Car rental in Reykjavik

Has anyone rented a car at Reykjavik International?

We are arriving Monday morning and staying until 11:30 a.m. on Thursday.

There is free parking at our apartment rental but I wondering if it is more of a hassle to rent and we should just do tours instead. Trying to figure out the most cost effective approach.

The car rentals are extremely expensive but I was able to find something semi-reasonable through Fox ($55 a day for an automatic compact).

We are a party of three -- tickets for Icelandair's shuttle to and from the airport to the apartment would be $132.50 by themselves. We want to do the Blue Lagoon, maybe Golden Circle?

Any advice would be appreciated.

Yes, we rented from Hertz this January when we were there for a long weekend. Easy location; all counters are within the airport and conveniently near baggage claim. No shuttle to the rental car (at least for Hertz) as the cars were parked just outside; in and out in about 5 minutes.

Car rentals are obscenely expensive in Iceland, agreed... But there's little choice unless you want to pay even more to be shuttled around.

We much prefer to rent and do the sights on our own. The Blue Lagoon and the Golden Circle are really easy to navigate; we've done both twice without ever having a problem. If you have a GPS with Europe coverage, Iceland is now included in the 2010 and later versions of Garmin NT Navigator Europe maps, but we've done that same route before GPS without a problem, just using crummy guidebook maps.

Reykjavik can be a tiny bit tricky to drive in but it's still a pretty small city, and you shouldn't get lost as you can almost always see the coast which orients you pretty well. There's a brief rush hour ~5PM but it doens't last long and it's really nothing compared to even a small city in the US.

I'm not sure if this answers your specific question about rental cars, but feel free to ask more details if you want to know more. We've rented in Reykjavik proper a few times, but that wasn't from the airport branch so I don't think that will help you much.

Enjoy Iceland! One of our favorite places...:)

I have rented in Iceland many times. Both at KEF and in "downtown" Reykjavík.

Both are easy. Parking is not an issue, traffic is light, and everyone speaks English. There are good paved roads around Reykjavík; as well as a good paved road "the ring road" (with bridges) around the perimeter of the entire island.

A couple of points.

(1) If you will be driving far into the interior, on gravel roads, you may need a 4 wheel drive vehicle, and you'll need to check road conditions. On deep interior roads beginning with "F" on your map, 4 wheel drive is required. If you'll be mostly around Reykjavík, or on the ring road, this is a non-issue.

(2) Don't drink and drive. I was once stopped (leaving a bar) tested with a bac of .08, and when I expected the cops to apologize, I was informed that the presumptive "Intoxication" level in Iceland was .05.

I was considering a car rental on our overnight Reykjavik cruise stop. Has anyone encountered a rush due to the cruise ship passengers? I was thinking of making a reservation the afternoon we arrive for next day rental. Does anyone suggest online rental before the cruise even departs? I was having language issues with the car rental websites but do really want to have an independent excursion.

We are also also in Reykjavik overnight on a cruise stop this Sept but wondered if it would work for our first day afternoon to go to the Blue Lagoon. Challenges were how hard it would be to find gas to leave it full And if the ship wasn't able to stop due to weather, if you were out any deposit/prepayment. We had heard some companies would bring the car to the port, otherwise a taxi to the rental place was a major factor. So we realize it's only fair they might want some guarantee before bringing their cars out, we've also seen how often ships have to skip this stop due to weather. The four of us are still undecided as well. A 3 hour tour (which leaves about 60-90 min at the Lagoon) is running about $225 at the current rate of exchange. Versus car rental with no time restrictions but rental & gas.

I was considering a car rental on our overnight Reykjavik cruise stop. Has anyone encountered a rush due to the cruise ship passengers? I was thinking of making a reservation the afternoon we arrive for next day rental. Does anyone suggest online rental before the cruise even departs? I was having language issues with the car rental websites but do really want to have an independent excursion.

