Iceland August 2025

August 16, 2025

Iceland August 2025

Dyrholaey Overlook with Puffin Bird in Iceland

ITINERARY: FOR HI RESOLUTION ITINERARY AND LINKS TO TOURS WE TOOK CLICK HERE: Iceland August 2025 Itinerary

Grundarfoss waterfalls on Snaefellsnes Peninsula

AIRPORTS & FLIGHTS:

We flew into & out of KEF airport. This airport is in Keflavik, Iceland - 45 minutes outside the capital city of Reykjavik.

Customs: No surprises here. Stamp in passport book. They may ask where you're staying and for how long.
Things to know about airport:

ARRIVE EARLY! LONG LINES! When departing KEF airport, there are a few passport controls - so make sure you arrive early & fully get to your gate before getting food etc. Icelandair had ridiculously long lines - we were happy to have been flying Delta.

HIGHLY RECOMMEND: We put an airtag/tracker in our luggage and backpacks

Kirkjufell and Kirkjufoss on Snaefellsnes Peninsula

TRANSPORTATION: Due to he maximum flexibility, we chose to rent a car and stay at different hotels every night. You can also rent a camper van (sleep in the car) or do tour groups instead.

Our rental car in Iceland: Kia Rio

Rental Car:

Purchase FULL CAR INSURANCE: It is HIGHLY encouraged to get full insurance from the rental company, not with credit card. Due to the extreme weather/terrain in Iceland, there will be issues with tires, sand, wind etc. We chose Zero car rental because all insurances are included such as roadside assistance, wind & hail damage, dents, cracks in windshield etc. *Highly recommend knowing the roadside assistance phone number

When we were done with the car, we had a crack in the windshield and the car was a mess. We were grateful to not be worried about the condition of the vehicle

We rented a car from Zero Car Rental

Note: When picking up the car, there is not a physical office. You email them and they tell you where to go to pick up your keys from a lock box next to Blue Car Rental facility
These may be older cars, but in good conditions
Some car rental companies have offices/cars directly at the airport. Zero/Blue car rental was a 5 minute walk or there are free bus shuttles available from airport to the off site car rental location. Upon arrival, we took a shuttle to the car rental site and chose to walk back on the way in.

You can also rent WIFI internet for the car as well through the car rental companies

Driving in Iceland: Very easy. Highly Recommend!

We used Road.is website to check out road conditions
We used Weather.is website to view weather
Allow faster cars to take over or you overtake a slower car when there's a break in the middle white line
Roundabouts:

Please google/YouTube how 2 lane roundabouts work. Confusing at first, but makes sense once you're there.

Do not change lanes once you're in the roundabout
The left lane has the right of way

Speed Limits - do NOT speed. You will get a speeding ticket & they're expensive fines.

Most places ranged from 30km to 90km.
Speed Cameras: These are everywhere. There are signs to indicate that they are coming up, but please slow down. These tickets can be expensive

Gasoline:

Notes:

95 octane gasoline is green
Gas is very expensive. Try to get a hybrid car, if possible.
Costco is the cheapest place on the island to get gas

Car rental company usually has a key fob for a discounted gas rate. Ours was from "OB" or "OLLIE" gas stations.

Note: If you fill up from "N1" gas stations, you may need a PIN number for your credit card. We called our credit card company and got a pin number for our credit card before leaving as a back up option.

Process of filling gas:

1. Show the card reader the gas fob for discounted rates & then your credit card
2. Pick the maximum amount of money you allow for gas to be pumped into the car. Once you pick the max, the gas shuts off at the max or when the tank is full. Whichever comes first
3. There is a large hold placed on your credit card that will eventually come off. Make sure you have enough credit line on credit card

Tiny N1 gas station on Snaefellsanes Peninsula

Parking: For your budget, most major sites will cost to use the parking lot ranging from $5-10usd for a normal passenger vehicle. We easily spent $150-200 usd in parking fees alone

Payment: Download the Parka app and Easy Park app. This app allows you to pay for parking via phone, but only works once you're in Iceland. Some parking lots did not use either of these apps and we had to use the QR code to pay for the parking online. All parking lots have a kiosk to pay for parking, but lines can be long.

DO NOT SKIP PAYING FOR PARKING. We heard so many tourists ignore parking signs / say that they would just pay for it at the rental car company.

For Reykjavik hotels, there's little/no parking. You will need to park in lots. P3 and P4 lots are free on the weekend.
Make sure once done with the car, remove the rental car from your Parka /Easy App profile so you don’t keep getting charged

HOTEL: If visiting South Iceland, highly recommend booking these hotels/Airbnb's first!! This area has the least amount of hotels, guesthouses, shared rooms, Airbnb's etc. If going in high season (May - September), highly recommend booking hotels asap! For a 3 to 4 star hotel during high season, expect to pay $300-$600/night.

Note:

Bring your own hair conditioner and body lotion - Hotels do not provide
Bring eye masks if going in summer (July-August) to block out the summer night sun
Recommend getting hotels that had an included breakfast, eat lunch from the grocery store & eat out once/day.

