Landmannalaugar by car: F-roads, rivers and the right 4×4

Getting there from Keflavík Airport or Reykjavík

1. From Keflavík Airport: Reykjanesbraut (Route 41) toward Reykjavík, then Route 1 east over Hellisheiði.
2. Through Skeið and Þjórsárdalur: about 15 km past Selfoss, roads 30 and 32 lead to road 26, all paved.
3. Road 26 to Sigalda: follow road 26 to the F208 turn-off at Sigalda, where the gravel starts.
4. F208 and F224: 30 km on F208 and 2.4 km on F224, both gravel, take you to Landmannalaugar.

These are the official distances of Vegagerðin, the Icelandic Road and Coastal Administration (distance tables, in Icelandic), which marks the route as mountain roads, open only part of the summer and not passable for ordinary cars. Airport distances start at the terminal. Add time for the gravel: the general limit on gravel roads is 80 km/h, but F208 is rough, and Safetravel says driving slowly is important.

Three ways in, one allowed in our cars

Every road to Landmannalaugar ends on F224. The Nature Conservation Agency, which looks after the Fjallabak Nature Reserve, describes three ways in:

The last two fords, the P1 car park and parking reservations

According to the Nature Conservation Agency, the whole route is passable for four-wheel-drive vehicles, but two rivers have to be crossed right before Landmannalaugar. You can park at P1 without crossing them and walk over a footbridge. The agency recommends P1 for smaller SUVs and inexperienced drivers, and does not recommend that smaller SUVs cross the two fords, even with four-wheel drive.

Our advice: park at P1, whichever of our cars you drive. Driving into a river is entirely at your own risk, and no waiver covers it (rental terms 17).

• Parking reservation: in summer, a car arriving between 09:00 and 16:00 needs a reservation made in advance, with a service fee per car. In 2026 that applied from 20 June to 13 September; in 2024 reservations sold out nearly every day (agency FAQ). Book on the official booking page.
• The fee at any hour: outside those hours no reservation is needed, but the service fee still applies, and cameras register every car. If it isn't paid, the claim goes to the car's registered owner, which for a rental car is us, and we pass it on with our €10 processing fee (rental terms 22 and 40(i)).
• In a rental car: you can reserve before you know the registration number and add it later.
• Without a car: in summer several operators run daily buses to Landmannalaugar, and bus passengers need no parking reservation.

When the roads open

Mountain roads open when the snow allows, not on fixed dates. Where they cross a conservation area, as here, a road may stay closed until the whole area can take visitors, even if the road itself is clear (Vegagerðin).

In the same years, F225 opened between 9 and 24 June, and F208 from Landmannalaugar to Eldgjá between 16 June and 6 July. Vegagerðin's highland map, published in spring and early summer, shows which mountain roads are open; check umferdin.is on the day, and never drive past a closure sign.

Driving F208 and the fords safely, and what our terms say

• Before you go: check umferdin.is and the weather warnings on vedur.is, and leave a travel plan with Safetravel, naming a contact who isn't traveling with you. Mobile signal is intermittent outside inhabited areas, so don't depend on your phone (Nature Conservation Agency).
• Stay on the road: off-road driving is illegal in Iceland (Ísland.is). F-roads aren't off-road; leaving them is.
• Rivers change fast: glacial rivers rise on warm summer days, heavy rain can make them uncrossable even for large, well-equipped vehicles, and many accidents happen because a river was misjudged. If you're unsure, don't cross: turn around.

What to do at Landmannalaugar

• The hot pool: Landmannalaugar is named after a hot pool that rises under the Laugahraun lava field (Visit South Iceland).
• Rhyolite mountains: the reserve covers part of the Torfajökull area, Iceland's largest rhyolite area, whose grey, yellow, pink and green slopes owe their colors mostly to geothermal alteration (Nature Conservation Agency).
• Short hikes: Bláhnúkur (945 m), the area's most popular climb, and Brennisteinsalda are rhyolite mountains you can see from Landmannalaugar. Stay on the paths: the rock is loose, and near hot springs the water or mud can be above boiling point.
• The Laugavegur: probably Iceland's most famous hiking trail starts here and runs to Þórsmörk, past Hrafntinnusker, Álftavatn, Hvanngil and Emstrur; book the huts on the way in advance.
• Facilities and rangers: a hut and a campsite with toilets and showers; in summer, rangers are on site every day and lead scheduled ranger walks.

Winter conditions and frost can come at any time of year in the reserve, so pack warm, waterproof clothes even in July.

Which car for Landmannalaugar

Under our rental terms (clause 16), F208 and F224 are only for a four-wheel-drive car (4x4, 4WD or AWD) that your booking confirms as F-road approved, and only when officially open. On our website:

• Highland 4×4 and 4×4 Adventure: four-wheel drive with high ground clearance, which helps on rough F-roads; the Highland 4×4 is bigger and has low-range gearing.
• Comfort: all-wheel drive with medium ground clearance; it can be booked F-road approved too.
• Everyday and Family & Space: two-wheel drive, never on F-roads.

F-roads are allowed only when your booking confirms the car as F-road approved, so tell us about Landmannalaugar when you book. If we have to substitute the car, the replacement is F-road approved too, or you may cancel with a full refund (clause 1).

Fuel and timing: a day trip or a night

• Fuel: fill up before the highlands. N1's self-service station at Árnes on road 32, open around the clock (N1), is on the route, 96 km from Landmannalaugar: 192 km there and back. Running out of fuel isn't covered by Roadside Assistance Protection (rental terms 52).
• Day trip from Reykjavík: 390 km there and back, at least 3 h 30 min at 90 km/h on the paved roads alone, plus the gravel both ways and your time there. Arriving before 09:00 or after 16:00 needs no parking reservation.
• From the airport: 472 km there and back, too much for the day you land: Safetravel warns that jet lag after an overnight flight raises the risk of falling asleep at the wheel.
• A night there: the hut or the campsite at Landmannalaugar gives you time for the hikes without two long drives in one day.

Returning the car, and help on the road

We rent from our office at Bogatröð 1 in Reykjanesbær, about 10 minutes from Keflavík Airport by our airport shuttle, and the car comes back there, refueled within 5 km of our office and clean enough outside to be inspected (rental terms 11). An interior that needs wet-vacuuming or special treatment beyond normal road dust carries the €150 cleaning fee (40(k)).

Car trouble: call us day or night on +354 779 9499; in an emergency, call 112 (Accident & breakdown).

Questions about driving to Landmannalaugar