Make sure you have a chip-and-pin credit card and a backup plan if you don’t!
Most US credit cards are chip and signature cards, and while some may have a pin, they often only work for cash advances. You will often be fine with a chip and signature card in Iceland, but the one problem you will face is unattended gas stations. The kiosk to self-pay and pump at gas stations requires a chip and pin card!
There are two ways to deal with this if you don’t have a chip-and-pin credit card.
- Use a debit card. This is not the most ideal situation, as you may still encounter an issue with the card’s acceptance. If you don’t, you will probably be charged an international fee. However, you at least won’t be stuck without gas!
- Use a prepaid fuel card. The better option is to purchase a prepaid fuel card from a manned gas station to use during your trip. They often come in 5,000 ISK and 10,000 ISK increments. You cannot refund these cards to make sure you don’t load them up too much!
To give you a rough idea of how much you will need, we spent approximately 45,000 ISK on gas driving the entirety of the ring road and the Snæfellsnes Peninsula.
Learn how to use the self-serve gas kiosks!
There are two options when using the unmanned kiosk to pay: You can either pick a predetermined dollar amount or the “Fill Up” option. Do not pick the “Fill Up” option! This option will put a hold on your card for an assured amount ($250?!). It often takes a week to refund the difference from what you actually pumped. Play it safe and pick one of the dollar amount options!
When you pay at the kiosk, make sure you select the correct pump. Check with your rental car company to confirm which type of fuel your vehicle takes. Green is gas, and black is diesel in Iceland (yes, it’s the opposite of the US)!
Always keep your car above half a tank of gas
The deeper you get into Iceland, the fewer and farther between gas stations you will get. It’s recommended that you fill up whenever you can; don’t let yourself get below half a tank! We typically filled up the car when we had 250 km remaining. The only time we let the car get lower was on the way back to the rental car drop-off.
Give yourself plenty of time to deal with unfamiliar roads and weather
You are going to be spending a lot of time driving, and things don’t always go according to plan. Don’t pack your day so full that you can’t accommodate extra driving time. Roads will be unfamiliar, and you may have to take things slower than you would at home, but that’s okay! You are on vacation; enjoy the drive and the view.
Weather can change at a moment’s notice in Iceland. Don’t drive if there are strong winds or unfavorable conditions. Just wait it out.; you want to stay safe! Always check the weather and road conditions before you head out for the day
- Check https://www.road.is/ before you start your drive for the day. You will want to know the road and weather conditions for your drive so that you can accommodate any extra time.
Be prepared for ANY weather
Both in terms of driving safety and in terms of clothing.
Weather can vary greatly in Iceland in a short period. Always stay up to date on road conditions and weather to make sure your planned drive is safe or if you will need to make a detour/wait out some weather.
Wind can make driving very difficult and damage your vehicle if you are not prepared. Always be aware of the wind when opening your car doors. Fog can roll in quickly. Make sure you know how to deal with fog, where your fog lights are located, and research destinations to pull off if it gets really bad.
It may not rain every day, but there is a high chance you will have rain. Make sure you are prepared to walk around in the rain. Always have rain clothes that are easily accessible, either in your vehicle or backpack. Make sure they are waterproof, not water-resistant. Have a quick-dry towel (or two) available, and utilize layers to deal with wind and rain or suddenly sunny warm days.
Need more details on what to pack?
Check out my Iceland Summer Packing Guide
Check if payment is required for parking when you pull into a parking lot.
Many popular tourist locations in Iceland have paid parking lots. There will usually be a clearly marked sign upon entry to the lot or near the trail. Double-check if the lot is paid or free.
Paid lots can often be paid via app, Parka or Easy Park, or via a pay station within the lot. The Parka app seems to be the most common, but it isn’t the easiest to use. If possible, it’s often faster to use the kiosk.
We encountered two types of kiosks – one where you pay for 24 hours of parking based on your vehicle type and one where you look up your license plate and pay for a length of time. Both are really easy to use, and the machines have language options.
For more details on useful apps in Iceland
Check out my Must Have Apps for Iceland Guide
Set up Tap Pay on Your Phone
Basically, the entire country has tap pay established, even the most remote or small locations. It’s the easiest way to pay for everything! We did not use any cash while in Iceland, and we didn’t bother exchanging any. We used tap pay for every single purchase. The only exception being gas.
I actually do mean every single purchase.
Visit popular destinations early or late in the day
This is especially applicable to the Golden Circle and South Coast. Iceland is a small country and while there are so many amazing places to visit, they can be small with minimal parking, if you want to avoid large crowds and waiting for a parking space while visiting in the summer you should try to show up to popular destinations early or late in the day.
Some popular locations have large parking spaces and visitor centers, which are ideal for visiting midday even if the crowds are large.
Plan out stops for food
There are two ways you can approach food in Iceland, or you can mix the two.
- Go to a grocery store and buy food to make meals in your vehicle or at a stop.
This isn’t always ideal, as you probably won’t have a fridge, but you can get a cooler to keep things for a shorter period of time. It’s always good to have some snacks with you during your trip, as there are points where food is scarce. - Mark restaurants throughout your journey so you know when and where to stop for food.
There aren’t always convenient restaurants to stop at, so make it a point to mark any restaurant you may be interested in stopping at and strategically plan around stopping there. If you are passing through a larger town, stop for food!
We ate granola bars for dinner one night because we packed a day too full of stops, and there was nowhere to eat at the end of the day.
Also consider stopping into gas station stores when you are getting gas, they often have quite a nice selection of snacks and may even have a to-go restaurant.
Everywhere that we ate while traveling in Iceland:
Plan Plan Plan!
Plan out your itinerary and stops well in advance. Create a Google map with ALL of the places you are interested in visiting, break them out by day, and mark the locations that are visited. Don’t plan too many things in one day, or strenuous activities at the end of the day when you are tired
Book popular activities in advance – thermal baths, glacier lagoon boat tours, whale watching, etc. You often have to book specific times for these activities, so it helps to have a fully fleshed-out itinerary with all planned stops and how long you will be driving on a given day. Always give yourself a little extra wiggle room.
Book your rental car and hotels early. Summer can be insane in terms of crowds, so you need to book your accommodations and vehicle early. If you don’t, you risk very high prices or zero availability. Hotels in the more remote parts of Iceland are few, so if you plan to drive the entirety of the Ring Road, you need to make sure you book your summer trip well in advance
Winter comes with closures and fewer options, so many of the tips for summer travel still apply. You aren’t going to have as much choice, so you still have to plan and book early.
Plan for uncertainty. It may seem weird to try to plan for uncertainty, but you should have a plan you can kick into motion if something doesn’t pan out the way you originally planned. As mentioned, Iceland’s weather can change quickly, and you may not be able to drive to your next destination as planned. Be prepared to start making calls and changes to your itinerary if you end up stuck in a location for an extra day.
