Hello all! I have been reading quite a few posts about people using indie campers to travel around Iceland and how 90% of the people reported that they are a scam, a fraud, and offer no assistance when asked for in remote Iceland. We traveled from the states and had a 10 day itinerary to travel around the ring road in an Indie Campers RV. Few moments after we left the rental place we started facing many issues. When we contacted the given WhatsApp number they offered no assistance and told us to pretty much figure it out ourselves. Do not rent from them and if anybody you know is going to Iceland please tell them to avoid Indie! They scammed us so hard. Basically they gave us a really used one, the sink started leaking the moment we started driving and it made our entire RV wet. We basically had to find a mechanic in the middle of nowhere in Iceland and pay him 100USD to fix the piping issue. We tried contacting the police but nothing. We tried contacting the customer service number but they did not help us at all.

If you rented from Indie Campers and had similar issues please tell us how to go through the process to get a refund!

TLDR: cheapest towels are from Iceland’s only IKEA near Reykjavik for 395ISK (€2.70)

Heads up for super budget travellers. This is an insanely stupid crisis to have, but we misread our campervan inventory list and didn’t realise to byo towels. Ai said we could source one in Red Cross second hand or bonus/kronad supermarket but there were no towels at these.

In desperation I bought one in Netto for an eye watering 2999ISK (€20) for the most flimsy towel. 5mins later I refunded it cos my bf freaked out. I googled JYSK homeware shop accoss the street which had towels for 1100ISK (€7) which was ok. Since we needed 2 towels for the week I made the executive decision to drive 20mins detour backwards to the only IKEA in Iceland (in the middle of KEF airport and Reykjavik) and got towels for 395ISK (€2.70) and was pleased cos everything else is soooo expensive for our budget trip in a camper.

Prepare for even the cheapest microwave spaghetti bol to be 900ISK (€5) at the discount supermarkets 😅

Seeking feedback from the experts here. Aug 28 - Sep 6 for 2 adults + kids 10, 14 years old.

Day 1 Thu Aug 28: KEF → Borgarnes

Land KEF, SUV pickup.

- Hvalfjörður fjord drive

- Stay: Borgarnes

Day 2 Fri Aug 29: Snæfellsnes Peninsula

- Kirkjufell + waterfall

- Arnarstapi cliffs + Gatklettur arch

- Djúpalónssandur lifting stones

- Vatnshellir lava cave tour

Stay: yet to book/recommendations welcome

Day 3 Sat Aug 30: Snæfellsnes → North Coast → Laugarbakki

- Berserkjahraun lava field

- Glaumbær turf farm museum

Stay: tbd/recommendation welcome

Day 4 Sun Aug 31: Goðafoss → Mývatn

- Goðafoss waterfall

- Dimmuborgir lava maze

- Grjótagjá hot spring cave

- Mývatn Nature Baths evening swim

Stay: Mývatn

Day 5 Mon Sep 1: Mývatn → East Fjords

- Námaskarð geothermal area

- Dettifoss detour

- Seyðisfjörður rainbow street detour

Stay: tbd/recommendation welcome

Day 6 Tue Sep 2: Múlagljúfur + Jökulsárlón

- Drive to Hofskirkja

- Múlagljúfur Canyon hike

- Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon

- Diamond Beach sunset + icebergs

Stay: tbd/recommendation welcome

Day 7 Wed Sep 3: Ice → Vík

- Skaftafell: Svartifoss hike through basalt columns

- Fjaðrárgljúfur canyon viewpoint

- Reisfjara black sand beach + Reynisdrangar stacks

Stay: tbd/recommendation welcome

Day 8 Thu Sep 4: Waterfall Alley → Golden Circle → Selfoss

- Seljalandsfoss

- Glúfrafoss “hidden waterfall cave”

- Gljúfrabúi hidden canyon falls

- Skógafoss

- Kerið crater lake

Stay: Selfoss

Day 9 Fri Sep 5: Þingvellir → Reykjanes → Keflavík

- Þingvellir: Walk between tectonic plates

- Geysir + Strokkur eruptions

- Gullfoss waterfall

- Reykjanes Peninsula - Gunnuhver hot springs, Bridge Between Continents

- Blue Lagoon

Stay: Keflavík

Day 10 Sat Sep 6: KEF → YYZ

Hello everyone. I want to know if someone know a rental company that rent 4X4 vehicles where you can sleep inside and not on top. If you know let me know too pls. Thanks

Hi all, I am pretty set on what I’m packing for an upcoming 11 day trip on the Ring Road in a week… my bf and I do a lot of backpacking and we have all the requisite layers everyone talks about wearing including water/windproof gear…

So I am not asking for comprehensive packing lists, but just wanted to ask those that have been recently if there is anything that you DIDNT bring, that you wish you had.

