Planning a trip to Iceland but don't want to spend a fortune on guidebooks and tour packages
There is a PDF floating around the internet called the To Iceland Comprehensive Guide Free Download that some travel forums claim covers everything from the Golden Circle to off-season survival. I downloaded it last winter after my second trip there. It is not everything. It is not nothing either. The guide is roughly 40 pages long and organized into sections about seasonal driving, budget accommodations, basic Icelandic phrases, and a few route recommendations. It is written in plain English with no pictures. Some of the route details are accurate. A lot of it is outdated. A few parts are straight wrong. You should treat it as a starting point, not a bible.
My experience with the To Iceland Comprehensive Guide Free Download
I printed it before a self-drive trip in November 2023. The section on F-road requirements was completely out of date. The guide still recommended a two-wheel-drive vehicle for the Kjalengur plateau in late October, which is not something you want to be doing with a rental car from Reykjavik. I found this out the hard way when the local rental place told me my car would not be permitted on the road anyway, and I had no backup plan since the guide did not include any alternative routes. The workaround was simple. I checked road.is and safetravel.is every single morning before driving, regardless of what the guide said. Those sites are the real authority, not any PDF you found on a forum. I also kept a physical paper map just in case the cell service dropped, which it does in the highlands even in summer. The accommodation section was somewhat useful for listing areas to stay in rather than specific hotels. The pricing data was from 2019 though, so budget accordingly. If the guide says a cabin costs 15,000 ISK per night, expect closer to 25,000 or 30,000 depending on the season. Prices in Iceland have climbed consistently over the last five years.
What the guide gets right
The driving basics are fine for newcomers who have never been north of the equator. The section on rounding fuel costs is practical. Iceland is huge relative to its population and gas stations can be 100 kilometers apart on some routes. The guide recommends keeping your tank above half at all times, which is correct and non-negotiable. I have seen too many tourists try to save a few hundred kronor by skipping a fill-up and then spending the rest of their trip stranded at a pump in the east fjords. The packing list is decent. Bring layers. Waterproof everything. Wool socks matter more than you think. The guide mentions these things without drama, which is better than most travel books that make it sound like you are preparing for an arctic expedition when you are really just going for a weekend. The Icelandic phrase section covers basics like takk, bless, and how to order food. It is short but accurate. You will get by with three phrases and a lot of pointing. The guide also includes a useful list of currency symbols and basic payment customs, which helped me avoid the awkward moment at a supermarket checkout where I pulled out cash instead of a card and the cashier just stared at me. Everyone in Iceland pays by card now, even the hot dog stands.
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What the guide gets wrong or misses entirely
The biggest gap is cell coverage. The guide mentions it in one paragraph but does not explain that you need a proper EU roaming plan or a local SIM if you plan to use maps and navigation outside Reykjavik. I learned this on my first trip when my phone died as a map source after three hours of GPS use and I was stuck trying to read a paper map in freezing rain near Vik. My workaround was buying a Siminn prepaid SIM at the airport for 2,900 ISK with data included. It lasted the whole week and cost less than a single coffee at some of these places. The guide also does not address altitude sickness at all. If you plan to hike Langjokull or hike up to any of the highland peaks, you should know that elevation changes happen fast and the air is thin enough to notice if you are not used to it. There are very few hospitals in the remote areas. The nearest one to Landmannalaugar is in Selfoss, which is about two hours away by ambulance if the roads are passable. Another issue is the weather forecasting. The guide references the Icelandic Meteorological Institute but does not tell you which app to use or how to interpret their warnings. The yellow and orange codes mean something different than what you might expect from other countries. A yellow warning in Iceland means conditions are hazardous but travel is possible with caution. In many European countries that same color means stay home. This distinction matters when you are already on a road in a thunderstorm.
Where to find the guide
The To Iceland Comprehensive Guide Free Download is available on a few travel sites and forums. It is not hosted by the Icelandic government or any official tourism board. I found it on a couple of independent travel blogs that seem to update it irregularly. The version I used was dated 2019. If you find a newer version, check the date on it and verify the road links before you rely on any route information. There is no single official source. Anyone can publish a PDF and call it a guide. That is why cross-referencing is essential. Use the guide for general orientation and rough planning. Then verify everything against current sources before you actually go.
Practical tips that the guide does not mention
Book your accommodation at least six weeks in advance if you are traveling between June and August. The guide mentions this briefly but does not give you a sense of how competitive it gets. I tried booking last-minute during a previous trip and ended up staying in a parking lot near Akureyri because everything was full. It was not enjoyable. If you are driving the Ring Road, plan for at least ten days minimum. Anything less and you are spending more time in the car than anywhere else. The guide suggests seven days, which is optimistic at best and dangerous if you factor in weather delays, which are common even in summer. Another thing nobody tells you is that grocery prices are brutal. A liter of milk runs about 180 ISK. A loaf of bread is 350 ISK. Eating out is not cheap either. The guide suggests cooking some meals to save money, which is good advice. Buy groceries at Bonus or Kronan. They are the discount chains and they carry everything you need.
The guide does not mention tipping culture, which does not exist in Iceland. You do not need to tip at restaurants or in taxis. The service charge is included. If you leave a tip, it is seen as odd, not generous.
When the guide falls apart completely
The section on whale watching is misleading. It lists several tour companies and implies that all of them operate year-round. They do not. Most whale watching tours in Reykjavik run from April through September. If you show up in January, you will find very few options and the ones that do run are expensive because demand is low and operators raise prices to cover costs. The guide does not make this clear. The guide also does not address the issue of sandblast damage on rental cars. Driving on gravel roads in Iceland throws tiny stones at your windshield and car body. It happens constantly. Most rental companies charge extra for this damage. The guide mentions gravel roads but not the financial consequence of driving on them in a rental vehicle. If you are planning to visit the ice caves, the guide provides some dates but they are unreliable. Ice caves open and close based on snowfall and temperature, not a calendar. Check with local operators directly in the weeks leading up to your trip. The guide's recommended booking windows are off by a few weeks in both directions depending on the year.
Bottom line
The To Iceland Comprehensive Guide Free Download is a reasonable primer if you have never been to Iceland and want a general overview before investing in more detailed resources. It is not sufficient on its own. It lacks current pricing, accurate seasonal information, and critical safety details about road conditions and weather. I used it alongside road.is, safetravel.is, the Icelandic Meteorological Institute app, and a few local travel blogs to fill in the gaps. That combination worked well. The guide alone would have left me unprepared for a number of situations that come up quickly once you are actually there. Download it if you want. Read it before you go. But do not trust it completely. Iceland changes fast and the guide does not keep up with every change. Your safety and your budget will benefit from treating it as one source among many, not the final word.
