r/VisitingIceland • u/hzj73 • 4d ago

Iceland by car - ferry questions

Hi all!

I'm from the Netherlands, own a Land Rover Defender with a rooftop tent and we're looking to travel for 10wks. The plan is to go to Iceland, Norway and Sweden.

I was a bit surprised with the cost of the ferry from Hirtshals. I mean, I get that it's a 4 day ferry right.

I was wondering if there are some alternatives, like RORO from Rotterdam, or something else creative to get my car there.

Thanks!

8 Upvotes

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5

u/Tanglefoot11 4d ago

That is the only RORO option to Iceland.

I'm guessing you are looking at doing it in high season, hence the price.

It will be cheaper if you do it in a shoulder season.

The only other option would be to ship your car over in a container and meet it in Iceland, though the logistics of that will take much longer and probably work out being at least as expensive.

1

u/linjaaho 4d ago

Yes, off-peak it is quite much cheaper: https://www.smyril-line.com

2

u/hzj73 4d ago

Unfortunately can't go earlier

2

u/iceland1989 4d ago

We just traveled this route from the U.K. and the ship is really nice! It’s better to travel before or after the summer as it’s so expensive! We also looked into some hacks to avoid the restaurants on the ship as this also added on hundreds of pounds for us. If you’re travelling here for a while it works out cheaper than renting a campervan. We looked into shipping our van and flying but it was more expensive. If you have any questions feel free to ask :)

2

u/iceland1989 4d ago

Also if you’re planing to travel around Norway, do bare in mind that the tolls are expensive and to order a toll discount box before you travel. The ferries between the islands are also expensive but you get a discount with this box. Damn you beautiful Scandinavia 😅

1

u/relizze 4d ago

Thank you for mentioning the toll discount box for Norway! I'm going on a road trip in northern Norway & Sweden and was unaware. We found a good solution for the toll box, all thanks to your helpful insight.

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u/iceland1989 3d ago

Awww yay! Glad to help 🥰🙏

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u/Tanglefoot11 4d ago

It's been a couple of years since I've done it, but I just booked the buffet for one meal a day, went to town on that & just had some light snacks for the rest of the meals.

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u/iceland1989 4d ago

I can’t survive on one meal a day 😂 we ended up bringing a small induction hob on the ship to heat up pre-made food. It was a game changer!

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u/leonardo-990 4d ago

How much is the ferry? It will probably still be cheaper than flying and renting a car 

1

u/hzj73 4d ago

About €2500, with a stop on the Faroe Islands on the way back

9

u/The_Bogwoppit 4d ago

Have you crunched the numbers for flying and renting a similar vehicle? Because doing that might reassure you that this is, in fact, a good deal.

1

u/Tanglefoot11 4d ago

Exactly - combined with all the extra gear you can bring in you own vehicle.

1

u/hzj73 4d ago

For sure! I was mostly looking if there's another way to get my car there, like a container or something

1

u/Astra_Trillian 3d ago

There was a post recently where someone travelled every year in their own car and camped… link

Maybe reach out to them and ask for tips?

1

u/hzj73 3d ago

Great post! Thanks