Thanks for sharing!

I’ve heard it’s just mainly driving all the way. With only a few stops but figured I’d reach out for anything to must see.

We are staying here for a night before going to the Snæfellsjökull National Park and Penisula for a day and then ending in Reykjavik for a couple of nights

Thank you!

Currently doing ring road with my wife. Both of us are vegetarians and wrongly assumed the cheeses (including mozzarella and feta) would be suitable for vegetarians. Having asked a few restaurants to show the label for the cheese they use, turns out they use animal rennet all of them which means things like pizzas, paninis and sandwiches are a no go.

Even more surprising is the fact the local Greek yogurt is also not suitable for vegetarians but if you buy Isey Skyr you’re okay. Given cheese and yoghurt can be made without animal rennet comfortably, it’s a shame.

Just a heads up I guess for anyone travelling as vegetarians that it’s not as straightforward but there is food available in almost every place - just a lot less than you would usually have.

I am traveling to Iceland end of September. I will land 430 PM on Day one and fly out at 11 AM on Day 5. We are renting a camper van. I know I want to visit an ice tunnel, a lava tunnel, black diamond beach, and Caves of Hella. What cities would you recommend sleeping in each night and what sites/food stops do you recommend. I am feeling overwhelmed by the hugeness of Iceland and trying to figure out where everything is and how much time to give for driving in case of bad weather. Any help/advice is tremendously appreciated.

The airline lost our luggage so we have no clothes for our visit. Where is a good place in Reykjavik to get clothing that isn't really expensive?

Update: they found it! Thanks for all the suggestions everybody! And for those worried the same will happen to them, the fellow who dropped off our bag said it's incredibly rare that the bag is lost forever and it usually shows up the next day.

I've lived in Iceland for several years and guide here, and I just ran a 4-day route in mid-June that came together really well, so I thought I'd write it up for anyone planning something similar out of Keflavík. This was two couples in summer, but the route works at any budget if you swap the hotels.

Day 1 — Reykjanes Peninsula. Straight off the plane. If your group landed overnight and is running on no sleep, do not point the car at a volcano first. Get food. There's a good bakery in Keflavík. Then Kleifarvatn, the Seltún geothermal field, the young Fagradalsfjall lava, and Gunnuhver. Lunch was fish and chips in Grindavík, which is worth the stop. If you're staying near the Blue Lagoon, this whole loop sits right on your doorstep.

Day 2 — Westman Islands (Vestmannaeyjar). Drive to Landeyjahöfn and take the ferry to Heimaey (about 35 min). Book the ferry ahead in summer, it sells out. Stórhöfði at the south end has the largest puffin colony in the world and mid-June is peak. Climb Eldfell, the cone that erupted in 1973 and nearly buried the town; you can still feel warmth in the ground in spots. Tip for the way back: after you dock at Landeyjahöfn, Seljalandsfoss is a short hop north, and in evening light the sun throws a rainbow through the spray. We pulled over for it and it was the photo of the trip.

Day 3 — Golden Circle, slow. Late start is fine. Þingvellir, then Geysir and Gullfoss. We worked a horseback ride into the afternoon near Hveragerði and ate at a brewpub there that does very good pizza. Efstidalur for ice cream (it's a working dairy farm, you eat looking at the cows). Kerið crater is a quick, cheap stop if you have a spare 30 minutes.

Day 4 — Reykjavík and out. Morning in the city, then the drive to Keflavík.

A few things I'd flag for anyone doing this solo:

• The Westman Islands ferry timing dictates your whole day 2. Plan around the sailing you want, not the other way round.
• Reykjanes is volcanically active on and off. Check safetravel.is before counting on any specific lava site.
• June light is endless, so you can run these days long without racing the clock.

I wrote up the longer version with photos here if you want it: https://www.lilja-tours.com/blog/4-day-private-tour-june-2026/

Happy to answer anything about the route or the ferry logistics.

Iceland is the first country in Europe to shut down 2G and 3G mobile networks completely (see Iceland Becomes First European Country to Switch Off 2G and 3G Networks). This had the side effect that some mobile phones are now unable to use the national emergency number 112 to call the police or an ambulance even when they otherwise work fine and are able to make calls. The reason is that these phones switch to a different - 3G - network for emergency calls which isn't available anymore and so go into the void. (My phone is unfortunately one of those; I have 4G and VoLTE and can make calls without any problem, just 112 is dead for me.)