We are also also in Reykjavik overnight on a cruise stop this Sept but wondered if it would work for our first day afternoon to go to the Blue Lagoon. Challenges were how hard it would be to find gas to leave it full And if the ship wasn't able to stop due to weather, if you were out any deposit/prepayment. We had heard some companies would bring the car to the port, otherwise a taxi to the rental place was a major factor. So we realize it's only fair they might want some guarantee before bringing their cars out, we've also seen how often ships have to skip this stop due to weather. The four of us are still undecided as well. A 3 hour tour (which leaves about 60-90 min at the Lagoon) is running about $225 at the current rate of exchange. Versus car rental with no time restrictions but rental & gas.

I have rented from Europcar in downtown Reykjavik twice on cruise ship day stops. Both times I made the rental online. Europcar is not cheap, but I did want a guaranteed rental and didn't want to chance it.

Once they brought the car to the pier for nothing, and the other time they wanted to charge a fairly big amount to do so and I got there myself. The public buses in Reykjavik were fairly easy to use and they do run right by the pier. Any car rental place can probably give you directions as to which bus line(s) will get you to their location. Or, it's a mile or two at most from the port to Europcar which some may choose to walk...

Everyone we've ever met in Iceland who is in the tourist business speaks adequate (usually very good) English so I'd suggest you e-mail the companies that you're interested in. You can also download Google toolbar which will translate websites for you - even Icelandic ones!

To your specific questions:

Europcar didn't require a deposit / prepayment. Though it's not cheap - but nothing in Iceland is cheap now.

There's plenty of gas stations. The only potential glitch is if it's late and you have to use an unattended station - they will take magnetic stripe cards, but the ones I've seen absolutely needed a PIN. In a pinch, I once had to use my ATM card because I don't use PINs on anything else. Staffed locations will (usually) take swipe and sign cards, or you could use a few million Icelandic Kroner...

I would highly recommend doing Blue Lagoon on your own so that you're not on someone else's schedule. We did this in January (yes, we've been to Iceland in January...) first thing in the morning after our flight over, and we ended up spending a few hours - much longer than we thought we'd want to. On the other hand if you want to cut your visit short and do some sightseeing, you have that option as well. At $225 x 4 people, you could do much better with a car rental and you'd probably see more. The Blue Lagoon is well marked.

In terms of a "rush" when the ship is in port - I have not seen this yet, but we were on smaller ships - 1200 pax once, 600 the other time. It may be different if there's a bigger ship in port.

Enjoy Reykjavik - you'll want to come back for sure!

I cannot thank you enough for all the helpful information. You really put in a lot of time helping everyone and it's more appreciated than you can possibly know. We're not as close to town as the bigger ships dock out at the container terminal but we're still only about a 10 min drive from downtown. We can ask the rental place if any public buses go past but we know a taxi into town is about $21US. The tour was $225 for 3 hours to the Lagoon and back, that can be divided by up to 8 people BUT if the weather is lovely and you decided you wanted to stay longer than your 60-90 min there, it's about $76/hr divided by everyone in the taxi. But if you have your own wheels you can set your own time and not be watching the clock. The weather could be lovely or it could be rainy, drizzly, wind chill- we're hopeful for Nice though. :cool: It can't hurt to ask the rental agencies, as you mentioned, they could tell us where we could refuel, how late they were open, if any buses go near the further dock (we'd heard there were none) or take the ships shuttle into town.

If you happen to see this thread again, were there many surprise extra's like insurance, VAT type costs, anything beyond the rental and the gas? Do you have any approximate memory of what your gas refill might have run when you were there in Jan? And since I haven't found anyone who has been to the Lagoon as recently as you have, can I ask how the shower arrangements were. One person posted there were now shower curtains but everyone else says it's still open exposure :eek: while we more modest folks are struggling to not cringe. I can tell you loved your time there, can't wait to see it too- Thank You!

T-2:

Glad to help - independent tours can be daunting but they are a lot of fun if you can pull them off.

We actually did dock at the large ship terminal both times (Skarfabakken) and not in town at the "old" pier. I don't know of any pier that's further from town than that one.

