Ring Road On A Budget

Highlights

Car camping is the absolute cheapest way to have an Iceland Ring Road adventure.  If you want more comfort but have flexibility, a campervan may be your next option.  The most comfortable way to travel is to rent a regular vehicle and stay in guest houses. 

Time of Visit:  June 2024

Duration of Visit:  13 Nights

Description

You really need to drive a rental vehicle to explore Iceland’s Ring Road.  Sure, there may be tours out there that could take you to some attractions but those would be inefficient, not flexible and definitely will blow the budget.

We examined various rental vehicle options for our Ring Road adventure, We looked at ordinary rental cars to campervans to recreational vehicles (RVs).  Driving with an ordinary rental car meant that we had no schedule flexibility but would have the comforts of home to retire for the night.  A campervan and an RV would give us flexibility while providing some level of comfort, depending on the amenities that came with the vehicle.

We crunched the numbers to see which option would be budget friendly while offering flexibility and comfort.  It turned out that campervans did not really provide much savings and RVs were even more expensive compared to staying in guest houses.  Because we wanted to go to the highlands, we decided on a 4×4 Dacia Duster with a rooftop tent.  This gave us the most flexibility without breaking the bank and even allowed us to stay a couple of nights in guest houses.  We also found out during the trip that the rooftop tent was not really needed and we will explain why later.

Rental Vehicle Options

Ordinary Rental Car

An ordinary rental car is all you need to access the places to see along the Ring Road. Landmannalaungar and Kelingjarfjoll are in the highlands and require a 4×4 vehicle as it involves driving on F roads.

The disadvantage of a regular rental car is that you will have to make accommodation reservations ahead of time.  We talked to a couple from Switzerland who said they booked six months ahead to get a reasonable price at the places they needed to stay.  That meant no schedule flexibility. 

With no schedule flexibility comes careful itinerary planning.  It is best to minimize your total daily drive time so that you are not in a hurry and avoid arriving late at your accommodation.

Vehicles WIth Rooftop Tent

Rooftop tent on top of a 2022 Dacia Duster

Vehicles with rooftop tents is probably the next cheaper way to explore the Ring Road.  Your accommodation goes with you.  The only thing you need to worry about is the campground you need to spend the night over (dispersed camping is not allowed in Iceland).  Luckily, there are many private campgrounds in Iceland such that it was not a problem for us to find one.  

Earlier, we mentioned that a rooftop tent is not really needed.  Here are the disadvantages:

  1. If you are less than 5′-7″, it becomes a challenge to reach the rooftop tent locking tabs even if it is on a midsize SUV such as the Dacia Duster.
  2. Getting down on the rooftop tent ladder to satisfy the call of nature in the middle of the night is not convenient.
  3. It gets cold inside the rooftop tent on windy days as the cordura walls are not windproof. Iceland is notoriously windy.  You’ll need a zero degree sleeping bag or similar to stay warm.
  4. Cooking can be a challenge when the wind is blowing as you need to cook in the open.

Campervan

Small campvervan with just enough space to sleep two
Medium size 4×4 campervan

Campervan is a nice way to explore Iceland. You get the freedom to set your itinerary as your bed goes with you. There are 4×4 campervans too.

Campervans basically have three sizes. The smallest which is only big enough to sleep two laying flat. The medium size is the size of a low headroom cargo van and squeezes in a dining/cook area in addition to the bed space. The large version  basically has all the comforts but is very expensive and not very common to rent.

Recreational Vehicles (RV)

A typical recreational vehicle

RVs are also available and come fully equipped including the kitchen sink. It would be the most expensive option to get around the Ring Road but offers the best flexibility. There are three disadvantages of driving an RV.  These are:

  1. High fuel consumption. 
  2. Parking may be a challenge as it is a large vehicle.
  3. Forget going to the highlands as there are no 4×4 versions.

Campgrounds

Landmannalaugar campground

Unfortunately, you cannot just camp out anywhere in Iceland.  Those planning to stay overnight in their vehicle must spend it at a campground.  Fortunately, there are plenty of private campgrounds along the Ring Road.

Camping fees range between 2K and 3K ISK per person per day.  Some may charge a facility fee between 500 to 1K ISK per vehicle.  The highest we paid was at Kerlingarfjoll campground which cost 6K ISK. 

We stayed in seven different campgrounds during our 11-night Ring Road adventure (not including two nights in Reykjavik). Not all campgrounds are the same but expect to have access to toilets, hot water and sinks for washing dishes.  As for hot showers, we had to pay extra at two campgrounds and the rest were included with the camping fee.

Stokksnes campground cook area. Notice the hot plate on the right.
Landmannalaugar cook area (just tables, no cooking provisions)

Some campgrounds may have a cooking area with pots and pans and stove and some may not.  It is best to bring your own means of cooking your meals to avoid going hungry as restaurants can only be found in larger communities which are away from the attractions along the Ring Road. 

Looking For A Rental Car

Beforehand, we decided that we will go to the highlands so we needed to rent a 4×4 vehicle.  The big companies such as Hertz, Avis, Sixt, etc have rental offices at the Keflavik Airport.  We initially looked into them and their prices were competitive but did not state if the rental vehicle would be allowed on F-roads.

Our Rental Vehicle

Our Dacia Duster with the rooftop tent put away. Notice the vehicle to the right in the background with a different kind of rooftop tent. Photo taken at Fossardalur Campground.

