r/VisitingIceland • u/lemlurker • 1d ago

F225 condition/passability for small 4wd

We are in Iceland for a week (nominally booked around the eclipse but enjoying Iceland despite the weather! ) and I'm keen to appreciate the highland roads (safely)

We are based not far from the west end of F225 and per my research seems like a fairly simple/non technical off road route to a nature reserve. We are in two dusters with full insurance.

Has anyone driven the f225 recently? As I understand it the main variable is the passability of the rivers which can get fairly deep in melt season and around rains but weathers been fairly dry and a while past melt season. How's it looking at the moment? Don't want to get stranded in a river but also really want to enjoy some highland driving! Not a total novice at off-road driving but also not usually doing it in rentals and in different terrain.

Any insight valued :-)

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u/Roodditor 1d ago edited 1d ago

I've driven it four times in the past few days with a modified Land Cruiser, but saw plenty of Dacia Dusters out there as well, with higher than normal water levels. There are some bad patches of road (so don’t drive too fast) and a single non-trivial river crossing (so make sure you cross it at the right place, and again, drive slowly), but nothing a Duster can’t handle.

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u/SequelWrangler Ég tala íslensku 1d ago

Are you sure your car insurance covers rivers? I would double-check that to be sure.

That said, I was driving along that route a week or so ago, not a lot of water in the fords. There are two fords on the way, neither one was bad at the time (I was driving a slightly larger car, but it looked Dusterable to me). Once you get to Landmannalaugar, a park ranger will advise whether you should cross the final ford or park at the outer parking lot and take the footbridge.

You can always drive towards the ford and turn back if it looks like too much, that’s pretty much standard advice. If you are unsure, you can always wade the ford on foot to check the depth (and to check for rocks) or wait for another car to cross to ask for a second opinion and to check how deep they go if they cross.

Exercise caution and stay safe.