2WD vs. 4WD
 

Hi,

we'll (my housband and I) be doing a two-week trip in Iceland, late August, beginning September.

SInce the prices of car rentals are high, we were wondering, whether we should hire a 2WD or 4WD? The price difference is significat, but we don't want to miss out on things.

We were looking at Suzuki Grand Vitara 4x4 and Toyota Verso at www.geysir.is.

We'd appreciate any help.

Sonja

As a hobby, I instruct winter weather driving classes for a car club.

IMHO, if you are experienced in off-road driving go for it.
If not, I don't think Iceland is the place to start learning (snow or no snow). Stick to paved roads in the Toyota.

Oops, forgot to wish you a great trip!

What do you think you are going to miss out on by staying on paved roads??????

flylow, thanks.
We actually are doing off-road at home as well (ATV and 4WD). It's a kind of a hobby, but we're usually doing it in a group, so if help is needed there is no problem. Since we're going to Iceland alone, this would not be the case.

Dukey, I've never been to Iceland before. That's why I am asking.... Some of the travellers reporting to this forum said they wished they'd rented 4WD...

We had no problem with an ordinary car on our recent trip. We booked a group B car, which was fine for visiting a lot of spectacular places - the Golden Circle and some amazing places on or near the ring road, as far as Hofn. If you click my name, you can check out where we went on my trip report, if you are interested.

Hi Sonja,

For our 9-day trip, my husband and I rented 2WD and went everywhere but the infamous "F" roads. This means we missed the Lakagigar Crater Row, Thorsmork, Fjallabak Nature Reserve, Landmannalaugar - all areas we were really interested in since we are geology enthusiasts. We didn't save any money really, because we went on a flight-seeing trip to see all these areas by air instead.

But the reason we made this decision was because it is really recommended not to do the 4WD tracks alone; even experienced Icelanders tend to go in groups or convoys for safety reasons (from what I was able to ascertain in my reading). Even for experienced off-roaders, the topography of Iceland is unique enough to turn you into an amateur in the interior highlands. Having flown over these areas, I know we made the right decision. The glacial rivers alone were enough to make me glad we weren't going it by ourselves in a 4WD. (cell service was spotty too).

Having made that decision, we were freed up to see everything else we really wanted to see, and have vowed to go back at a later time to "do" the interior.

We took several gravel roads in the 2WD with no troubles (except a really dirty, dusty car). The whole Vatnsnes Peninsula, the western route down Jokulsarglijufur Canyon, The Reykjanes peninsula, the area around Hraunfossar, etc. However, we did visit in July and the weather was uncharacteristically dry. The weather in early Sept. may present more driving challenges. I think your decision should rest on what areas you really want to see.

Best of luck, the planning is half the fun! The island is truly a marvel.
NYNP

NYNP,

thanks a lot for good advice. After reading this we've decided to rent a 2WD and save some money to do some extra whale-watching tours or similar...

Thanks again to all.

We've just returned from our trip. For anyone who's planning the trip: I would definitely recommend hirig a 4WD. i agree that it needs to be used reasonably, but there are some places and shortcuts that would definitey be interesting.

BTW: don't go whale watching in late August - all the big whales are gone!