ICELAND SOLO ROAD TRIP DETAILS
17th to 31st October 2019, 14 days
TOTAL COST: Rs.1,86,040/-
* visa: Rs.5740/- (got my visa through Mumbai VFS. My bank balance during the visa process was about 2 lakh. You can find all the visa related documents in the VFS website. Please do check it there. I am a salaried person so I do not know the visa process for someone who has their own business)
* Flight tickets Delhi - Keflavik return: Rs.52,479/- (medical, travel insurance included in the price by Make my trip)
* Bus from Airport to hostel: Rs.2278
* Car rental for 12 days with full insurance: Rs.51,690 (if you are in a group this is a shared cost)
* Shuttle from Hostel to car rental office: Rs.1715
* Petrol: Rs.17,107 ( This could have gone up to Rs.20,000/- but I was stuck in a snow storm for 2 days so no driving on those days. Again if you are in a group this is a shared cost)
* Groceries: Rs.3697
* Eating at cafes: Rs.3634 (mostly hotdogs and unlimited coffee)
* Hostels: Rs.41,715
* Sim card: Rs.2805 (This is the price of 2 sim cards. I ended up buying 2 sim cards becuase the first one I bought had only 10GB data and no calling. Later I realised that I might need to call some hostels or emergency services so I got another sim which had free local calls and 1GB data)
* parking, entry, tunnel pass etc. : Rs.3180
Ofcourse there are other costs like buying things at Iceland duty free or souvenir shopping. People usually buy alcohol from duty free because its very expensive within the city and you have only one chain of shops that sell alcohol. If you are from a warm place like me you will have to buy all your winter wear which can cost you a lot.
ITINERARY: I spent 14 nights across Iceland. I drove the Ring Road along with the Snaefellsnes Peninsula which was a total of 2500 kms. Stayed in Hostels. Here are the places that I stayed during my trip. I would drive from one place to the other and do all the sightseeing along the way.
REYKJAVIK - SELFOSS - VIK - HOFN - SEYDISFJORDUR - AKUREYRI - STADUR - OLAFSVIK - REYKJAVIK - KEFLAVIK.
I had to change my plans at Seydisfjordur because I was stuck there for 2 days due to a heavy snow storm. If you have less time in Iceland I would highly suggest you visit the Snaefellsnes Peninsula.
TIPS:
I was on a solo trip so these tips are from the point of view of a solo traveller. These tips are in random order.
*After applying for the visa I got a call from Denmark embassy. I was questioned for about 30-40 minutes on the phone. About itinerary, why Iceland, job, family, job designation, any travel history and lot more. So be ready for this if you are applying for visa for the first time that too for a Schengen visa.
* If you withdraw money from atm you will be charged a certain amount depending on the amount you have withdrawn. I was charged Rs. 100 on a withdrawal of Rs.1700
* Cards are accepted everywhere. Public toilets, petrol pumps, parking everywhere. I had to pay cash at one homestay because the card machine was not working but the owner let me stay the night without paying and told me he will me meet me in the city to collect the cash after a few days. That was some trust :P
* There are parking/entry charges at certain tourist places. It can be anywhere between Rs.400 to Rs.500
* Public toilets at certain places charge you Rs. 115. Public toilets are very less so be careful of that. Some petrol pumps have cafes with toilets but they have signs that say only for customers. And so you walk in like a customer LOL.
* Depending upon which company you have rented your car from you get a discount on certain petrol pumps along with a free coffee everytime you fill your tank.
* Cook your own food at the hostel kitchen. It will save you a lot of money. Every tourist I came across had a seperate bag full of groceries. Eating out everyday is going to be very costly. There are supermarkets like Bonus and Kronan that open at 11am and close at 6pm so please keep that in mind. The supermarkets that stays open 24x7 are more costlier compared to Bonus and Krona. But yes do taste some of the Icelandic food, I just ate Hotdogs.
* Indian driving license is acceptable and you can drive a rental car. However the language of the license has to be English or else you need to get an international driving license.
* Follow the traffic rules. Because the person ahead or behind you is driving with the thought that you are aware of all the traffic rules. If you make a mistake it might be fatal.
* Its a left hand drive, it took me about a day to get use to it. By the end of the day I was driving with one hand. Lol
* When in Iceland follow this websites everyday before you start driving. It gives you an overview of the weather and road conditions. It might end up saving your life : vedur.is , safetravel.is , road.is
* For northern lights you need to know two things at the most. The KP scale and the cloud cover. The KP scale ranges from 0 to 9, so higher the KP scale the more changes you have of seeing the lights. On the night of Diwali the KP scale was a 5 and the aurora was visible with the naked eyes. Also the sky has to be clear. For that you need to keep track of the cloud cover. There are apps that allow you to do that. Vedur.is is good to check for cloud cover as well. It is same as star gazing but for a limited time during the night.
