Reviews for the Best Car Rentals in Iceland

Car drove smoothly and was comfortable. Thank you

While the pick up instructions left a great deal 2b desired, after getting a handle on that, the young man who picked us up was outstanding, very personable and friendly. I'm sorry I don't know his name, he was relating that he was over from the UK for the summer if that helps. At the location, the gentleman helping us was also very kind, we appreciated his strong grasp of English. He processed us quickly, gave helpful directional and return information, and got us on our way. Car was clean, appeared well kept and maintained, and we encountered o mechanical or operational issue. To note, we were give a 2021 Hyundai Tucson, 63,000 Mi, but it suited our purposes just fine. Return was a bit more difficult. The young man who checked us in and the driver who shuttled us 2 the airport seemed a little disinterested. When I walked in and stated my purpose he said
"go put your suit cases in the van". Not a huge deal, but a little unexpected I guess. He Drop this off in a good location and did help us get the bags out of the back. There was another couple taking the shuttle back to the rental office so our conversation ended abruptly there. Overall I would say you guys did a great job-we were/are very satisfied and I think,with this being my first interaction with basically anyone in Iceland, it Helped set a nice tone for our visit. I did go on here a little bit but I wanted to give you my honest opinion in response to your request and explanation that you’re a new company. I certainly think you’re on the right track for what my individual comment worth, But suffice it to say that we would recommend the Lava/circle team to anyone coming to the
area. and as impressed as we were with Iceland itself we will be telling our friends to make every effort to visit.
Thank you for giving me a hearing and providing the space to do so.
Bill Mullen

Great little jeep. Took us all round the west coast of Iceland.

Car was comfortable and gas efficient

The Dacia Dokker Camper were a bang for a buck. Everything was good,regretteda bit that we took without the heater. Because condensation formed so the roofs and walls became wet. The only thing i can complain about is the tire pressure were low on the right wheels.

It was a perfect fit for our journey. Functional and versatile. Plenty of room for the two of us (and our too much luggage). It would easily accommodate another persona and their luggage or four people who are more efficent packers than my daughter and I were.

Great service! The car was exactly what I reserved online. The airport shuttle was clean and on time. The staff was very friendly and helpful.

wE HAD to cancel our trip due to Covid. Thanks for your kindness and concern. Brian OHara

On the whole the 2017 Dacia Duster is a spacious, good value car and was an ideal choice for the variety of road surfaces found in Iceland! There was more than enough room for four occupents plus baggage. The only slight criticism with the car was a lack of lumbar adjustment for the drivers seat. Lava Car Rental was extremely efficient and helpful with the pick up and drop off process.

This car was great! We chose it because of the good reviews, unlimited mileage, and no-charge additional driver. This Subaru got us from Reykjavik up to Mývatn and down to Vik, and everywhere in between. No issues, and very good gas mileage as well!

The car was perfect for our trip around the Ring Road! Pickup and dropoff were easy and smooth and communication was great with both Northbound and MYCAR.

This was my first experience renting a vehicle internationally and MYCAR made that experience very easy. Excellent communication, direction, and timeliness. I will use MYCAR on our next trip to Iceland.

We were very pleased with the van.
Easy to maneuver and very fuel efficient.
Comfortable sleeping

Everything was perfect. The Team from Lotus Car Rental was very professional, helpful and friendly. Rental car was also in a good condition. There was nothing to complain and we would choose this company always again.

Wonderful service and the car! The car was in great condition, didn't cause any issues, and was easy to drive in snow, rain, and windy roads. One of the best choices in Iceland, in my opinion. I would choose it again.

We ordered a minivan for an 8 day rental from Northbound. Excellent communication and service. The van was brand new and in perfect order. We changed to a pick-up at airport a day earlier and within hours it was accommodated. We hope to return to Iceland sometime in the next few years and they would absolutely be our first and only choice for rental.

Airport transfer and pick up smooth. Vehicle condition was expected due to age of car, dents, rust and scuffs all pretty standard in Iceland. Drop off was an unnecessarily stressful. Accused of damaging the car on the drivers door. Damage was there pre rental and noted on the contract damage before pick up. Staff member showed picture of door in their records showing two dents present, arguing that this is the damaged that was there prior to rental and not the damage now on the door. Records were clearly not accurate as the two dents in their pictures had 'magically' disappeared. Other staff member stepped in and agreed that they records must have been inaccurate and we were not liable for the damage. Just be sure to scrutinise the car and question/record (take a video) all damage before taking the car. Shame as all other staff we encountered were helpful and friendly. Maybe he was having a bad day?

Bad start for the pick-up. They asked a deposit of 2500€ what wasn’t possible on our credit card’s. Then they forced us to take an insurance instead for 195€. When we got the car , the car was full of scratches. They said everything was on paper and we didn’t have to worry. Glade we toke a lot of photos before we left. On our way we discovered a lot of Flaws. Like handbrakes that doesn’t work etc.
When we turned back the car , it was another guy how checked the car and tried two times to blame some of the scratches to us. Luckily we had our photos from our pick-up that we could show to him. After all , not a good experience with icerental 4x4.

