Reykjavík is easy on foot and by Strætó bus. Beyond it most visitors drive, and the FCDO is blunt that conditions differ from the UK: lower speed limits, long distances, gravel roads, single-lane bridges and fast-changing weather. Headlights stay on year round, and a UK photocard licence is valid for up to 30 days.
F-roads need a 4x4 by law and open only briefly in summer. Check road.is (traffic service on 1777) and safetravel.is, and leave a travel plan if you head inland. Guided day tours run from Reykjavík if you would rather not drive.
Driving in Iceland and F-roads
Most visitors only need the paved Ring Road and a few gravel side roads. The highland interior is different driving. F-roads (the F stands for fjall, mountain) are rough mountain tracks that are often steep or uneven and can have unbridged rivers you have to ford. Visit Iceland says a 4x4 is required by law on them; we could not find the statute, and in practice your rental contract is what enforces it, so a two-wheel-drive car on an F-road breaks your rental agreement. SafeTravel adds that not every 4x4 will do: some roads suit a Duster-type SUV, others need a Land Cruiser-sized vehicle or a modified super jeep.
Rivers are the part to take seriously. SafeTravel is blunt that no insurance covers damage to a vehicle while crossing a river, so the cost is yours, and its advice is that if you are unsure you do not cross. Off-road driving is strictly forbidden, and F-roads are roads, so staying on them is fine and leaving them is not.
The highland roads are closed in winter and open only for part of the summer. SafeTravel says F-roads are usually closed from mid-September until June or July. The Icelandic Road and Coastal Administration (Vegagerðin) says snow cover is the main factor in when they open, and its record of opening dates for 2021 to 2025 shows the big routes opening between late May and mid-July depending on the road and the year. We would not plan a highland day around a calendar date: check the live map instead, and have a lower-level plan for the day.
Choose your car, choose your Iceland. The vehicle decides the trip. A 2WD compact suits the Ring Road, the Golden Circle and the south coast on paved roads. A small 4x4 SUV adds gravel and the easier F-roads, with limits at river crossings. A large, high-clearance 4x4 opens the highland interior. Campervans may use F-roads only if the rental company designates them 4x4, and in winter the F-roads are closed. We compare them side by side on our F-roads page.
Read the small print before you book. Most Icelandic rental companies exclude river-crossing water damage from every insurance package, and for excluded damage none of the contracts we read states a cap on what you pay. A few sell a conditional upgrade, so check the exact clause in your own agreement. Our insurance checklist has the questions to ask and the terms we read, checked 28 October 2026.
Vík: our pick, stay at least one night. It is the best base on the south coast, close to Reynisfjara's black sand, Dyrhólaey and Sólheimajökull, and a good base for Þakgil. We put it in every south coast route. Plan one way, hopping between towns such as Hella, Vík and Kirkjubæjarklaustur: Vegagerðin's distance tool puts Hella at 93 km and Vík at 186 km from Reykjavík, so an out-and-back from the capital wastes hours on tarmac. At Reynisfjara, sneaker waves arrive with no warning: stay well back and never turn your back on the sea. Search stays in Vík.
Plan the day around the road. F-road days take longer than a map app says, because the tracks are slow and because you will want to stop. See the F-roads map for each road, a realistic time and stops worth making.
- F208, Fjallabak North: from Sigalda to Landmannalaugar and on towards Eldgjá and Skaftártunga. In Vegagerðin's record it is the earliest of the big routes to open.
- F26, Sprengisandur: across the central highlands from Hrauneyjar to Bárðardalur in the north. It is among the last to open, and Vegagerðin describes it as a route for large 4x4s and super jeeps.
- F249, Þórsmörk: the road into the Þórsmörk valley. Vegagerðin names it as a highland road; check conditions and river levels before you set out.
- F206, Lakagígar: the road to the Lakagígar crater row, with its own place in the opening record.
- Kjölur, Route 35: from Gullfoss to Hveravellir and on to the north. Many people still call it F35, but Vegagerðin says it has lost its F-road status because the road has been improved. It is still a summer-only highland route, so treat it as one.
Before any highland drive, look at the live road-conditions map on umferdin.is (Vegagerðin's traffic information, also reachable on the phone line 1777) and the SafeTravel conditions page, and talk to rangers or hut wardens if you can. If any of this feels like more than you want, a guided highland trip with an experienced driver is the sensible alternative.