Bruarfoss waterfall in Golden Circle: Bluest waterfall in the world

WEATHER: Weather can change at any time. Be prepared in layers. We went in summer and still experienced 4 seasons in one day. We used Weather.is website to view weather

Look up sunset/sunrise times to best plan your trip

Fjaðrárgljúfur Canyon In South Iceland

PAYMENT METHODS:

Cash: Absolutely no cash needed
Credit Cards: Used everywhere.

Only use credit cards with 0% foreign transaction fee
Always pick Icelandic Krona vs. US Dollar when picking which form of currency for the credit card to be run. We got much better and favorable rates using Icelandic Krona.
Note: Public bathrooms are available for a cost - credit card accepted

Puffin Birds!!

SAFETY: Emergency phone number is 112. Know the roadside assistance number for your car rental in case. One of the safest countries we have visited.

Gljúfrabúi Waterfall in South Iceland

WHAT TO PACK:

Passport & print color copies of passport to carry in wallet (just in case)
Plug converter needed coming from the USA
Reusable water bottle - water is clean. No need for plastic waterbottles. Fill up everywhere you go.
Medication: Motrin/Tylenol, anti-diarrhea pills, gas-x, tums etc. It is very expensive to buy locally - bring from home
Clothing:

We went in summer and recommend being prepared for every season. Merino wool is the best. Try to avoid linen or cotton clothing.
MUST have waterproof pants, waterproof jacket (not water resistant), and waterproof shoes

Upper clothing:

Base layer: T-shirt
Middle Layer: Wool Full sleeves
Outer Layer: Fleece jacket
Outermost: Thick jacket and/or waterproof jacket

Lower Clothing

Base layer: Tights
Middle & Outer Layer: Leggings / sweatpants / jeans
Outermost: waterproof pant

Shoes: Merino wool socks recommended

Waterproof Hiking boots - must
Water shoes - if doing any of the famous lagoons, hot spring hikes etc.
Tennis Shoes

Waterproof pouch/cell phone cover for cell phone - we recommend waterproof cell phone cover instead of pouch

We used this at the blue lagoon and walking behind waterfalls

Eye mask if coming in summer - can be up to 24 hours of sunlight and some places do not have black out curtains
Bring your own conditioner & body lotion - most lodging does not provide including hotels
Need reusable bag at grocery store or they'll charge you
Bring extra zip locks, plastic bags, napkins for car, and/or soft top cooler

Skogafoss Waterfall

COMMUNICATION:

Everyone spoke English and was easy to communicate
We communicated any requests with hotels via email
We activated the international AT&T plan ($10 usd/day) for one smartphone. The other smartphone, we just used for photos. Or, you can get WIFI Internet through the rental car company.

Seltun Geothermal Area

RANDOM TIPS:

Make sure to have Google Maps app downloaded:

Download Google maps offline for any city you will be visiting
Bathrooms: Public bathrooms are available for a cost ($2-3usd) - credit card accepted. Google maps "Public WC" to find the closest public bathrooms
Check google reviews for any place you visit for most up-to-date information

If possible, avoid visiting any major tourist attraction on weekends / holidays due to heavy crowds. Morning & weekdays are much better to visit.
Recommend carrying plastic bags to be a trashcan in the car. Very few public trashcans available.

Mulagljufur Canyon

VEGETARIAN/VEGAN FOOD:

Food is expensive!!! Outside Meals cost minimum $25usd/per person and up.
Grocery Stores: Need reusable bag at grocery store or they'll charge you

Pick up as much as you can from Grocery stores like Bonus, Kronan, Netto, Costco etc.

Bonus is the cheapest, Netto is the most expensive. Kronan had the most vegetarian options.

Pre-made food: These grocery stores have pre-made food to purchase such as pre-made sandwiches ($6-10usd) and frozen meals. At some grocery stores, they did have a hot water kettle and microwave that could be used to heat up meals.
Several vegetarian/vegan options available
Get all your souvenirs from the Grocery Stores especially Icelandic chocolates!! Yum!! Our favorite chocolate was (1) OmNom (2) Karun and (3) Sirius

Gas Stations Convenience Stores: If unable to find a grocery store, gas stations also had good pre-made food
Recommend getting hotels that had an included breakfast, eat lunch from the grocery store & eat out once/day.
We never struggled with vegetarian/vegan options in any city we went to
Bring snacks from home

We brought mixed nuts, protein bars & ready to eat food that did not require microwave or fridge.

Delicious Cinnamon Roll from Braud & Co

OUR RECOMMENDATIONS:

Don't spend too much time in city of Reykjavik. But, give yourself a good rest day once landing
Hallgrimskirkja Church in Reykavik
Blue Lagoon is overpriced, but worth trying once. There's several other lagoons available such as Sky Lagoon

Bring watershoes to any lagoon you go to!

Bring waterproof pouch/cell phone cover if going to take pictures in the lagoons
Blue Lagoon is man-made & heated from the Geothermal Plant

South Iceland is a highlight!
Seljalandsfoss waterfalls in South Iceland

Reynisfjara Black Sand Beach in South Iceland

Glacier Tongues in South Iceland
Zodiac Boat Tour - Highly recommend if interested in seeing glaciers up close and so many cute seals. Not a must, in our opinion.