Overall, I am satisfied with the whole experience. I was always informed, for example when there was a change of the phone number etc. The vehicle had dents and other smaller damages, but these were explained when I picked the car up and there were no further issues with it. There was somekind of a warning symbol in the dashboard, but it was probably due to somekind of sensor failure, meaning it really wasn't an issue. And if I wanted, I could have called about the issue, but it didn't seem problematic and it really wasn't.

There were a few cosmetic remarks, but overall the car was perfect for its age. Technical problems with the sensors. But apparently this model has this weakness. I traveled nearly 2500 km. And everything was fine.

Everything as promised, 2007 is not a young car, so, few thinks related to the age, but overall it was great trip.

Hello, We had an amazing experience driving the car around Iceland. We didnt find any problems except the Carplay wasnt working well everyday when we start the car. Although we were using the original apple cable, it wasnt working. We have to unplug and plug it couple times to make it work. Other than that, it was perfect!
Thank you!

The experience with LAVA could have gone way better; the vehicle had multiple issues and ultimately LAVA also admitted that they should have checked it better before handing it out to me. The refrigerator was not working properly, the backdoor did not open/was blocked, the gas stove can was almost empty already, the electricity ports in the back of the van (usb and 12V) were not working well, the water tank was leaking and the inside of the car smelled TERRIBLY: probably they painted the wooden plates in the van very recently and did not let the air inside the van change or just breathe, so it really felt like toxic fumes when I first got into the car. Eventually after 3-4 days the smell situation was better, but still not ideal. On top of it, on my first night, when it was time to go to sleep, I tried to make the bed and only then I realized that the 2 mattresses in the car were not matching in size, meaning I had to sleep on only one (there was no room to align them together). In my case, this was a "small" issue cause I traveled alone. But in the case this had happened to a couple, that would have been a huge problem, making it not possible for two persons to sleep in the van.
On my second day I went back to LAVA office and asked for another mattress and to check everything else, cause I had to spend 15 days in that car. Martin, the employee who took care of me was really kind and helpful, and also very sorry for all the issues. They offered me to change car but honestly the one they offered was even worse (refrigerator and water tank were not "fixed" and at every turn they would have fallen on the ground), so I declined this offer.
I have to mention, when the mechanic guy came out and I asked to check the backdoor and fix it, he answered with "I have to go to lunch now". It was 11am and I was already there waiting since almost 90minutes. He took a hammer and "fixed" the backdoor. I then apologized, thanked him and said I would leave. Worst icelandic experience of my 2 weeks.
All around, I knew the Nissan NV200 was the cheapest option, and in all honesty I have to mention that the car (engine, tiers etc.) worked smoothly; but it is BY FAR very different from the pictures on the Northbound website. If I had known that, I would have gone for a different model.
LAVA then tried to make it up for it and refunded me with 250€ at the end of my trip, which was nice even though it is not much at all. At least they appeared to be sorry and apologized for all inconveniencies. I am also sorry I had to go through this, I am a very easy going person and I don't like to complain etc., but in this case it was all just too much.
Regarding Northbound, you guys offer an amazing service and what I value the most is your customer support. I have been in touch with Thordis for weeks and she always found the time for replying to my many emails. Simply awesome!! I know that in Iceland the competion in the car rental field, with camper van and so on, is very tough; nevertheless, opting for the cheap solution and selling it as a "great offer" when it really is not so great, might work as a boomerang. So my suggestion is either to lower the price for this old models with huge amount of km (my Nissan had more than 140.000 km when I picked it up) or to offer better solutions for newer models.

Thanks again,
Luca

Very weird and unsafe request for credit card information (name, number, validity date and cvv) via email, but otherwise fine.

Very nice staff, quote good car (the only problem was with blowing / heating - I could only make blowing on the windshield, the other direction didin't work).

Great company and kind and helpful people.
The car was not new, 260000km, but it did the job!
Good choice

The car was new and good for 2 of us to drive around even the up hills.

Everything went right, the car was very good, no problem during our trip.

People were nice and kind,
Our experience with Lotus was overall great !

Car was ok, but with lot of scratches. The arrange thing for me is that Lava Car Rental didn't give me any documents after car returning. They Just said that everything is ok.

The car was perfect! It made our stay at Iceland wondeful!

Far From Perfect But Did the Job.
We have hired many a hire car before but never had one in such an old beaten up condition as this. It did not fill us with confidence on pick up. It was obviously well used, many thousands of km on the clock, bashed, scratched, the rear doors felt like they might fall off, the power sockets were a bit unreliable/rusty, etc - I could go on…….. Having said that, it did the job perfectly and went everywhere we wanted to go without incident (and we travelled a long way, used F roads etc). So maybe looks aren’t everything. It was reliable and that’s the most important thing. The Lava guys were very helpful and efficient too. I would recommend.

A bit basic, but charming and comfortable. Not a whole lot of storage, so for longer trips it might be a bit too small. Go Campers were absolutely amazing.

