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{{infobox Country

|country = Iceland

|map= <map lat='65.25670649344259' lng='-20.89599609375' zoom='5' view='1' float='right' />

|language = Icelandic

Beware of the Icelandic climate. While not very icy, it can be very miserable with a cold [[weather#Rain|rain]] and strong winds, even in August. If you want to hitch through the middle of the country on roads where only SUV can drive, make sure that the lift you get can take you the whole way. You don't want to get stuck in the middle. Even in the summer you can still be caught by a snowstorm. There is a [http://www.vegagerdin.is/english/road-conditions-and-weather/the-entire-country/island1e.html website] where you can check the degree of traffic on any given route. It's made to keep [[weather]]/[[road conditions]] up-to-date, and is updated every few hours. The emergency number is '''112'''.

[[File:IcelandHitchhiking.JPG|thumb|300px|right|[[User:PhysicsHipster|PhysicsHipster]] hitchhiking Iceland in January.]]

A relatively easy route, hitching a ride from Reykjavik to Akureyri in the north-east is easily doable in a day; the journey is less than 400 km, and many cars are going all the way between the two cities. This is a good route for beginners, given the safety and relatively short distance. One may, however, want to allow for two days each way, especially on the return trip to Reykjavik, since getting a ride from Akureyri is much more difficult.

Stick your thumb out, wave to cars, and have fun; it shouldn't take too long to attract a ride. Most Icelanders under 40, and many above, speak excellent English; in fact, they may begin the conversation in that language. Make sure that, if they can't take you all the way, it will at least be possible to drop you off near or in a village.

If you hitch in the town many cars go also north (to [[Akureyri]]), because the road split down the main road where you can find a traffic circle. Do not go there as there are no good spots.

Hitching from Reykjavik to Egilsstaðir, some 700 kilometers, is doable in a week or even less (down to two days) if you're in a hurry. Like anywhere, getting out of a major city ([[Reykjavík]]) is difficult (read up on the good spots in the [[Reykjavík|Reykjavik]] article), but many people on Icelandic roads do drive long distances. People are nice, and Iceland is ridiculously safe, with the exception of some dogs and cows that like to chase hitchers. Getting to [[Hella]] is easy and can be done in less than a day, within a couple hours, but the next leg/road from Hella to [[Höfn]] is more difficult to hitch, although with some patience you will get your ride, too. You can ask for lifts from Hella to Vík, then to Kirkjubæjarklaustur, Skaftafel, and then to Höfn. The last leg, from Hofn to Egilsstadir, is the hardest route to hitch on motorway One (the motorway that goes all around the Icelandic coast). For the rest of the route, there are generally five cars, or less, per hour. That does not mean it is hopeless to hitchhike on such roads: on the contrary, it is very often the fewer cars there are, more likely the drivers will not ignore a lone hitcher in the middle of nowhere. After Höfn, there are two ways to get to Egilsstaðir: you can hitch from Höfn until you get to the juncture between motorway 1 and a mountain route - this may be faster, but '''only doable with a 4x4''', and there is no way it is anywhere near as scenic as to continue along motorway 1 - the untouched nature between Höfn and Breiddalsvík is magnificent. From Breiddalsvík you take the road that goes through Breiddalur (a wide valley) and eventually gets you to Egilsstaðir.

== Cities ==

* [[Akureyri]] the great capital of the north

== Personal experiences ==

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[[Category:Island]]

[[de:Island]]

[[fr:Islande]]

[[pl:Islandia]]

[[ru:Исландия]]