Home DestinationsEurope Iceland Road Trip With a Camper : Itinerary, Budget and Highlights

Iceland Road Trip With a Camper : Itinerary, Budget and Highlights

If you want to visit Iceland in a relatively affordable way, I’d recommend a road trip with a camper. Because Iceland isn’t actually cheap!

Iceland, the little country in the middle of the Atlantic which was almost unknown until a decade ago, has experienced a phenomenal boom in the last few years thanks to its government’s efficient marketing. The things that really struck me were: that the sun never sets in summer, that the landscapes change so quickly that you want to stop every 15 minutes at the side of the road to take pictures, and that I never managed to remember more than the first letter of each place name. Everywhere else I’ve been you can travel for hours just to admire a single waterfall, a single glacier, a single fjord, a single volcano or a single beach; however in this country just look from one side to the other and you will see it all! Do you suffer from torticollis? Come to Iceland and it will disappear!

The Highlights of Our Road Trip in Iceland

Jökulsárlón and Diamond Beach at sunset

It’s where the edge of a glacier meets the sea. The ice blocks crack when they come in contact with water – you can hear them – and the pieces are scattered all along the shore of the beach.

Jokulsarlon Lagoon

Jokulsarlon Lagoon

Diamond Beach

Diamond Beach

The hot springs

We would bathe once a day, and sometimes up to 3 times a day! It was our guilty pleasure and a way of pacifying the children who were not remotely interested in admiring the beautiful landscapes. These “hot pots” are found everywhere, in both towns and more secluded areas. Some are free of charge, others cost money. See for yourselves in our photo album!

Hellulaug

Hellulaug

The puffins

There are a number of places where you can admire these magnificent little birds. We chose to see them at the extreme west of the country ( which is also the most western point of Europe) at Látrabjarg.

The Puffin Cliffs

The Puffin Cliffs

The Westfjords region

This peninsula is situated in the north-west of Iceland. It is renowned for being the most remote part of the country, and the most difficult to access! Between the winding paths surrounding the fjords and the stony roads of the high mountains, we managed to survive and our photos bear witness to the beauty of the landscapes. Only in part however, as they only truly reflect a tiny part of the beauty of this region. You really have to live it to believe it!

The Westfords Peninsula

The Westfords Peninsula

For a better preparation

Itinerary

We travelled over 3000km. After the touristic region of the Golden Circle, near the capital, we took the number 1 road – more commonly known as the Ring Road – which runs all the way round the island. On the 5th day, we reached the Westfjords, the north-western peninsula of the island and we stayed there 3 days. On the final two days, we had the opportunity to visit the beautiful peninsula of Snaefellsnes and the capital, Reykjavik.

Lifestyle

Due to the extortionate price of hotels across the island, we opted to rent a super cool camper van from rent.is. We certainly didn’t go unnoticed in our camper covered in stickers, but we didn’t once regret our choice as in addition to having all the necessary comforts, we were able to stop and sleep without worrying about time constraints. The camper van was well equipped, with everything necessary to camp and cook, such as sleeping bags, pillows, fridge, table, chairs, stove and crockery. A heating system connected to the diesel tank kept us warm at night and we recharged our devices thanks to the many USB ports. Wifi was also included which was super handy for connecting to the outside world and making a quick search on places to visit. The 12V to 110V power inverter I bought before we arrived allowed me to charge my computer.

We bought provisions in Bonus supermarkets and ate in the van. We visited hot springs which often had shower facilities so we were easily able to keep clean. We used service station toilets, where we were also able to top up our water and wash the van for free. The camper van got pretty dirty in a short space of time due to all the gravel roads.

It was between 6 and 15 degrees Celsius during our trip to Iceland and it made me think of the advert for Nordic clothing which says that they’ve been waiting for summer forever. You might not believe it, but our Icebreaker clothes made from merino wool meant we did not have to do any washing. In fact, I wore the same t-shirt for 9 days and 9 night, and it still smelt clean at the end! These light clothes kept us warm at all times – I strongly recommend them!

https://thewonderlusters.com

Food

There are two places in Reykjavik where you have to queue to eat.

Baejarins Beztu Pylsur : For 450 ISK ( 4 USD) – you won’t eat for less than this by the way – you can enjoy a delicious Icelandic lamb hot dog. I can safely say I’ve never eaten such a delicious hot dog in my life. It’s a nice change from beef / pork/ chicken sausages!

