Inexpensive Car Rental in Iceland?

[Panache]

We're looking to drive around the Iceland in July, and, even for a Hyunday subcompact I get rates of over $100/day on kayak, cars.com etc. For a 4 day rental that will be quite a chunk of change for a crappy stick shift car.

Through Avis with the Amex Plat discount code, still same price.

Any way to bring that price down? Any local agencies that cost less?

 

[sriki]

I know the feeling. I went through this last year. Here is the link to the thread I created with my findings. You should find some local options in that. But, fyi, no matter whom you go with, it will not be inexpensive. Between 4x4 auto tran rental and its fuel, I spent a lot for a week. But, I wouldn't trade the experience of being on the road in Iceland for anything.

https://saverocity.com/forum/threads/iceland-kef-car-rental.123043/

 

[heavenlyjane]

We used AutoSlash last September and got a 1-week rental for $383 using Budget. I believe we got a lower rate by agreeing to pick up our car in Reyjavik, which was fine because we were arriving at 5A and I was concerned about being overly tired. We returned car at airport on the way home.

Beware that many of the rates we were quoted had limited miles as part of the deal. The Budget offer was for unlimited miles.

 

[Panache]

Great! Thanks all, I should have searched first to check!

 

[Panache]

One more question.....is it recommended to have a car in Reyjkavik? We think the first day we will just spend in town, it seems parking near the Radisson 1919 Blu is scarce?

 

[heavenlyjane]

Reykjavik is definitely a pedestrian town. We got a better price for renting by the week so we went for it. Reykjavik was our basecamp but we only spent 2 full days there. On the other days, we did day trips using the rental car. We were glad to have the car with us.

We stay at the Radisson Blu Saga hotel, which is across from the university. It had free parking and I believe we didn't have to put permit anything on the dashboard. If you ended up renting a car for the entire trip, you could easily park at the Saga. They are a 10-minute walk apart from each other, longer with all the great distractions you find on your walk.

 

[SanDiego1K]

One more question.....is it recommended to have a car in Reyjkavik? We think the first day we will just spend in town, it seems parking near the Radisson 1919 Blu is scarce?

We stayed there and found parking easily. Either there was street parking, where we needed to move the car by 9am or so, or there was a lot within a one block walk.

 

[Panache]

Good to know about parking downtown! From what I read there isn't that much to do in Reykjavik, correct? SO thinks we can do without a car and I think after checking out the couple of museums and shopping district, it is time to head out of town, correct? I guess I rather go with the weekly rate even if it means the car is parked for a day.

 

[SanDiego1K]

From what I read there isn't that much to do in Reykjavik, correct? SO thinks we can do without a car and I think after checking out the couple of museums and shopping district, it is time to head out of town, correct? I guess I rather go with the weekly rate even if it means the car is parked for a day.

On the whole, I think that's correct. It was bucketing rain the day we had allocated to see Reykjavik, so hard that it was literally parallel with the pavement. I've never seen anything like it before. That deterred us from a bit of the city sightseeing we had planned. We made it to the big church that is suggested to see, but otherwise walked from the hotel when the rain died down. We walked to all the restaurants where we ate. We also walked across the street and down a block to the big concert hall. I recommend "How to become Icelandic in 60 Minutes" as a lot of fun.

http://en.harpa.is/events/how-become-icelandic-60-minutes-117

But otherwise, yes, you want to head out of town and hopefully find places to stay on your journey. Otherwise, it is really long slow drives to loop in and out of Reykjavik each day.

Starwood now has one property in Iceland that looks stunning.

https://www.starwoodhotels.com/preferredguest/property/overview/index.html?propertyID=60744

 

[sriki]

During my trip, we haven't explored Reykjavik much. We ate at a couple of restaurants, went to the Church and a local market. There were a few other attractions, I believe a museum or such thing but I could not wait to get out of the city and just drive. I heard there is decent night life (considering you are staying in 1919) too if you are so inclined. But, getting out of the city and onto the vast landscape is where Iceland's true beauty lies. Have fun. I hope you love it.

