Gravel roads

The Icelandic road system still includes hundreds of kilometers of gravel roads. While the entire ring road (Road 1) is fully paved, you may often find yourself driving on a gravel road, even in common places.

While most gravel roads are maintained and easily passable, there are a few things always worth keeping in mind. Note that F-Roads are an entirely different type of gravel roads. Click here for information on F-Roads.

• Max speed on gravel roads is 80 km/h. While this is the maximum allowed speed, we recommend driving significantly slower.
• Loose gravel can easily cause the car to slip. Speed is the key to avert that.
• When entering a gravel road it is very important to reduce the speed significantly.
• Keep a safe distance from the car in front of you as loose gravel may be thrown at the vehicle.
• Reduce your speed significantly when you are passing another car.

One of our most common incident is a flat tire and gravel roads are the main reason for that.

So what is the takeaway? Speed is an absolute key factor when driving on gravel roads.

An additional note. Off-Roading is strictly forbidden in Iceland by law. Make sure to always stay on the road, wheather it being a paved road, gravel road or F-Road.