* Just to let you know, the pictures you see of the auroras on the internet is not what you will see with your eyes. The pictures are clicked with long exposure and also edited. But yes, on a good night you can see the colours in the aurora, green, pink. You can see it dancing. It makes you wonder in Awe. It is an experience of a life time.
* Be flexible with your plans, a bad weather day can force you to stay at one place for more days than you wanted to. Happened to me. In some cases the hostels/hotels are kind enough to give you free cancellations if you cannot make it there due to bad weather. So call them up and ask them. People are nice :)
* There is one tunnel in the north that charges you Rs. 855 each time you pass through it. You have to pay the amount online within 3 hours of passing. You can avoid it by taking the longer route. It adds only 15 minutes to the journey. There are some tunnels that are 5-7km long and are single lane. So keep that in mind.
* Always talk to the person at the reception and ask for recommendations. They will tell you things that you won't find in Google. They are always happy to help.
* It will be tempting to stop every 5 minutes to click pictures. DO NOT stop your car on the road. There are designated parking places along the road where you can pull over.
* For drone enthusiasts : most tourist places have " no drones "signs. But you can fly your drone in other places. Every place in Iceland is beautiful. Do read about drone laws of Iceland before flying there. But yes, you can carry your drone with you. I kept mine in the check-in luggage and batteries in cabin luggage. No issue in Delhi or Keflavik airport
* Cell reception for local sim cards are really good. I often video called home through watsapp and it performed without lag.
*Google maps worked perfectly everywhere. Do download the offline maps just in case.
* While following google maps, set it to satellite view. It might cost you more data but while driving some places might interest you and you will make an unplanned stop which is the best thing about Iceland.
* Prices of car rental will vary depending on manual or automatic, 2WD or 4X4. Manual is cheaper. I rented a hyundai i10 automatic with winter tyres. I had just learned how to drive. LOL
* Apart from your normal winter wear carry water proof wear. If you can find something that is waterproof and windproof that would be best. The wind really amplifies the cold. If you want you can carry an umbrella but its so windy most of the time that it will just keep inverting or just blown away.
* Do not step on the moss just to click pictures. It takes a long time to grow back. Respect nature. This goes for all places in the world :-P
* Only 4x4 cars are allowed on rough terrain roads. These roads are called F roads. I had a 2WD car so I did not drive in F roads. If you drive your car where you should not and damage it then the insurance will not cover it.
* Always take the Sand and Ash Protection (SAAP) insurance for your car even if you are not taking the full insurance. The wind is so strong that while driving along the coast it carries the sand with it and this scratches the car paint. I experinced the sand hitting my face when I was walking on a beach during a really windy day. It hurt a lot.
*while driving in gravel roads keep a safe distance from the car ahead. Sometimes stones come flying from the cars ahead of you and it can damage the windshield. Oh yeah, windshield is not covered in any insurance.
* High winds can rip apart the car doors, so always open them with caution when its windy outside. The insurance doesn't cover this damage.
* Since the roads are very good and empty its very tempting to drive at high speeds. The speed limit in the highway is 90kmph. If you are caught speeding the fines can be huge. And you will be caught on video. There are cameras all around the country.
* Never let your fuel tank go below half. Petrol pumps are easy to find but there are places where you might be driving for hours with no sight of a petrol pump. Also if you are stuck in cold weather you need all the warmth of the heater.
* All the horses that you see while driving across the country are not wild horses. They belong to someone. So do not feed them or cross the fence to pat them.
* Petrol is Rs.135 and disel is Rs.130 per litre
* You can drink water from anywhere in Iceland: taps, waterfalls, river. So just carry a water bottle and you are good
* Carry hot water and a mug in your car to make your coffee. Trust me, there is no better feeling than having coffee looking into the vast landscapes with no one around. You can buy/rent gas stoves in Reykjavik but that can be expensive.
*Pack you lunch before leaving the hostel in the morning.
*Once the car is heated turn off the heater and wear your winter clothes while driving. This will save you a lot of fuel. Ofcourse if it turns cold again you turn on the heater for a while.
If you have any questions please do post them in comments below so that everyone can see them too. I did not do any fake bookings for this trip. All bookings were genuine. I am no expert but after my first international trip, I think I know a thing or two.
Photo & content courtesy: Raj Kamal MarandMarandi.
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