Van Life in Iceland in a 4x4 Mercedes G-Wagon

People love Iceland.

It’s on top of almost every travel list.

And for good reason! After visiting for 2 weeks this past September, all I can add is that it’s worth all the hype. Though if you’re going visit, make sure you rent yourself an off-roading capable vehicle because overlanding through this country turned out to be one of our favorite trips we’ve ever done! With a 4x4 you’ll be able to cross-rivers, get to the best remote campsites, and maybe even stumble upon your very own private hot springs!

Lou and I are thrilled to finally be sharing our 2 week off-roading trip to Iceland with you! Today we released the first of many for this series where we take Gregor, Lou’s cousin’s Mercedes 4x4 G-Wagon, to all the remote corners of this incredible country. This was a completely different van life experience compared to our years in our 1981 Mercedes 307d in mainland Europe.

In this video, we spend the day getting to Laki, which is a small mountain in Iceland formed by a volcanic eruption. To get there we had to cross rivers for the first time, which made us very happy that we were in this off-roading beast. I was definitely nervous to drive through multiple feet of water, but deep down I knew that Gregor could handle it! The capability of this machine just blew us away. In Iceland, there are many roads only accessible to off-roading vehicles, which means we got to explore spots with far fewer tourists.

If you want to add Laki to your overlanding trip here are some helpful tips from Hit Iceland:

“The drive to Laki is a rough, hard road with rivers to cross, and only fit for a real 4WD.  This part of Iceland is only accessible during summer from the end of June until the middle of September.  The drive also requires a lot of patience as your average speed the whole 40 kilometers is probably under 30 kilometers per. hour.  The same applies for the drive back. You start your drive by turning north on the Ring Road Nr. 1 on the south shore a short distance west of the small village of Kirkjubærjarklaustur. Here you turn to Holtsvegur Road Nr. 206. After driving just two kilometers past the farm Hunkubakkar, you turn north again to the Lakavegur Highland and Mountain Road Nr. F206.  Follow the road for 40 kilometers, and you will reach Laki.  You can even make more of the tour by visiting Fagrifoss Waterfall and Fjaðrárgljúfur canyon on your way back.”

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