Public buses run right outside the port complex. We did it differently, because we wanted to take an early morning walk along the shoreline to the Viking Ship statue first. So we ended up catching the bus from the main bus terminal a bit later in the morning to get to the car rental place. But, you can get the bus directly from the pier (we saw the bus stop on our way). For more information, the bus' website is http://www.straeto.is/english and they have maps, ticket information, schedules, etc.

There are many gas stations on the main roads surrounding town; you should have no problem refueling. We filled our tank for about $70 but that was after driving around a fair amount for 4 days. The Blue Lagoon is only about 100 km RT from Reykjavik so certainly you'll spend less unless you rent a gas hog.

Taxes are exorbitant everywhere in Europe. VAT will probably hit you for 25% of the rental cost, though I can't remember anything else specific for Reykjavik. The multinational corporations like Hertz and Europcar try to sell excess insurance just like they do here in the States. I think some basic insurance is mandatory, and included in the (very high) rates.

There were no shower curtains in the men's room at Blue Lagoon. There are about 10 shower units and they are separated somewhat by opaque glass dividers. I think one or two of them had closing doors. If you're horribly uncomfortable you could just shower in your bathing suit; I didn't see any "shower police" checking to see whether you were following the rules...:) Or try to find one in the far back corner away from the traffic like I did. Chris says the women's room is configured similarly, with dividers but only a few doors. The trickiest part is figuring out where to hang your towel so it doesn't get a shower with you!

We were actually quite surprised by how nice the Blue Lagoon was. It's pretty expensive, so we were expecting something tacky, but the facilities were really nice. Everything operates based on an RFID plastic waterproof bracelet that they give you upon check-in. You use it to open and lock your locker, and you can even use it to buy food and drinks in the bar/restaurant! As you leave, you deposit the bracelet in a scanner device and it either lets you out (if you have a zero balance) or directs you to the counter to pay your outstanding balance. Pretty smart! The locker rooms were clean and well-maintained, and they supplied soap / shampoo and even hair dryers. As in my previous post, it was a fantastic place to come for the morning after an overnight Transatlantic flight.

Just be sure to bring a towel (maybe the pool towel from the ship), as you have to rent one if you don't bring your own.

Feel free to ask any other questions if you'd like. Enjoy!

I did find this map of Reykjavik and it seems to show the port area and the Hertz rental. http://0.tqn.com/d/goscandinavia/1/0/S/3/-/-/reykjavikcitymap.jpg We couldn't be more fortunate that you were willing to share so much info. I never for a moment thought your ship would dock at the same area where we're expected. You have been on some wonderful cruises.

The details about the Blue Lagoon facilities were especially helpful and again- I thank you so much for all the care and time you put into that. It's appreciated more than you'll ever know. We've already set aside a couple of older pool towels that have been well loved and used, we'll bring them with us as the towel rental is now 5 euro's each, and then just toss them out. We hadn't planned to bring any from the ship as then we'd have to carry them around wet, although we could bring a plastic bag. We're just going to put the swimwear in a zip lock bag. The upside is we'll have that extra space in our luggage coming home from the now discarded towels- perhaps for a friendly stuffed puffin for the grandson :0)

I can't think of a thing to ask, you've been more than wonderful. You're an angel- Thank You!

We just returned from Iceland, pre-cruise. We got stuck due to the volcano and had a car rented. I went on the Iceland tourist website and pulled up car rentals. We rented a Rav4 and were able to miraculously get all our luggage in. We were 4 people with 6 pieces of luggage. the car rental place met us at the airport terminal with our name on a sign. they charged us to bring the car and pick it up. It wasn't a major car rental place, but one of their smaller local companies. Our credit card company said we were totally covered, and we didn't need to take out the expensive extra insurance.

We rented a GPS and never needed it. Roads were very well marked.

Even though the car rental was expensive, it was cheaper and more convenient to have the car. We were able to take our time and stop where we wanted on the Golden Circle. We went for dinner in Stokkerysi at a lobster rest. beachside. We also saw lots of horses on the beach. Could not have done this on a tour.

