Renting an RV in Iceland – a Complete Guide

Is it worth renting an RV in Iceland

In Iceland you will find plenty of different types of RVs. When comparing them, keep in mind the fundamental differences between them. Heating in the sleeping area, a kitchen with a proper stove, sink and refrigerator, and a functional bathroom are the basic features that set the different types of RVs apart. Of course, the larger ones also offer room to spend time comfortably, while the smaller ones do let you sleep inside, but cooking or evening chats will more likely have to move outside or to the campsite’s kitchen.

We describe the advantages and disadvantages of each type of RV later in the text, and here we just group them for clarity:

Below we discuss them in more detail in reverse order – from the simplest cars with a roof tent to full motorhomes.

Renting a car with a tent on the roof

The main reason why ordinary cars with a roof tent are sold as campers in Iceland is that they are rented together with basic camping equipment. If you want to sleep in a tent on the ground, in practice you have to bring it with you, along with a stove, dishes, cutlery and anything else you want to have while camping. With a roof-tent car, however, all this is already included in the rental price.

A typical Dacia Duster with a roof tent

A roof tent folds and unfolds faster and more easily than one on the ground, but it is just one small “double”. The tent is not heated, and such a car practically never comes with a refrigerator. Compared to small two-person campervans, you have a lot of luggage space, and you don’t have to rearrange or hide all your bags every evening when you want to go to bed. In practice, this is quite a big convenience. However, no heating in the sleeping area is a high price to pay for it. Rental companies will of course rent you such a car at any time of year, but in Iceland an unheated tent can be cold even in summer. So for most tourists this is an interesting option only in the summer months – from June to August. Staying at campsites saves a lot of money and at the same time gives you the utmost flexibility – you can change your exact itinerary depending on the current situation.

As you can see, the Suzuki Jimny is a much more expensive option, despite being a smaller car. It also gets much more expensive in the summer. In this category, the Dacia is certainly a better choice. However, it is worth noting that for a 4- or 5-person trip, renting a suitable campervan may not be more expensive at all, and will certainly provide more comfort (well, and 5-person trips are usually much more fun 🙂 ).

Renting a campervan

Campervans, true to their name, are usually converted vans. The rear of the vehicle is turned into a bedroom, which can usually also be converted into a seating and cooking area during the day.

Popular campervan sizes

You can also find an ordinary passenger car or off-roader – a Dacia Duster, Subaru Forester, Mitsubishi Pajero or even a Land Rover Defender – with the rear cabin and trunk converted into a bedroom for two.

The driving characteristics, of course, stay the same as in the base vehicle, while cooking and sleeping conditions are spartan, but sufficient. In such a car you almost always cook on a small camping stove powered by gas cartridges (round or oblong, shaped somewhat like spray air fresheners). The stove usually has one burner, but some cars come with (or let you rent) two stoves. So the cooking options are only slightly better than when camping in a tent. Besides, cooking inside the RV makes the windows fog up very quickly, and opening the door unfortunately lets the cold in.

In addition, there really is very little space in the back of a campervan, so to a large extent you have to think of it as a tent on wheels rather than a house on wheels. The most convenient thing would be to set up a table and chairs in front of the campervan and cook and eat there, but with the strong and very frequent Icelandic winds, this is also rather difficult. Still, since you have to spend the night at a campsite anyway, you can (usually) move the cooking to the campsite’s kitchen shelter, and at least the problem of limited kitchen space disappears.

Naturally, such a car has not even the simplest bathroom, let alone a shower. Restrooms and showers are of course available at every campsite, but they are not always included in the price (although they are never expensive). Renting a campervan will always be more expensive than a 4×4 car, but having your own bedroom saves the cost of guesthouses, and you don’t have to worry about booking accommodation. The floor you sleep on is always level, and you are well protected from the wind and cold. So it is certainly more comfortable than, for example, a Duster with a roof tent.

As you can see from the table above, the smallest campervan is not only clearly cheaper than the others, but its price also rises the least in summer. The prices of the other 3 models are relatively close to each other, which makes the Master by far the cheapest per person, but it is a front-wheel-drive vehicle, so comparing it with the Pajero or Duster is somewhat unfair.

4×4 campers – a specialty of Iceland

Particularly noteworthy is the hybrid created by mounting a camper unit on the back of a large off-road pickup truck. It’s hard to describe it more clearly – see what it looks like in the photo below.

