Self Drive Tours

Iceland Self Drive Tours
Iceland Self Drive Tours and packages allow for more freedom and flexibility in Iceland than organized bus tours can, and still offer the convenience of a pre-booked accommodation along the route. Availability of accommodation can be limited in Iceland, especially during high season. Iceland Self Drive Vacations are a good choice in terms of independence and flexibility. You can stop where you want - for as long as you want - and you don't need to follow anyone else´s schedule. That's why self drive tours in Iceland have become such a popular option. Self drive holiday is a great Iceland vacation with prices ranging from cheap basic car rental and accommodation to fully customized self drive itineraries. A second driver´s registration is now free of charge with our car rental in Iceland in all our Iceland self drive vacation packages.

Why book your Self Drive Tour with Tour.is?

Why book your Self Drive Tour with Tour.is?

Frequently asked questions regarding Self Drive Tours

Self Drive Tour Packages are the ultimate way to experience the abundance of natural attractions, beauty and the raw nature Iceland has to offer. Self drive tours allow you to utilize your time effectively and being able to travel at your pace and making this adventurous without being confined to the pre determined itinerary offered on guided group tours. Let us help you make your vacation in Iceland a memorable adventure that you are guaranteed to enjoy. Here below you will find some frequently asked questions regarding our self drive trips if anything question arises get in touch with us, we are happy to help.

What is a self drive tour?
Self drive tours or road trips are tours where you travel by yourself in a rental car, following a suggested pre planned itinerary, filled with information on the numerous attractions to see along your route in Iceland as well as information on how to get there. The beauty of it is that should you wish to deviate from the set itinerary you can go right ahead and do so. While on the road, doing a self drive tour it is easy to navigate between the attractions and accommodation with the written directions in the itinerary as well as the marked map where the route is laid out and all accommodation is marked on to it. In addition to that all rental cars also come with a WiFi so you can use google maps on your phone.
We offer a variety of self drive tour packages offered all year round that vary in duration and visited attractions that you can choose from and should you have any special request for changes or customization to the itinerary, we are more than happy to accommodate any customization.

What is included in a self drive tour package?
All the tours have a list of what is included but large majority of Road trips will include the following:

Private meet & greet at Keflavik airport (KEF) and transfer to Reykjavik on arrival day
Accommodation in the category of your choice Cat. 1, 2 or 3.
Breakfast daily
Rental car with unlimited mileage, CDW.
WiFi with the rental car.
Two authorized drivers.
Detailed itinerary and road map of Iceland with the route and accommodations marked in.
Private departure transfer from Reykjavik to Keflavik airport (KEF).
24 hour Emergency telephone service.
Taxes and service fees

Can I add activities to my self drive tour package?
We offer optional activities with all self drive tour packages on our website and if you open a tour that you are interested in on our website you can see information on what optional activities can be added to the booking. Should you have any special request regarding activities that are not offered with the self drive tour package itself on our website, please do not hesitate to contact us and we will be happy to accommodate your request.

When is the best time to do a self drive tour in Iceland?
When to do a self drive tour in Iceland depends on what kind of experiences you are looking for.
Summer is considered the high season in Iceland like many other destinations with the usually mild weather, endless days/the midnight sun and all highland roads open.
In the winter time the illusive northern lights attract as well as the natural beauty and tranquility of less people on the road.
Check out our article on when is the best time to visit Iceland


What Self drive tour packages are recommended for first time visitors to Iceland?
It really depends on how much time you have in Iceland. However you simply cannot go wrong with one of the circle tours around Iceland, especially in summer. Here are some recommendations.

Summer:
Circle tours
BP12 - Iceland Self Drive Full circle 8 days
BP07 - The Full Iceland Circle 9 days
BP17 - Iceland Circle incuding Snaefellsnes 10 days
BP03 - Grand tour around Iceland including the Westfjords self drive 14 days
South and South-West
BP20 - The Highlights of the South 6 days
BP08 - West and South Iceland 7 days

Winter:
Circle tours
BP07 - The Full Iceland Circle 9 days
BP40 - Iceland Circle Snæfellsnes Peninsula and Northern Lights 10 days
South and South-West
BP41 - The Highlights of the South and Northern Lights 6 days
BP36 - The South Coast and Northern Lights search Self Drive 7 days
BP08 - West and South Iceland 7 days

What car type is recommended for my road trip around Iceland?
If you do not plan on doing a tour to the highlands then any car type will be sufficient for summer (mid-May –to mid-September) under all normal circumstances. However when travelling in winter (mid-September to mid-May) a 4x4 vehicle is strongly recommended as there is a chance of some snow and icy conditions.
For highland tours a larger 4x4 vehicle type is recommended. Even though many smaller 4x4 vehicles are allowed on the highland roads we recommend the larger 4x4 vehicle types. The reason is that the larger 4x4 vehicles are considerably more capable to handle the conditions you are likely to meet in the highlands and therefore the obvious option to keep you, your friends and family safe. They also offer higher ground clearance to take on the F-roads whereas the smaller 4x4 vehicles are more vulnerable to damage to the lower ground clearance.

