[GutsyGibbon]

Originally Posted by warrioraks

Day 5 - Wrapup
On one specific occasion, AWD either failed to kick on or came in late leading to a few panic moments. The car practically swerved left and right on straight road and took me around 5 seconds to get it in-line. [/i]

An amazing trip and experience indeed. Kudos to you for pulling this off, especially considering the fact that this was the first time you were renting and driving in Icelandic winter. I have added a drive through Iceland to my bucket list.
Just curious, Did you have experience driving on icy roads? Did you have a cell phone coverage throughout your trip? I am presuming if one were to crash their car, and the engine/heater dies it would be just minutes before freezing.

[warrioraks]

Originally Posted by GutsyGibbon

Just curious, Did you have experience driving on icy roads? Did you have a cell phone coverage throughout your trip? I am presuming if one were to crash their car, and the engine/heater dies it would be just minutes before freezing.

To answer your questions - I had never driven a car on icy roads ever. However I did have some basic experience considering my travels to Spiti and Ladakh (on motorbike) in shoulder seasons where I encountered heavy snow and black ice.

Iceland had exceptional cell network wherever we visited. In addition, we rented a 3G Internet wifi device as backup from the car company.
Overall it is much more forgiving to tourists than it appears to be. I remember being in two minds about self driving considering 90% of blogs and tripadvisor threads advised against doing it in winter. But if one respects the traffic rules, I think it is actually a very good place to explore driving on icy roads. Low traffic, good roads, clear safety signs, mostly flat lands, supposedly responsive emergency services, pretty accurate weather predictions and very very very helpful people.

[#ABTorquey]

Hello Sir,
Excellent travelogue and pictures. The only word which might do justice to this place is 'Magical'. Such is the beauty of Iceland, wish one day would be able to make it there. You've got all the right ingredients for a great road trip. Great Car, Great Roads and Great place.
Cheers,