Privacy & Cookies
Last updated: July 11, 2026
IcelandStart is a free Iceland pre-booking planner and independent Iceland travel planning guide. We aim to collect as little personal data as possible.
Information we collect
IcelandStart does not require accounts and does not directly collect personal information from visitors browsing the site. The only personal data we receive is what you choose to send us — either by emailing , or by submitting one of the forms on this site:
- Plan Check request form — submitted from the Plan Check service page. Fields you choose to share (such as trip dates, route ideas, overnight bases, travel concerns and contact details) are used to review your draft plan and reply to you.
- Correction form — submitted from the contact page when you flag outdated road, weather, partner or guide information. The page URL, your note and your contact details are used to follow up on the correction.
- Partner inquiry form — submitted from the contact page by partners or potential partners. The details you provide are used to evaluate and reply to the inquiry.
Submissions made through these forms are stored in the IcelandStart backend so we can respond and provide the requested follow-up, and a notification email is sent to so the team is alerted. Form submissions are not publicly visible on the site. Personal data submitted through these forms is not shared with partner sites; if you separately choose to continue to a partner site to book or compare, the partner's privacy policy applies on their side.
Cookies used on this site
We use the following categories of cookies and similar technologies:
- Essential — required for the site to load and navigate. These cannot be disabled.
- Analytics (Google Analytics) — aggregated traffic measurement to understand which pages are useful. Loaded only after you accept analytics in the cookie notice. May set cookies such as
_ga. - Affiliate attribution — when you click an outbound partner link, the partner's affiliate network may set cookies on your browser to attribute the click to IcelandStart. These are set by the partner, not by us.
On your first visit, IcelandStart shows a short cookie notice with an option to accept or decline non-essential analytics. Your choice is stored locally in your browser. To change it later, use the link in the site footer where available, which re-opens the cookie notice. As a fallback, you can clear your browser site data for icelandstart.com and refresh the page. Declining analytics will not break the site.
Form submission and email retention
Plan Check requests, corrections, partner inquiries and any related email correspondence may be retained as long as needed to provide the requested follow-up, handle replies, keep basic business records, and meet legal, tax or accounting obligations. You may request deletion of personal data we hold, except where we must keep limited records for legal, tax or accounting reasons.
Analytics
We use Google Analytics (GA4) to understand aggregate traffic and improve the site. Analytics data is processed by Google and is subject to Google's privacy policy. You can opt out using Google's opt-out tool.
Affiliate links and partner tracking
Some outbound links on IcelandStart are affiliate links. When you click through, the partner network and the partner website may set cookies or other tracking on your browser to attribute the visit to IcelandStart. This is standard for affiliate marketing. See our affiliate disclosure for details.
Third-party partner sites
When you continue to a partner site (Expedia, Hotels.com, Vrbo, EconomyBookings, Go Car Rental, GetYourGuide, Viator, Trip.com, or others), that partner's privacy policy applies to anything you do on their site, including bookings, payments, and account creation. IcelandStart does not control their privacy practices.
Your rights
Depending on where you live (for example under GDPR in the EEA/UK, or CCPA in California), you may have rights to access, correct, delete, or restrict processing of personal data we hold about you. Since we hold almost no personal data directly, most requests will simply confirm that. To exercise a right, email .
Data controller
IcelandStart is an independent Iceland-based travel planning project, operated and maintained by Marteinn Hilmarsson. Marteinn acts as the data controller for the limited personal data this site receives (for example, emails you send to ). For any privacy request — access, correction, deletion, restriction, or objection — contact .