12 Things to Know When Driving in Iceland during Winter

Yes, you CAN self-drive

It takes as much as mentioning a late autumn/early spring drive on any forum about Iceland and you will be bombarded by comments suggesting that whatever plan you might have is a suicide mission, unless you have professional winter arctic driving skills of the highest calibre. Not true.

Sure, driving in summer is a safer and easier experience, and, for many reasons, it is better to visit Iceland in summer. However, there are things that you only get during winter time, which is why visiting Iceland in winter is absolutely worth it. More on this in another post. Many people out there will state that one should definitely join a group tour instead of self-driving during winter, but they seem to have forgotten that tour groups in Iceland have some serious drawbacks (mainly to do with cost and flexibility).

Organised tours are a good option if you are a solo traveller or not comfortable with driving in general. Otherwise, I would only recommend them for experiences you cannot otherwise have on your own such as snorkeling in Silfra, glacier treks, ice caves or whale watching. You don't really need anyone to take you and 30 others from one waterfall to the next.

In short, you definitely can self-drive, and I would go as far as saying you do not need any winter driving experience. I didn’t have any and I lived to tell the tale, twice. A car is a car and there is little room and need for any special manoeuvres, but you do need to be cautious and act responsibly.

road.is

Firstly, make sure you monitor road condition at all times.

Road.is provides up to date information on road closures as well as road conditions for each route (e.g. easily passable, spots of ice, slippery etc.). Green is definitely fine, yellow is fine, blue and white may be ok, but require caution. Use this tool to plan ahead and exercise your common-sense when on location.

You need to drive carefully and also know when not to drive. There is grey area between weather that is bad and weather that is so bad that roads are closed where your own judgement is required. If you don’t feel confident, just wait it out. The weather can change a lot in a short amount of time.

4WD vs. 2WD

This is a tricky one. The only time you absolutely must have a 4WD is when driving into the Highlands, but that is off-bounds during the winter season. When I visited Iceland, my research led me to believe that 2WD is a total no-go during the winter. However, it seems that actually either option would be just as acceptable for a winter drive.

People often say that if you drive just on the main road, you only need a 2WD because the road is in good condition and well maintained. That is not entirely true, since not everything has parking just off the main road, so it is likely you will end up an a rough terrain at some point. In such cases, I would be more confident driving a larger, taller car.

There is also a common belief that 4WD will give you a lot more stability with breaking on slippery surfaces or even allow you to drive faster and in more extreme weather conditions. But apparently 4WD doesn’t really help with stability and the advantages that it does offer, when driving uphill, are unlikely to be needed by the average traveller. Besides, this false sense of confidence can be quite dangerous. I actually don’t know if a larger car performs better against strong winds, it might, it might not. I suppose a larger car will be safer for the driver in the case of an accident, but you really don’t want to be planning for this kind of situation. When the weather does get very bad, you probably should not be driving any car.

All cars, large or small, usually come equipped with studded winter tyres, so the choice between large or small during winter probably comes down to personal preference and cost. Larger 4WD cars tend to cost twice as much as smaller 2WD, however all cars tend to be around half the price during the low season (winter) vs. high season (summer). So, you are effectively getting a large car in winter for the price of a small car in summer. A 4WD is ideal, but a 2WD can do the job just as well.

I do prefer a larger car, so that’s what I’ve always gone for. To me, it feels more robust in a harsh environment and allows safe access to all roads that are not closed. Plus, there are the little things such as heated seat and steering wheel, which I am most grateful for on a cold winter day!

Insurance, insurance, insurance

Don't ignore the options for additional insurance, Iceland is a very, very expensive country!

SCDW. TP. GP. SAAP. There are lots of insurance plans out there, some very exotic and specific to Iceland only (Sand and Ash Protection!). This used to be a more complicated matter in that you got to decide exactly which you want to add, however these days most are included by default.

Super Collision Damage Waiver is usually included by default.

Theft Protection is absolutely useless in a country like Iceland, but is generally included by default.

Sand and Ash Protection is generally advised for the South Coast during spring and autumn.

Definitely make sure you have Gravel Protection at the very least.

Personally I would just recommend going with the highest level of protection, for peace of mind. It doesn’t add significantly to the cost, given the already high cost of the car rental itself. And excess can otherwise be in the region of 100,000 ISK (~800$) - which is quite a lot.

