Reviews for the Best Car Rentals in Iceland

Iceland one of the most beautiful country . One of the most enjoyable
Travel.

Car tires was in bad condition. During the trip I had to visit the service and change all the tires. Before that, one tire had to be replaced. The money was returned, but I lost on the exchange rate. The staff was polite.

I liked the car very much! At first I thought it underpowered (I normally drive a Mercedes E-Class,
which may explain it!), but after a day I realised that if you use the gears a lot and accelerate hard,
it's quite sporty. The seats were comfortable, and we easily had enough space for our luggage (2
people). The tyres on the car we had were not new and one of them got a puncture and we had to
change it far away from any garage, but all went well! The car was clean and well presented at
delivery (apart from the wheels + tyres - which looked scrappy). The service from Northbound was
personal and excellent : I always received a response to my questions and problems within an
hour. My only worry was at the airport : there was no-one there to meet me and ringing the
emergency number only produced a recorded message. EVENTUALLY (after an hour of waiting) I
was collected. Check in and return at the end of the week were both fine.

The van was great. Easy to drive, very sturdy. A few things would have made it better. Another row of hooks on the opposite side. A seat that reclines a little or a lumbar pillow. A boot brush. And a line to let wet things dry in the van are just ideas. My only real complaint was that our blankets were absolutely horrible. Thank goodness we brought our own.

The pick up and drop off was pretty easy, the car was in great condition, customer service was very friendly and helpful

This little car is a BEAST!! It allowed us to travel to the golden circle and the golden ring! The camping tent on top of the car was an experience, but we felt very safe when we used it to camp. The staff was very helpful and kind.

It was a great car to rent while driving around the island. I also really appreciated the gas mileage and the fact it was diesel.

The car was in excellent shape, clean and fun to drive. The hybrid technology helped with fuel economy and the sport mode was great for passing. I only wished it came with a spare tire, especially with such remote locations.

IT was absolutely pleasure to deal with this company as matter of fact they upgraded our car to suv for no extra charge

The car given was beat all to hell - but it ran perfectly, and we had zero issues. You get what you pay for in this instance - a car that works just fine, but is not very nice cosmetically. All in all - we were very happy with our experience.

We had reserved a Toyota RAV4 but ended up with a Hyundai Tuscon which was fine. Rental experience was smooth and eash and price was reasonable. Mobile wifi was super helpful since we were traveling internationally without reliable cell service.

No problem with vehicle except the low tire pressure light was on even though the tires were OK. They told us to ignore the light. Be sure to read the insurance options so you know what you are paying. The rate is much better than most rental cars. I got about 11 km per liter of bensín 95. It handles well on gravel roads but not a lot of power on uphill highways.

Everything was great! We loved the 2021 Toyota RAV4 GX Hybrid Automatic from MyCar Rental. It took us all over Iceland and it was the best vehicle for our rugged travels! Thank you for your excellent service and for the high quality vehicle which made our trip so awesome!

Car match exception, i enjoyed the tent on the car roof
No issues during rental
service was good

High mileage, about worn out. had a headlight out when I picked it up, didn't shift easily into 3rd and 4th. Employees at pickup were all rather brusque, no one was friendly or nice

Lava reported that there'd been a mishap with the campervan we were to have gotten, so they replaced it with a Dacia Duster for the first night, promising they'd have another camper coming in at 7:00 the next morning. Meanwhile the Duster they gave us had three indicator lights come on, so we had to call a couple times to get them to come to Reykjavik to replace it, which they did, and they brought along a wifi puck we asked to be added to our arrangement. We ended up without a place to stay that night, though luckily we were able to arrange to stay in our (short term) quarantine AirBnB. That evening we were told the camper wouldn't be ready until noon, but, getting anxious to not waster our limited vacation days, we told them we'd be there early so that in case it was available earlier, we'd be ready. When we got there, however, they told us the van that had come in that morning was already sent away with someone else. The manager was apologetic, and they sent us to the very nice nearby public pool to wait. We were glad to go to the pool, but asked to make sure we'd at least not be billed for the first night of the campervan - though we had the Duster, it was my understanding that we wouldn't be charged. Perhaps he'd meant they'd refund the difference in rental prices. They also comped the wifi puck, which in itself was perhaps $120.
So maybe this (along with the pool) was fair compensation for leaving us to ourselves to find lodging the first night, then sending the replacement van away the next morning. The manager told me directly that he would "take care" of us, but when we returned the van at the end, we were told that any refund would have to be handled by email. We had a flight to catch, so I couldn't argue, but suffice it to say I emailed and haven't heard a word back.