We also stayed at the Blue Lagoon for 3 hours. They have lockers for your belongings which are very safe. You wear a bracelet which opens and closes the locker. You can also purchase drinks in the bar in the middle of the lagoon if you choose to.

Have fun and save your money for a very expensive country

PS Everyone we met spoke perfect English. We met people who moved there from other countried, married people from Iceland, took lessons and gave up learning their language.

We did have some credit card issues getting gas. We either had to pre purchase a pre-pay card for gas or use a gas station where you pay inside. the pumps needed a charge card with a chip.

If we take the bus to the rental place- did you need Kroner or could you pay in Euro? When you've just stepped off the ship, you haven't seen an ATM yet and chances are, it might spit out fairly big bills. (In case we do decide to try and take the bus to the car rental spot). And the other thought that occurred, as you've both mentioned trying to pay for gas without a chip imbeded card (which we don't have in the US), did anyone have any trouble using the ATM without a chip imbeded card but just a typical American debit card? You guys are great, you're making me think of things that hadn't crossed my mind and the rental option is just looking so tempting !

If we take the bus to the rental place- did you need Kroner or could you pay in Euro? When you've just stepped off the ship, you haven't seen an ATM yet and chances are, it might spit out fairly big bills. (In case we do decide to try and take the bus to the car rental spot). And the other thought that occurred, as you've both mentioned trying to pay for gas without a chip imbeded card (which we don't have in the US), did anyone have any trouble using the ATM without a chip imbeded card but just a typical American debit card? You guys are great, you're making me think of things that hadn't crossed my mind and the rental option is just looking so tempting !

You need kroner to use the bus. Tix were a few hundred ISK each (per the website, now ISK 350 per person). The last time we were at the port, the folks in the information booth were happy to exchange money for you, so no problem not having an ATM close by.

My magnetic stripe, non chip ATM card worked fine in the gas station pump. No guarantees it still would today... But as long as you are not running around on a Sunday evening you should be able to find a staffed gas station. Some day the US will catch up with the rest of the world...

From what you've shared I can tell that Iceland really welcomes it's visitors and the port is no exception. It's wonderful. And a special thank you to two very nice people in Albany who've gone to the trouble to help all the rest of us who've yet to visit. Wish I had better words of appreciation but truly- Thank You! (we'll be there in less than 2 months, and fortuantely- I think, it's on a Friday night :D)

That was incredibly detailed info. Thank you so much. I'll have to try the Google bar, there was a French site I was struggling with as well.

We are considering a car rental for the day we are in port. Would anyone know which car rental companies are closest to the port please?

Also just to confirm if we do a similar routing to the ships tours, like the Golden Circle or The Blue Lagoon, we wouldn't need a 4WD?

We are considering a car rental for the day we are in port. Would anyone know which car rental companies are closest to the port please?

 

Also just to confirm if we do a similar routing to the ships tours, like the Golden Circle or The Blue Lagoon, we wouldn't need a 4WD?

Avis and Europcar/National are both about 1.5 miles from the "big" port (not the downtown port). Don't know of a closer one. If you contact Europcar they may bring the car to the port for you but they'll probably charge for it. No experience with Avis.

There may be other local companies that I don't know about who have closer offices. We've walked the main road from port to town and don't recall seeing any, but...

You definitely do not need 4WD to do the Golden Circle tour on your own. It's really easy, and way more fun on your own. Same for Blue Lagoon. The main roads in Iceland are probably in better shape than our roads here in Upstate NY.:o

This place may be closer:

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=64.139585,+-21.848609&num=1&t=h&sll=64.137821,-21.846998&sspn=0.006554,0.006295&hl=en&ie=UTF8&ll=64.139678,-21.848813&spn=0.001909,0.007617&z=17&iwloc=A

It's called Car4rent. No experience with it, but it's a mile south of the port and right along the main road out of town. Looks like a handy location because it's only another mile to the ring road out of town to Thingvellir / Geysir / etc.

The link to the map above is zoomed in a lot. Zoom out and you will see the port about a mile to the north, just south of what's labeled "Videy Ferry." Sometimes you dock just south, sometimes you come down further and dock by the street called "Sundabakki" but either way you'll be close.

