Apps you need for Iceland

Essential Apps for Iceland and how to use them.

Download these and verify your payment options while you are at home and prior to your trip!

Iceland is not your normal trip like the rest of Europe. The conditions of roads and weather can change very quickly. It's not uncommon to check the weather multiple times a day to make sure the forecast hasn’t changed again.

Road conditions also change frequently due to wind and flooding. Pay attention to heavy rain and wind in the forecast because it affects ferries and roads. 

 We had to change our route numerous times due to road closures so make sure to have a backup plan for your day! The best way to stay on top of things is to check your Veour App every night and morning to see an accurate forecast for the day.

Weather - 

Vedur - Iceland's official meteorological site and app. This gives you updates, alerts and the most accurate forecasts. There was a hurricane force wind warning in the South East when we visited and we were able to turn around and avoid due to a warning from this app!

How to use - The main page https://en.vedur.is/ gives you three different forecasts and current conditions. Take a second and learn the layout as it is different than any other forecast app I have used.

The categories are -

Wind

Temperature

Precipitation

Make sure you don’t confuse the Wind radar with the precipitation weather and drive into a storm :( - Don’t ask me how I know

Windy - Great free weather app for double checking Vedur

Road Conditions & Safety - 

Road.is - Iceland's official road status app and website

This is great for seeing the current condition of the roads and what they are rated.

It will list if asphalt, F road or high clearance only. It also gives updates like slippery or easily passable etc. Great resource to plan your routes

F Roads - Iceland marks anything unpaved as an F road. Legally you are not allowed to drive on these roads without a 4X4. They normally only open in summer  (June - Sept). 

The condition of these varies greatly but usually anything marked easily passable is just a normal gravel logging road and 4x4 isn't necessary. Despite this they do check and you can have insurance issues so don’t drive them unless you have an F road ready car. Your rental company will definitely tell you where you are allowed to go!

Saying that river crossings and rough terrain are common. You can check this on the Road.is app. 

We found that the main hazards on these roads were flooding, deep river crossings and volcanic sand, not so much technical “4x4” driving.  https://umferdin.is/en

Safe Travel App - https://safetravel.is/safetravel-app/

Alert system app that includes realtime info as well as the to send your location to by GPS to emergency service with a click. Great safety backup for hiking and driving in remote areas.

Parking - 

Parka

EasyPark

Iceland loves private pay lot parking and they almost never take cash. Make sure you have these apps installed with your credit card verified at home. It makes it so much easier if you can add time from the app and avoid running back to the car

Cheap Gas-

Gasvaktin.is will show you the cheapest gas stations on your route. Icelandic fuels are expensive and the station prices vary quite significantly.

Language - 

Google translate download Icelandic offline. Most Icelandic people speak pretty good english but it doesn’t hurt to be prepared.

Northern Lights-

My Aurora for aurora lights tracking. You can set alerts in the app if you are in an area where you can see the Aurora. You can also see forecasts to help plan your sightings

Maps - 

Google Maps- Make sure to go into profile then offline maps and save your areas

Maps.me - great free map app for hiking. We use this all the time to find trails. Make sure you download offline as well