Review: Lagoon Car Rentals, Iceland
Iceland is a country filled with natural wonders and amazing landscapes. Hiring car in Iceland is the best way to explore Iceland.
But why do I say that? Why is renting a car in Iceland necessary?
That’s because, in Iceland, the local population is very less and almost everyone owns a car. Locals do not travel much to other parts of Iceland, as in for work but they go out often on leisure. And when they do, they do it on their own – either on their super bikes or fancy cars or take a domestic flight. So, considering this fact, the local transportation system isn’t developed much and the options are limited. And another important fact to note that there are NO trains in Iceland. So, the only options left out are to go on day trips or rent a car and drive along with some spectacular scenery to give you company all along!
While we were doing our research on which company to go for, while renting the car in Iceland, we zeroed it on to Lagoon car rentals. And coincidentally, we got to work with them and we couldn’t be glad! So, here’s how was our experience renting a car with Lagoon Car Rentals.
Lagoon Car Rental Review:
Booking experience with Lagoon Car Rentals:
First off, their website is neatly laid out and very easy to navigate and gets directly to the point with a list of their top cars. What impressed me more was that, there was no need for me break my head about the main features of every car. There is an infographic presented next to the image of the car with all necessary details like number of seats, luggage space, Diesel/Petrol, Automatic/Manual and the number of doors in the car. This makes the selection of car so much simple!
The booking process also is so simple – select your car, key in your dates, pickup and return location and your insurance package and you are done! There are also attractive discounts when the number of days you rent the car is more, even in the high season. Pretty neat!
We can also add additional insurance bundles if we want to, when we take the delivery of the car in their office. Rental Car insurance in Iceland is quite different from other parts of the world and is a little expensive too. I shall write a detailed post on rental car insurance in Iceland. Keep an eye on my blog! 😉
Free pickup and drop:
Are you kidding me? This is what I exactly thought when I read about it. Iceland is expensive. Everything, right from a burger to a taxi, every damn thing in Iceland is expensive. So, when you land in Keflavik airport, you will need a taxi/bus to reach the rental office or to the city centre – which will cost minimum 25 USD!
But, when you rent a car with Lagoon Car Rentals, you get a free pickup and drop from Keflavik/Reykjavík airport!
How cool is that?
When we arrived at Keflavik airport, we couldn’t spot the person who was supposed to pick us up. The reason being that as they have lot of customers who pick up the car from their Keflavik office which is about 5-6 minutes from airport, they have a shuttle service which operates frequently to/fro the Keflavik airport. A quick call to the rental car office and they informed us that the shuttle just left the airport and will be there again in 10 minutes and yes, it arrived in less than 10 minutes!
FYI: Lagoon Car Rentals has two offices. One near Keflavik in Reykjanesbaer (address: Smiðjuvellir 3, 230 Reykjanesbaer), which is around 5-6 minutes to Keflavik airport and another in Reykjavik city (address: Sundagarðar 8, 104 Reykjavík). You can choose to pick up the car from either of the locations depending on your plan and Iceland itinerary.
The pickup process was quite easy and quick. We were greeted with free coffee and hot chocolate in the office and the person at the counter was very helpful and explained us with patience the different insurance packages and we chose the best one so that, just in case of an unfortunate incident, our liability is minimum. This is really important because in Iceland, nature is supreme power and though we are careful with our driving, when nature plays fowl with blizzards or other inevitable circumstances, we are still responsible for the damage, if there is any. So choose the insurance wisely.
Our car:
Lagoon Car Rentals has a wide fleet of cars ranging from a small hatchback to a mighty 4×4 and even campervans too! Of the many models, we chose a Renault Talisman and surprise – we were upgraded to a relatively new Hyundai Tucson Automatic 4WD !! The interiors of the car was spick and span and was literally sparkling with the wax on the plastics. The car was young with just 30k on the odometer. We were given a brief intro to the features of the car, the workings and operating buttons and we were good to go!
How did our car fare in 12 days of our journey in Iceland?
Our Hyundai Tucson was well maintained and was in a good condition when we took charge of it. Our car was definitely our favourite companion throughout the drive which spanned over 3500 kms in 12 days. It stood with us through rain, shine and windstorms. It took us not only next to waterfalls but to places where there were waterfalls rumbling below the tyres (really!), took us into the middle of mossy lava fields and also to roads where we had hot springs on either side of the path and on some really nasty gravel roads which lasted for hundreds of kilometers! Never did it once give up on us and we couldn’t be happier!
At Skogafoss
Jokulsarlon
Gulfoss
Somewhere in North Iceland
Rugged West fjords
Drop off experience with Lagoon Car Rentals:
Dropping off a rental car is usually the nervous part. But with Lagoon Car Rentals, we had a really smooth experience. We parked our Hyundai Tucson 4WD in the parking space and walked up to the counter. The lady at the counter came out, had a really nice look at the car, inside out, noted it on our release document and we were good to go! While I sipped on some free hot chocolate, she handed us the release document mentioning that we had officially handed over the car to Lagoon Car Rentals and we are clear of all dues. She also dropped us off to Keflavik airport and it was time to bid goodbye to Iceland, until next time!
Gloomy day!
Other important things to note:
– When you rent a car with Lagoon Car Rentals, you get fuel cards which entitles you for a discount for the fuel you bill in some fuel stations and a free coffee too!
– Like all car rentals, Lagoon Car Rentals has a full fuel policy i.e. take the fully loaded car and return it full tank too!
– Lagoon Car Rentals is open 24/7. So do not worry if your flight lands in odd hours!
Iceland is not a country which has to be visited once. The landscapes and the serenity is so overwhelming that a return journey was already on the mind even before I took the return flight! And on our next road trip to Iceland, we will definitely not hesitate in using Lagoon Car Rental again 🙂
Sharing a small video of our drive in Iceland with Lagoon Car rentals. Hope you enjoy it 🙂
Been to Iceland? Loved it ? Share it with us in the comment box below 🙂
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Read more:
90 stunning pics which will make you visit Iceland right now!
75+ places to visit in Iceland
Where we stayed in our Icelandic holiday?
Iceland looks so breathtaking. I can’t believe I still havent been even though I am from Norway which is not far from Iceland. I would love to rent a car and do a road trip in Iceland. It is so important to have a good car for that because there are some quite challenging terrains there. Thank you for the tips 😀
Thank you. Glad to know about your Norway trip. I’m longing to go there. But for now, I haven’t still come out of Iceland hangover!
Getting a rental car or van seems to be the way to go in Iceland. I love having the freedom to stop for photos or exploring on our own! We will for sure be doing the same when we make it to Iceland!
Thanks Megan. Now that you know what to do and how to do it in Iceland, just go for it girl! 🙂
We rented a car the last time we were in Iceland and will plan on renting a car the next time we visit. We definitely will look into Lagoon Car Rentals. Just knowing that their website is easy to navigate is a huge plus for us!
Yes Candy, the website is really easily to navigate which is a big plus! 🙂
This is such a great guide, thank you! Everyone keeps telling me that I’ll need a car if I ever visit Iceland so now I know where to get my car 🙂
Thanks Natasha! Glad this post helped you finding the right car rental! 🙂
I totally agree that the best way to get around Iceland is a car. I loved my time there, but it wouldn’t have been nearly as great without the ability to go and do see things when I wanted to. I didn’t use Lagoon Cars, but I think I’ll check into them next time! I love that they give you gas discount cards. I can always use any help with a budget that anyone is willing to give me.
Bet ya! The convenience of car is a luxury in Iceland 🙂