We may have to try them next time we are in port... :)

Thanks very much for all the information jpalbny.

We ended up booking with Fox Rent a Car, who in turn use their affiliate Atak Car Rental. The prices were much, much cheaper than any other place that I found. I do know that most of the rental car places will bring a car to you if in Reykjavik. Perhaps they will deliver to the port. With Fox/Atak, we ended up with a new Nissan 4WD vehicle. A lot of the car rental places offer older vehicles. Something else to note: We had a hard time getting gas because the selfservice places do not have attendants to run a credit card. And if you use a credit card, you must have a pin number. When trying to use our debit card, it would never go through.

Hey friends coming to Iceland!

if you think about renting car, the best way is to book it in the Port of Reykjavik, then you don´t have to pay for a shuttle bus to the center and spend your time looking for a car rental place. They have a good offer and they are just in the Port. However, check before if day tours are not cheaper. Port of Reykjavik is administrated by ITA: http://ita.is/English/

Have a good time in Iceland!

Hey friends coming to Iceland!

 

if you think about renting car, the best way is to book it in the Port of Reykjavik, then you don´t have to pay for a shuttle bus to the center and spend your time looking for a car rental place. They have a good offer and they are just in the Port. However, check before if day tours are not cheaper. Port of Reykjavik is administrated by ITA: http://ita.is/English/

 

Have a good time in Iceland!

Hi,

We are indeed thinking of renting a car in Iceland. Are you saying that we shouldn't pre-book, and just rent a car when we arrive in port of Reykjavik?

I am doing a long layover in Iceland on my way to start our cruise in Stockholm. I will be renting a car and do a short horse ride outside of Reykjavik (Viking Horses) plus some relaxing at the Blue Lagoon . I have no idea how much to budget for gas between the cost of gas in ISK and liters.

Does anyone have any suggestions as to how much that might be?

For those that do not know about the unique breed of Iceland horses, it is worth checking out. They have a gait unlike any other breed of horse called the "tolt". My daughter used to ride. When we first started planning this trip, I asked her what countries interested her. She immediately replied "Iceland" because she knew about the Iceland ponies. It turned out it was cheaper to fly to Stockholm thru KEF Iceland. I love finding deals on flights using http://www.skyscanner.com!

I am still nervous about using cards and pin numbers, so plan to order currency for my trip, including ISKs for Iceland gas. I figure that I might pay for part of my rental in cash at the end if I have too much because i was able to use plastic elsewhere.

Found this thread on car rental, since this time I'll be renting from port. Can't believe it's going for so many years. I notice I have already written on the thread

I am doing a long layover in Iceland on my way to start our cruise in Stockholm. I will be renting a car and do a short horse ride outside of Reykjavik (Viking Horses) plus some relaxing at the Blue Lagoon . I have no idea how much to budget for gas between the cost of gas in ISK and liters.

 

Does anyone have any suggestions as to how much that might be?

 

For those that do not know about the unique breed of Iceland horses, it is worth checking out. They have a gait unlike any other breed of horse called the "tolt". My daughter used to ride. When we first started planning this trip, I asked her what countries interested her. She immediately replied "Iceland" because she knew about the Iceland ponies. It turned out it was cheaper to fly to Stockholm thru KEF Iceland. I love finding deals on flights using http://www.skyscanner.com!

 

I am still nervous about using cards and pin numbers, so plan to order currency for my trip, including ISKs for Iceland gas. I figure that I might pay for part of my rental in cash at the end if I have too much because i was able to use plastic elsewhere.

gas prices in August were about $9/gallon.

Hi...We too just returned from Iceland (Nov 9th) as we went hoping to see the Northern Lights and were successful. Gas is still around $9/ gallon. Also we used our credit card for many things and did not need a pin. We were on a land tour and because of the length of time we spent there we didn't want to take as much cash as we thought necessary. Let me know if you have any questions and I'll try to answer them if I can.

Barb