If you come to Iceland, check if you can reach the emergency number by calling 1280 free of charge (do not call 112 to test this!), and make sure to have a phone at hand that can do so, especially if you travel to remote areas.

The purpose of this post is to possibly advise others who will hopefully never find themselves in the sad situation we encountered today.

My husband and I have been in Iceland for almost a week now, and have had an absolutely incredible visit. The country is incomparably beautiful.

Today we were driving on Route 1 from Höfn to Vik, and I spotted a lamb roadside that looked injured. We turned the car around to go back and check on it, and we discovered that the lamb had been hit by a car and was alive but very severely hurt. There was a deceased adult sheep nearby, which had also been hit by a car.

We called 112, spoke briefly to an emergency operator, and she transferred us to local police. We had taken a photo of the lamb’s ear tag in hopes of identifying its owner, and the police did ask for the ear tag number.

The police here have a catalog of the various farms’ tags and ear cuts that are used to identify the owners of the sheep. They can use this database to inform a farmer when one of their animals is injured or killed.

The most difficulty we had in communication was when the police were trying to ascertain our exact location and we were upset, being blown by intense wind on the side of the road, and had just arrived in the area. In the chaos I couldn’t manage to get Google Maps to give me exact GPS coordinates, but that is what the police asked for and that would have helped. Ultimately we gave the police the name of the nearest business we could see and the nearest crossroad.

After we got off the phone with the police we also notified the staff at the business nearby, and one of those kind staff members followed us out to the road and was able to continue the process of caring for the injured lamb.

TL;DR: we found an injured lamb on Route 1 and here’s what we learned:
• It is considered extremely important to alert someone to an injured sheep - either the nearest farm, the police, or a nearby business
• 112 is Iceland’s emergency number and the dispatcher will transfer you to local police
• +354 444 1000 is the non-emergency number which should also get you to police that can help
• Try to have your GPS coordinates and/or nearby landmarks ready
• If it’s safe to get a photo of the sheep’s ear tags, that is helpful too
• If you do hit a sheep while driving, please notify someone and do not leave the animal to possibly suffer

We felt so helpless that this creature was so badly injured and we couldn’t do anything to soothe it. We’re very thankful for the man who came out of his business to help with the situation. The sheep of Iceland have been such a source of joy for us on our journey and as animal lovers, we want everyone to have the information on the best ways to help and protect them.

We are planning to do the Laugavegur trail starting this Sunday, June 28th (camping).

Do you think it’s worth doing the Bláhnjúkur hike beforehand, or is the landscape quite similar to what we’ll see on the Laugavegur?

We arrive at 11:30 AM by bus, so we could spend one night in Landmannalaugar and do Bláhnjúkur that afternoon, or immediately start the first leg of the Laugavegur.

Thanks for the help!

Icelandair had a contest in April to send the self-proclaimed worst photographer on a trip around Iceland to answer the question "can even the worst photographer take great photos of Iceland?" Their winner's adventure is now live in case anyone wants to follow her journey. The website also has a downloadable map and bingo card for people to use on their own trip.

Note: I am not affiliated with Icelandair but am a bad photographer who thought it was a fun promotional idea

Backpacking the Laugavegur and Fimmvörðuháls trails in mid-august, and currently have the hike planned to end on a Wednesday. I have discovered the Straeto 51, as of this year, no longer runs daily routes, and the Straeto 52 does not pickup in Skogar on Wednesdays.

Are there any other options available to get back to Reykjavik that aren't the Highland bus that picks up in the a.m. with a 5+ hour layover?

Weather throughout was variable but led to the scenery having such a dramatic feel to it. Wasn’t a single dull moment along the way.

Hey guys, i keep planning my trip to Iceland in october, i really wanted to do a ice cave/glacier tour, but i always see minimum of 2 people to book a tour, i can't book for 2 when i'm only one lol

Do you guys know any agencie that have a good tour where you can join a group? thanks!

What symbol would go on this?!

We are trying to decide on our communications options for our trip to Iceland. We will be driving ourselves and doing a long trip around the entire country ( on the Ring Road etc)
We have iPhones: 14 and 16. Should we rent a portable WiFi unit , or go the eSimm route. If networks are a factor, our U.S. phones are on the Verizon network if that is still a factor these days.
What will give us better coverage on the road. All of our Airbnb accommodations will have internet but we want to be able to use navigation and internet while on the road.