About IcelandStart
IcelandStart is a free Iceland pre-booking planner and independent travel planning guide. It helps travelers make the right first decisions about season, route, stays, car rental, tours and official safety checks before they book.
Marteinn Hilmarsson — operator & editor
Based in Iceland
IcelandStart is created and maintained in Iceland by Marteinn. Independent, affiliate-transparent, and built around realistic Iceland trip planning — not booking pressure.
I love traveling around Iceland and finding places I have not visited before. Over the years, I have spent a lot of time driving and exploring the country, and that first-hand experience shapes how I think about route planning, overnight stops, and what a realistic Iceland trip actually looks like.
Why I built IcelandStart
Iceland trips are easy to overplan, especially when travelers compare flights, hotels, rental cars and tours before they understand the season, route, daylight, road conditions and safety checks. IcelandStart was built to give travelers a calmer first step: understand the trip first, then compare booking options.
What we are
A free Iceland pre-booking planner and independent travel planning guide. We point visitors toward the partner sites and official Iceland resources that fit their trip — first-time visits, South Coast road trips, Northern Lights, Ring Road, Reykjavík city breaks, family stays, and arrival days from Keflavík.
What we are not
- We are not a travel agency.
- We do not take travel bookings or travel-booking payments.
- IcelandStart may offer paid written planning advice, such as Plan Check, but does not book hotels, cars, flights or tours, does not hold reservations, and does not sell package trips.
- We do not show live prices, fake discounts, or fake availability.
- We are not affiliated with the Icelandic government or its safety agencies.
Bookings, live prices, availability, taxes, fees, refunds, cancellation rules, and customer support are handled by the partner site you continue to.
Why Iceland-focused
Iceland is small, weather-driven, and easy to misplan. Driving distances, daylight, road closures, and seasonal conditions matter more than typical travel destinations. A focused planning guide — with the right partner categories and the right official safety links — is more useful than a generic global directory.
How we choose partners
We list established travel brands that map cleanly to common Iceland travel needs: flights and packages, hotels, vacation homes, local and global car rental, and reputable tour platforms. We add Go Car Rental as a local Iceland car rental option alongside global comparisons. We do not add partners just because they pay more — they have to fit the category.
See our editorial policy for the full selection and review process.
Why official resources are included
We link to Visit Iceland, SafeTravel, Vegagerðin (Icelandic Road Administration), and the Icelandic Met Office because they help travelers plan safely. These are not affiliate links and we do not earn from them. They are included because Iceland trips are better when travelers check road conditions, weather, and safety advisories before key travel days.
How partner links support the site
Some outbound links on IcelandStart are affiliate links. If you click through and book on a partner site, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. This helps us keep the site free, ad-light, and free of paywalls. See our affiliate disclosure for details.
- No fake prices, fake reviews, or fake availability.
- Clear separation between affiliate partners and official resources.
- Honest copy about what Iceland trips actually require.
- Safety- and weather-aware planning suggestions.
- Plain disclosure when a link is a partner link.
How IcelandStart reviews travel advice
Every guide and decision page is reviewed against the same short checklist before it goes live or gets updated:
- Route feasibility — driving distances, daylight and stop spacing for the trip length.
- Weather and daylight — what the season actually allows, not what looks good on a map.
- Official road, weather and safety resources — umferdin.is, vedur.is and safetravel.is are linked where they matter.
- Car vs tour decision — when self-drive is sensible and when a guided day works better.
- Booking order and cancellation — what to book first and what to keep flexible.
- Partner links come after planning context — never as the first thing on the page.
Paid plan checks
IcelandStart may offer paid written plan checks for travelers who want a human review before booking. These reviews are planning advice only. IcelandStart does not book travel, sell package trips, hold reservations, collect hotel/car/tour payments, or act as a travel agency. See the Iceland Trip Plan Check — Beta page for details.
Who runs IcelandStart
IcelandStart is an independent Iceland-based travel planning project, operated and maintained by Marteinn Hilmarsson. Marteinn is the operator, editor and primary contact for editorial, partner, privacy and compliance questions, and acts as the data controller for the limited personal data this site receives.
If you spot something outdated or unclear, email . Editorial commitments are detailed in our Editorial Policy.
Contact
Operated from Iceland by Marteinn Hilmarsson