Is driving in Iceland safe and easy?
Driving in Iceland is safe and easy with pretty much straight forward traffic rules. The roads are for the most part one lain in each direction and in rare cases two (mainly in the vicinity of the capital) to make way for the fast moving traffic driving on the left lain. In Iceland there are no complex roundabouts or road structures that pose any doubt on how to manoeuvre with perhaps one exception. This one exception is the one lain bridges. The one lain bridges are getting fewer and fewer as they are being replaced by two lain bridges. When crossing a single lain bridge you need to approach with caution and make sure there are no other cars on the bridge coming your way. If there are no cars you can proceed to cross the bridge.
The circular highway around Iceland which is the most popular rout done on self drive tours is all paved and well maintained by the Icelandic road administration. When coming off the circular highway there are some roads that are gravel roads that are also maintained by the road administration and for the most part in good condition. When driving on gravel road make sure you leave a good amount of space between you and the car ahead of you travelling the same direction to avoid small stones getting tossed on to your car resulting in small chips and damages o the car. The same applies when a car approaches in the opposite direction it’s a good idea to slow down.
When it comes to the highlands or so called F-roads, they are rawer and only passable on 4x4 SUVs’ and jeeps and in fact forbidden to drive on other car types. These F-roads include fording rivers and driving on narrow and rough gravel roads. These rough F-roads or what some would say are more like tracks than actual roads are a part of the appeal of driving in the highlands for many. You are really getting off the beaten path when travelling inland. If you are doing a highland tour make sure you get good information from your travel agent or car rental agent on how to drive in the highlands.
To sum it up, driving in Iceland is straight forward, simple and in our opinion the best way to explore the Island.

What are the requirements to do a self drive tour in Iceland?
There are three requirements to be able to do a self drive tour in Iceland as per below.
Driving License
The driver must present a fully valid drivers licence (i.e. not a temporary one) that has been held for a minimum of one year. An International Driving Permit is also required if the national drivers licence is not in the Roman script (for example in Cyrillic or Chinese script).
Age Restrictions
Minimum Age 20 years for passenger cars
23 years for jeeps
25 years for luxury cars and minibuses
Credid Card Authorization
Drivers must have a major credit card present issued in his/her name. Acceptable credit cards by AVIS car rental are: MasterCard, Visa, American Express and Diners Club. Prepaid credit cards cannot be accepted! An authorization from the credit card will be taken at the start of all rentals, even if the cost of the rental is covered by a voucher. This authorization amounts roughly to the cost of one additional day plus a full tank and varies therefore according to car group and season. Payment with cash or debit cards is not accepted at any time.

What to do in case of any problems or emergencies while on a Self drive trip?
It is good to know that there is someone there for you just in case you need assistance or resolution to urgent or even not so urgent matters.
Should you have any problems or need any assistance during your self drive trip in Iceland our agents are here for you and happy to assist in any way. In case of matters that require immediate attention we have a emergency line open 24/7 so you can feel that you are not completely alone in the event of an emergency while in Iceland.
AVIS car rental also has a number to call in the unlikely event of any problems with the car. The line is open 24/7 in summer and from 06:00-22:00 in winter.

How do I go about booking my self drive vacation?
We recommend planning your self drive tour vacation timely, especially for summer. When booking a self drive tour for summer we usually recommend holding off booking flights until all arrangements have been made in Iceland first. You can look at flight options to see what dates might be suitable for your vacation without booking them yet.
If you plan on doing the self drive tour in fall, winter or spring, booking flights right away is fine.
The first step is to find a self drive tour package you like. We can of course customize the packages by adding extra nights, changing an overnight location or by making any alteration you like. In that case just get in touch with us and we will work out an itinerary for you.
When you find a package that you like you can calculate the tour price (on the right hand side of the website for those on a desktop or at the bottom of the page if you are using a mobile device) based on your choice of accommodation and car type as well as if you would like to include any of the optional activities. If you prefer we are also happy to provide you with a quote.
Once decide on a tour package, accommodation type, car type and optional activities it is time to book the tour either through our website or if you prefer we can create the booking for you manually. We will then start making all arrangements and once the accommodations, car and optional activities are booked and confirmed by us you can go ahead and book your flights. It usually takes between 2-3 days to finalize all arrangements.


Self drive travel vacation is great fun with cheap car hire in Iceland. Choose from all kinds of Self Drive Vacation and touring packages. An Icelandic tour could be a tour of a lifetime.

TOURIS offer many different self drive tour packages and Iceland road trip with cheap 4X4 car rentals in Iceland. These are of various duration. There are several factors that determine the price:

1. Time of the year.
2. Number of people traveling together
3. Type of car (we offer more than 15 different types of cars)
4. Type of accommodation (we offer 3 different categories of accommodation)

To calculate the price, click on the self drive tour you like, and then go to Prices & Booking. There you can calculate the price of the tour based on your choice of accommodation and rental car, number of people and arrival day.
If you need any customization to your road trip please Contact Us and we will be happy to give you a quote.