Plan Your Trip To Iceland On Your Own

Are you thinking of visiting Iceland for your next vacation? In this blog, I will explain everything you need to know to plan a trip to Iceland on your own. I will share everything you need to know and all the information I’ve got based on my research and my experience during my recent trip there.

Planning a trip to a destination you have never been to can be stressful. There are lots of things to consider. For example, when is the best time of the year to go? What are the entry requisites into that country? How am I going to get from one place to another? Is there anything I should know before I get there? Because of this, I would like to help you make your preparations easier. Are you ready? Let’s plan a trip to the Land of Ice and Fire!

Decide when you want to visit Iceland

The first thing I did to plan my trip to Iceland was to decide which time of the year I wanted to visit Iceland. You can visit Iceland all year round but your experience will change considerably depending on when you visit.

Visiting Iceland during the winter

During the winter, daylight hours are scarce and access to some parts of the country like the Highlands, for example, is closed. However, it is the moment to go if you want to see the Northern lights, or you want to visit an ice cave. You will also get to experience this beautiful country covered in snow.

Visiting Iceland during the summer

During the summer, on the other hand, you will enjoy almost 24h days and access is available to the complete island. It is the perfect time to visit, if you want to explore the Icelandic Highlands, experience the famous midnight sun, see Puffins, go whale watching, etc.

For us, we decided that the most convenient time of the year to visit Iceland was in June. I am not very good at dealing with cold temperatures and having so many daylight hours would allow us to explore a lot of the island.

Booking flights to Iceland

As soon as it was clear when we were going to visit and got the ok for our holidays, we booked our flights right away. We booked them with Icelandair, which was the only company offering direct flights from Brussels to Keflavik International Airport on the dates we wanted to visit.

I always recommend booking your flights well in advance to make sure you get the best prices. However, I have to say that I monitored the prices of flights to Iceland in June and they were quite stable.

Flying with Icelandair was really comfortable. Half way of the trip, they offer complementary drink service. In addition, the sets have entertainment screens so you can watch a movie during your flight or follow the progress of the flight. This made the 3 hours of flight go by very fast.

Get some Insurance

Another thing to consider if you want to plan your trip to Iceland on your own is to have some travel insurance. In most cases, your trip will be fantastic and you will not use the insurance at all. However, I always feel more comfortable when traveling if I know that in case anything happens I will be covered. In addition, I always add some cancellation insurance to ensure I will get my money back if for some unlucky reason I have to cancel my holidays.

European Health Card

The European Health Card is accepted in Iceland so I also recommend bringing it with you on your trip. You should know that the Health Care system in Iceland is partially paid for by the citizens. If you use your European Health Care, you will have to pay some fees. Another good reason to have travel insurance!

Documentation needed to enter Iceland

Iceland is part of the Schengen agreement so if you are a European citizen, all you need to enter Iceland is your national ID.

We only had to show it to board our flight and never got asked for it upon arrival to the country.

Plan your itinerary

The number of places you will be able to visit will depend on the time you visit this beautiful country. Here are some itinerary suggestions based on your time available.

4-day itinerary in Iceland: If you are only going to be in Iceland for 4 days, you should focus on Reykjavik and the Golden Circle.
7- day itinerary in Iceland: For a 7-day stay, I recommend focusing on the southern part of Iceland.
10- day itinerary in Iceland: If you are visiting for 10 days, you can already do a tour of Iceland following its ring road but you will have to skip some things.
2 weeks itinerary in Iceland: In my opinion, 2 weeks in Iceland is the perfect amount of days to do a tour of the island without having to rush from one place to another.
3 weeks itinerary in Iceland: If you are lucky enough to have 3 weeks in Iceland, I recommend adding a 5 day multi-day hike through the Iceland Highlands.

Transportation in Iceland

Renting a Car

If you are planning on getting out of Reykjavik, I recommend renting a car to move around Iceland. It is also possible to book organized trips to visit the main sights but they are usually expensive. If you are from Europe, you will only need your regular driving license from your country. There is no need to have an international driving license.

Important: If you are planning on driving on F Roads, you will have to rent a 4×4 car.

MAKE SURE TO CHECK MY ARTICLE ABOUT DRIVING IN ICELAND FOR MORE INFORMATION

Renting a Camper Van

Another option can be to rent a camper van. This way, you will not have to look for a hotel or an Airbnb to sleep in as you will be driving your home with you.

There are also 4×4 camper vans so if you are planning on visiting the Highlands or driving on F Roads, the same rules as for a car apply.

Important: In Iceland, it is not allowed to park your camper van wherever you want. You will always have to park your van at official campsites.

Accommodation

In the last few years, Iceland has become a very popular destination. This together with the fact that there are limited options, hotels in Iceland can be really expensive.

If you want to save some money during your trip to Iceland you will have to either rent a camper van or book your accommodation well in advance. We booked our hotels 7 months in advance and we managed to get some reasonable prices. We also tried to book places that had a kitchen to not have to eat outside all the time.

Here is a list of the places we stayed at:

Reykjavik: Reykjavik Downtown Hotel.
The Golden Circle: Heidi Cabin.
Vik: Hvammból Guesthouse
Hof: Litla-Hof Guesthouse
Hofn: Hofn Inn Guesthouse
Seydisfjordur: Hotel Aldan – The Bank
Myvatn: Skutustadir Gesthouse
Akureyri: Akureyri Luxury Appartments
Grundarfjordur: Stod Gesthouse and Appartments
Keflavik: Hotel Keilir by Reykjavik Keflavik Airport

Some of them were really good places and others a bit more basic but in general, we were really happy with the places we stayed at.

Money and Payments

The official currency in Iceland is the Icelandic Krona.

You can pay almost everywhere with your credit or debit card. However, we did encounter 1 or 2 places in which they only accepted cash so I recommend changing a minimal amount of Euros to Kronas.

Packing for Iceland

Here are the main things to consider when packing for your trip to Iceland (during the summer months).

Layers are key in Iceland! I recommend, that you pack multiple thin layers so that you can add or remove them as necessary.
Bring water-resistant layers! Weather can change very fast throughout the day and there is a high chance that it will rain at some point or the other… In addition, even if you are lucky enough to not get any rain during your visit, you will need them if you want to get close to the waterfalls.
Bring comfortable clothes and shoes… You are going to be walking a lot in nature, so you will most probably not need your fancy clothes.
Don’t forget your swimsuit!

Useful Apps and Websites

Vedur

This is the app to use if you want to check what the weather will be like. Don’t bother checking any other weather apps as they are not very accurate here in Iceland. Be prepared to experience all kinds of weather during your visit, a day can start with clear skies and 2 hours later, pouring rain.

During my trip to Iceland, we got a lot of rainy days so I kept checking this app constantly in the hopes of some sun and I have to admit it was really accurate.

Safe Travel

This is were you can check the status of the roads in Iceland based on the weather conditions. Weather conditions can get quite crazy, which can result on some roads being closed. I recommend checking this site on a daily basis before you depart in order to have no surprises along the way.

112 Iceland

This app is the Icelandic Emergency Service. You will most likely not need to use it but it is good to be ready just in case.

Books to read

Finally, if you want to read some books before you go to Iceland, here are 3 recommendations I read before my trip:

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