Driving

I forgot to take a necessarily boring picture of a 'typical' road in Iceland, so I'll have to do with this one taken in the planted forest west of Lagarfljot (near Egílstaðir). This is a rural paved road. It has an easily seen midline, no edge line, but yellow marker 'poles' outside the road surface (longer 'poles' where much snow might be expected). However, usually the surroundings are barren and the road often straight for several kilometers. Occasional curves are clearly marked, often with reduced speed. Railing appear only where necessary.

Most roads seem to be built on solid rock and are not much affected by frost.

The top speed on paved roads is 90 km/h, on gravel roads 80 km/h, and in towns 50 km/h. And you should drive on the right side.

The traffic outside the Reykjavik area is low. Here you might soon acquire this habit when entering a road: IF [no car for the nearest kilometer or so when looking right] AND [no car for the nearest kilometer or so when looking left] THEN [enter the road].



Although the roads are dual lanes, one in each direction, bridges are usually one lane, and there are many bridges, especially on the south coast. But they is well marked with this wonderful sign, and you'll rarely meet another vehicle.



Iceland has several categories of roads, from nice paved roads to special vehicle roads where you risk drowning when crossing a river.



We didn't see many rest areas on our way, then the weather here isn't always favorable for enjoying an outdoor thermos coffee and something to chew on. Solving the wind problem is evidently attempted on this one. An urban tourist might also wish for a toilet, but sorry pal, just realize that stepping down from the road surface immediately takes you away from civilization.



The Ring Road runs around Iceland, near the coast in the coast in the south and more distant from the coast elsewhere. Its total length is 1339 kilometers.

One warning: The distance between fuel stations is longer than what you might be used to, so fill when you have the chance. Incidentally, most fuel stations are unmanned. You insert your credit card, enter the pin code, and then you're asked to enter the amount in Icelandic Kroner for which you want to fill ...

updated 2010-06-25