iceland alone?

hi everyone,

i´d like to fulfill my greatest wish and go to iceland this summer and i´m wondering if it´s a good idea to do it on my own. is it absolutely necessary to rent a car (which i´d rather do in company) or are there also busses round the island? what about accomodations?
has anybody done iceland alone here and could give me some advice?

i´ve already travelled on my own (argentina, uruguay and chile), but i´m not sure if it would be that easy in iceland.
so what would you suggest - go alone or look for a travel mate?

thnx in advance!

If you are not renting a car, my advice is take a tour.
There are many tour operators that do tours in Iceland.
Local ones: http://www.randburg.com/is/tourism/tours-in-iceland.asp

And ,,voyages jules verne" ,,explore" ,, ,,discover iceland" and more.
If your intentions are travelling with a bus: http://www.nat.is/travelguideeng/bus_stop_the_real_icelandic.htm
B-)

From an accommodation point of view travelling alone in Iceland is great! Rooms are priced per person and if you bring along a sleeping bag you'll save a whole lot of money. I think this is one of the biggest secrets: often a sleeping-bag space (essentially a normal room but no bedsheets) is £10, £20 less than a made-up room!

Transport-wise, if you want to see the back-country (which in Iceland is basically everywhere that's not on Route 1) you'll be letting yourself in for a lot of hassle without your own car. Sorry, but this is the reality of Iceland! Yes, there are buses, but if you wanted to visit the far-flung corners of the Westfjords I can't see how buses could be convenient. Given the state of many roads (potholed, unsurfaced and crazily steep and winding) I can't see how a large bus could even get around!

We had a fabulous time in Iceland: we rented the car from Avis at Keflavik. It was expensive (£600 plus for 2 weeks) but totally worth it. Driving all the way around the Westfjords was simply incredible. Some aspects of Iceland have to be endured rather than enjoyed (the food - honestly it's not very good and anything that is any good is totally overpriced) but if you like the outdoors you'll be left speechless.

http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Iceland/blog-435492.html

Will

Edited by: polyglot25

I travelled Iceland alone in February. So summer is a piece of cake. There are buses, but they are often twice the price of flying. #1 already gave the link
http://www.nat.is/travelguideeng/bus_stop_the_real_icelandic.htm

As for flying, you'll need to book in advance. One example, looking ahead to June, there was only a few cheap seats left for Reykjavik- Egilsstaðir (5,000 isk)
http://www.airiceland.is/?BookingID=5209d307-f5f1-48a2-9c5a-dd5ed0b535eb&triptype=rOneWay&origin=RKV&dest=EGS&depday=10&depmon=06&depyear=2010&adults=1&children=0&infants=0&subwebfaretype=1&lang=en-US

I quite like the ride sharing option. With buses so expensive, locals travelling from A-B post a ride available. You pitch in a few thousand for gas (a fraction of the price of a bus) and you get to chat to a local.
http://www.samferda.net/

Because i was there in the winter, many of the buses weren't running, so i often hitchhiked. Problem is there are 4 main stops along the ring road and they're VERY far apart. Chances of getting someone going all the way is tough.

As #2 mentioned, if you want to get off the ring road, the only option is hiring a car. That said, the eastern fiords will be do-able by bus in the summer.

Given the state of many roads (potholed, unsurfaced and crazily steep and winding) I can't see how a large bus could even get around!

In Iceland, buses travel places 2wd cars, even the more basic 4wds, can't go. I don't recall many crazily steep and winding roads in Iceland.

The problem with service buses is that they mainly go to places people live, not tourist attractions, though there are additionally, and importantly, seasonal excusion buses that serve the main tourist attractions. With only one bus a day in many places, and less than that in some others, you can't just hop off, have a look and wait for the next one, as that might be tomorrow, or worse.

For many purposes, such as certain of the main non-circular walking routes, a bus can be a more convenient form of transport than a car.

if you want to get off the ring road, the only option is hiring a car

It is obvious from the bus timetable links shown that buses do a lot more than the ring road: they go to main settlements and tourist attractinos, and around the Westfjords and Snafellsness, and right across the interior by several routes, etc. If you want to get seriously off the beaten track, you might need more than just a 2wd car.

So in sum, buses are inflexible and time-consuming. But you can't go everywhere in a car if it is only a basic one.

If you drive around the more far flung areas of Vestfirdir, such as the road to Raudisandur, you will indeed find quite hair-raising. Likewise the pass between Dynjandi and Thingeyri is tortuous, by some European standards at least! Buses simply won't take you to the more remote areas - and if they do it will be a whole lot of hassle. Of course there are buses in Iceland - but having been there very recently the convenience of your own wheels is to my mind a clear winner. Have fun, whatever you decide!

such as the road to Raudisandur

That is way off the beaten track. If you want to go to places like that, you'll definitely need your own transport.

Likewise the pass between Dynjandi and Thingeyri is tortuous

But the Isafjordur-Brjanslaekur-Latrabjarg bus goes over it, though that's a summer-only less-than-7-days operation. It's probably not even the worst part of that journey. And I've been on much worse roads traversed by buses in the Andes and Guatemala.

Buses simply won't take you to the more remote areas

They'll actually take you to some really rather remote areas such as Askja and Kverkfjoll and Laki, that you need quite a robust 4x4 to get to yourself because of the depth of the fords. But, obviously, not up every interesting little dead-end.

I took a bus trip to Askja, with a long part on the "young" lava flow, most impressive.
Hardly a flat or straight stretch of "trail" bigger than the bus itself, rocking and plunging into ruts and pools, the front and back part of the bus scratching the ground, the driver hanging on its huge wheel and standing on the pedals, with some classical icelandic music booming.
Rain was pouring down for most of the day, and the caldeira was covered with 30 cm of slush and melted water...

I went alone last year and found it the best place I'd ever been alone. I bought a bus passport and took a tent, food etc. Quite a few others also on the bus on their own. As the above posters say, you are confined to the immediate vicinity of the Ring Road, but it covers alot of interesting places. Nothing beats camping on your own in the midnight light of Iceland. Last year I was awake at 3am and went for a walk to the glacier, the feeling of solitude was very powerful and welcome, given I live in an overcrowded, noisy city!
Mind you I'm taking the wife (quote last year...'there's absolutely NO WAY I am going to anywhere called Iceland, it sounds far too cold) this year, after she saw the photos I took, so it won't be as blissfully peaceful and maybe punctuated by the odd row, but enjoyable in a different way....

Hey i went alone and had a great time, the buses from the airport to reykjavik you can buy at the airport w. no advance purchase. I used the tour company www.gotraveliceland.com loved it!! they even take you to some locations the other tour operators dont and they have the highest reviews on tripadvisor. If you are going alone try couchsurfing you can stay for free.. look for asgeir thats who I stayed with at couchsurfing.com. Icelandic are very open people and everyone speaks english you shouldn't have a prob at all

Marcello
http://www.wanderingtrader.com

I'm contemplating going to Iceland end of August...let me know if you're looking for a travel companion