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1- I am planning a solo trip to Iceland this April for 4-5 days but I have some questions about it. I know every city has something worth seeing next to itself and I want to be in another city each day. Which is more common in Iceland to get around between cities?

  • Car sharing (Bla bla car, car pool, ..)
  • Bus
  • Flight

And maybe hitchiking if it is allowed there.If so, how do people of Iceland approach it?

2- The points I want to go

  • Any lagoon (begin close to center is preferable)
  • Place wreck
  • Some spots of game of thrones
  • Jokulsarlon glacier
  • Nice spots to take photos

How can I get to these from its closest cities? I do not want to get stuck in Reyjkavik. Up to 40 km walk a day is acceptable.

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Car rental is the easiest when short on time but rental cars in Iceland are extremely expensive due to the short tourist season. One thing that is popular though is to rent a camper van which offset lodging costs.

Buses are available and go around the island and some do cross in the middle. They are relatively affordable and the routes are quite simple since most follow the ring road. There is a more frequent tourist service that goes in a loop from Reykjavik to some of the major sites and waterfalls inland. Jokulsarlon though is 5 hours away and so you should be that on different circuit. Buses do stop there too but be mindful of the schedule since it is far away from much else.

Hitchhiking is possible but is not common from what I have seen. I drove around Iceland in a span of 3 weeks (totaling 3,400km including much zigzags to cover nearly every road on the island) and only did see hitchhikers twice. I picked a pair up between Dyrholaey and Vik and they seemed to have gotten around that far like that. While crime is not an issue, Iceland is rather sparse and so not having your own transport or using scheduled buses can troublesome.

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  • If you can afford the cost/find tours that suit your wants, tour buses can be a good alternative. (In the past, other countries, I have asked tours to be dropped off on the far point and they agreed, but I have heard they do not do that in all countries.)
    – Willeke ♦
    Commented Feb 17, 2018 at 20:22
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    I don't recommend a bicycle, having tried it. The headwinds are brutal. And off the ring road, traffic is very sparse.
    – Andrew Lazarus
    Commented Feb 18, 2018 at 4:38
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I've hitchhiked for on week in Iceland. If you are on the ring road or in the main gravel roads (for example the F208 to Landmannalaugar), you shouldn't have to wait too much. There is one time where I waited for 2 hours, but other than that it was often 30 minutes max.

The bus system is pretty extensive and can bring you near where you want almost every time, but it can be a little expensive (in Iceland, all is expensive). I would consider a mix between bus (to get out from Reykjavik) and hitchhiking (quite easy, cheap, and you can meet tons of nice people).

The north-west (the fjords) can be pretty rough when hitchhiking given that there is'nt much cars passing by.

Road

Sometimes it's nice to wait for a ride

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  • Is that a glacier I am seeing?
    – Neusser
    Commented Feb 23, 2018 at 14:39
  • Yes. This is a glacier at sea level near Jökulsárlón. Pretty cool place.
    – Shan-x
    Commented Feb 23, 2018 at 15:47
  • Do you know about self hiking? Could it be an option? Walking is not a big deal for me?
    – InaccurateWeatherReport
    Commented Feb 28, 2018 at 9:35
  • Well, I hiked 400km accross Iceland (from Myvatn to Skogarfoss). But this is entirely another thing, with a lot more preparations and logistics. Here is my blog about that (french) : shanx.fr/islande
    – Shan-x
    Commented Feb 28, 2018 at 9:40

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