Having landed at Keflavik airport (or possibly one of the other main airports) you will need to get on the road to start your explorations of Iceland.
The roads on Iceland are of variable quality, and surfaced with different materials. In the interior of the country you are likely to need a 4x4 or similar vehicle to use them, and they will be closed down through the winter months. Roads are also closed at short notice following extreme weather.
This map was launched in cooperation with an Icelandic insurance company.
Safetravel is an accident prevention project of the Icelandic Association for Search and Rescue aimed at providing travelers with education and resources for safe travel in Iceland. The project was founded in 2010 and has since grown to include a variety of features including information screens, travel plan submissions, personal locator beacon rentals and a one stop, up to date travel conditions interface.
https://safetravel.is/conditions
Here's a video on driving in Iceland from a collection made by a website called Inspired by Iceland. I shall come back to that in a separate blog post or two.
There are 5 categories of roads in Iceland.
Images: Alan Parkinson
Some further advice is here.
The general speed limit is 30-50 km/hour in populated areas, 80 km/hour on gravel roads in rural areas and 90 km/hour on paved roads. Drivers and all passengers are required by law to wear seatbelts. Older children must wear seatbelts and younger children and infants must be seated in car-safety seats.
Car headlights must be switched on at all times, day or night, when driving in Iceland. The use of mobile phones whilst driving is prohibited.
Driving after consumption of alcohol or drugs is illegal in Iceland. Don’t drive under the influence, even if it is acceptable in your own culture. In Iceland it is forbidden!
Don't forget your driving license.
There's one thing to remember in particular - you drive on the right hand side of the road.
If anyone has any experiences of driving in Iceland, and advice on this, perhaps in terms of navigating particular roads please get in touch via comments or @GeoBlogs on Twitter.
The roads on Iceland are of variable quality, and surfaced with different materials. In the interior of the country you are likely to need a 4x4 or similar vehicle to use them, and they will be closed down through the winter months. Roads are also closed at short notice following extreme weather.
This map was launched in cooperation with an Icelandic insurance company.
Safetravel is an accident prevention project of the Icelandic Association for Search and Rescue aimed at providing travelers with education and resources for safe travel in Iceland. The project was founded in 2010 and has since grown to include a variety of features including information screens, travel plan submissions, personal locator beacon rentals and a one stop, up to date travel conditions interface.
https://safetravel.is/conditions
Here's a video on driving in Iceland from a collection made by a website called Inspired by Iceland. I shall come back to that in a separate blog post or two.
There are 5 categories of roads in Iceland.
- Primary roads - also known as Principal roads
- Primary highland roads
- Secondary roads
- Highland roads - these are also known as 'F' roads as they have an F in front of their number on the road signs
- Local access roads
Images: Alan Parkinson
Some further advice is here.
The general speed limit is 30-50 km/hour in populated areas, 80 km/hour on gravel roads in rural areas and 90 km/hour on paved roads. Drivers and all passengers are required by law to wear seatbelts. Older children must wear seatbelts and younger children and infants must be seated in car-safety seats.
Car headlights must be switched on at all times, day or night, when driving in Iceland. The use of mobile phones whilst driving is prohibited.
Driving after consumption of alcohol or drugs is illegal in Iceland. Don’t drive under the influence, even if it is acceptable in your own culture. In Iceland it is forbidden!
Through the winter months, you must also have winter tyres fitted on the vehicle.
Don't forget your driving license.
There's one thing to remember in particular - you drive on the right hand side of the road.
If anyone has any experiences of driving in Iceland, and advice on this, perhaps in terms of navigating particular roads please get in touch via comments or @GeoBlogs on Twitter.
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