Lava Car Rental — Attraction in Reykjanesbær

I rented a Renault Kangoo Camper Van for my two week journey going around the ring road. It was an ok experience. I spent a lot of time deciding on my chosen rental company, and I think if given the chance again, I would go with a different company. Here were the pros cons that might help people when deciding. I wavered between 2 or 3 stars but after making this list it’s definitely 2!

Pro: -Car was very drivable! I felt really safe and appreciated how easy it was to drive solo -I didn’t spend as much on gas as I expected to. It surprised me how far I could go before getting gas. I stopped every 2-3 days never letting it get below 1/2 a tank. I also liked that they give you a gas discount card for N1 and Olis. -The size of the van was perfect for one person. I wouldn’t recommend for two people. I don’t see how two people could sleep comfortably in this van. -Lava is very close to the airport. I appreciated how easy it was to pick up. I stayed at the Marriott night before and just walked over to pick up. Worked well!

Con: -My heater was not working properly. It gave off a ton of white smoke every time I used it for the first 5 or so minutes and freaked out people in campsites. People would come over to me actually worried and knock on my glass. I looked this up and it said it needed to be cleaned. With 3 days left in my trip, the heater stopped working all together. I had to get a hotel for the last few nights. I did call about the smoke issue and they told me it was normal for the first few min. I also told them about this when I turned the car in and that the heater stopped working and the guy just kind of dismissed it and said “oh.” I believe I should have received a partial refund because it really soured my experience and cost me money then booking hotels. This really was the biggest disappointment of it all. -The bed (more like sleeping pad) is SERIOUSLY UNCOMFORTABLE. It has two pads you put together and no matter what I did they always split apart and I sank to sleeping right on the board. Plus, could they not offer better pillows and larger/newer sleeping bags? I really didn’t sleep well between this and the heater. I would definitely rent from a company with more comfortable sleeping arrangements. My body was in serious pain after the first week. -They included many helpful kitchen things but no can opener or mugs (yet there were wine glasses?). That seems like an oversight. -It comes with 2 cooking gas cans but as soon and I went to cook night one I discovered the can in the stove was empty. So I basically only had one can. Not every gas station had the cans I needed so I had to conserve when cooking. Ultimately I ran out and couldn’t even properly boil water after about a week. -The van had been in an accident before and had a dented door. It would always get stuck so I never slid it fully open. This was annoying. -Note there is only one USB charger. It had a really loose connection. My phone would charge maybe 20% in 3 hours. This was a serious issue when I relied on the van for power. I recommend bringing a large battery charger with you. My one battery pack was not enough. -The wifi worked well but battery didn’t last long. I was constantly conserving it balancing between charging that and my phone. -I couldn’t get the Bluetooth to work. -I stopped every couple days to get ice. The fridge was ok but was really loud. I only kept it plugged in while driving because you can’t sleep with that noise. Plus its fan was all filled with dust. I don’t think they clean things very well. -The service due light came on in the last few days, which was concerning. I called about this and they said not to worry about it. -The curtain blocking the window had a cord with the plastic falling apart.

To summarize the points above, I think they really failed when it came to proper maintenance. You expect to get a van in great working order with all equipment checked when paying about $3k USD including the top expensive insurance package. I don’t think that...

Iceland October 2025

Lava Car Rental: A Sardine Can with a Hero’s Heart

Let’s set the scene: You’ve just landed in Iceland, a land of fire, ice, and winds that can politely rearrange your face. You’re buzzing. You grab the shuttle to Lava Car Rental, which, for the record, is smoother than a Reykjavik jazz club. Getting the keys? Effortless. A+ so far.

Then you walk into the lot to meet your steed for the week: a Suzuki Jimny.

Now, I’m 6’1”. My Queen is a statuesque 5’8”. The Jimny, for the uninitiated, is what you get when a real car has a passionate affair with a matchbox toy. I’m pretty sure I could have given the whole vehicle a comforting hug. After a game of automotive Tetris, we discovered the back had more room than the front, which was a blessing since getting into the driver's seat required a folding maneuver usually reserved for yoga gurus.