4×4 camper in Thorsmork

Such a camper is a compromise between an off-road 4×4 and a motorhome. It can also be found in other parts of the world, but it is in the specific Icelandic conditions that it offers some unquestionable advantages. First of all, such a camper, like a motorhome, has a kitchen. It is smaller and usually less well equipped than the one in a motorhome, but it is there nonetheless. You get a sizable sink, a refrigerator with a freezer that runs all the time, and large, convenient cabinets. The refrigerator, water heater and heating of the living area run on a gas cylinder, which makes the trip very comfortable even when you can’t plug into campsite electricity. On the other hand, just like in a campervan, there is neither a toilet nor a shower.

In the living area, there is as much space as in the largest campervans (for example, you can easily stand), but of course, compared to a motorhome, it is still quite claustrophobic. The cab, on the other hand, is built to the American 6-passenger standard, so there is plenty of room. However, unlike in a motorhome or a van-based campervan, you can’t walk through from the cab to the living area. Every time, you have to get out and enter the back from outside. This is not a big problem, but it is definitely an inconvenience. Where such a 4×4 camper really shines, though, is on mountain roads. The Dodge Ram 1500 (or similar) pickups these campers are built on offer more than 300 horsepower, four-wheel drive, of course, a locking differential and low-range gearing. Plus really big, tall wheels and an equally tall off-road suspension. So this is a full-blooded off-roader. These vehicles look bizarre, but off-road they perform perfectly. You can drive them practically anywhere in the highlands without any problems (the only exception is the Krossá river on the way to Thorsmork, but the brave won’t be put off) and cook and sleep in relative comfort – lower than in a motorhome or hostel, but still incomparably higher than in a campervan or tent. In addition, it is a 4-person car, so it can be cheaper per person than campervans based on typical off-road cars – such as the Toyota Land Cruiser.

The disadvantage of such a vehicle is high fuel consumption. The large front and sides create huge air resistance; on top of that, the really heavy weight and the typical American automatic transmission mean that off-road, fuel consumption of 20 l/100 km (about 12 mpg) is not unusual… The high sides also make it fairly sensitive to wind gusts, but thanks to its high curb weight, the driver feels the gusts in the steering wheel, but they don’t throw the vehicle around the road the way they can a motorhome. Bottom line: for 4 people this is a very, very interesting option. If you want to see the highlands and are willing to pay more in exchange for extra comfort (compared to a campervan or sleeping in a tent), then definitely consider such a 4×4 camper.

4×4 campers are available from May.

As you can see from the table, 4×4 campers are a rather expensive option. Although per person (assuming every seat is taken) they are even cheaper than the Pajero or Land Cruiser mentioned above, they are up to twice as expensive per person as the Duster with a roof tent. Of course, they perform much better (than the Duster and other cars in this class) off-road and can simply handle a lot more rivers, in a much wider range of conditions. They also certainly provide greater driving, cooking and sleeping comfort, but still, the price for that comfort is high. As you will see in the next table, for the price of a Dodge Ram, you can even rent a luxury 6-passenger motorhome. You won’t take it on gravel roads, but traveling around the island on Road 1 will be even more comfortable.

Motorhome campers

Modern motorhome camper

Motorhomes are the largest vehicles you can rent in Iceland. Their key feature is that you get not only a reasonably spacious and well-equipped kitchen with a refrigerator, sink, oven and multi-burner stove, but also a bathroom with a shower and toilet. Motorhomes usually also have a retractable awning, but it is of little use in Icelandic conditions because of the almost constant strong wind and the sun never climbing very high above the horizon. The comfort of traveling in such a camper is absolutely incomparable to the other options described here. Not only because we have a really comfortable kitchen and a small but functional bathroom, but also because these vehicles provide a comfortable table for eating or, for example, playing cards; many well-lit places for reading; a million storage compartments for everything you might need; many 220V power outlets and, of course, USB ports, and (usually) a comfortable, well-stocked set of camping furniture.

It really is a home on wheels and offers the best combination of travel comfort and flexibility – after all, you sleep at campsites you don’t have to book. One catch: every 2–3 days, it’s worth plugging in to electricity. In spring this is not a problem, but in summer you need to find either a campsite that is not very crowded, or book a spot at least a day in advance. You can always find a parking space at a campsite, but one with an electrical hookup – not necessarily. The camper of course works fine without it, but then none of the 220-volt outlets work, so you can’t charge larger devices – those that can’t be charged from a USB port or cigarette lighter socket.

