ring road

September 4, 2019 By Eric Leave a Comment

Iceland Update: September 2019

Summer is ending, and the temperatures are cooling. And there’s enough darkness to have a chance to see the Northern Lights! (Those are some lovely Northern Lights pictures from this week!) Here’s are some things happening in Iceland:

Our Brand New Driving in Iceland Course

We just released a new course to teach you all about driving in Iceland! And we’re only charging $5 US (€4.50) so we can have lots of safe drivers in Iceland.

There are 10 animated video lessons, plus a quiz and a printable information sheet. The course covers road signs, speed limits, F roads, roundabouts, winter driving, and much much more. The course should take you about an hour to complete, and you’ll be a more confident driver when you head to Iceland! [Read more…] about Iceland Update: September 2019

October 30, 2016 By Eric 4 Comments

Road conditions in Iceland during different times of year

A common question people ask is, “What will the roads be like when I will be in Iceland?” This is a difficult question to answer. Let’s start with a few generalities, and then dive down into some specifics over the last year:

In the summer (say mid June through mid September), barring a recent storm, most roads should be in good shape. Many F roads may still be closed until July, but you should avoid F roads in Iceland unless you really know what you are doing.
In the winter (say December through March) you should expect at least some slippery spots throughout, even on Ring Road and other major roads. Ice and slush and blowing snow will be common, even if they are just in limited spots.
The rest of the time (so, mid September through November, and April through mid June) the answer varies with the year. You should be fine most of the time in May, though you can still have snow in May, especially in the mountains. Here’s a picture from May 29, 2016 on the mountain pass from Egilsstaðir to Seyðisfjörður in East Iceland:

March 19, 2016 By Eric 4 Comments

Reykjavik? Ring Road? Planning your Iceland trip

So you’re going to Iceland, and trying to figure out how to plan your trip. The internet is full of millions of pictures of thousands of things you can see and do. How do you plan your itinerary? What should do you do, and what will you need to skip?

Here are my brief recommendations for how you should structure your trip, based on the number of days you have. Note that the categories overlap:

1-5 days: Stay in Reykjavik, and do day tours
3-8 days: Cover one or two areas, but not the whole country
7+ days: Cover the whole country. Well, more of it at least.

I think that some people will find these surprisingly conservative. Why just stay in Reykjavik for 4 days? Why not try the whole country in 6 days? [Read more…] about Reykjavik? Ring Road? Planning your Iceland trip