But hey, it’s not about the size of the car in the fight, it’s about the size of the fight in the car. And for the most part, the Jimny did its job. It got us around. Though, for two people of our altitude, it was a… cozy experience. Let’s just say it’s a good thing we are already intimately acquainted.

The true test came on Tuesday. Driving from Vik to Reykjavík, we met an Icelandic wind storm. This wasn't a breeze; this was the sky trying to eat the earth. And our mighty Jimny? The wind treated it like a ragdoll in the mouth of a hyper labradoodle, determined to get the stuffing out. We white-knuckled it, whispering sweet nothings to the dashboard just to keep all four wheels in the same parish.

Drop-off was a breeze. Almost too easy. Because in my post-storm, pre-coffee haze, I left my camera in the car. A rookie move.

This is where Lava went from "decent rental spot" to "Icelandic legends."

We made the call, expecting the usual corporate runaround. Instead, we were connected with a man they simply call Prince. And let me tell you, the name fits. Prince confirmed they had my camera and, since we were still in town, offered to play delivery man. We played a little game of metropolitan tag trying to meet up, but our schedules were more tangled than headphone cords in a pocket.

But Prince? He didn’t ghost. The man went full VIP service and dropped the camera at our hotel, the Black Pearl. No fuss, no delivery fee, just pure, unadulterated integrity.

The Final Verdict:

The Jimny is a tin can that doubles as a wind sock. But Lava Car Rental? They’re the real deal. They rent you a car that gets the job done, but more importantly, they have people like Prince who operate with a level of customer service that’s rarer than a sunny day in Vik.

We’d rent from them again in a heartbeat. Just maybe next time, we’ll spring for the car that doesn’t require me to fold myself into a human pretzel.

Five stars for Prince and the team. The Jimny gets a solid three, with one of those points just for surviving the Doodle...

We rented a Renault Kangoo Campervan from Lava Car Rental for 13 days to go around the entire ring road of Iceland. Our pick up process was very easy, though in hindsight we did not receive a thorough tutorial on the features of the van. Unfortunately we had to return to the rental office after grocery shopping to exchange the port for charging devices in the car because we discovered it did not work. Our first night we discovered our cooler also did not work. We emailed the office and got a prompt response that we could set up a time to meet with a mechanic the next day. When we responded in the morning letting them know where we would be and what our availability was, we did not receive a response for 8 days despite a follow-up email. So we ended up going our entire trip without a functioning cooler and without the ability to use our stove (directions were not included and we had emailed about it, but of course did not receive a response until 2 days remained in our trip).

The unreliability in customer service was very frustrating and concerning, but we did get in contact with a manager eventually who explained it was largely due to internal changes in the company and lots of new hires. I can sympathize with that but we did request compensation for the inconveniences we experienced. Unfortunately, they first offered a half-day refund, but we negotiated for 1.5 days refund. All that being said, it is now over 3 weeks from our trip and I have not yet received said refund.

All negatives aside, we had a wonderful trip. The van got us through the Westfjords and the entire ring road. 100% recommend getting gravel insurance ESPECIALLY if traveling in the Westfjords (one of our favorite places in Iceland). The heat inside the car was really a lifesaver at night and if everything had been in working order - the van really comes with everything you might need. I believe these are supposed to be included, but we were missing curtains for the windows for some reason. We rigged up one of the blankets instead.

All in all - Lava seems to have great vehicles, but we have experienced a hiccup in what seems to be pretty good customer service. If you rent with them I just highly recommend you make sure you personally inspect the vehicle and its features to make sure everything is in order before you leave the rental office.

Also! Our shuttle driver was so, so sweet and helpful! He really took care of us and even offered to hold our suitcase at the rental offices for a few days while we were in Reykjavik. When we got to the airport for our flight after our few days in Reykjavik, someone from the office drove over our suitcase for us! It was really helpful and we so...