Hi, my husband and I are on a cruise ship (August 2018) with stops in Seydisfjordur, Akureyi, Isafjordur, and Reykjavik. In Akureyi we arrive in port at 8:00 am and depart at 5:00. We would like to visit Myvatn, Godafoss, and Detffifoss. Due to time constraints, it might be best to rent a car and drive to the sights. I know that driving is on the right side of the road and cars are fitted with left-hand steering wheels, so that will not be an issue. Is this a difficult drive to complete in the time we have? Do I need a four-wheel drive vehicle? Will I need an International drivers license? I'm also thinking of renting a car in Reykjavik since we have two days in port. Initially, I was looking to book a tour, but private tours are $1,000 for two and the regular cruise tours don't make stops at all three sights. I would appreciate any help/information. Thank you so much!

I can help a bit. Since I have not been in the Akureyi area I can't help with driving times there nor with the roads you are likely to encounter to reach your destination. However, generally speaking Iceland has good roads but there are certain roads where you would want a 4WD . On our last trip to Iceland we did just fine with a VW Golf, even on the few unpaved roads that we took. As far as touring out of Reykjavik you can easily do the Golden Circle tour on your own in a regular auto as well as visit many other place. We did just using a paper map without problems. Signage is good and roads are well marked. Just know the Icelandic spelling of the places you want to see. We found driving in Iceland to be easy. Our car rental place did not ask for an International drivers license and no one on our rental line produced one. If you drive in Reykjavik know that parking can be difficult.

You may find this link useful:
​​​​​​https://www.arctic.is/traffic-signs/

We have not driven in Iceland but we were there a little less than a year ago (on a cruise ship) and we both concluded that if we go again we DEFINITELY want to rent a car. As the previous poster has said - most roads are very good and except for Rekyavik, there is not a lot of traffic . If you decide to use tours - the private companies are a lot cheaper than going through the cruise line.
Make sure you have some coins (1 euro coins or 1 pound coins or icelandic coins) because although most attractions are free, they all seem to have pay toilets that are coin operated. (Some accept paper money.) Have a great trip - Iceland is wonderful.

semiramis brings up a good point about toilets. Stores and restaurants with toilets usually do not charge but expect you to buy something first. Pay toilets at major tourist sites often take credit cards - cards are used for almost everything in Iceland. If the toilet uses coins, you will want 100 krona coins. The cost will be a small multiple of that.

Moved to Europe forum

Basingstke2 and Sermiramis, thank you for your rental car and travel tips. Yes, I think we will definitely rent a car in Reykjavik and explore sights on our own. I'll do a little more research for Akureyi. Thank you, again.

I rented a small car in Iceland from Blue Car Rental. We picked it up in Reykjavik mid trip and returned it at the airport. We stayed in the city at a hotel for our trip. I rented an automatic car and driving is like in the US. I did not need an international license.
I do not know about driving times. We drove till we hit towns and walked around and came back. We did do some organized tours and they were very expensive. Renting a car is expensive and so is gassing it up. LOL Everything there is pricey but it was a fun trip and a very unique place. One thing I recommend is taking the full insurance and make sure you inspect the car before and after with the car rental people. We drove on some gravel roads that were considered main roads and I was worried about rocks. Anyway all was fine when I returned the car.
Also as you drive, all the main highways have road conditions and temperatures listed so you know if there is any icing. The Golden Circle is an easy drive. We were there in mid May and had great weather.

One more thing I forgot! There are cameras on the roadways that take a picture of your plate if you are speeding. So when flying down the long and lonely road know that you will get a ticket that you have to pay before you leave the country if you are caught speeding. There was one particular tunnel we were in that the girl at the Hilton warned me about, there were 6 cameras in that tunnel hidden. We were very good at spotting cameras and slowed down for each!

Thank you girlonthego, I rented a car in Reykjavik for one day. We will pick up rental car and venture the Golden Circle and explore at a leisure pace. I�m thinking of making a late reservation at the Blue Lagoon. Thank you for the driving tips and suggestion regaridng taking full coverage on rental. As I haven�t heard from any Fodorites regarding Akureyri, I think we will book a tour to see Dettifoss and Myvatn and skip Godafoss. I was thinking of renting a car, but seeing all three sights may be too ambitious in the time we have. Thank you again