Getting around Iceland in winter: car, tours or transfers

Rent a car if you're confident on snow and ice and want to chase clear sky. Otherwise, base in Reykjavík and use tours.

A car should help your aurora odds, because it lets you drive to wherever the cloud breaks; our measured odds are for staying put, so we can't say by how much. It also means driving at night on unlit, often icy roads after a full day. Only about 5,000 of Iceland's 12,000 km of classified road gets winter service, and the ploughs aim to finish before morning traffic. You'll be out at 10pm on a road last cleared at 7am.

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Car or tours?

In short Rent a car if you've driven on snow and ice before and are staying 5 nights or more; otherwise use tours, which all leave from Reykjavík.

What winter driving is really like

In short Expect worse conditions than the limits assume: 50 km/h in towns, 80 on gravel, 90 on paved roads, and a 0.2‰ drink-drive limit.

SafeTravel's first rule: "The speed limit applies to the best conditions… seldom so good."

• Headlights must be on day and night.
• Road grades: roads are graded by how often they're cleared, from A (7 days a week) down to G (spring and autumn only).
• Wind is the real danger: storms close roads, sometimes at short notice.

The known trouble spots:

• Hellisheiði on the road south (the alternative is Þrengsli, Route 39)
• Mýrdalssandur and Skeiðarársandur on the south coast
• Öxnadalsheiði on the way north

Where you can and can't go

In short The Golden Circle, the south coast and Route 1 to Jökulsárlón stay open in winter, Snæfellsnes mostly does, the Westfjords are hard and highland F-roads close.

Before every drive

Check three things, in the morning and again before you set out at night:

• Road conditions on umferdin.is or by phone on 1777
• The weather on en.vedur.is
• Alerts on SafeTravel

From the airport

In short From Keflavík, take an airport bus to Reykjavík, or pay more for a private transfer to your door, which is worth it after a late winter landing.

International flights land at Keflavík, on the Reykjanes peninsula.

• Airport buses run to Reykjavík. We couldn't read current fares from the operators' sites, so we don't list one.
• A private transfer costs more but takes you to your door, which is worth it after a late landing in winter.
• The Blue Lagoon: one-way transfers between the airport and the lagoon are sold, so you can soak on arrival or before your flight.

Domestic flights

For the north, fly.

• Akureyri has an airport, and everything worth seeing there, Mývatn, Goðafoss and Húsavík, is within an hour of town.
• Driving instead is 381 km from Reykjavík over Öxnadalsheiði, the most common point where the northern drive fails in winter.
• The Westfjords: Icelandair flies from Reykjavík to Ísafjörður, but the approach is weather-sensitive.

Booking cars, transfers and data

If you've decided on a car, book early and choose a 4x4 or a car with good winter tyres for anything beyond the main roads.

Getting around Iceland in winter: FAQs

More for an Iceland winter trip

• An Iceland winter itinerary for the northern lights
• Iceland northern lights tours, compared
• Travel insurance for Iceland
• Where to see the northern lights in Iceland