Note that some things such as towing costs, damage to tires, damage to undercarriage, or damage due to water from crossing rivers (not an issue in winter) are not covered by any insurance plans. Therefore, you still need to be careful. But you can be more relaxed knowing that you are covered for most things.

Needless to say, always check reviews for car rentals before you book.

Speeding

Well, this applies for any season. Don’t get yourself a speeding ticket!

It’s less likely that you would be able to speed during winter time, simply because of the weather and road conditions. However, speeding tickets start at $200 for the most minor of offences. There are speed cameras in some places on the ring road. There is a very generous margin over the speed limit to actually attract a fine and any sane driver would not hit that, so don’t be worried if you went a little bit over. However, watch out when you enter a village and transition from 90km/h limit to a 50km/h limit, as these kind of situations may get you in trouble.

Watch out for that wind!

Park against strong wind and open your car door very carefully. Don't underestimate the power of the mighty Icelandic wind! You most likely don’t get this sort of thing at home, so it’s easy to forget. It has happened in the past that doors of rental cars have been blown off by the wind to some extent, and the cost of repairing this damage in Iceland can be humongous. Since this is classed as negligence on your part, no insurance will cover you for any such damage.

Keep south

Full ring road during winter is not the brightest of ideas. Definitely something that would be more suited for the summer season. The north coast is exposed to harsher weather conditions, and many mountain passes would be closed or dangerous to drive on. Some of the attractions would be off-limits. It’s better to stay south, as there is plenty to do around the area, and that’s where all the glacier activities are anyway.

Driving in Iceland - Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon

Be flexible

In addition, a long trip with a large span and little room for error in winter is a bad idea. Booking different accommodation every night for an entire week is very risky. The more time you spend in Iceland during winter, the more likely it is that something during your trip will go majorly wrong. Bad weather may prevent you from doing anything at all in a day, and road closures may disrupt your plans. Even sections of the main ring road can close unexpectedly, especially if winds are too strong.

Obviously accommodations can’t be changed last-minute at no cost, and it is possible that a road closure may prevent you from reaching it, but it’s probably unlikely that this would happen. However, you do need to accept that you might not be able to see everything that you planned. Potential road closures aside, driving may take much longer than normal depending on the weather, and it‘s dark before you know it. Do not rely on Google Maps driving estimates during winter.

Have the flexibility, if you can afford it (time and money), by staying longer in one location, or go to Iceland for just a few days and hope for the best.

Time it

Time it right. During winter, Iceland is only blessed to 4h to 8h of daylight, depending on when you visit. Note though this is not an abrupt shift, and sunrise/sunset transitions are longer than usual, which is nice.

Consider driving part of the journey in the dark to make the most of the daylight hours and beat the crowds. As long as you are comfortable with driving in the dark and road conditions are acceptable, it is perfectly fine to do so (this can mean before 11am, after 3pm).

There are things you can do to make the most of the limited daylight. In some sections of the main road, such as Reykjavik-Seljalandsfoss or Vik-Skaftafell there really isn’t much to see apart from the overall landscape. Both of those drives take around a couple hours. Other areas have a large density of attractions, and you’d want to be around those areas during the day. Or perhaps don’t use up 2 of 4 hours of daylight for lunch and have food later.

F-Roads are closed

This is more information then precaution, since you probably couldn’t break this rule even if you wanted to. All F-roads are closed during winter to anything but super-jeep tours, for good reason. This can range from sometime in October to later than you might think - June!

So, if you want to go to Iceland in March to see Landmannalaugar, you will be disappointed.

Don’t park on the main road

The landscape of snow-covered mountains that you drive through during winter is spectacular. The soft winter sunlight only adds to this incredible sight. Keep your eyes on the road, but don't forget to stop every now and then and take in those beautiful views. But don’t stop on the main road!

This is all the more tempting, should the northern lights catch you off-guard during a late evening drive, but don’t do it! It can be an inconvenience and hazard to other drivers, even with the lights on. Just watch out for any parking area or side road for a short stop.

Supplies

Roads can close unexpectedly and they could have you trapped somewhere for hours, with no facilities nearby or very limited options. It’s good to have something to nibble on, should that happen. It did happen during our first winter drive in Iceland!