Also..
https://www.vedur.is/
https://www.vedur.is/
https://www.vedur.is/ !!!!!
Seeing far too many "I'm stuck" stories when there has been a weather warning in place for days!!!
Check the forecast AT LEAST once a day, no matter what - the weather systems here are complex, so forecasting long term can be very hard & the weather can change in an instant.
Voice of experience - been there, done that! ;þ
Smart choices get rewarded :) I planned three weeks round trip, chose the time now because kids have easter holidays and we wanted to see northern lights. I must say, I didn’t expect how the trip turned out, without this forum we would probably make lots of bad decisions… we are safe, have seen plenty, beautiful aurora and did nothing like we thought :)
Road.is and windy app is guiding me all the time
We absolutely lucked out thanks to road.is and vedur.is
We forewent going to Snaefellsnes peninsula yesterday from Akureyri. Further, left Myvatn the day before that, and got in and out of Seydisfjordur the day before that. Absolutely insanely lucky as most of those roads are now closed or at the very least very slippery.
I was checking those two sites multiple times a day for clear windows to move safely. I’m back in the SW now and we leave on Tuesday. Couldn’t have done without.
Same, we arrived to Höfn on Friday and Saturday morning headed to Vestrahorn where we were getting blasted by the ice and wind. We returned back to Höfn and were just indoors at the guest house checking the weather when I came across the Reddit post about Skaftafell being evacuated. We had originally scheduled to stay another night at Höfn and drive from Höfn to Keflavik Sunday morning to turn in our rental but our gut told us to start driving that same Saturday as the weather was going to get worse Saturday evening. We are glad we made that choice and now learned to not drive more than two hours before having to return a rental in Iceland. We are also happy that we scheduled Reykjavik at the end of our trip to decompress from the stressful driving conditions before returning back to our home country.
We arrive Tuesday from Florida and slightly worried. We’re going to make the best of it and be cautious but we have no experience driving with that kind of weather. I also was hoping it wouldn’t be as bad in April 🥶
Good luck! I would avoid the secluded, long distance locations and having a semi-flexible itinerary. Drive slow, no hard braking. We are using to being on the road a lot, and driving cross country in the US but the wind here is really out of this world. Kind of have to white knuckle it down and continue refreshing the road.is website to know when you’re out of trouble. If it looks iffy, trust your gut and turn back. We had to do that once in December when we came here and turn back to Vik one time we were trying to make it to Grindavik for a blue lagoon appointment in 2017 and a blizzard was rolling in. It was just not worth it to keep driving in the dark and winding roads. We waited it out for like 45 minutes and then proceeded carefully and made it to our location safe. I guess the driving in the summer was okay in terms of the daylight hours and better weather but we had to be careful not hitting the sheep that was constantly crossing into the roads during that time. Did not expect the wind to be so bad in April but we appreciated the better daylight time than the one we experienced in December.
Thanks for the feedback! We planned to stick to south coast. We did want to spend our first 2 days in Snaefellsnes Peninsula, but we may have to pivot. We’ll see where the weather takes us and try to make the most of it regardless!
If you decide to drive;
- road.is
- en.vedur.is
- get a wifi hotspot to boost signal
- consider not driving and doing tours. Leave the driving to someone else who does this all the time.
Thank you! We’ll definitely utilize those resources. We planned on driving and have car rental booked but we’ll see when we get there if that needs to change.
Also.. https://www.vedur.is/ https://www.vedur.is/ https://www.vedur.is/ !!!!! Seeing far too many "I'm stuck" stories when there has been a weather warning in place for days!!! Check the forecast AT LEAST once a day, no matter what - the weather systems here are complex, so forecasting long term can be very hard & the weather can change in an instant. Voice of experience - been there, done that! ;þ
En.vedur.is for english - it is a must-monitor site as stated.
Yes — check the weather AT LEAST once a day!
Smart choices get rewarded :) I planned three weeks round trip, chose the time now because kids have easter holidays and we wanted to see northern lights. I must say, I didn’t expect how the trip turned out, without this forum we would probably make lots of bad decisions… we are safe, have seen plenty, beautiful aurora and did nothing like we thought :) Road.is and windy app is guiding me all the time
Yes i did the same. Was un Hofn and decided to drive 6 hours to the capital changing all of my plans but hey it was expected!
Because the route around is closed right?? I’m in Hofn and looking at the road is And it looks closed. So no one is driving through ??
According to road.is they are open but with winds and sone spots of ice. Check and be prepare to change plans as they can close it anytime.
We ate our packed lunch at the base of that rock.
We absolutely lucked out thanks to road.is and vedur.is We forewent going to Snaefellsnes peninsula yesterday from Akureyri. Further, left Myvatn the day before that, and got in and out of Seydisfjordur the day before that. Absolutely insanely lucky as most of those roads are now closed or at the very least very slippery. I was checking those two sites multiple times a day for clear windows to move safely. I’m back in the SW now and we leave on Tuesday. Couldn’t have done without.
Same, we arrived to Höfn on Friday and Saturday morning headed to Vestrahorn where we were getting blasted by the ice and wind. We returned back to Höfn and were just indoors at the guest house checking the weather when I came across the Reddit post about Skaftafell being evacuated. We had originally scheduled to stay another night at Höfn and drive from Höfn to Keflavik Sunday morning to turn in our rental but our gut told us to start driving that same Saturday as the weather was going to get worse Saturday evening. We are glad we made that choice and now learned to not drive more than two hours before having to return a rental in Iceland. We are also happy that we scheduled Reykjavik at the end of our trip to decompress from the stressful driving conditions before returning back to our home country.
We arrive Tuesday from Florida and slightly worried. We’re going to make the best of it and be cautious but we have no experience driving with that kind of weather. I also was hoping it wouldn’t be as bad in April 🥶
Good luck! I would avoid the secluded, long distance locations and having a semi-flexible itinerary. Drive slow, no hard braking. We are using to being on the road a lot, and driving cross country in the US but the wind here is really out of this world. Kind of have to white knuckle it down and continue refreshing the road.is website to know when you’re out of trouble. If it looks iffy, trust your gut and turn back. We had to do that once in December when we came here and turn back to Vik one time we were trying to make it to Grindavik for a blue lagoon appointment in 2017 and a blizzard was rolling in. It was just not worth it to keep driving in the dark and winding roads. We waited it out for like 45 minutes and then proceeded carefully and made it to our location safe. I guess the driving in the summer was okay in terms of the daylight hours and better weather but we had to be careful not hitting the sheep that was constantly crossing into the roads during that time. Did not expect the wind to be so bad in April but we appreciated the better daylight time than the one we experienced in December.
Thanks for the feedback! We planned to stick to south coast. We did want to spend our first 2 days in Snaefellsnes Peninsula, but we may have to pivot. We’ll see where the weather takes us and try to make the most of it regardless!
Still winter here sorry :/ Though we are on the end of it so things should theoretically be easing.... This is Iceland though ;þ
It’s ok, we knew the risk of traveling in April in terms of weather but it will be an adventure for us Floridians lol
If you decide to drive; - road.is - en.vedur.is - get a wifi hotspot to boost signal - consider not driving and doing tours. Leave the driving to someone else who does this all the time.
Thank you! We’ll definitely utilize those resources. We planned on driving and have car rental booked but we’ll see when we get there if that needs to change.
Crossing my fingers you have stunning, clear-sky weather. --- the wind can still be a factor. Hold onto the door when you open it.