Inspired by this post on Reddit, we decided to put together this article to help showcase what living in a campervan while traveling around Iceland’s Ring Road is like. Before making this adventure ourselves, we asked a whole lot of questions to try to better understand what we should expect. Hopefully you will find these questions and our answers helpful if you are considering traveling to Iceland yourself!!
For reference, we used Kuku Campers for our campervan rental. It’s possible some of our experiences might not be entirely transferable to other vans rented through a different company – in particular if you are renting a higher end camper.
Question #1:
How did you dry any wet clothes from the day before? Curious specifically about towels and swimsuits from pools. We’re planning on bringing our own camping towels, but I have no idea where we would hang dry two wet towels and two wet swimsuits inside a small van, especially when it’s in the bed configuration.
We quickly adapted to the reality that our clothing will never be fully dry. We only went into a few geothermal pools on our trip, but the majority of our wet clothing came from being caught in the rain while hiking. Even with waterproof jackets and other layers of clothing, the amount of rain we faced (especially early on in the trip) made it impossible to stay dry.
Generally, we just sorted our wet and worn clothing into a separate plastic bag. We would hang dry our towels if it wasn’t raining outside off the side of our open doors.
Question #2:
Be honest. How dirty did the inside of your van get? Any tips on keeping it clean? I’m picturing sand and dirt all over the floor, which would get old pretty fast since we will be living there for 10 days. Does this bother anyone but me? Lol.
It got dirty, but we were able to get into a routine to keep things fairly clean. This was actually one of the more interesting aspects of living in a van – actually learning how to live in it. By day 5 or so, we had started to get into a certain routine that allowed us to more quickly clean out the van, clean it up, and so on. This was broken down to even what was allowed in certain areas of the car (ie: changing only in the front seats, dirty laundry kept in a plastic bag separate from everything else, etc.).
Question #3
How functional is the cooler? I’ve read a lot of posts in this sub about it being less than a fridge. Curious how people did this, and how many days of groceries you bought at a time to keep in it. Did you grocery shop often?
Well, a cooler is a cooler. You buy ice and put it inside, allowing it to keep cool food you buy that needs refrigeration. Not exactly complex or something unique to Iceland traveling 🙂
Actual grocery shopping, we went to a Bonus and bought food to last us about half of the trip. The vast majority of our remaining grocery stops were at gas stations, which generally had a nice selection of things. We mostly lived off of rice, pasta, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, skyr, hot dogs…and candy…
Question #4
When we are in Akureyi, are we able to get around town and park our van like a car, or can we only park it at a campsite? (Not overnight. Just for getting around town and seeing museums and things. Don’t worry, I know the campsite rule.)
Yes! Akureyri was one of our favorite areas (surprising to us at the time). There is a nice parking lot in the downtown that was easy enough to find parking for a van. If you are planning to sleep in this area, we HIGHLY suggest Hamrar campground. We didn’t expect much given most other campsites on the island are pretty bare bones (and over priced). This was a welcome reprieve and we actually altered our plans to come back to it for a second night. We’re talking hot water, space in the campground, washer/dryer setup, etc.
Question #5
I’m new to camping and a little nervous (hubs is PUMPED). Is the camper van really worth it? Does it live up to the hype? My current pros for it are flexibility, built-in kitchen, privacy, adventure. My cons are the fear of being trapped in it due to bad weather (is it still fun?), getting really cold at night, and getting disillusioned by it after a couple days when we still have several left to go. Also, tripadvisor forums make it sound like I’m going to die if I rent one outside of peak season, so that freaked me out a little.
We were new to camping ourselves. Living in a campervan for 10 days is an experience (to say the least). We both loved it, even though it was trying at times. Your con is pretty notable – because we literally were trapped in the car during a really bad storm in the Westfjords. It makes it impossible to do much of anything. We went to bed early that night. Still, it’s part of the experience of being in Iceland – it’s not always easy, but it’s worth it.
With cold, I’d not be too concerned as the built in heater kept things warm (sometimes too warm) in the van. You will be fine, just be prepared to let go of some luxuries you might have in normal life (like showering). Also, you will not die outside of peak season. It might be more risky in the winter months, but early September is just fine for driving. Just be mindful of the speed limits, the road and weather conditions, and be careful driving on the steep roads especially (and watch out for suicide sheep).
Let us know if this Q&A was useful for you. We’d love to hear more from you in the comments!!
If you are interested in reading more of our Iceland-related article content we have written and published here at FFL, you can do so by clicking on the following links:
- Reflection On Our 10 Day Adventure in Iceland – One Year Later
- Top Considerations When Taking a Trip to Iceland
- Breaking Down the Cost to Travel to Iceland for 10 Days
- How to Pack for a Trip to Iceland
- 5 Best Iceland Landscape Photography Lenses
- When is the Best Time of Year to Visit Iceland for Photography?
- The Best Photography Gear for an Iceland Adventure
…Or, you can check out our complete FFL Iceland archives HERE!