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Are you feeling a bit nervous or anxious about renting a car to drive around Iceland? Wondering if you will be able to understand the road signs while navigating your way to all the popular Iceland landmarks?
I’m here to help prepare you for the unknown and put your mind at ease…at least some.
Though I’m not going to review the obvious. The speed limit, stop and yield signs are pretty intuitive. Instead, I’m going to give you a few that it took me a little more time to pick up on or take notice to. These are signs to keep on the look out for to maximize the tourist experiences you are able to enjoy.
When my son and I climbed into the rental car at 6AM in the pitch dark and running on little sleep, I was honestly a bit overwhelmed. Despite how detail oriented I am and how much I plan ahead, I didn’t feel very well prepared in my itinerary. It was difficult to try figuring out where we should head next and navigate to it while driving a manual transmission vehicle in an unfamiliar land.
We honestly passed by some sights that I had intended for us to see. Had I of picked up on the meaning and value of a few key road signs from the start, we likely would have been able to hit all of our intended Iceland must-sees.
LAY BY
At first, I intuitively thought this was simply a picnic area. But once I actually started to notice and realize the pattern of what continued to follow these signs, I was so thankful.
When you see this sign, be ready, there will be a pull-off, “lay by”, parking area and most likely a terrifically scenic view to take in or capture in photo. Iceland is so beautiful, it will be so tempting to stop on the side of the road at every turn in order to capture the scenery to share. But it’s critical that you do not! Instead, keep a look out for these “picnic table and pine tree” signs (as we called them) and get ready to pull in to safely park there.
I started to think of them like the Iceland road side equivalent of those kodak photo op signs you often see in theme parks.
Speaking of which…I was clearly confused because that’s exactly what I originally thought the following sign on the side of the road was. Spoiler alert…it’s not!
SPEED CAMERA
Yeah, this cute old fashion camera sign on the road side does not announce upcoming Iceland landscape photo ops. It’s a photo opportunity all right…one for you license plate.
Of course you will be traveling the speed limit right, so you don’t need to worry about that?….Right!?
Well, just know that sign is not the pull over and “take a photo here” alert that I originally assumed that it was.
POINT OF INTEREST
See that loopy square up there? That denotes a point of interest. Boy, do I wish I would have understood that valuable bit of info before we ever started our drive in Iceland.
In this photo, it’s referencing a lighthouse and museum in that direction. Yeah, we missed a classic waterfall or two because I didn’t know to keep an eye out for those things.
But now you do! Please visit Bruarfoss for me, will ya?
TOURIST INFORMATION
This one is rather self explanatory to some respect. Except that when I see it in the United States, I usually expect there to be something like a rest area with travel info. Usually a building with local tourist maps, brochures, information, a volunteer or employee answering questions or providing suggestions of places to visit in the region and such.
Therefore, this Iceland version of the familiar road signs caught me off guard a little when I started seeing it. That’s because I did not see anything big and notable like a building near it. So, I naturally kept driving. Oops, I surely missed out on some valuable information. What I later noticed is rather than the building that I expected, there may have just been an educational sign over there. So just know, if you have the time, make the stop (there actually is something there) and soak in some information.
SPEED BUMP
This one was quickly intuitive to me. Especially after a sailed over the first one (at the posted speed, mind you) and practically launched the vehicle and all contents Duke Boy style. Yet, time and time again…I saw this sign but something in me just didn’t head the warning appropriately. Again and again, I found myself registering the warning just a little too late. I’m not quite sure why my response time was so lacking in regards to this sign.
Seriously though, just look at that sign. It’s telling you the speed limit is essentially equivalent to 30 miles per hour…but oh yeah, we’re gonna throw this bump in the road to keep you from actually going that fast. .
Well now you should be at least slightly better prepared than I was in understanding the value of a few Iceland road signs. I hope this helps you in your navigation as you set out to see all the amazing sights the country holds.
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