Remember that the nominal number of passengers assumes that some people (usually 2) will sleep in the dinette – on a bed made up in place of the table and benches. Every evening this bed has to be made up and folded away again in the morning, and the people sleeping in the dinette are always the last to go to sleep and the first to get up. This is not a big problem, but it does reduce the comfort of the trip. On the other hand, skipping the dinette bed and renting, for example, a 6-person camper for 4 people is simply quite expensive.

When renting an RV for the full number of people, also keep in mind that you will use up the water supply and fill the toilet cassette noticeably faster. This is not a problem, because you spend your nights at campsites anyway, so you can refill the water and empty the toilet there, but these technicalities simply won’t let you forget about them. Similarly, you need to remember about gas (or rather: swapping gas cylinders). Not every gas station offers this, so if you have used up one cylinder and are on the other, replace the empty one with a full one at the first opportunity. Without gas, not only the stove but probably also the refrigerator and heating won’t work, so this is serious. As for driving itself, modern motorhomes drive very well and easily. However, you have to allow for their huge size. When maneuvering in parking lots and campsites, watch not only the rear overhang, but also make sure you don’t snag the roof on something…

Video: maneuvering a motorhome camper.

Naturally, a motorhome also burns a lot of fuel and is sensitive to wind gusts. Most rental companies also (rightly) do not allow these vehicles off paved roads. As a result, the highlands are out of reach for such an RV, but for a trip on Road 1 (and side roads) it is perfectly suited.

The motorhome is a very convenient solution, perfectly combining travel comfort with great independence and flexibility.

As you can see from the table above, motorhomes are not cheap. Interestingly, the price difference between the smallest and cheapest one and the largest and most expensive one is relatively small – in summer it does not even exceed 10%. So per passenger, the smallest motorhome here clearly comes out as the most expensive. And while these prices are obviously high, per passenger even the large luxury model is very competitive with many of the options described earlier. Of course, even per passenger, a motorhome is as much as twice as expensive as a Dacia Duster with a roof tent, but the travel comfort is also incomparably higher.

The best campervan rentals in Iceland

Campers – both campervans and motorhomes – are quite popular in Iceland. They let you save on accommodation and give you great flexibility in planning your route. Not surprisingly, there are many different campervan rental companies with a wide variety of models. What may be surprising, however, is that the best rental prices can be found on a website that isn’t Icelandic at all. That’s the Motorhome Republic website, originally from New Zealand. It offers RV rentals ranging from the smallest and simplest, two-person models based on a Renault Kangoo or similar, all the way up to the largest and most luxurious motorhomes (usually the so-called alcove or semi-integrated models). The low prices on this site can probably be explained by its popularity with customers from the US – a very large and affluent group of travelers who love RV trips. And services operating in the largest markets usually offer the best prices. We checked and compared rental prices for different types and sizes of RVs, and practically always the cheapest was Motorhome Republic. At the same time, this service probably offers the widest range of RV types, they are well described and presented, and you can choose most options (add-ons and insurance) yourself. So you don’t have to settle for a single rental company’s offer, but can choose exactly the model you are interested in and get the best deal on it.

Only for 4×4 campers, especially the largest ones, is a better price sometimes found on CamperVan Iceland or KuKu Campers (although the latter offers its campers through Booking.com).

Other tips on driving in Iceland

The total cost of renting a vehicle in Iceland depends heavily on the scope and cost of its insurance. Iceland has several types of insurance not found in other countries, and the whole structure of insurance sold to tourists is quite different from what you may be used to at home. Learn about the structure, ranges and prices of car insurance in Iceland in this article: Car Insurance in Iceland. If you’re going to Iceland, it’s definitely worth getting to know the specific conditions on Icelandic roads, the local regulations and – just in case – the fines for certain traffic offenses. You will read about all this in this article: Driving Rules and Fines in Iceland. If you are wondering how to plan your route and what vehicle to choose for it, read our overview of the most important and interesting roads you may want to drive. We have collected them here: The most important roads in Iceland. Of course, we always encourage you to look at our Top 10 lists to pick the most interesting places to see. It’s probably worth starting with Iceland’s Greatest Attractions [Top 10].