So, in the end, I think all parties involved acted in a civil manner. I think we did a good job of rolling with it, and in the end, I guess I am willing to accept the pool and the wifi puck as compensation for the night of lodging, the hassle, and the lost day of our trip. I mainly don't appreciate the blow-off at the end, and what I take as a bit of a broken promise to be "taken care of." I hate to be an obnoxious American, but I do think Lava could have been a little but more upstanding in the whole thing. Our experience with them wasn't the best, but then we got a very cheap deal on a van, and it served us well on what turned out to be a great trip. So most other people's experience will likely be fine.

Easy place to rent from and the vehicle worked out nicely for us.

The car I got was a dud!
The 2017 Dacia Duster I got out of the gate had a ridiculous amount of mileage on it, which is understandable as a rental car, but it came with a host of problems.
The car's electronics would randomly act up doing anything, prompting a bunch of random beeps and lights for a few moments. The car would random "stall" or shut off randomly; I'd be on the highway cruising, well within the limits of any car, and it would completely stall and shut down. I'd have to slam the clutch immediately and attempt to restart the car (power steering went out too); this was probably the scariest part. The clutch was completely worn down and shifting felt super odd. There were also other small minor problems not worth getting into, but overall, the whole driving experience felt clunky as heck.

I was kept doubting that this car could really make it through my journey, and to my expectation... It died. I nearly made it to Vik; I had parked it and went on a hike and came back hours later and it just wouldn't start.
I eventually called the rental company (Lava Car) and they sent a mechanic over the next few hours to take a look at it; he didn't understand why it had broken down and let the rental company know. I hitched a ride to Vik and stayed overnight, they towed the car in the morning, and I was sent a 2019 Dacia Duster that afternoon (which drove like a dream).

I heard of some 2017 Dacia Dusters having no problems. I probably should have taken my car back immediately after it shut down on the highway the first time. The point would be if you get an older car model like this 2017, I'd double check everything hard before you get too far around the ring road. A lot of rental companies are based in Keflavík or Reykjavík and don't have other stations; I waited 2.5h for a mechanic in the cold and another 2.5h the next day for my replacement (technically I got the replacement late afternoon, so most of the day was gone). If I was any further than Vik, I'm not sure what would the outcome would have been.

My 2017 Dacia Duster experience: 0\5
My 2019 Dacia Duster replacement experience: 5/5
My experience with Lava Car Rental: 4/5 (They were a bit slow to react/respond and I kept getting different representatives and had to keep explaining my situation during the whole two day ordeal, but the service was very good)

We ended up with a relatively new Kia Sportage instead, which was great, but the experience with Blue was flawless. Little to no wait and their friendly reps explain driving in Iceland thoroughly, even mentioning the lone toll in the north. The windshield was cracked on the passenger edge, but it had already been documented. Excellent car and support for a reasonable price.

I have often said that the true measure of a company is how they handle a problem - and when a representative contacts you at 8pm on a Sunday night to say “Problem solved!” I’d have to give Northbound/MyCar top marks.
Issue was that I had rented the car with a 20% discount, but somehow that discount was not applied when we picked up the car and I was billed. Over billing refunded, happy ending.

I am lucky to find this site for my car at Lava for my Iceland trip. I got the requested car and the customer car at Lava is also as good as Northbound! 8-)

vehicle was great! Only possible problem was insurance. I originally requested "Gold Insurance" but wanted changed to "Platinum". I ended up with original insurance. Not a problem because we didn't have any issues, but if had issues, what would have happened?

Thank you for checking in, Nordic Car Company was by far the worst business I have ever dealt with. Checking in took well over 2 hours, not counting the hour and a half we waited for transportation. Everyone that was trying to get their car was surprised by a $3000 (refundable) deposit that could only be given on 1 credit card, which had to be the drivers and also had to be one of 2 specific banks. This was not reasonable for most, if not all, travelers and we all spent a long time figuring out other options. If you couldn’t pay the deposit, your alternative was to spend around $500 in non-refundable insurance. We took the insurance route and then not even 2 days later our car completely broke down. They told us it would take until the next day to get it serviced and that we would need to front the money to pay. After 5 hours of calling and fighting that, they finally paid for our repair. Then, on our last night there we got a flat tire. When we called roadside assistance, we were told we would have to pay to have it changed, despite paying for insurance. We do not have that kind of money, so instead we spent 2 hours, in the rain, in the middle of the night, changing a flat, rusted tire that also had a missing bolt (extremely dangerous). The h fortunate events listed do not even include the many other mechanical issues we had and many other comments on the incredibly poor customer service.

This rental company runs under many different names and is a complete scam.

Easy and pleasant. Rental company picked me up from the airport and provided some simple but very important information on driving in Iceland. Will rent from them next time I am traveling.

