Itinerary and car rental

[Cherie2n]

Hi, Eric,

Your book and website have been invaluable; thank you for that. Two of us are traveling to Iceland for the first time the last two weeks of September. We plan to go in a clockwise direction around the circle round, stopping 2-3 days in one place and taking day trips from our lodging. From the day we fly in, we’ll spend 2 nights in Reykjavik, 2 nights in Snafellsnes peninsula, 3 nights in Akureyri, 3 nights in Hofn, 3 nights in Vik, and the last night in Keflavik (excuse any misspellings!). We’re going to skip the Westjfords for a summer visit but maybe take a boat excursion in that area for a half day. Thoughts on our choices here?

Also, I plan to follow your advance for Blue car rental, however, I wonder if I should sign up for any additional insurances outside what is included with the rental. Our plan is to stay on paved roads and watch the weather and rent an economy car, not a 4×4. Any advance on that is also appreciated.

Thanks again for your great resources!
Cheryl

[Eric]

Hi Cheryl- sounds like this will be a great trip! Here are some thoughts and answers to your questions:

– Skipping the Westfjords sounds like a good idea. Where would you be looking for a boat excursion? There are some boat tours out of Stykkishólmur while you’re on the Snæfellsnes peninsula, like the Viking Sushi tour or kayaking. Or are you thinking of something else?

– Car rental insurance is always a tough call. On average, you expect to lose money on it. But you also don’t want to pay for repairs if you have an accident! The maximum out of pocket cost for a small car at Blue is 90000 ISK, or about $700 US / £525. You may be comfortable “self-insuring” and just paying up to that amount if you have an issue?

If not, you could purchase the zero liability insurance from Blue, or buy third party coverage from a company like Roamright.

I hope that helps!

[Cherie2n]

Eric,

Thanks so much; that is really helpful. We want to take the Viking Sushi boat trip; it sounded pretty fun to me. Have you done it? Also, $700 is a reasonable amount of liability. There are two of us, so we’d split all expenses. The car insurance is very confusing, but we like the idea of going with Blue to avoid any surprises when we arrive. We want to rent the smallest car… is that okay for around on the ring road if we are weather aware and stay on paved roads? Or should we get a more economy size versus a mini? I’ve driven little cars in cities with no problems, but not sure how flat (nonmountainous) ring road is.

Thanks again!

Cheryl

[Eric]

Hi Cheryl! I haven’t done the Viking Sushi, but I’ve heard good things (as long as you’re excited to feast on scallops and sea urchins!)

In the summer I think any sized car is fine for Ring Road. It’s fully paved, as of 2019 or so! But late in September you can start to have weather and wind issues, so I’d recommend something larger.

[Author]

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