Photography in Iceland
The Complete Guide

Iceland is a sparsely populated country of only 330,000 people, most of whom live in or near the capital Reykjavík. It’s a relatively large country, more than twice the size of Denmark and about the same size as the US state of Kentucky, so there is a lot of ground to cover, which has implications for how you get around. 

The extensive road network allows you to reach distant and unusual places on the island. However, the tiny population limits the efficiency of public transport, and it’s almost impossible to access most of the landscape without your own transportation. There is a bus service, but it can only visit a handful of busier destinations, and internal flights can save some time but still leave you with the challenge of getting around at your final destination. 

Generally, renting a car will give you the most flexibility, but there are options in the summer for hiking and using the bus for a very different kind of adventure. This section discusses the various options for getting around Iceland and the factors to consider.

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Renting a Car in Iceland

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Most visitors rent a car from Keflavík international airport, about 50 kilometres outside of Reykjavík, and Iceland’s biggest airport by some distance. There’s a huge collection of rental car agencies, and renting a car can be very cheap (as little as 250 USD for a week) for such an otherwise expensive destination. 

Car rental agencies in the airport are open at all hours to cover late-night flights, but cheaper options are situated away from the main terminal and sometimes in the small town of Keflavík. It’s worth checking how you collect your car as sometimes you need to phone to arrange for the agency to pick you up at the airport. 

There are car rental facilities elsewhere in Iceland, but it’s far easier to collect your car at the arrival airport since there is so much choice.

Iceland has a main road that circles the island called Route 1 or the Ring Road. It’s about 1400km long, and it would take 17 hours to drive the complete route, even in good conditions. The road is paved for its whole length, though it can often be closed in winter in parts, sometimes for several hours while the road is cleared. 

There are dozens of roads off this main route to reach the small communities scattered around Iceland, and many of these tracks are not paved, though you can still drive many of them in a normal vehicle. In general, the southern coast of Iceland is more populated with better roads than areas in the north, and the amount of visitors and facilities is almost in proportion to how distant you are from Reykjavík.

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Winter Driving in Iceland​​

 

The prospect of driving in Iceland in the winter can be intimidating, and you'll need to be a little prepared. There are a lot of snow ploughs and a real effort to keep the main routes clear of snow during the winter. The ploughs don’t attempt to completely dry the roads, and you’ll commonly be driving on a layer of ice in the winter, but most routes outside of the Highlands are passable at all times of the year. 

After a heavy snowfall, it can take a while for the roads to clear, and you may be unable to travel for hours or sometimes a couple of days, especially if you are somewhere more remote. Iceland has an excellent website showing the conditions of roads around the island.

https://www.road.is/travel-info/road-conditions-and-weather/

Iceland is very windy, and one of the most common reasons for damage to rental cars is a folded-back door, so it helps to build a habit of holding on to car doors. Sometimes, high winds pick up the snow and blow it across the road, reducing visibility almost to zero.

However, these issues can all be solved with a few simple precautions. Don’t travel during major snow storms, even if the roads are clear when you set out. The local Icelanders will have the best judgement: if they decide not to travel, you shouldn’t either. 

The most important precaution is to slow down and accept that travelling in rough weather will take a little longer. If you travel slowly, with an idea of the weather to expect during your journey, winter driving in Iceland can be a fun adventure. It's worth the effort for the landscapes you'll find.

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Highlands Driving in Iceland

 

The centre of Iceland is referred to as ‘the Highlands’, and the roads to this area are only accessible in the summer. They are known as ‘F Roads’ - designated by an F and then the number of the road - and can be extremely rough, with river crossings. Roads in this area are sometimes barely more than a track, and you must have a 4x4 vehicle to drive into the Highlands.

There are some incredible photography locations in the Highlands, but renting the right car requires planning, and the main consideration for car rental is river crossings. Not all river crossings are the same, and not all roads have large crossings, but the car you need will be determined by the places and routes you plan to visit. 

Regardless of your plans, you’ll need a 4x4 vehicle to drive on F-Roads: it’s a legal requirement. However, 4x4s come in various sizes, and smaller vehicles with lower clearance will restrict the river crossings you can tackle and the routes you can go.

One option is to choose a large vehicle with a snorkel, but this requires an enormous budget, even for Iceland. The other is to think carefully about your journey and match the vehicle you rent to the river crossings you plan to do, though this requires detailed planning. 

You’ll also need to check your insurance for coverage on river crossings. Even rental companies that insure against the tough roads of the Highlands can have policies that exclude coverage for flooding the vehicle in a river. This is your biggest risk in the Highlands, and something to factor into your planning. 

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Buses in Iceland

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 Iceland has a public transport network, augmented by tour companies offering different services, from fully-guided to semi-independent. 

Using only public transport can make it almost impossible to reach some of the best locations or have control over the timing of your shoots. However, most of the major sights are covered by public transport, and some spots (such as many ice caves or Highlands locations in the winter) are only accessible with the help of a professional guide.

The bus can be the best way to reach points in the most remote area, the Highlands. Renting a car for the Highlands is expensive and risky, especially if you are not eager to drive on the rough roads. However, there are bus services to several major Highlands destinations, and you can hike from each one to see more of the landscape. The easiest areas to reach on the bus are Þórsmörk and Landmannalaugar, both great photography destinations.

The bus network consists of several small companies, with no single pass covering the whole island. To find out where you could reach and how to get there, the Icelandic website on public transport below has a useful map showing the potentially available routes (depending on the season).

www.publictransport.is

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Internal Flights in Iceland

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 It is possible to take internal flights around Iceland, and there are services from Reykjavík to places such as Höfn and Akuyreri. However, most rental car options are in Keflavík, Iceland’s main airport. You may fly to a smaller town at the other end of the country, but find your choices for renting a car and exploring beyond the local area are limited. 

Be aware that almost all visitors arrive at Kevlavík international airport, but domestic flights leave from a separate airport in downtown Reykjavík. Even if you are planning a journey across the length of Iceland, it’s possible that renting a car on arrival and driving directly to your destination would be cheaper and quicker.

However, if you use public transport to get around Iceland, internal flights can speed up some of your journeys, especially if you need to travel back to Reykjavík from the far end of the country. Flights can also be a good option for visiting some of the islands, such as Vestmannaeyjar (flights from Reykjavík) or Grímsey (flights from Akureyri), which are highlights for wildlife photography in the late spring/early summer. 

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Ferries in Iceland

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One of the most useful forms of public transport for photographers in Iceland is the ferry service, as this is the easiest way to reach some of the islands around the country and extend your road trip beyond the mainland.

You can look up schedules and often book ferry tickets online, and most are well organised with a simple port and instructions for boarding, making this an easy way to get around and see some unusual destinations. 

Ferry services are run by a variety of companies, so the best approach to planning your trip is to work out where you want to visit and then search for the ferry company serving that route.