Fall in Iceland is a good season to travel.
Film ‘Interstellar’, TV series ‘Game of Thrones’, and the television entertainment program ‘Youth Over Flowers’… these contents that were so loved by the public have one thing in common; that they were shot in Iceland, the country where winter comes sooner than others. Fall in Iceland can be a little chilly, but it’s hot enough to get around and explore.
Of course, Iceland is not yet a familiar travel destination for us. It’s due to the fact that there is no direct flight from Korea. Most Korean travelers go through Helsinki or London from Incheon. Flight time amounts to almost 18 hours, but it’s totally worth it.
The most well known way to drive around Iceland is the ring road.
Iceland, as the name suggests, is an island located in the north Atlantic. Its area is about 106th in the world, just a little bit bigger than Korea, which comes 107th. Population is approximately 330,000 which shows that this big country has very small number of people. The environment is that barren. But it’s also a huge tourist destination with millions of tourists pouring in each year. Most Iceland travelers rent cars to get around.
The typical way to get around Iceland by car is to use the Ring Road. It’s basically getting around the island in a clockwise or an anticlockwise direction on the car. If you stayed on the ring road only, you will be driving about 1,300km. But most tourists go around places, and on average, they drive more than approximately 2,000km.
Hyundai and Kia Motors at the rental car agency; and exotic car insurance
You can frequently see Hyundai or Kia Motors in Iceland.
There are tens of rental car agencies in front of the Iceland airport. Wherever you rent your car, you will need to show your Korean driver’s license and your international driver’s license both. Unfortunately, the Korean driver’s license that has both Korean and English on it that begun to be issued since September cannot be used in Iceland yet.
Considering the fact that this is Europe, Iceland roads can be expected to be dominated by European automobile brands, but most rental car agencies have various types of Hyundai and Kia Motors including Sportage and Santa Fe, etc. You can frequently come across Hyundai and Kia Motors on Iceland roads.
Iceland has many categories of insurance policies, depending on geographical and climate conditions.
Just like when renting a car in Korea, you have to take off after thoroughly going through dents and damages on the car. Car insurance is a must. It can be largely categorized into 3 different types depending on the coverage; ① subscribing to the rental car agency’s own plans ② subscribing to a local automobile insurance policy separately ③ and subscribing to both types at the same time. They may cover different areas exclusively, so you need to go through each item thoroughly.
The reason why car insurance here is complex is because of Iceland’s specific geography and climate. There’s even a special clause called ‘door bending insurance’, as it is common in Iceland to have your door bent backwards when opening it while there is a very strong wind out there. If the door is damaged due to sudden strong wind, you may have to pay quite a lot to repair the damages.
As the country is built on volcanic residue, cars sometimes get damaged by volcanic ash or sharp stones. In some cases, windows get broken or tires are flattened. They are all separately covered by insurance items. On sunny days, you will be driving on the central or the northern area’s off road, and of course, there is a separate off road insurance. But if you get into an area that is not a road, you may be denied of any insurance process, so make sure you read the whole contract and decide your route.
Iceland’s typical road conditions
Make sure to pay attention to traffic signs when on Iceland roads.
If you’ve rented a car and are now on the road, watch out for the speed cameras. There are cameras not only on the roads but also in tunnels, which are not notified via your navigation. Even on the official apps like Google Map and MapsMe, you won’t find any speeding camera alarms. There’s just a signpost a few hundred meters before the camera.
While driving, you will come across a few bridges that connect the land to islands. As they are single lane bridges, cars from both directions will slow down to 90, 70, 50km/h and stop in front of the bridge. If there’s no other car coming towards you from the opposite side, then you can cross at a slow speed. In town, most intersections are roundabouts. Here the car that enters the roundabout first has the priority; the car that comes in later will have to wait before entering the roundabout.
Sometimes animals appear on Iceland roads.
Even if the road is completely empty, watch out for cameras because there will be one everywhere. Even if you drive up to the speed limit of 90km, the road will seem endless; as there’s only one or two cars on the road, you will be tempted to hit that accelerator. But speeding is the fastest way to encounter a police car which will be monitoring the roads with cameras. You may end up writing something like “I got a 20% discount for my speeding ticket I got in Iceland which was for 700,000 KRW” or “I’m back in Korea and I just got an email from my rental car agency about some hundred thousand KRW automatic payment on my credit card for getting caught on the speed camera” on the Iceland travel online forum like many people did.
And it’s best not to count on the streetlamps. Even during the day, you should have all your lights on while driving because there are no streetlamps aside from just around the towns. Roads and the wilderness on both sides of them are divided by just neon sticks. On the sides of the roads, there may be sheep, horses, and cows taking a stroll, so watch out for them as well.
You will have to pay toll at the tunnel that leads to Iceland’s second biggest city, Akureyri.
There’s only 1 place where you will have to pay on Iceland road; at the tunnel located on the most representative ring road, no. 1 road. This tunnel leads to the 2nd biggest city in Iceland, Akureyri. Here you will find an unmanned toll system. Go to the toll homepage (mitt.veggjald.is/express?language=en), input the car information, pass the tunnel and pay the toll fee with your credit card within 3 hours of passing. But after 3 hours, you will be given an additional fee on top of the toll. If you don’t pay it, just like a speeding ticket, you will be invoiced for the toll and the penalty through your rental car company. Also, remember to delete the card number after making the payment because the next person using the same rental car after you may continue to use you card to pay the toll.
Why Hyundai and Kia Motors are loved in Iceland
Hyundai and Kia cars are loved for their great performance, spacious interior and reasonable price.
After 10 days on the ring road, it’s time for you to return your car. “Why are there so many Hyundai and Kia Motors on Iceland roads?” I asked the rental car staff what I had been wondering for a while. He tells me it’s because they show great performance on rough roads, are spacious inside, and are reasonably priced. In other words, ‘more Bang for your Buck. I looked back on my experience throughout the trip. From the icy no. 1 road to the infamous unpaved Road 864, the deadly mountain Road 939 which I accidently went into as the no. 1 road was closed due to a storm; Sportage had made it through them all. In the trunk, I had 3 large luggage, 2 carry on bags, and a backpack too ？ all packed in there like Tetris blocks. And yet the car performed superbly and was still spacious.
Enjoy the beautiful nature of Iceland with the cruise control function.
So far, we looked into the exotic driving tips for Iceland travels. But if you are planning an Iceland road trip, I’d like to assure you not to worry too much about the different road conditions compared to those of Korea. Rather, you should turn on the ‘cruise control’ function and enjoy the scenery while driving leisurely; something you couldn’t do when you had to focus on driving alone! Make use of the ‘lane departure warning system (LDWS)’ and take in the unreal landscape. It’s a perfect place to drive, and yet things you shouldn’t miss while driving might pass you by otherwise.
