How we toured around Iceland within 2 weeks with a camper van.
Are you also considering hiring a camper van and exploring a country? We decided to do that to explore Iceland. One thing in advance: it wasn’t the cheapest option! The freedom, the view of untouched nature, the mountains, and the sea every morning were priceless and definitely worth it!
The untouched nature is calling
Relaxing, coming to rest, just listening to the birds chirping and enjoying the pure air. That was my goal when I started looking for possible holiday destinations.
Iceland was the perfect choice. Hardly any other country is as natural, safe, and beautiful as Iceland.
Just follow the street
With more than 1000 impressions we have come back from our trip, many positive, a few negative ones. There is nature, mountains, volcanoes, lakes, the sea, beaches, animals, and an incredible number of different landscapes, and then there is one road. Literally “ONE”. Road 1 leads around the majority of the island.
However, it is far from being a freeway, as we might imagine as Central Europeans. It’s a road built in untouched nature and that’s what it feels like to drive it – just unbelievable. In large parts of Iceland every few minutes a dozen horses stand next to the road; sheep are frolicking and birds make it frighteningly fun just to fly past the car. But most of the landscape just belongs to Iceland and maybe also the “hidden people”, which can be recognized with a bit of imagination in the stone landscapes.
4 things for a nice time “on the road”
A good car, 4-wheel drive is certainly recommended, water, but you can find quite a lot of natural sources, food, and hygiene products. These are the 4 really important things that everyone needs for a road trip.
Although Iceland is one of the safest countries in the world, the roads are sometimes very dangerous. There are no really venomous animals such as spiders, scorpions, snakes, etc. We have not even seen a mosquito, although in the summer some of them can certainly look a little different.
A car, water, food, hygiene – do not underestimate these four things. In Iceland, there are no trains, only a few buses and all the massive cars with spike tires, roads with potholes and weather changes every few minutes.
1. Unfortunately, especially important: rent a good car
As much as we like to travel in an environmentally friendly way … in Iceland there are no trains and just a few bus lines. Renting a car is almost the only way if you want to make spontaneous and flexible decisions during your trip. We chose a camper van.
If you want to sleep in your car, there are many possibilities in Iceland, especially in the summer months. For the sake of convenience, I would always recommend campsites, as there are showers and often good kitchens, electricity, and seating.
2. Water
Having enough drinking water supplies is easier than expected in Iceland. There are many rivers and waterfalls which deliver the purest water directly from Iceland’s glaciers. However, anyone who prefers packaged water can buy water bottles in every supermarket – unfortunately only packed in plastic.
3. Healthy Food
Eating healthy in Iceland is a bit trickier. In general, it should be noted that the prices in Iceland’s cheap supermarkets, are significantly higher than in Central Europe. A purchase of 20 € at Lidl, Hofer, Aldi, or Penny easily equals a purchase of 30-40 € at Iceland’s “Bonus” or “Netto” supermarkets.
a short story:
We stood at the cash register at “Netto” and the couple in front of us made a bigger weekly purchase. From bread, drinks, sweets to dried fish, everything was there. No caviar or other luxury products. We estimated that this purchase would have cost around € 70 at the Hofer / Aldi, maybe € 100 at the Billa and € 120 at the Markur- these are just approximations. What do you think the couple paid in Iceland?
It was incredible: 55,000 crowns, -> 400 €!
Since the pricing policy of Iceland is not unknown, we decided to prepare for it. Because honestly, we just did not want to spend a lot of money on food, especially if it’s just about bread, yoghurts and maybe a few sweets. Especially if you prefer to buy cheap products, it is often difficult to eat healthy. In most travel reports, people eat around 7€ hot dogs … 3 times a day.
A healthy and inexpensive diet was particularly important to us!
To bring us healthy, easy, and as inexpensive as possible through these two weeks, we decided to take meal replacement products with us. We are very happy that we have done so!
After some research, several different products met our criteria namely: healthy, filling, practicable and inexpensive.
If you would like to know more about it, you will find more here, in our article “Healthy and “cheap” through Iceland”.
4. Hygiene
We tried to take as few products as possible with us, but some were an absolute must. From shampoo to toothbrushes .. we attach great importance to healthy, sustainable and environmentally friendly alternatives.
Tip # 1 for a road trip: chewing gum
Sometimes, the bathrooms are not clean enough, or you don’t have time to freshen up in the morning. To bridge a few hours, it is really handy to have chewing gum with you.
Tip # 2: Tooth oil, toothbrushes and dental floss
Anyone who has never tried oil pulling has missed something. You can use coconut or sesame oil. The important thing is that you take the time so it can be 5-15 minutes in your mouth and can do its work. Because of the simplicity and taste, we chose Ringana tooth oil, which contains high quality and sustainably produced sesame oil as its main ingredient.
After the tooth oil has penetrated into all the grooves of the teeth, you simply spit it out and brush it again with a moist toothbrush.
For our vacation, we did not want to take a large charging station for our electric toothbrushes. To take an eco-friendly toothbrush for these two weeks, we opted for a bamboo alternative to the Humble. On the one hand, this is sustainably produced and biodegradable except for the bristles, on the other hand, we loved the many colourful colour varieties.
The Humble also produces biodegradable dental floss and ear buds, also in a variety of colours in high quality!
Tip # 3: shampoo and body care
For in-shower body care, we took the shampoo and body wash travel sizes from Ringana with us on our journey. They are very small, practical and simply good in every way.
Many shampoos contain substances and chemicals that actually are harmful for our scalp and the environment. Unfortunately, there are many products on the market that are sold as “good” and expensive, with little behind it. At Ringana, every ingredient is carefully declared and also explained, so you really know what gets to your body.
During our trip they were stored away in our travel bag and they were just perfect for our purposes.
Our last tip is the Ringana stay fresh. Do you know that already? In fact, it is a small revolution in toilet hygiene and an absolute must for us on such a journey.
This little “stay fresh” can be used as a replacement or improvement for
wet toilet paper. It does not pollute the environment, nor is the production of concern as seen in many other products.
It cares for and cleans the skin, no matter where, but also on “there” :). I have the feeling that this product is still a secret, but it should not be.
Nothing stands in the way of a relaxed and clean road trip. We can really recommend these things to you, as they are good not only for you, but also for the environment. Do you have any other tips or do you know other products that are a must-have for road trips?
If so, we are happy if you share your insider tips with us 😉
Nothing stands in the way of a relaxed and clean road trip. We can really recommend these things to you, as they are good not only for you, but also for the environment. Do you have any other tips or do you know other products that are a must-have for a road trip?
If yes, we are happy if you share your insider tips with us 😉
1 comment
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