bottom right corner of the island where diamond beach and the glacier boat tours were and just filled up whenever we saw a petrol station as the perimeter road has some long lonely stretches and you didn’t want to run out of fuel in a car that was getting about 20mpg from memory!

For a country with huge amounts of geothermal energy, I didn’t see that many chargers for EV’s, but maybe I just missed them!

Also of note, the whole country is completely card based when it comes to paying - wherever we were all the parking machines took them and we didn’t use any cash the entire time.
 
GreatAuk said:
I think I've used Hertz and Blue car rental (a local company) in Iceland before, and both were fine - no bother at pick up or drop off etc. The car we got from Blue had a crack in the windscreen which we noted down but they didn't seem bothered, and heard nothing more about it when we dropped it off oven though it had grown over the week! I think insurance was comprehensive for both.

We rented from Hertz in winter and were wondering what driving on snowy roads would be like but it came with studded tyres so had no problems at all. The car from Blue was in summer and came with normal tyres.

We went for all the damage waivers just to avoid any potential faff, which is what we usually do. (Possibly a waste of money, but if something were to happen then gives a bit of peace of mind, and less worry about a rental place trying to scam you out of a deposit is the way I see it at least).

I think one thing to be aware of is if you're planning on driving on any of the f-roads then the damage waiver may not apply.

Really enjoyed the scenery and all the different places to go and see, am sure you'll have a great time!
Click to expand...

Thanks! I've checked out both of those - will still shop around but after all the research I've done over the weekend (so far...), I now feel a bit better informed :D

I'll definitely be going for max. cover and I don't want any agro... a lad that I used to work with went to Iceland a few years ago, post-Covid and got caught in snow. Had to pay £300 or so for a roadside callout. He's a cheapskate (his words), so he only the very basic rental/cover. I can't see myself staying, not intentionally at least, from the main roads.

weringo said:
We hired a car in Iceland in 2024. From memory the only thing to bear in mind was that most rental companies do not give you insurance to drive through rivers, which is a necessity to get across some of the f roads. If you want that insurance rent with Blue Car or Lotus.

Otherwise just rent with any of the big name companies.
Click to expand...

Thanks - I'm currently looking at full cover offerings from Skyscanner/Kayak etc. Full cover for 4x days is just under £200, so not too bad. I won't be looking to drive through any rivers if I can help it :D

NickK said:
Just read up on the Iceland driving. Ie don't stop and park at the side of the road, etc. There's a nice artwork of lots of crashed vehicles on a spike as there's typically very little save space at the sides of the road.

If I was you I'd use the car for the local stuff but take a guided tour.

Currently they're preparing for a big eruption soon. If you don't follow Just Icelandic then you should as he covers Iceland (not just eruptions!):


I did some business there many moons ago, we simply picked up a Hertz but that was before the volcanic activity started and we kept around the Keflavik/Reykjavik area (the customer was the mobile operator).
Click to expand...

Yep, looking to go with guided tours where possible. Driving will be mainly local, to and from the accommodation etc.

JRJ said:
We used Enterprise in 2024 and had no issues, got an upgrade on arrival which was nice.
Used standard insurance as my Travel insurance covers the hire vehicle costs if needed, have a read of local highway codes and don't go anywhere silly if the vehicle isn't up to it.

Hiring a car is the best way to see Iceland, so much just off the main roads that buses cant get too.
Click to expand...

Thanks! Enterprise offer a great base price at the moment, but Hetz/Avis appear to give a better final price with all the insurances etc.

Quartz said:
Why are you going to Iceland in February?
Click to expand...

Girlfriend's idea. And it works for both our work schedules. Why? Is a bad time to go or something :(

Penfold101 said:
Hired one in 2022 - the normal cover tells you not to go off road essentially, and stick to tarmac only. It was a self-charging petrol hybrid, and I had to swap it back as the battery wasn’t charging but that wasn’t an issue.

We took it down to the bottom right corner of the island where diamond beach and the glacier boat tours were and just filled up whenever we saw a petrol station as the perimeter road has some long lonely stretches and you didn’t want to run out of fuel in a car that was getting about 20mpg from memory!

