June trip to Iceland is planned.
The car rental company quoted in Euros but I think the Icelandic currency is krona.
Confusing - which currency is used?

Once you leave Rejkyavik, do most gas stations, restuarants, shops, hotels take credit card?
or do we need to keep a good supply of cash with us as we travel?

Are there ATM's in most of villages on the Ring Road?

SUggestions welcomed.

hi linda,

we went to Iceland just over two years ago, just before the crash - so everything I say should be viewed with that in mind, as the crash may have affected how things are now organised.

to be honest, I can't remember in which currency we paid for our car hire. i know that it was VERY expensive, compared to the rest of europe. you might look at other car hire websites to see what currency they quote in.

when we were there, virtually everywhere took credit cards. we did take cash, but honestly, it wasn't needed, not even for cups of coffee! [normally free top ups by the way - you pay for the first cup and the rest are free]

Petrol stations are not necessarily in great supply and it's a good idea to top up when you can. they are often self service and automatic - no need for any attendant at all, you pay with your credit card.

as for ATMs, I don't remember them being a problem.

one thing to be aware of is that in June you will have a very long day length - so there is a lot of time to do things. do you have an itinerary for your trip yet?

Sometimes marketers make quotes in currencies like the euro just because it's a currency that is familiar to most people. I'm not saying that's always the case but I have seen that in a few other countries. For example, a hotel web site might quote a room rate in euros just so you will have an idea of what it costs. Once you arrive it's almost always best to pay in local currency.

Hi Linda,

We were advised to change currency at the airport to Kronas. That's what we did, and it was indeed the best rate.

We had the same question about Kronas/ Euros before we went. Only a few places quote prices in Euros, and the car company and Blue Lagoon were the only 2 that came to mind. Get Kronas without a doubt- most places dont take Euros. However, credit is the preffered method all over the island, so that's what we did mostly. We always have some "just in case" local currency though.

One thing to keep in mind- we didnt have a pin for the credit card, so that made it impossible to fuel up at unmanned gas stations (there are a lot more than you might think). You dont need a pin at a manned station, so we bought gas cards that we could use at the automated stations so we dont get stuck. It can be quite a ways between "towns", and you may be suprised that the "town" you thought you were going to is barely more than a dozen homes together. We had to drive almost an hour to find a meal one night because the only store (gas station) in town was closed (offseason). June should be better than October when we went, but I would recommend having some food with you in the car just in case.

We didnt use any atm's, but we didnt encounter anywhere that credit cards were not accepted.

Hope that helps.


BTW, if you are drinkers do yourself a favor and pick up something at the duty free at the airport. Beer and wine at stores outside the airport were quite a bit more expensive.

the other thing to be aware of about petrol [gas] stations is that in many places, they are also cafes, restaurants, shops, off-licences [what you would call a liquor store] and the bus station.