The famous Reykjavik Hot Dog

The famous Reykjavik Hot Dog

Icelandic Street Food : This is THE #1 recommendation on TripAdvisor for Reykjavik. You can eat traditional Icelandic cuisine based around lamb and seafood. You can eat at your leisure as they will replenish your plate at will. The friendly owner warmly welcomed us and served us little sweet cakes and each of our little ones received a small present. Before we left, he offered beer to everyone! He even gave out soup to passers by. Incredible, this little gem of a restaurant! Now we understand why the queue is always so long!

Icelandic Street Food

Icelandic Street Food

Expenses

I think Iceland may be the most expensive country in the world. All in all, our trip cost:

  • 419,100 ISK (2,988 USD)
  • 46,567 ISK (332 USD) per day
  • 11,642 ISK (83 USD) per person per day.

In detail:

Expense Category Amount Spent
Flights 82,200 ISK / 586 USD
Campervan hire 198,600 ISK / 1,416 USD
Gas 72,500 ISK / 517 USD
Eating out 14,600 ISK / 104 USD
Groceries 27,500 ISK / 196 USD
Activities 23,700 ISK / 169 USD
Total419,100 ISK / 2,988 USD

In a nutshell

Dates2018-05-29 to 2018-06-08
Number of days 9
Cities we visited Reykjavik
Inbound Montreal to Keflavik by plane
Outbound Keflavik to London by plane
Mode of transport Camper van
Distance travelled 3000 km
Number of photos taken 2200 (244 per day)
Currency The Icelandic Krona (1 USD = 140 ISK)

Conclusion

It was necessary to pay this country a visit as photos on the internet have made me dream for a long time now. We have now achieved this dream! It was the first destination on our world tour. Our next one is the United Kingdom!

==> Download all our photos of Iceland for free!

More photos

Keflavik Airport

Keflavik Airport

Geysir Strokkur

Geysir Strokkur

Gullfoss

Gullfoss

Hrunalaug

Hrunalaug

Seljalandsfoss

Seljalandsfoss

Seljavallalaug

Seljavallalaug

Skogafoss

Skogafoss

Dhyrolaey

Dhyrolaey

Reynisfjara

Reynisfjara

On the Ring Road

On the Ring Road

South Island Glaciers

South Island Glaciers

Hofskirkja

Hofskirkja

Jokulsarlon Lagoon

Jokulsarlon Lagoon

Diamond Beach

Diamond Beach

Hoffell Hot Tubs

Hoffell Hot Tubs

On the Ring Road

On the Ring Road

On the Ring Road

On the Ring Road

On the Ring Road

On the Ring Road

Hot Pot on the side of the Ring Road

Hot Pot on the side of the Ring Road

On the Ring Road

On the Ring Road

On the Ring Road

On the Ring Road

On the Ring Road

On the Ring Road

On the Ring Road

On the Ring Road

Hverir

Hverir

Grjotagja

Grjotagja

Myvatn Nature Baths

Myvatn Nature Baths

Dettifoss

Dettifoss

Godafoss

Godafoss

Akureyri

Akureyri

The Westfords Peninsula

The Westfords Peninsula

The Westfords Peninsula

The Westfords Peninsula

Hellulaug

Hellulaug

The Westfords Peninsula

The Westfords Peninsula

The Westfords Peninsula

The Westfords Peninsula

The Westfords Peninsula

The Westfords Peninsula

Dynjandi

Dynjandi

Dynjandi

Dynjandi

The Westfords Peninsula

The Westfords Peninsula

The Westfords Peninsula

The Westfords Peninsula

The Westfords Peninsula

The Westfords Peninsula

The Westfords Peninsula

The Westfords Peninsula

Gvendarlaug

Gvendarlaug

The Westfords Peninsula

The Westfords Peninsula

Drangsnes Hot Pots

Drangsnes Hot Pots

Kirkjufellsfoss

Kirkjufellsfoss

Arnastapi

Arnastapi

Yrti Tunga

Yrti Tunga

Harpa Concert Hall

Harpa Concert Hall

The Sun Voyager

The Sun Voyager

Hallgrimskirkja Church

Hallgrimskirkja Church

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1 comment

Waller 2020-03-17 - 8:58 am

Jokulsarlon and Diamond Beach at sunset is so nice and about the Ice block crack is amazing .The Lifestyle and food is also amaze.The Gullfoss is so nice place to visit.

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