Experiences with rental cars in Iceland — that’s something I get asked about quite often: My own experiences have all been good so far, but I know a few pitfalls from other countries. So we went looking for rental car reviews for Iceland anyway, and in this post we want to give you the broadest overview possible. We talked to travelers and bloggers and have summarized their experiences and opinions here for you.
Here we go…
My personal experiences with rental cars in Iceland
So far I have traveled through Iceland with a rental car 5 times. I have used both Billiger Mietwagen and GuidetoIcleand* as meta search engines and ultimately rented vehicles from Sixt, Avis and Lotus Car Rental.
I never had any problems with a rental — not a single accident in Iceland so far, no rock chips or any other damage.
In other countries, however, I have experienced damage: In Ireland I nearly destroyed my (very first) rental car because I lost focus for a moment and scraped a camper van parked at the side of the road along the entire length of my car. That’s where I learned: How good your rental company really is only shows in one single situation: When there’s damage.
Back then I had taken the full worry-free insurance package: Everything they offered, no matter the cost. That made the rental car almost three times as expensive as it would have been without any additional insurance. It included not only fully comprehensive cover, glass and tires, but above all a waiver of the deductible.
The damage to that small, brand-new Nissan Micra amounted to many thousands of euros — possibly even a total write-off. I dropped it off at the next station, got a new car and continued my road trip. I never heard anything about the incident again and didn’t pay a single euro in deductible, processing fees or anything else.
From 2014 to 2017 I lived in Cape Town and had a rental car for at least 6 months a year: It always came from the same company, because they had definitely earned my trust in Ireland. I still compared prices, but in South Africa this provider was among the cheapest anyway, so the question of an alternative never even came up.
In Iceland, unfortunately, I can’t rent from Avis: Every time I compare prices they are noticeably above the local providers, and the premium is too high for me, even with a high loyalty status. Once I had a free weekend rental left over which I happened to be able to redeem in Iceland, and the service was great.
For my first Iceland round trip I simply compared 2–3 providers without a meta search engine and ended up with Sixt. Among the international providers they always score very well and also offer good insurance packages. I booked with them twice more after that and was always happy. At the airport (KEF) you are taken from the terminal to the car in a small bus, but you can also easily walk the distance. The station is staffed 24/7.
As I said, I haven’t had any damage cases in Iceland so far, which means I can only rate the companies superficially. That’s why I decided to talk to more Iceland travelers — and some of them have quite different stories to tell…
Rental car reviews from Iceland travelers
Christine’s rental car disaster in Iceland
How did you prepare for the trip with regard to the car?
I was still quite young back then and had little experience plus little money, so I only searched online and tried to find something cheap.
Where did you book (search engine and which rental company did it end up being)?
I booked through Car del Mar and it ended up being Hertz.
What would you have liked to know before renting?
That there is an ash and sand insurance which is not included in the fully comprehensive cover.
How was the trip? Were there any notable events involving the car, and what were they?
We got caught in an ash and sand storm, the car was basically sandblasted once over and suffered 3,000 euros worth of damage.
Would you do anything differently today, and if so: What / how?
I would book directly with the rental company. So not through a booking platform like Car del Mar. And I probably would have driven it into a wall beforehand, because that would have been covered by the insurance 😉
I reached out to Christine from Lillies Diary on purpose, because she had a catastrophic experience with her rental car in Iceland. You can read the whole story here.
Mela’s rental car review for Iceland
For my two-and-a-half-week road trip in Iceland I booked the rental car through Guide to Iceland*. The platform has the advantage that the price comparison mainly includes Icelandic providers, which is definitely cheaper than booking with international chains. Guide to Iceland offers a best price guarantee and doesn’t charge any booking fees. The actual provider then was SS Car Rental. Booking was super straightforward, and when my travel dates in Iceland changed I was even able to rebook the rental car free of charge — and the best part: the rental car was delivered right to my accommodation in Reykjavik. I would definitely book like this again on my next Iceland trip and can only recommend Guide to Iceland as well as SS Car-Rental. Unfortunately I had a flat tire along the way and was very lucky that a garage was nearby. You have to cover those costs yourself, because in my experience tire damage is never covered in Iceland.
Mela from Individualicious writes about her travels on her blog. You can find the Iceland trip here.
These are the experiences Manuela had with her rental car in Iceland
How did you prepare for the trip with regard to the car?
I had already planned our route. Since we ‘only’ wanted to drive the ring road, we chose a standard rental car from the compact class.
Where did you book (search engine and which rental company did it end up being)?
My first price comparison started at Check24 — we booked through the provider AtlasOption, and the actual rental company on site was Hasso.
What would you have liked to know before renting?
Everything actually went smoothly for us. By now, though, I would take a closer look at which types of damage are really covered.
How was the trip? Were there any notable events involving the car, and what were they?
The 10 days in Iceland were a dream! You don’t often get to see that much wonderful nature. Being told to simply leave the car at the airport with the key in the glove compartment felt a bit odd to me. But everything worked out without a hitch 😉
Would you do anything differently today, and if so: What / how?
In 2013 traveling in Iceland was still a bit more relaxed — today I would probably book every accommodation in advance. And I would maybe include 1–2 day trips with a tour operator, because that way you get to see some different corners of the country.
Manuela blogs about her travels at Seiltanz. Thank you very much for sharing these experiences!
A rental car review for Iceland from Jutta
How did you prepare for the trip with regard to the car?
