driving around Iceland

Hi,

I'm planning to drive to Iceland (from NL). I can take the ferry from the north of UK (Srabster) or from DK (HANSTHOLM), anyone who has any advise on these two?
Would like to take the ringroad and drive around Iceland. How long would that take me aprrox? Is April/May a good time (I do not mind wheater conditions to much, but prefere to drive in daylight..... how long is the day during April/May? Would like to take day hikes en route, any sugegstions? Got a Landrover Disco III....

thanks.

B

Hi ragainis,
Is your car rental legit ? I cannot find any "Gildo" car rental registered by The Icelandic road administration.
How about insurance matters ?
Why are you not members of SAF. the Icelandic travel industry association ?, and have their logo on your website ?
Why is there no information on your company on your website ?
B-)

Check the ferry on www.smyril-line.com. The timetable most easily accessed on the website doesn't mention Scrabster at the moment, but if you find the catalogue (see pp30-31) I think you'll find that they intend to go there mid-June to end August. And in Denmark it tends to be Esbjerg rather than Hantsholm off season. But be careful to check and leave time in hand as they can switch ports and leave early if weather happens.

April is still winter really, ave max temp just 5C by the coast, still substantial risk of snowfall disrupting your plans from time to time. May is rather sunnier and warmer, on average, though not entirely free from snowfall risk, particularly in the N and E. If you don't mind the fact that the interior will be closed, and it will be cooler than midsummer, this can be a very nice time to go - nice light, hardly gets dark, many fewer tourists, nice views of snow on the hills.

It's about 1300km around the ringroad, so you could drive around in under 24 hours non-stop. How long you take to enjoy yourself is up to you. You have your Landrover, so I suggest you'll want to leave the ringroad from time to time, get to some nice places up unpaved roads, because a lot of them are.

That ferry tour is long and soo boring. Addtionelly it is costly: the ferry itself, cabin, food - and then add travel to Scrabster or Hanstholm (petrol, driving time, hotels, restaurants) - MUCH cheaper to fly and rent car in Iceland (no need for a 4WD - remember that off-road is illegal and intrior roads are closed). Daylength is 12 hours 22 March and nearly 24 on 22 June - so some 18 hours beginning May. You can get precise sunrise/sunset if needed in many places like: http://www.exptech.com/sunrise.htm

A comfortable round tour is 6-7 full days - then add the days you want to spend in Reykjavik. But probably you will have to make your trip fit into the not very frequent ferry timetable

I agree with #4. I think it would be more practical and cheaper to fly to Iceland (Reykjavik) and rent a car. I drove around the full circle in a normal car in April 2007. You can read all about it on my website, plus driving tips and Iceland-specific tips.

A few times I took the car on smaller roads and almost got stuck (see the dead end on my map on the Snaelfellsnes peninsula), but I don't think a Landrover or other 4x4 would have gotten me much further; it was 50 cm deep snow and so foggy that I could hardly see 1 meter ahead.

I really liked April as it was quiet, there was always room in gueshouses and hostels, waterfalls were beautifully frozen over, and I saw northern lights. Also, the days got longer and longer, after two weeks I already had a full hour of extra daylight in the afternoon (so probably two hours, including the morning). But some of the sights were not open yet or tours not running, for example the boats on Jökulsárlón iceberg lake only start in May, and dog sledding and things like that near Húsafell too. So I think May would be a perfect time to visit: still rather quiet and things are cheaper than peak season, but a bit warmer and perhaps some of the smaller roads will by then be accessible. Also, May is when the beautiful puffins come back on land after months out at sea.

A friend of mine had a small booklet with excellent info for hikes... so I guess if you go to a good travel literature / hiking shop you'll be able to find that. (For example "Pied a Terre" in Amsterdam.) In the Mývatn area you can make various walks and hikes onto craters and between huge lava sculptures, and from mud geyser to steam pit and so on, info can be found in the leaflet that you can pick up at Eldá guesthouse in Reykjalid. Skaftafell national park is another nice area for walks. And the area around Fljótsdalur hostel is great, you can walk a very deep canyon and reach a glacier. But basically you can hike all over Iceland, and even go on an ice climbing tour if you want.

Have fun,
Cécile

P.S. For hiking the same rules apply as for driving: the weather can change dramatically very quickly. So before you go out have an eye on the weather forecast, and let someone know where you're going and when you expect to be back.