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How to Drive the Ring Road in Iceland

Are you getting prepared for your adventure in Iceland!? Want to know a little more about the Iceland roads before you start your trip on the Ring Road!? Well, you’ve come to the right place!

Highly recommend getting a 4WD if you're going to drive the entire ring road

Iceland in general is a really easy country to drive around. It's literally one big loop around the country. If you are coming from the US, you're in luck because Icelanders drive on the right side of the road, so you don’t have to worry about adjusting to drive on the opposite side.

The speed limit is generally 90 km on the Ring Road

General rules when driving the Ring Road in Iceland:

- Get a 4WD. You'll come across some rugged roads.

- Speed limit is 90 km (55 mph)

- Keep your car lights on all the time when driving; day and night.

- If you are driving slower than normal and there is car behind you, turn your blinker on and slow down so that the car behind you can pass easily.

- Do not stop in the middle of the road to view the beauty of Iceland. Make sure you pull over to a safe area where you are not troubling other drivers.

- Watch out for lots of one-way bridges

- Always check the weather and road conditions on www.road.is

- Fill up your gas tank whenever you can. We didn't have a problem running out of gas at any point, but we made sure we were always at least half full.

You will come across lots of one-way bridges in Iceland

Speaking of gas, here's a tip: I read on Million Mile Secrets that it’s best to have a Chip-and-Pin credit card to use at unattended gas stations, so I used my Barclaycard Arrival Plus card and sure enough, it worked every single time. At most gas stations, you can use any credit card, but for the more remote areas where there are no attendants, our normal credit cards did not work. If you are not using a credit card, I've read that you can also purchase pre-paid gas cards.

Here is a step-by-step process on how to get gas in Iceland:

1 - Enter the language you prefer. Remote stations do not have this option, but you can still figure it out.

"Velkomin" means "Welcome"

2 - Enter your credit card

3 - Enter your PIN.

4 - Enter the amount. Some stations will also have the “Fill Up” option where the pump will stop once the tank is full.

"FYLLA" means "Fill Up"

5 - Select the pump and you're all set!

Now you're all set to start your adventure!

See this gallery in the original post