Trip 1: Not at all! I had no idea about the road conditions, the required vehicle equipment and/or insurance. Big mistake — though thanks to pure luck it didn’t spoil that particular trip.
Trip 2: Between trip 1 and 2 I followed Icelandic media, read tips and reviews on blogs and got advice from Icelanders I had gotten in touch with in the meantime. So I knew what to look out for, knew the road conditions and was familiar with the pitfalls of insurance contracts when it comes to potential weather-related damage. So when booking, I had (almost) everything covered.
Trip 3: Experience and regularly reading Icelandic media have made me smart(er).
Where did you book (search engine and which rental company did it end up being)?
For trips 1 and 3 I searched and booked the classic way through comparison portals (Check24). Local providers. With provider 1 — from memory it was Dollar — there was a transfer from/to the hotel when picking up/dropping off the car. Pretty comfortable if you don’t need the car right on day 1. Unfortunately I no longer remember the name of the provider for trip 3. For trip 2 I had discovered and booked a local provider on the then newly launched portal Guide to Iceland* (KuKu Campers — a complete disaster!).
What would you have liked to know before renting?
That KuKu Campers rents out completely outdated vehicles that aren’t roadworthy. I let myself be guided by the cool, funny paint jobs on the camper vans. I was pretty blind there. I was disappointed in Guide to Iceland at the time, because I had explicitly asked whether the vehicles were good and whether they knew and could recommend the provider. All of which was confirmed.
I also would have liked to know — this applies to trip 2 as well — that 4×4 is not the same as 4×4. If you’re driving on gravel roads, you also need higher tires, more inches, that is.
How was the trip? Were there any notable events involving the car, and what were they?
Trips 1 and 3 were perfect. The trip with the camper van, as mentioned, was a complete disaster. The vehicle broke down. The rental company didn’t respond at all to messages sent from the road. Before renting a mini camper like that, you should consider whether you really want to convert the car every evening — sometimes in pouring rain — and clear all the luggage out of the vehicle just to set up the sleeping area. Our van was not only NOT roadworthy, but also impractical when it came to the sleeping arrangement. It was dirty, too. We only managed a single night in it … :/
The height of the vehicle (combined with its narrow width) also made it vulnerable to gusts of wind. And we had storms on two days!
Would you do anything differently today, and if so: What / how?
Look closely. If you’re short on time, you should book a car with the international rental companies, because you can pick up the car right at the terminal. For the drop-off (many return flights leave early in the morning) that can be a factor. As a rule, the cars from international companies are also newer (although we had nearly new vehicles on trips 1 and 3 as well, the fleet was mixed). Better not to skimp on the car. Pay attention to the insurance. 4×4 is always a good idea, even if you’re not driving the worst gravel tracks (after all, even the ring road and interesting detours aren’t paved all the way, and extreme weather can cause road damage again and again). Small cars aren’t all that sensible in Iceland either (little resistance in extreme wind conditions).
Jutta has been a big Iceland fan for a long time and blogs about her travels at 6 Grad Ost.
Tips for your rental car in Iceland
So now we have a few first-hand reviews — many thanks to everyone who took part — but what do we learn from them?
Here are my top take-aways for renting the right rental car in Iceland:
- What matters is not the cheapest price, the prettiest facade or the most colorful cars, but how a company behaves when there’s damage. The best way to get this information is to browse the reviews a bit, research the provider on Google or check internet forums / Facebook groups.
- It is important to either book generous insurance coverage or to consciously carry the risk yourself and possibly pay up in the end. In my view, the most important insurances are fully comprehensive cover and glass — I wouldn’t book a car without these anymore. Sand & ash is a tricky one: Some say you don’t need it, Christine would presumably disagree 😉
- Know the rules and have them explain to you explicitly what is not insured. There are a few generic examples: Water damage, which could occur when fording rivers, is never insured. Also not insured, but a classic: The door gets ripped open by the wind and the hinges get damaged. This happens a lot, because it really does happen very quickly, and people are then always very surprised that the damage isn’t covered despite fully comprehensive insurance. And last but not least: Tire damage is never insured either (at least it was never offered to me).
- Don’t unknowingly insure yourself twice: Many credit cards include insurance for rental cars. If you have a credit card with an annual fee, there’s a good chance it includes such insurance. It may even be worth getting such a card instead of upgrading the insurance with the rental provider. But please inform yourself carefully and, if in doubt, get it confirmed in writing!
- There are no guarantees: Whether you’re in Iceland for the first time or an experienced traveler, whether you took the big package or no insurance at all: Accidents are, by definition, something that happens unexpectedly, and to a certain extent you simply have no influence over them. Don’t let that spoil your vacation in Iceland!
Conclusion: Rental car experiences in Iceland
I hope we were able to help you a little with your research and contribute to you finding the right rental car for Iceland and having a great time on the road.
Whether you’re the risk-taker type who skips insurance or you go for the full worry-free package: Whether something happens still largely depends on the person behind the wheel: Drive slowly, defensively and carefully. Familiarize yourself with the traffic rules and simply use common sense — that helps more than any insurance. The best damage case is, of course, the one that never happens in the first place.
The second-best damage case is the one you don’t have to think much about. A good provider and good insurance will help with that.
Have fun in Iceland!
* Articles marked with an asterisk are affiliate links: If you rent a car, book a tour or buy something through them, I receive a small commission. It doesn’t cost you anything extra and you support our work. Thank you! 🙂
No Comments Yet