Iceland by Campervan: Rules, Roads, Wildlife and Low-Impact Travel

A campervan is a popular way to see Iceland. It lets you follow the weather, reach trailheads early and stop for seabird cliffs and wetlands along the way. It also comes with rules that surprise many visitors, especially about where you can spend the night, and with driving conditions that are unlike most of the United States.

This guide covers the legal basics, road and weather planning, wildlife on and beside the road, and how to keep your impact low.

Where you can sleep: campsites, not roadsides

The most important rule for campervan travelers is simple: spend the night at organized campsites.

Iceland's Nature Conservation Act (No. 60/2013) makes it illegal to spend the night in camper vans, caravans, tent trailers or similar vehicles outside organized campsites or urban areas unless the landowner or rightholder has given permission. Pull-outs, viewpoints, beaches and parking lots are not campsites, and signs at many popular places say so explicitly. Some protected areas add stricter local rules.

Campsites range from simple fields with toilets to sites with kitchens, showers and electricity. Many are seasonal, and opening dates vary by region.

Roads, F-roads and weather

The Ring Road and side roads

Route 1, the Ring Road, circles the country and is paved along its main route, but it includes narrow sections, single-lane bridges and stretches with no services. Many side roads are gravel. Slow down on gravel and at the transition from asphalt to gravel, where loss of control is common.

F-roads and the Highlands

Mountain roads marked with an "F" cross the interior Highlands. They open only in summer, often from late June or July, depending on snow and conditions, and they may include unbridged river crossings. Two-wheel-drive vehicles are not permitted on F-roads, and many rental agreements prohibit F-roads or exclude river-crossing damage from insurance even for four-wheel-drive campers. River depth and current can change within hours with rain or glacial melt.

Wind and weather

Wind is the hazard most visitors underestimate. Strong gusts can push a high-sided campervan across the road and can tear a vehicle door off its hinges if it is opened into the wind. Storms occur in every season.

Wildlife from the road

Some of Iceland's best wildlife watching happens from a parked vehicle or a short walk from a car park. Common highlights include:

• Seabird cliffs: puffins, guillemots, razorbills and fulmars in summer at sites such as Látrabjarg in the Westfjords.
• Wetlands and lakes: Mývatn is known for its breeding ducks; many estuaries hold waders in spring and autumn.
• Arctic terns: colonies near roads and paths in summer. Terns will dive at people who come close to their nests.
• Seals: harbor and gray seals along some coasts and estuaries.
• Arctic foxes: occasionally seen along quiet coastal roads; see our arctic fox guide.
• Reindeer: introduced reindeer live in the east of the country.

Sheep graze freely beside many roads in summer and often step into the road without warning, especially when lambs are on the other side. Birds, including ground-nesting waders and terns, also use road edges.

Low-impact campervan travel

• Gray water and toilets: empty tanks only at designated dumping stations; never on the ground or in rivers.
• Waste: carry rubbish to proper bins and recycling points. Many remote sites have no bins.
• Toilets: plan around campsite and service-station toilets. Human waste beside roads and at viewpoints is a serious problem in Iceland.
• Vegetation: moss and thin soils recover very slowly. Do not drive or park on vegetation, and do not build stone cairns or move rocks.
• Fuel and range: fill up when you can in remote regions; distances between stations can be long.

References

• Environment Agency of Iceland — Where can you camp?
• Environment Agency of Iceland — Driving in uninhabited areas
• Safetravel Iceland (ICE-SAR)
• Icelandic Road and Coastal Administration — road conditions
• Icelandic Met Office
• Environment Agency of Iceland — Drones in protected areas
• Leave No Trace — Seven Principles