For a country with huge amounts of geothermal energy, I didn’t see that many chargers for EV’s, but maybe I just missed them!

Also of note, the whole country is completely card based when it comes to paying - wherever we were all the parking machines took them and we didn’t use any cash the entire time.
Click to expand...

Thanks - it's just the two of us. Nothing more than a compact required I don't think. Not planning on doing any off-roading.
 
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As it's winter - expect little light.. if you go in summer take eye mask for sleeping.. there's very little dark time. I ended up having to move the bed to the bathroom because it was the only way to block the light out!
 
I've used a big brand, as well as blue rental.

With the big brand, I got a bigger/nicer car than I expected. And with blue rental, technically the same band but got a Dacia Sandero instead of a golf/clio. However I was pleasantly surprised the Sandero held out in our 10 day road trip.

Just don't go off-road unless you have the vehicle for it. I've done two road trips there, and even outside of snow/ice areas, some roads are basically tracks. That was when I was petrified our Sandero's tyres would pop or the suspension would cave in

From memory I did take some of the more specialist damage insurance but think that was included in some of the rental prices. I took excess insurance cover separately though.
 
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In February all of the F roads are closed, so you won’t be doing any fording - they stay closed until the summer.

I’ve been a bunch of times, car hire is expensive - just take the standard precautions and photograph everything before and after.

The best experience I’ve had of Iceland has been hiring camper vans, and this will 100% be how I do Iceland from now on.
 
To be fair, being there for a few days can't imagine you'll be doing much off roading or F road adventures to tick the big bits off the list :)

I go every year but have family out there so tend to borrow a car not being used when I'm there (in Iceland it's the car/owner that's insured not the driver) definitely don't need a 4x4 to do the tourist hot spots, but if doing the full ring road with adventures off it then it definitely helps :) Actually planning on taking my own car out there at some point (driving via Denmark then ferry from there) which will be a whole 'nother adventure :D

As another poster mentioned, noises about another eruption, likely again around the Grindavik / Blue Lagoon sort of area.

Feb is fine, as some have mentioned shorter days so you have to get going in the morning (your daylight in Feb will be somewhere around 10:30-5ish off the top of my head) but you get the picturesque snowy landscapes etc. Do watch out for changing weather though, in Iceland weather can change so quickly and you can experience all 4 seasons in a single hour let alone day so definitely bring a waterproof even if it looks OK out!
 
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I've had a lot of trips out there, last one in Summer 2024 was for a month. I hire a 4x4 camper (VW Caddy van) and do all my bookings >6months in advance as some (local) hire firms offer discounts if booking well in advance.

In winter roads can be sketchy, anything not paved even sketchier. www.road.is and www.weather.is are essential.
 
I remember once, trying to rent a car in Iceland. They argued with me saying they only sold food products!!!
 
We went in February 2022 - Looking back we did just book through Avis/Budget - which the car was at the terminal for collection, then return was a few minutes away from the airport but they gave you a lift to the terminal.

If your going in February, would recommened a 4x4 if you can - i suspect it will be winterised by default but essential to make sure it was. We had a Dacia Duster with studded snow tyres, which was fantastic for what we ended up doing.

When we headed out on the golden triangle we barely saw tarmac and the car drove practically like it was on tarmac, its a very strange feeling! When we picked up the car, the entire carpark was an ice sheet and even getting to the car was a struggle enough so was very impressive to just drive out like your on normal road surfaces.

One thing I would keep half an eye on that time of year is road conditions and bad weather coming in - we were within about 30 mins of getting in a very bad situation when a larger then predicuted snow/high wind storm came in and they closed pretty much all roads back to Reykjavík - even Road 1 / 36 / 39 / 41 / 427 when we were on the way back from the golden circle and we would have been stuck not being able to get to the hotel until next day (could be a very expensive mistake in Iceland!!)
 
I've hired twice in Iceland. Both times went well. I used local companies instead of the big names and the service was excellent. Last time I used https://lagooncarrental.is/ We got a Rav4 as we were driving some F roads but we had no river crossings.

I used a separate company for car hire excess insurance. www.insurance4carhire.com You get a years cover for £47 so much cheaper.
 
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