Dear Madam / Sir
Every thing is OK looking for the pick up and drop off time. The service staff was very kind and helpful. The only one problem is that about 23 days after the drop off the car the bank deposit is still blocked. Please urgently solve the problem.
Best Regards
Sorin OPRISAN
Rental Contract 21-KEF-199 NORTHERN LIGHTS CAR RENTAL

Very pleased with the service. The two gentlemen who picked us up at the airport in the beginning and dropped us off at the end were both very friendly and helpful. The camper exceeded my expectations too, and I had very positive experience with it as a first time driver for this kind of vehicle.

Great & efficient service at Blue Car, the car it self was as I expected for its type & age.
Return transport service to terminal could be improved especially during poor weather!

It was awesome! The young man was helpful, friendly, courteous. Great car no problems would gladly rent from them again. Thank
You

The car was just awesome... Never failed, no problems at all. Drove the graveled roads easily, in 2 weeks plus of driving,zero flat tires.
Great service by the company as well.
Very recommended

Dustern såg lite sliten ut när vi fick den men vi har kört många mil under våra 2 månader på Island och vi har inte haft några som helst problem. Bilen tog oss överallt den är helt ok komfort mässigt, är stark men drar lite soppa!

The staff at the Lava reception were friendly & efficient & the car was as expected however after driving only approx twenty miles a warning light appeared, this was reported later that day. I checked the engine water level at the same time & found the reservoir tank empty, this was filled & remained so for the rest of the hire period (1 week) We were advised the warning lights were a common issue would not cause a problem & they didn't but I think we should have been advised of this. I also think basic checks should be carried out on the cars before they are offered for hire i.e fluids. The car did perform well both on & off road & I would recomment this car size for two people

Best price and excellent service through Lava Car Rental.

Excellent service, car was exact model that we paid for. Much cheaper than your usual U.S. car rental companies, and you’re supporting a local Icelandic company. Gravel protection included and is a must for driving in Iceland.

We had the best experience with Blue Car Rental! Getting our car took at most 5 minutes, so quick and efficient. The car was so nice and clean. It drove great! No problems at all. Just a wonderful experience.

This was a great experience! Star Car Rental was very helpful and professional. Will defiantly use again next time I am in Iceland.

Lava rentals were very good and the handover was seamless and quick.

The car itself was adequate and did the job for the few days we were there. There was significant damage to the drivers door when we pick up the car and other dents so a little disappointed but overall would probably rent again from Lava.

Everything was super smooth and easy!

The car was good. It lacked power on the hills, but got good gas milage. When we returned the car we saw your information sheet on the tunnel tolls. It would have saved us a ticket if it was pointed out to us when we rented the car.

Great experience - very good customer support at the rental location, everything went smoothly. Good value for the rental vehicle - easy drop off and hardly any waiting either at arrival or drop off. Glad we found your company!!

Great experience. We were picked up directly from the terminal and taken to their location. Checkout was quick and efficient. We didn't get the exact car specified, but did get a larger car from the same category. The WiFi worked great the entire trip with just a few remote locations where there was no service

Car was nice. Never had to use the 4 wheel drive but it was a security blanket. Your staff was very friendly and kind.

The only problem was the pickup. The name of the car company was not on the voucher. There were multiple car companies. Finally the information desk called the phone number to find out what the company was. Please send out vouchers with the company names. It would have saved us 2 hours of wasted time.

2017 Dacia Duster was just fine.
You should have warned me that the tire pressure warning lights would stay on.
That would have saved me some concern.

Lava was wonderful great service, picked us up st the airport, fast checkout great price

Not very much. There were a lot of problems.The car had over 150,000 miles on it and a lot of basic things weren't working. It wasn't a safe car to drive and it took me a while to understand the scope of the problems. Unbeknownst to me at the time I rented the car, it was nearly out of engine coolant. Then, as I was driving near Myvatn I ran into a swarm of flies or gnats. No wiper fluid was coming out and I wrongly assumed that the car was out of wiper fluid (which was irritating because the car should have been rented with adequate wiper fluid for basic safety reasons). However, the problem turned out to be that tubes/ducts were blocked which isn't surprising because there was no cover on the windshield wiper fluid holding tank so dust and debris could easily get inside. Three days into my trip the car ran out of engine coolant and started beeping. Twice the car had to be looked at by a mechanic. In addition to the above the horn did not work. This car had not been properly maintained and I feel my safety was put at risk. Problems with the car aside, Northern Lights Car Rental was very responsive when I called their roadside assistance number. My calls were answered immediately and I was able to see a mechanic quickly. Northern Lights had a replacement car delivered to me in Akureyri. However, I feel they should not have let a car off their lot that was not safe to drive.

great service: easy to arrange pickup and dropoff at airport. flexible and kind staff.

It worked out great for our trip!! The only thing, I had to go in and ask the rental company how to reverse, I had never seen or driven a manual that I had to pull up and then shift to the top left to reverse. I just wish the rental place would have went over the car and it’s buttons a little more with us. They pretty much just handed us the keys. We figured everything out after a while and it was a great trip!!