 

[smittytabb]

I am going back there next month, so thanks all for the information. Didn't rent a car last time because my friend with a car lived there. May consider it this time...

 

[Panache]

Yes, I saw that Starwood one too several weeks ago and it has been almost fully booked for all dates during summer for some time now and nothing on points. Bummer. We're taking a 3 day excursion and staying at a small inn with private hot spring on the southern part of the island, looking forward to it. Thank goodness for the pile of Carlson points and the free night certs to make up for the other nights.

 

[Suzie]

We went in June last year. Did not need a 4x4. We drove the ring road and were fine in an "economy" car. Just had to put one bag on the backseat!

 

[sriki]

4x4 is not necessary if you primarily stick to the ring road and such. I wanted to go all the way to the west coast and did end up there. There are spots where my 4x4 came in handy. I also wanted to get on the highand roads (F roads) but they are only open during peak season & even then most rental companies have restrictions on driving on the F roads. So, check those if you are so inclined.

 

[PNW-MSSER]

this is what I got using my corporate code :

 

[Suzie]

this is what I got using my corporate code :

View attachment 3343

This is the same car we had. Two adults. We drove the entire island, west coast included. We had no problems and it did pour the day we arrived and drove to Geysir and Gullfoss. This was second week in June time frame. May want to figure out where you will be driving to see if 4x4 expense necessary before you leave.

We had a 7 day rental with Sixt and it was around $400. Unlimited kilometers.

PSA - when you get outside the city - gas stations a few and far between - fill up whenever you have the chance.

And I was amazed at how many city residents have never seen the rest of their own island. We spent our last two days in the city and talked to a lot of people in bars and outdoor cafes. They asked us what we liked about their country and we would mention a spot we visited and the response was usually - "I've never been there."

 

[Miles]

RentalCars.com found me a 3-day Sixt rental in early June for $174, with pickup and dropoff at their downtown Reykjavik office.

I first tried AutoSlash but they didn't seem to offer anything in Reykjavik...too bad, because I really like AS!

 

[Panache]

We also went with Sixt, 6 days for ~$330 with unlimited km. It's some small econo box but may as well get that as restaurant meals will be pricey from what I can infer. Guess we'll be frequent customers at the hot dog stand.

 

[heavenlyjane]

RentalCars.com found me a 3-day Sixt rental in early June for $174, with pickup and dropoff at their downtown Reykjavik office.

I first tried AutoSlash but it didn't seem to offer anything in Reykjavik.

Excellent. Unlimited miles?

 

[heavenlyjane]

We also went with Sixt, 6 days for ~$330 with unlimited km. It's some small econo box but may as well get that as restaurant meals will be pricey from what I can infer. Guess we'll be frequent customers at the hot dog stand.

We didn't find food as pricy as we expected. We ate Skyr or yogurt for breakfast and grocery store food for lunch. For dinner, we always ordered something locally available, like the unbelievers fresh fish. You must try Arctic char, a trout relative. Beyond words.

 

[Miles]

Excellent. Unlimited miles?

Volkswagen Polo or Similar
Automatic transmission

Package Pricing Includes
Third-Party Liability (TPL)
Personal Accident Insurance (PAI)
Local Taxes
Road Fee / Road Licensing Fee
Winterisation Fee
Unlimited kilometres.

It's unclear if I'm to pick up the car at the domestic airport (which is in town) or at their downtown office, but I'll have a day after arrival to figure that out before I need it.

 

[sriki]

OT: If you are planning on staying more than a couple of days & inclined to get cook your meals and/or grab some snacks, Bonus and Hagkuap served us well (there are others too).

Btw, try some hakarl. You can thank me later.

 

[thepaul500]

Make sure you do it right by taking shots of Brennivin before...and after for good measure.

 

[jfoo]

Thanks for the great post and info here. I'm heading to Iceland for about 6 days in July as well, so I'll definitely review everything here!