Going Kuku in Iceland!

Going Kuku in Iceland! 

When planning our trip to Iceland, we quickly decided that we wanted to travel around the entire country via the Ring Road. We decided the best way to do this was to rent a Campervan so we could travel around at our own pace and camp at various places around the country. This eliminated the stress of having to book hotels or hostels in advance. It also gave us the flexibility of changing up our plans if we decided we wanted to spend more or less time in a certain area. We also didn't have to pack up all our stuff each morning before taking off, which was a huge plus. 

We did a bit of research on camper vans before we ultimately decided to go with Kuku Campers. There seemed to be a lot of great companies out there, but in the end it seemed that the best deal we were going to get was with Kuku Campers. 

Here are a couple important factors we had to take into consideration when booking our home on wheels:

Automatic vs. Manual Transmission

Neither of us know how to drive manual cars, so we had to spend extra to book an automatic car. There seemed to be many more options for manual vehicles in Iceland, and the automatics were pricier. The alternative would have been learning to drive prior to our trip, and praying we didn't have any issues while driving around a foreign country...We decided to take the safer yet more expensive route and just pay the extra for an automatic campervan. 

Insurance Options

--- One of the insurance options available is to get additional vehicle theft insurance. One tip we learned from reading other travel blogs before we went on our trip was that we wouldn't need theft insurance. Since Iceland is an island that doesn't connect up with any other countries, it is pretty unlikely that someone is going to steal a vehicle because there aren't many options for where you can take it. We saved some money by not purchasing this extra insurance, and thankfully our van did not get stolen :) 

--- Sand and Ash Protection. We did decide to get the sand and ash insurance due to recommendations from a lot of other iceland travelers. Though we didn't seem to have any damage on our vehicle from sand and ash, we've heard it tends to be a big problem. The wind was definitely strong, and if you get caught up in the wrong area I can see how the sand could rip up the outside of the car in a wind storm. It was worth the small extra fee to be covered in case this happened. 

--- Gravel Protection. Similar to the Sand and Ash Protection, we found it worth the extra cost for the Gravel Protection. We drove on a lot of bumpy roads and who knows how much gravel was thumping around or hitting the car as we drove. It was nice knowing we had that little extra assurance that we would be covered if the gravel scuffed up the car some. 

***The gravel protection insurance is not meant to cover off-roading adventures.*** When we say we drove on a lot of bumpy roads, I mean that we were mostly on the Ring Road and only on a couple gravel roads that went to destinations short distances away from the Ring Road. That being said, there are TONS of potholes on these roads that jut off the Ring Road. If you don't believe me, stay tuned for upcoming posts. I'm sure I'll talk more at some point about the potholes and rain and fog that we dealt with when driving...and the time we pretty much drove through a river that was flooding the road. (KuKu Campers, if you are reading this, I promise we did not wreck your car when we drove over the river :) ). But back to the point, if you are thinking of taking off on a lot of the F-roads, you DEFINITELY need to rent a 4x4 vehicle. I think our next trip to Iceland will be in a 4x4 so we can explore the lesser traveled areas. 

Ultimate decision on Insurance: The Golden Package -- KuKu Campers offers what they call the 'Golden Package' for insurance. This includes all the insurance types (with the exception of theft insurance that most other companies have options for). We went with this option which ended up costing 35 euros per day. Not a bad fee to have full coverage. 

3 Things we LOVED about our Camper Van:

1. It came stocked with the cooking items we needed (and a frisbee!!!)

- The van had storage bins at the back under the bed. The bins contained the portable stove, pans, utensils, plates, cups, bowls, a cutting board etc.  - The storage also included some items for cleaning up the van, and a frisbee to toss around during down time :) 

I've included a few photos from the KuKu Campers website where they show the items each van is stocked with.

2. There was plenty of storage space! The van was built with the storage bins at the back under the bed, and space in the middle under the bed for suitcases or backpacks to be stored. We were easily able to fit everything in the van with room to sleep at night. 

3. The cozy heater installed in the back (sleeping) portion of the van kept us warm each night. The heaters in each van are powered by a battery that gets charged as the car is running. The battery is separate from the car battery, so leaving the heater on during the night doesnt drain the battery and leave you stranded needing a jump-start each morning. We were able to warm up each night by turning the heater on as we crawled into our sleeping bags. 

Our Bill:

Now lets be honest, one of the main questions you probably have right now is how much this ended up costing for a home on wheels for this portion of our trip. Well here's a break-down of our costs:

Cost for 7 days in an Automatic Van: 973 Euros

Additional charge for airport location drop-off: 100 Euros 

Insurance Golden Package for 7 days: 245 Euros (35 per day)

Total: 1,318 Euros for 7 days

We had an absolute blast driving around Iceland in our camper van for a week. We highly recommend this mode of transportation and lodging. We were able to be flexible with our plans and pick where we ended up hunkering down at the end of each day. We had all our belongings at our fingertips the whole time we traveled, so if we needed to make a quick change of clothes or grab a piece of camera equipment, it was all with us in our home on wheels. We enjoyed the freedom the camper van gave us, and we loved experiencing this alternate form of camping. It was also a huge bonus that we had heat to keep us warm in the chilly Icelandic weather.

KuKu Campers was amazing from the very beginning. They answered all our questions and gave us helpful tips for traveling. They provided us information on what to do if we got a flat tire or needed other roadside assistance, and gave us contact information for day and night if we had any issues. The pick-up location had a few shelves where campers could leave food that they were no longer going to use, so other campers could benefit from the leftovers. We scored some hot chocolate, instant coffee packs, and peanut butter and jelly before heading out in our KuKu Camper. KuKu Campers even offers a whole list of extra items that can be purchased for your trip. The staff were friendly and helpful, and the whole environment of the pickup office was welcoming. Being able to travel around Iceland in our Camper Van was an exciting experience that I don't think I'll ever forget.

We definitely went KuKu in Iceland!!!

***All opinions in this post are expressly my views. No promotions or sponsorships have been received in return for positive reviews.....Butttttt @KuKuCampers I'm always willing to accept a sponsorship if you're giving them out ;)