There’s no getting around it: Iceland is the most expensive country in the world. But travelling Iceland in a campervan can not only save your budget, but it can also give you the freedom to explore this beautiful country at your own pace! Joining me for this trip were two buddies who share my passion for travel and adventure, Jayson and Matt. After a little bit of research we found out that not only is travelling Iceland by campervan the cheapest way to go, we’d be saving even more money by splitting that cost three ways! For us, it was a no-brainer.
Exclusive Custom Iceland Map!
When to do in Iceland
Deciding when to visit the Land of Fire and Ice can be a daunting task because there’s really no bad time to go. But it’s important to ask yourself what you want from your trip. Choosing what’s most important to you in your trip will help make deciding when to go much easier.
- Best Weather: The best time to go to Iceland if you want to enjoy (relatively) moderate temperatures is May through August. During this time you can expect temperatures to be around 55°F – 60°F (13°C-15°C). In these months you can expect 23-24 hours of daylight, and during the weeks surrounding the Summer Solstice (June 21) you can even experience “Midnight Sun”. Be aware this time of the year also coincides with Iceland’s High Season, so expect prices to be around their highest.
- Best Time to See the Northern Lights: Iceland is the perfect place to see the famous aurora borealis, also known as the Northern Lights, because of it’s remoteness and lack of light pollution. If seeing this spectacular phenomenon is at the top of your list, you’ll have the best chance of seeing them if you visit during Iceland’s darkest months between late September and late March. Because of the lack of sunlight, these months are also the most frigid in Iceland. So be sure to pack accordingly.
- Best Time to Skip the Crowds: If you want to experience Iceland’s natural beauty all to yourself, well, good luck with that. But the best way to avoid the biggest crowds is to plan your trip between the two major seasons. The Shoulder Seasons of April and May or September and October will offer smaller crowds, but you’ll still have plenty of daylight hours to get some amazing sightseeing done.
What to pack for Iceland
No matter when you decide to go, choosing the right clothes that you can layer will be your best bet. For our trip, since there were three of us travelling in a campervan, packing light was a must. Below is a very basic list of the absolute necessities.
- Thermal underwear – Depending on what time of year you’re going, you can probably get away with just one set.
- Wool Socks – These do take up a lot of room, but in a pinch you can get at least 2 uses out of each pair.
- Underwear – If you’re backpacking like we were, it’s totally fine to get at least 2 uses out of each pair.
- Hiking Boots – The terrain in Iceland can vary widely, so these will be your everyday footwear.
- Flip Flops – These come in handy when getting in and out of hot springs.
- Base layer tops – These are obviously a staple, but take less than you think you’ll need. Save that space!
- Water resistant/wool lined pants – For me, I lived in these. For longer trips, pack 2 pairs, but for a short trip, one is fine.
- Jeans – Honestly, you might be able to skip these. But I liked having the option to mix it up if it wasn’t terribly cold.
- Packable Down Jacket – These provide great insulation and they pack down to nearly nothing.
- Wind/Waterproof Jacket – Since you’ll have your down jacket, I recommend getting a shell style jacket to save space.
- Hat, Scarf, Gloves – Don’t forget these. Iceland is windy, so even when it’s not freezing, you’ll still want the protection.
- Camera – I brought my Nikon DSLR, but honestly, your phone will do the trick just fine.
- Tripod or selfie stick – You want to be IN your photos right?!
- Toiletries – Remember to bring all the necessities. (Toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo, conditioner, body wash, etc.)
The Campervan
There are tons of Campervan rental companies out there. They all offer pretty much the same things at pretty much the same price point. We ended up going with Camper Rental Iceland. For 10 days, we paid a total of roughly $1400 for the rental for the three of us. Since we drove literally all around the country, we spent an additional $400 in gas. This might sound like a lot (and it is), but split between 3 people that’s really only about $600 per person, and that covered all of our transportation and most of our accommodations. If you’re interested, below are the details of what you can expect when you rent a campervan.
- VW Transporter 4×4 Automatic Transmission
- Fuel Economy – 28 M.P.G. (8.2l x 100km)
- Dimensions of sleeping area: 59in x 75in (150cm x 190cm)
- Camping set – 1 table, plus 1 chair per passenger, butane stove top with 1 tank of butane
- On-board Webasto heating system to heat sleeping area when the vehicle is parked
- Mobile 5Gb WiFi – This was awesome! We would actually just put it in our pockets even when we left the van.
Photos Curtesy: https://www.camperrentaliceland.com/
What to do in Iceland
The easiest way to plan your trip to Iceland is to kind of break it up into regions, then decide which regions you’d like to visit. You could easily spend months exploring all that Iceland has to offer. But since our trip was 10 days (I’ll say 9 full days though), I’ll be breaking up my recommendations by day based on the color coded interactive map that I included above. To follow along just sign in and subscribe with your email address to access the map.
Day 1 - Picking up your Campervan and starting your Iceland adventure
When you book your campervan with Camper Rental Iceland, they’ll give you the option to schedule an airport pick-up. I highly recommend doing this because it’s free, and they’ll be waiting for you with your name on a sign when you arrive. After they take you to their office and you’ll sign the paperwork, check out the vehicle, then be on your way. From there, you’re all set to begin your Iceland adventure.
We flew in from Atlanta by way of Frankfurt, so our journey was pretty grueling. But once we were on our way, we definitely got our second wind. We were also pretty hungry, so we headed into Iceland’s capitol of Reykjavik to form our plan of action and grab a hotdog from the famous Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur. Pro-tip: Get a hot dog from here. It really does live up to the hype.
After our bellies were full we were off to our first stop: Þingvellir National Park. It definitely took us longer than expected to get there, because every few minutes we would pull over to take pictures. But once we arrived, we were more than pleased with the first location on our itinerary. Located less than an hour away from Reykjavik, Þingvellir National Park has lots of options for hiking, horseback riding, fishing, and even scuba diving to keep visitors of all ages and fitness levels happy. We could have easily spent all day here, but our time in Iceland was short. So after a couple of hours we headed out for our next stop.
The article you shared seems quite interesting, would love to try these at least once with friends as they give you the best adventure experience, as it is we friends were planning a trip maybe this would be the place and type we could visit and see how well it goes, thank you for sharing such great article with us.
Iceland has been on my bucket list for a long time! I never thought about using a campervan there, what a great idea!! What was your favorite part of Iceland?
Oooh that’s a tough one! There was so much that I loved about Iceland. I think one of the coolest things was just how other-worldly so much of it was. The lava fields, the massive waterfalls, the seaside cliffs, the diamond beaches. It was just jaw dropping.
I never would have considered hiring a campervan in such a cold place! Sounds like it would have been a blast though 🙂
Your method of telling everything in this article is genuinely pleasant, all can without difficulty know it, Thanks a lot. Chelsy Sayer Lorolla
This piece of writing is truly a good one it assists new internet visitors, who are wishing for blogging. Estelle Courtnay Heigl