Has anybody been to Iceland by ferry?

[Super Californilistic]

Hello,
This summer (2023) we are taking the ferry from Hirtshals to Iceland. I wonder if anybody has done this trip with a California and in which category they were booked? The threshold is 190cm and I am over that by 5-8cm.
A gentleman wrote on FB that his VW California was automatically added to the “under 190cm category“ as soon as he put in the make. I had to select the height myself and I put it in the same bunch. What was your experience? Is the ferry crew very pick?
Thanks for all answers and advices.

 

[Ch1pbutty]

Hello,
This summer (2023) we are taking the ferry from Hirtshals to Iceland. I wonder if anybody has done this trip with a California and in which category they were booked? The threshold is 190cm and I am over that by 5-8cm.
A gentleman wrote on FB that his VW California was automatically added to the “under 190cm category“ as soon as he put in the make. I had to select the height myself and I put it in the same bunch. What was your experience? Is the ferry crew very pick?
Thanks for all answers and advices.

Ferry crew are normally very good, they know which parts of the deck suit larger vehicles. This is why they direct you a specific lane when you check in. But always try to book it with correct height, rather than trying to sort out on check-in….just in case a lot of high vehicles turn up that day.

 

[Wesel]

Some parts of the garage have very low ceilings.

 

[RockinNRollin]

Sounds like you've already decided on doing this, but personally I'm not sure I'd want to take my van to Iceland! Route 1 is mainly surfaced, but a lot of the connecting roads are rutted tracks and given the ever-present risk of ash fall it's one of the few places I'd rather hire one (and that's what we did!).

 

[ejmoore]

There's a whole thing about a recent Cali trip to Iceland on the FB Cali forum:

Official VW California Club | Facebook

Official Facebook page for the VW California Club. Visit our forum and shop at www.vwcaliforniaclub.com The group is here to discuss anything related to the VW California including all models...

www.facebook.com

 

[thegreenbanana]

Hello,
This summer (2023) we are taking the ferry from Hirtshals to Iceland. I wonder if anybody has done this trip with a California and in which category they were booked? The threshold is 190cm and I am over that by 5-8cm.
A gentleman wrote on FB that his VW California was automatically added to the “under 190cm category“ as soon as he put in the make. I had to select the height myself and I put it in the same bunch. What was your experience? Is the ferry crew very pick?
Thanks for all answers and advices.

Hi!,
Did you booked the California in 190cm? Was there any problem?
Thanks in advance

 

[Cwcltd]

There’s a good uTube channel by a photographer called Thomas Heaton; he has a small camper van (which he converted himself), and he recently did a UK - Iceland ferry trip which he’s posted. Might be useful viewing.

 

[subthree]

 

[eejoor]

Iceland is a beautiful country. But Stay away from the south and visit the west fjords instead. We decided to put the van in a shipping container and fly afterwards.. it was the same cost as the ferry for a family of five. You don’t loose valuable travel days (driving to Denmark plus 3 days on the ferry x2) food and drinks is a very expensive cost on the ferry.

 

[KevH]

Iceland is staggering beautiful to tour by road, but having stood on the south coast in ‘good’ weather and looked out to sea, there is no way I would travel there by ferry, with or without my Cali.

 

[briwy]

It's looking like we are finally off to Iceland for a couple of months next year. The only hickup is that I can't find any breakdown cover for Iceland itself. I have tried all the major UK ones who cover Euroep but Iceland (and presumably the Faroes) are excluded.
Has anyone who has been found breakdown cover with repatriation if necessary?

 

[chockswahay]

Just a quick heads up for anyone interested or brave enough to try Iceland in April. Special April deals right now

April Deal to Iceland

Travel to Iceland in Spring and experience blooming landscapes, long days, and relaxing moments in natural hot springs.

www.smyrilline.com

We’re on our way!

 

[briwy]

Personally I wouldn't go in April. We went last year for two and a half months arriving in Iceland on the 21st May. The weather was still very varied then, temperatures around 8c daytime and -5c at night. We were lucky with plenty of sun but also gale force winds and snow blizzards. Some campsites had only just opened and were still getting sorted out. All the f roads which was one of the main things we were there for didn't fully open until mid June. We are going again next year but will probably arrive early June when most things will be open. We had a fabulous time after getting used to the campsite culture. Very few take bookings (Rekjavik being an exception) and get very busy with rental vans arriving late at night so sites aren't relaxing at all, just necessary as wild camping is strictly a nono. A lot of the normal roads are gravel and can be very rough with corrugations shaking the van. It's also well worth stooping of in Faroes on the way. If you want to go on the f roads then you need to look at some mods for the van otherwise you can end up with some big problems. Overall a fantastic experience that you won't get anywhere else.

 

[chockswahay]

We have researched the weather and are quite happy with the (relative) risks. As it happens we both like cold snowy type climates so no real problem there. As for the F roads we are quite happy to miss them as we do not have (mandatory) 4WD and most of the stuff we wish to see is on the South ring road. A real positive is that we will save between £2000 and £3000 for the same period in the summer, also we will avoid the crowds. My post was just to highlight the availability of considerably cheaper ferry costs outside of peak season. We have managed to book our return trip for a total cost of £600 which leaves us with a lot more for extra trips this year

 

[briwy]

That's a really good deal.
There's certainly plenty to see on the ring road in the south or just off it.
It looks like things are hotting up again with magma accumulating on the Rekjanes peninsula again so you might even get to see an eruption.
I'm sure you'll have a great time.

 

[cpaharley2008]

I did the Hirtshals-Iceland ferry with my Cali T6 last year and just booked it honestly with the correct height - they didn't measure or check it at all. The ferry staff are pretty relaxed and will just wave you into the right spot on the deck.

 

[ejmoore]

I was chatting to Stephen Wheeler of Wheelhome campervans at the Shepton Mallet motorhome show - he's done this a few times & was very enthusiastic about it - there are some videos of his trip on youtube. https://wheelhome.co.uk/fire-and-ice-tour-2023/

 

[Peter84]

Done it last year as well, amazing experience. Be sure to spent a couple of days on the Faeroer Islands as well.

Regarding height and size, I think I've booked 2m high and 5m long and had a bike rack on it, they did't care.

 

[chockswahay]

We got back a few days ago. The trip was awesome and we had the best of the weather, snow for a few days then dry and sunny for the rest. A worthwhile trip but deffo a long and time consuming journey to get there. Apart from the glaciers and icebergs most of the scenery is much like Scotland/Shetlands or the Isle of Skye in winter! Diesel was cheaper than everywhere else and food was eye wateringly expensive (thankfully we took a lot of our own). Oddly the campsites were quite modest in price. This was of course low season, We would NOT want to go there in the summer!

 

[chockswahay]

 

[chockswahay]

 

[briwy]

We went last year for two and a half months last year. Really glad it turned out well for you but I think going at that time of year means you miss a lot of the amazing colours that are of covered with the snow. We also did a lot of the f roads which if course dont open until around early to mid June. On the other hand I think you paid about a quarter of what we did on the boat so we'll worth it. I would certainly recommend anyone to go if you can at any time of year.

 

[acer]

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Excellent photographs and information. How were the ferry journeys? (We both suffer from motion sickness).