We rented a 2022 4×4 Dacia Duster with a rooftop tent from Campervan Reykjavik.  The vehicle provider was Icerental4x4 so Campervan Reykjavik was just a third party.  We could have probably saved more had we known about Icerental4x4 during our rental vehicle searches. We had no issues with Icerental4x4 even when we declined their insurance packages.   Other local rental car companies we saw were Northern Lights Car Rental (same company as Icerental4x4), fairCar and Nordic Car Rental.

At times when it was cold and windy outside, we did not use the rooftop tent and were able to sleep comfortably inside our 2022 Dacia Duster.   Our legs were a little higher than our heads. It was not really an inconvenience especially with the backpacking sleeping pad which evened out the surfaces.

The rooftop tent came with covered hard foam sleeping pads and two pillows with pillow cases. We brought with us fleece blankets and a backpacking down blanket to keep us warm while sleeping. We sewed one end of the fleece blankets together so our feet remained covered if we moved around while asleep.  

To prevent our backs from being cold, we used ⅛” x12” x18” foam pad as insulation. You can get them cheap at Hobby Lobby or Michaels craft stores. 

Absolute Cheapest Way

Car Camping

Car camping inside our Dacia Duster

Car camping is the absolute cheapest way to experience the Ring Road. You do not even have to bring a tent, just sleep inside the vehicle.  

For our rental vehicle, we found it to be warmer to sleep inside the Dacia Duster compared to the rooftop tent. Plus it is easier to get out in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom.  The only inconvenience was we had to move our luggage to the front seats before going to bed, then move it back to the back before leaving the campground.

Food

Our favorite MH meal

Dining out in Iceland is expensive. Expect a dish or plate to run between $25 to $35. It may be fine for one person, but adds up quickly if there are two or more of you.

We brought some Mountain House freeze dried food with us. All it needed was hot water and about 10 minutes of soaking to be ready. The rest, we shopped at the Reykjavik Costco and local grocery stores wherever there was one.  You will just have to be inventive when it comes to camping food so you do not eat ramen noodles every day. Youtube has a wealth of videos about backpacking food.

Do I Bring A Cook Set?

1.2 L, 800 ml and 5.5-inch lid/fry pan Titanium cook set bought at Amazon. We only used the 800 ml pot during the trip.

Short answer is yes.  Qualified answer is it depends on the campground you will be staying at and what food you want to eat. It becomes simple if all you need is hot water and gets more involved from there.

We stayed in seven campgrounds and three did not have a kitchen. You will definitely need to bring your own cook set if you are staying at Landmannalaugar. However, they do have hot water coming out of the faucet which may be good enough to soften that ramen noodle.

We recommend investing in a titanium backpacking cook pot. Though you may find it pricey but it is light and you can stuff its inside with a small clothing article such that it takes up little space in your hand carry. This would also get you to start boiling water or cooking as soon as you get to a campground with a kitchen, instead of waiting for someone to be done using the campground pot or pan.

Do not forget to throw in your utensils for cooking, eating and washing dishes.

What About A Stove?

Left: inexpensive BRS titatnium backpacking stove (purchased at Amazon). Right: DIY Fancy Feast alcohol stove.

You will need your own stove and fuel for Landmanannalanguar and other campgrounds that do not have a kitchen or electric kettle.

Butane cannisters at a Bonus grocery store. It does not work in cold environment.
Butane /propane mix that supposedly performs better in cold environment.

Backpacking stoves that use butane are light and small. Some are more expensive than others.  We used our BRS stove with butane canisters bought from the local Bonus grocery store in Reykjavik. Though the outside temperature was above freezing (somewhere in the single digit Centrigrade), the butane gas performed poorly such that we could not even boil water. The butane cannister work well in the enclosed cook area in Landmannalaugar.

We saw some people having Coleman Performance Gas cannisters that supposedly has a mix of propane and butane. Propane works better in cold environment than butane but we did not have the chance to verify this by talking to those people that were using it. One internet article indicated that it failed to perform at 4 deg C.

We used an alcohol stove as our backup and works well when it comes to heating water. Best of all, it fits in your pocket and all you need is just regular rubbing alcohol. There are plenty of videos on YouTube on how to make an alcohol stove.  I find the best design to be made out of a Fancy Feast cat food can instead of soda cans.

Whichever cooking setup and food you choose, make sure you try it out first before your trip.  You do not want to find out that things didn’t go as expected and have an “O S#%*” moment during the trip.

If we were going to do it again, we would just bring the alcohol stove to boil water and use it on our Mountain House. The rest we will cook proper meals at campgrounds that has a stove.

Summary

Exploring Iceland’s Ring Road can be very expensive.  If you are on a budget, the absolute cheapest way to explore the Ring Road is just to sleep inside a rental vehicle.  Just make sure the backseats fold down so you can lie flat and you have warm beddings for a comfortable sleep.

Campervans and RVs are more expensive but provide a cozier place to sleep than car camping. For us, we found that it really did not provide much savings over staying at guest houses and renting an ordinary vehicle. You will just have to do your own number crunching as rental prices fluctuate all the time.

While car camping, you are required to stay in campgrounds in Iceland so you will have access to toilets, running water and showers. Some may even have a kitchen with the utensils you need for cooking a proper meal.

Food may be your next big expense if you eat out every time. However, there are no places to eat in most of the places to visit along the Ring Road. Bringing freeze dried food that can easily be rehydrated with hot water and buying food at local groery stores every once in a while is one way to keep food expenses to a minimum. You just have to be inventive so you can have variety when it comes to camp meals.