Iceland. An isolated, mysterious island country worth seeing for yourself. Volcanoes, northern lights, geysers, glaciers, and waterfalls – how can you manage to see all this in a short period of time?
We would like to share our background about a winter trip to Iceland.
1. Where to live?
With airline tickets in hand, it is logical to start more detailed travel planning. The places of interest in Iceland are scattered all over the island, so the issues of getting around and staying overnight are very important. Should it be campers or 2-person winter tents for camping for snow and cold? Let’s tackle this.
Some people suggest that in Iceland, you can rent a camper (that is, a “home on wheels,” usually a minibus, the interior of which has been converted for life on the road). “The camper gives freedom of movement, and you can stop in nice places. You don’t have to rush anywhere!” – that’s what one thought at first until it turned out that in Iceland, one is allowed to spend the night only in specially designated places. So, that’s where you need to start weighing different options.
First of all, a camper for 3 is not cheap. There are many budget options for two-seater campers, such as the FW Caddy, Renault Kangoo, etc. Secondly, after reading reviews about downloading money for minor scratches, the question of full insurance for the car arose, which is a big plus for the cost. It should be noted that it is not so easy to find full insurance without a deductible, at least for campers, in Iceland.
The option of renting a small car and staying in hotels “where you will spend the night” should also be rejected, i.e., it is difficult to predict exactly where you will end up in advance, and it is even more difficult to find relatively cheap housing. However, this option may be cheaper than renting a camper.
The option of renting a small car and living in a tent or insulated ice fishing shanty, thank God, is a great option when you want to be flexible and independent.
2. Where to spend the night?
Everything is clearly explained on the official website of the Environment Agency of Iceland. However, there is one report, and the authors of the report, the British, state that although camping is prohibited, the police are not hunting illegals, and if you do not park on someone’s lawn and leave no traces of your stay, then it is possible to spend the night in this way. Knowing this should be enough for you to rent a camping place with a clear conscience.
The concept of “leave no trace” largely refers to the physiological needs of a person (we think that everything is clear with garbage). Hence, there is also an option to rent a bio-toilet in Iceland (if there is no one on the territory of a camping ground). Iceland is very clean. Clean roadsides, clean streets, clean ice, clean water, clean everything!
By the way, if you still need a campsite, at least for a shower, then in winter you should find those that will be open in advance since most of them do not work in winter.
3. Cooking
A warm, quiet, windless evening – you can cook outside.
Some cars for rent (or minibusses) are equipped with an almost complete kitchenette with drawers, dishes, a refrigerator, a dishwasher with running water, a 20-liter water canister, and a burner with one gas cylinder. But knowing the prices of gas cylinders, it is better to bring your own multi-fuel burner and cook with gasoline. But there are some challenges.
First is the wind, which many people do not take into account when planning the trip. It is preferable not to start lighting multifuel indoors. And how to do it in a wind of 25 m/s? Nuance. Here, you can be saved by the lighter of the cylinder that comes with the trailer, which is enough for the first couple of days. And in general, cooking with gasoline in a closed space is somewhat dangerous, so always try to keep the tent open. And in the yard, it is winter, although not as fierce as at the same time at some other places, but still. Therefore, we would strongly recommend you think about the option of cooking with gas.
4. Where to get water?
There are no problems with drinking water in Iceland. Almost all faucets in the country have drinking water. At any gas station or campsite, you can ask to fill up a canister. Even at the airport, already after security control, you can get a bottle or a thermos of water from a special tap with drinking water. It’s nice but very often water with the smell of hydrogen sulfide.
5. Warm and reliable sleeping bags
Although the campsites are equipped with blankets and a stove, you will not regret that you have brought a light sleeping bag with you for additional shelter. It’s still winter.
6. Waterproof clothing.
Even though it is winter, it may be raining like a bucket for several days. Warm clothing will be a life safer for you as well. You will not get out of our thermal underwear and warm jackets the whole trip. It’s still winter, and a tent or trailer is not a cottage but rather an iron tent.
Last but not least
As it turns out, Iceland is quite crowded in winter. Tourists are brought to places of “pilgrimage” by buses, and it is a problem to take a good photo of the waterfall or any other beautiful area there so that there are no people in the frame. But it is worth walking a few hundred meters, and you can find yourself in silence among the exotic Arctic landscape, and sometimes even wild birds and animals, for example, seals. Early in the morning and closer to sunset, the parking lots are empty, and at this time, the conditions are good for photography.