10/10 will go again

The car was great and all the process ran smoothly.
Only one small thing happened, the rearview mirror from the passenger side was cracked and we didn't notice it when we took the car.
But we called the service of Go Iceland and they took note and apologized for it.

We enjoyed our experience with the van rental. The van had everything we needed for our trip and drove very well. It was also very good on fuel which kept our fuel cost down so that was a plus! When we picked the van up it did already have some superficial damage but these defects were recorded by a member of staff so that didn't bother us at all. Overall our experience with Lava was a great one, when we mentioned that the offer we chose on the website stated free GPS, we were actually upgraded to wifi due to the GPS holder being broken so that was very kind of you. Only reason I have given 4.5 stars instead of 5 was because our cool box in the back of the van unfortunately stopped working half way through the trip. Also, I think it would be a great idea to include a jump pack in all rentals just in case, especially for Iceland travelers due to the periods of time which can pass on the road without coming across another car or village for help. Luckily we didn't need one but like I said, I think it would be a good idea for future reference. Thank you!

Fara was an excellent company to rent from. The whole process was smooth and easy. Before my trip I reached out to extend my dates and they willing to help me out. On site every was lovely and easy to talk to. I would definitely rent from them again.

All was ok, the free shuttle from the airport, the car was as expected, I recommend

What a service, great customer service, The car was excellent and communication with Northbound is excellent and all my queries and questions were answered almost immediately were professional. The procedure for hiring and returning the car is very fast and then transfer to the airport. Thanks to MyCar rental car and Northbound.

Great car, much comfort, nice to drive in, plenty of space in the 4x4 2021 Toyota RAV4 GX Automatic

Cheap and easy!

When we arribed they changed us the car, we must have a Toyota aygo and finally they gave us a Dacia Sandero, we think that’s a good change. Everything was fine with northbound, the car and Lotus rental car! 100% recomendable.

The pickup at the Kaflavík airport was somewhat chaotic. There were many representatives of different rental companies waiting at crowded arrivals hall holding tables with many small rental company logos at the same time but no northbound or go iceland. We had to wait for the pickup guy with go Iceland logo approx. 20 minutes. It must have been a rush hour as the capacity of his shuttle was filled up as soon as he emerged even before he entered the arrivals hallway. At the rental agent desk there was a queue of clients too. I was a little surprised about the costs of a premium insurance we were advised/pushed to purchase additionally and that has not been clealy communicated in advance at booking on northbound web that made up around 1/3 of the rental price of the car itself (around 240 eur per week). The rental agent told me the car was rented practically without any necessary insurance coverage which I found quite odd. Anyhow I would recommend to take the premium insurance as it simplified the car return at the end of the week and honestly on Iceland you may very easily get the car damaged in any way by gravel, wind etc. not to mention the F-roads you would be often tmpted to try in highlands no matter how you drive. Another surprise was the car handover by the rental agent guy who just showed us the car over the window with engine turned on. It's obviously up to you to check the car state and take the pictures of everything issuable in order to have some records of evidence. Ours had an engine control unit error light on (how odd) and several minor defects in painting, not even 2/3 of fuel in tank (although full fill tank policy on takover and return has been anounced at the desk) and as it was a plug-in hybrid and it had a completely depleted battery which otherwise itself should give you over 50 additional kms of pure EV range on 2021 tucson. Not to mention that a 1.6turbocharged petrol engine on rather heavy plug-in tucson pays its consumption toll without the proper electric support. Again I had no knowledge in advance I would get a plugin hybrid version instead of pure petrol. To be honest, to receive a full tank on plugin hybrid one would not expect a depleted ev battery and no local charging key/card and proper ccs cable for public charges supplied. Otherwise the car was perfectly clean and in a good condition. Although the engine ecu error light somewhat scared me all the time, the engine luckily had no apparent defect and it drove rasonbly well even without ev cpability but the consumption was rather high. Tucson 2021 is a good and comfy spacious suv that can easily carry 2 big suitcases at the back but note that it is suitable for just somewhat 'light' terrain and there were situations in highlands where I did not reallyvhave courrage to push it through. An additional warning regarding driving in Iceland - keep the speed limits even on long boring liner-like long totally empty roads with no cars at all. A police car not clearly distinguishable came in a second in opposite direction and measured us at 113km/h instead of 90km/h which resulted in stupid 270eur fine. As regards the car return, as said with the premium insurance coverage the rental guy did not give much attention to car condition and did not even bother stop phone calling while taking the keys over. In fact I received no confirmation on car return at all not to mention the confirmation on good state which I find really odd. My general rental experience was therefore somewhat mixed up.

Booking through Northbound was flawelss and without any complications. The car itself could use some maintenance, but nothing serious, so overall it was a very good experience :)

I have used Northbound twice and the second time was twice as good! This company gets 5 out of 5 from me!

good morning, we were happy with everything in general. Well maintained vehicles and trained personnel.

Very Friendly Staff, Informative and Accommodating…Absolutely No Issues with Vehicle…Would Gladly Use northbound again when in Iceland. Thanks Guys, Gerard.(Ireland)