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Going to Iceland in March and just wonder what to expect, mainly concerned with the condition of the roads that time of year. So, for example, if I were going to Akureyri, would I likely encounter any difficulties driving in a 4x4 from Reykjavik? Would I be better off flying to Akureyri and renting a car there? Is anything generally not accessible by 4x4 at that time of year?
Thanks,
Mike
Congratulations for your trip. Iceland is full of visitors in summer (in recent years, more people visited Iceland annually than the actual number of inhabitants), hence it does make sense to visit Iceland 'off season'.
In March the problem with short daylight is gradually solved, as of March 22, in principle, you should have 50/50 night / day hours.
I've never had the opportunity to visit Iceland in March, but general instructions for mororists that I had read in my previous visits are that before April, most roads in the interior, outside ring road #1, are closed or impossible to pass.
In some places like the Eastern Fjords or the North-Western fjords, mountain roads can get blocked by huge amounts of snow. For example, before a tunnel was built ( a unique "Y-shaped" tunnel actually), the city of Isafjörður and nearby cities located in different areas of the NW fjords were accessible only by air (or by boat, according to ice conditions) at some periods of the year. Now the tunnel helps people to reach Isafjörður by car with a limited risk of being cought by a snowstorm. Avalanches are not uncommon in the NW fjords.
Akureyri is a different place located on ring road #1 at sea level and this main road should be "reasonably" open.
Depending on how many days you'll stay in Iceland, it might be interesting or not to fly to Akureyri and rent a car there.
I've not been to Iceland since 1995 and at that time, ring road #1 was far from being paved everywhere! Outside cities, roads are gravel roads and do not expect fast speeds even in summer.
On our forum we have several Icelanders who will give you first-hand information.
Have a nice trip !
This February has been very warm, mostly above freesing point. There is though a cold front expected late next week.
I will send you my emil address in a private post so that I can give you actual information a week or so before you leave for the trip. But in general you should always prepared for real winter in March.
Mr Ingolfsson will be a valuable resource for you!
I was there in April a few years ago, to drive the Ring Road all the way around, clockwise from Reykjavik (10 days driving).
Getting to Akureyi was no problem. It was east of Myvatyn that we ran into high country, deep snow and got stuck on a three day weekend when it was difficult to get help from authorities (they take their holidays seriously!). We finally got pulled out, about the time a snow plow came through, and a bunch of cars followed the snow plow over the mountains. That was the only problem we had. We had slight difficulty finding lodging because it was the off season. Some of the so called Farm Vacation Holiday lodges turned us away, while others were wonderfully welcoming and it was nice to have the whole place to ourselves.
We spent several days around Akureyi while it was snowing, and even watched golfers golfing in the snow...these are incredibly tough people.
You can generally forget about getting into the interior of Iceland that time of year, all the roads will be closed.
Keep an eye on the storms. The weather predictions were always pretty accurate when we were there.
You will have a blast. It's a great country.
I'm back and have a few observations to share.
First, Iceland is a photographer's paradise. It's almost impossible to drive for more than a few miles without encountering eye popping scenery, at least in the regions that we toured (South to South East, and the West). From what I can tell, the parts we did not get to (Western Fjords, North and East) are equally if not more scenic.
In March the light is very good. Sufficient light for photography between 8 am and about 6 pm, depending on location. Obviously, you can stretch those times considerably if you get into longer exposures. The nice thing about March is that the sun never gets directly overhead and we never had any problems with harsh shadows or excessive contrast.
We had unusually good weather, with the temperatures in a narrow band between 32 and 40 degrees Fahrenheit. Very little snow or rain, with several days of sun. For the most part the roads were clear and dry, although we ran into some snow on the Snaefellsnes Peninsula.
It seems like almost everyone in Iceland speaks some English, and the people are exceptionally friendly and polite. We did not see a single police officer until the last day, and although we drove many hundreds of miles, no roadkill.
The trip was my first overseas travel with a large format camera, and it gave me some insights which I will share in another post. I have some film to process, although not quite as much as I would have liked. Here is a very modest offering, a view of the lovely Hvalfjordur, which is so much more beautiful than my picture would suggest.
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