camping in ICELAND with a camper van for a week with KUKU CAMPERS!

Wondering where to go for 2018's Spring break, me and my friends randomly picked a location on the map, searched for flights, and we took off to ICELAND! btw this post is dedicated to our camping week.

One thing that all college students have in common is BUDGET, but of course we didn't want to lose out on the exciting things that Iceland had to offer. Ranging from the highest snow capped mountains, glaciers, hot springs and deserted beaches, we did not have a problem getting around because we spent our days and nights travelling and camping in a camper van that brought us to these wonderful locations. After intensive research for our budget trip, Kuku Campers was one of the first companies that we looked up to and first noticed it's reasonable prices compared to the other rental companies. So if you're looking for an Icelandic trip with a reasonable price, this is probably where you should go to. Here's a quick review of our experience regarding the camper van and the trip.

Van specifications and driving experience

We booked a 5 person camper van (Renault, Master) and this thing is HUGE! When i mean huge, i mean it comes with beds that could fit 5 or 6 (if you squeeze), a kitchen, dining area, trunk / boot, and driver's row. KK was the tallest among all four of us, about 178 cm tall and he had no problem standing straight up in the van. The van is a diesel powered vehicle that had a fuel range of 600KM per full tank which runs about 100km per 8 liters of diesel. Despite its size, the fuel efficient van managed to gave us a lot of distance and throughout the trip and we only spent less than 300 USD on fuel. Moreover, the vehicle operates on a manual transmission and I've noticed that most cars in Iceland are manual cars as well. However, the manual transmission was pretty easy to operate despite its size. One interesting part of this car is that although I am a person who only had minor driving experience on manual cars, this van was fairly easy to operate. However, the only cons about this van is that it is FREAKING HUGE, and that made cornering on roundabouts and hairpin turns difficult. If you drive too fast, you're probably going to hear all of your personal items in the car flying around. So make sure to secure them before you drive. Another thing to add to the cons list is that this vehicle is not a 4X4 vehicle, it is only a 2WD. Hence, we were limited to some of the gravel roads in the rural areas that could potentially bring us nearer to the glaciers and volcanoes. But at the same time, since it was winter/spring, most of the F-Roads were still closed, so there was no point getting a 4X4 vehicle as well.

Comfort

An interesting part of this van is that it covers everything you need in a home expect a bathroom. We spent most of our nights camping in designated camp grounds which can be found almost everywhere in Iceland that provides basic and luxury amenities such as kettle, toaster, picnic tables, bathroom, electricity and WIFI. The kitchen in the van is relatively small, but enough for 2 person to work together for meals and the dining area is big enough to fit all 5 person to eat and chill together. For kitchen, Kuku Campers had provided us with basic necessities such as cutlery, cooking equipment (pot, pan, cutting board and knifes), gas stove, and a cooler. For sleeping, we were only provided with beds for 5. It fits 3 person on the lower deck, and another 2 on the upper deck. But the upper deck was pretty tight, so you will definitely have to do a commando crawl into your bed. However, Kuku Campers were very nice people who gave us blankets to sleep in. But i would still highly recommend to bring a couple of sleeping bags if you're planning to make your trip during winter / spring as it could still get really cold during the nights.The sleeping area could be easily transformed from the dining area by breaking down the dinner table. The transformation process was pretty simple and straight forward as we managed to master it by the second night. Edward's personal best record for changing the beds to dining was a minute and 15 seconds. When stationed, the car is equipped with a heater that comes from the rear of the passenger seat which is powered by a secondary battery and some diesel. Although the heater is relatively hot, but some nights we were still shivering since it was too cold outside. The heater can be left switched on for the entire night and it would consume about 2 liters of diesel per night. (that's my own estimation). But make sure to drive a good amount of distance the next day otherwise the secondary battery that powers up the heater will not have sufficient amount of juice and it will not function the following night. Hence, if you don't want to freeze to death, make sure to plan ahead.

Safety

Icelanders are all nice people, and the first thing I told my friends about Iceland's safety is that the only way you could possibly die in Iceland is probably not by the people but by mother nature. Driving in Iceland is fairly easy, they drive on the right side of the roads just like America and the main roads like highway 1 are in good conditions unless if you're planning to travel on gravel roads. Since Iceland's weather is so unpredictable, it is important to always stay covered and safe. We added extra insurance on gravel protection which I found to be very useful. Although nothing happened during the trip, but during one of the days, we were hit by a storm with winds travelling up to 150KM/H speed. As you can pretty much imagine, there were objects flying everywhere on the road and such things could possibly cause serious damage to your vehicle, even when the car is parked. So getting the gravel protection insurance definitely kept us with a peace of mind. The extra insurance cost us about 15 USD per day. Moreover, the van had 5 actual seat belts, 3 in the driver's row, and another 2 in the dining area. However, it is important for back seat passengers to always remain seated during travel because it is very bumpy at the back. Another extra safety feature that the van had provided is a fire extinguisher for a fire emergency. Other than the safety features of car, it is always important to plan where to travel to before you start the day with Iceland's local website https://safetravel.is/ . This website will provide you with all of the information needed for your daily travel. It keeps you updated with road conditions, weather and much more.

Camping

Although the camper van gives you full mobility and access to park anywhere for the night, it is important to be respectful to the nature and local laws. There are many campsites that are available within Iceland.that charges on an average of 12-15 dollars per person / night. Most campsites have basic amenities such as electricity, water, and baths while some luxurious campsites have Hilton grade amenities such as a common area, kitchen, washing area, laundry room, information centers, bathroom, hair dryer, WIFI and much more. So it is really up to you on how much money do you want to spend on camp grounds. I would say if you don't need those amenities for the night, try skipping it or head to a closed camp ground. Closed camp grounds are usually closed for the winter and spring season, but that doesn't mean that you cannot stay there. It only lacks all of the amenities that you can find on a working camp ground but it is for free to stay. Hence, with these campgrounds and available gas stations on the way, you could really make use of it for your toilet breaks and showers whenever needed. For cooking, one amazing part about Iceland is that there is clean water everywhere! You can either drink water straight out from the tap or choose to drink water from waterfalls, rivers or springs. The water is safe and clean to drink, so make sure to not pollute the waters whenever you see it. The availability of water sources made cooking much more easier because we never had to worry about cooking and washing. Other than that, make sure to drop by any local grocery store such as Bonus or Kronan because cooking is much more cheaper than eating out. Both of these grocery stores can be found nearby Kuku Camper's headquarters.

Extra tips (things to bring)

Last but not least, here is a list of items that we found to be very useful through the trip.

- cleaning cloth

- sponge

- hand sanitizers

- wet wipes

- headlamps

- emergency blankets

- pillows

- mesh tins

- deck of cards

- power inverter (supports 12V)

#iceland #kukucampers #camping #campervan #winter #budgetcamping #springbreak