Renting a Car in Iceland in March

Yes, March is a good month for a self-drive trip in Iceland, especially if you want winter scenery without December or January daylight. Reykjavík gets around 10 hours of daylight at the beginning of March and more than 13 by the end, but snow, ice, wind and temporary road closures are still normal. In other words, plan the car and route for winter, but expect a much longer driving day.

Is March a good time to drive in Iceland?

Yes, with the same condition that applies to any Icelandic winter month: build some flexibility into the plan. March suits you if:

• you want winter landscapes without organising the day around five hours of light
• you are comfortable checking road and weather conditions before setting off each morning
• you keep daily driving distances realistic
• you choose a vehicle that matches the route you actually intend to drive

What separates March from the depth of winter is arithmetic rather than atmosphere. The scenery and the roads are still winter, but the usable part of the day has roughly doubled since the solstice. If you travelled a month earlier, our guide to renting a car in Iceland in February covers what a shorter driving day changes.

What changes for drivers in March

The driving day grows by more than three hours. Reykjavík gains roughly six and a half minutes of daylight per day through March, moving from roughly 10 hours 10 minutes on 1 March to roughly 13 hours 25 minutes on 31 March. That is one of the biggest practical differences between a March trip and a January one.

Iceland does not change its clocks. Unlike much of Europe and North America, Iceland does not move to summer time in March. The country stays on GMT year-round, so all of that extra evening light comes from the rapidly changing season, not from daylight saving. If you are travelling from somewhere that does, the time difference to Iceland will shift partway through the month.

The car is still on its winter tyre setup. From 1 November to 14 April, the minimum legal tyre tread depth in Iceland is 3 mm, compared with 1.6 mm during the rest of the year, and studded tyres are permitted during this window. March sits comfortably inside it. The end date is not an absolute cut-off either: where a region still has snow or ice, studded tyres can stay on beyond 14 April until conditions improve. Zero fits studded winter tyres across the fleet in season, with no separate winter-tyre charge. Our guide to winter tyres in Iceland covers the rules in full.

Winter conditions have not finished. Snow, ice, strong wind and temporary road closures are all still realistic in March, and they vary a great deal between years and between regions. The extra daylight changes how much you can do in a day. It does not change what the road is doing.

The Highlands stay closed. Highland roads and F-roads are normally shut from mid-September until June or July, so a March trip is a coastal trip.

Weather and daylight in Iceland in March

Daylight is the number worth planning around. These are approximate times for Reykjavík. Daylight varies slightly by location across Iceland:

The useful way to read that table is not the total but the spread. Early and late March are meaningfully different trips. Reykjavík gains more than three hours of daylight across the month, giving you considerably more margin for sightseeing, weather delays and reaching your destination before dark.

The temptation is to spend that extra light on kilometres. It is better spent as margin: leaving later, arriving before dark, or absorbing a two-hour weather delay without abandoning the day’s plan.

On weather, expect temperatures around freezing and a mix of rain, snow, ice and strong wind that can change within a few hours. Conditions vary significantly between years, so treat the forecast as something to plan around rather than something to argue with.

What are Iceland’s roads like in March?

Main and coastal roads form the realistic March network. They are maintained through the winter and generally passable, though sections can close temporarily during poor weather, particularly on exposed roads and mountain passes.

Highland roads and F-roads are normally closed from mid-September until June or July, so they are not part of a March rental-car itinerary.

Two checks belong in your morning routine before any longer drive:

• umferdin.is for live road conditions and closures
• vedur.is for weather forecasts and wind warnings

If a road is closed or a warning is active, the answer is to wait or change the plan. Conditions can improve or deteriorate quickly, so check both again before setting off after a delay. Our guide to Iceland’s speed limits and traffic fines covers the rules you are driving under.

Should you rent a 2WD or 4x4 in March?

A lot of the advice online says March simply requires a 4x4. That is not quite the honest answer, and being precise matters here: the wrong car is an expensive way to fix a problem you may not have.

The right answer depends on your route, the forecast and how comfortable you are driving in winter conditions, not on the month by itself. A 4x4 or AWD is the better winter choice when you want more flexibility. It can provide better traction when accelerating on snowy or slippery surfaces and can be a more suitable choice for longer winter routes. It does not shorten braking distances on ice, make strong winds harmless or override a road closure. A 2WD can still be suitable on maintained main roads in good conditions, particularly if you are based near Reykjavík and driving shorter legs.

One caveat worth stating plainly: a 4x4 improves traction and gives you more options, but it does not make an icy road harmless, and it does not override a closure or a weather warning. The forecast and your route matter more than the badge on the car. If you are weighing it up, see whether you actually need a 4x4 in Iceland, or browse the full fleet.

Can you drive the Ring Road in March?

Yes, and daylight is the reason it is more approachable than a midwinter circuit. A March Ring Road trip has substantially more usable light than the same route in December or January, and it gains roughly three more hours between the beginning and the end of March itself.

What has not changed is the road. Snow, ice, wind and temporary closures remain possible throughout the month, and conditions differ around the country, so a clear morning in the south tells you very little about the north-east. Avoid an itinerary where every day depends on covering a long fixed distance, build some margin into the schedule, and have a backup plan if conditions interrupt the route. Our dedicated guide to driving the Ring Road in winter goes through the route in detail.

What March is particularly good for

Northern lights

March nights are still long enough to be useful for aurora hunting, and the month sits around the spring equinox, a period associated with elevated geomagnetic activity. That makes March well placed rather than a promise. Sightings still depend on clear skies, auroral activity and conditions being good enough to drive somewhere dark. A rental car gives you the flexibility to move between clear-sky areas when road and weather conditions allow. Our guide to hunting the northern lights by car covers how to read the forecast and where to go.

Ice caves

March remains within Iceland’s normal natural ice-cave season. Availability and access depend on glacier and weather conditions, and operators differ on the months they run, so check directly with the operator rather than assuming. These are guided tours: you drive to the meeting point and go in with a guide, never onto the glacier by yourself. Our guide to visiting ice caves with a rental car covers the practicalities.

Quieter sights, with time to reach them

Many of the established sights along the Golden Circle and South Coast remain accessible via maintained roads in March, subject to conditions on the day, and are considerably quieter than in summer. The difference from midwinter is that you can fit more than one into a day without driving the return leg in the dark. For what is on while you are here, see our calendar of Icelandic festivals and holidays. If your dates fall over Easter, which lands in March in some years, our Easter self-drive guide covers closures and opening hours.

What to pack for Iceland in March

Nothing exotic, but pack for winter rather than for spring.

To wear: a waterproof and windproof outer layer, warm mid-layers, gloves, a warm hat, and waterproof footwear with some grip. Microspikes are worth having for icy paths at waterfalls and viewpoints.

To keep in the car: an extra warm layer, a charged phone and a power bank, water and something to eat, and an ice scraper. Sunglasses are useful for glare from a low sun and snow.

Renting with Zero Car in March

March gives you a longer day to plan around. The rental itself should stay simple.

Zero includes studded winter tyres in season, full insurance with zero excess, no deposit, unlimited mileage and 24/7 roadside assistance. Complete your check-in online before arrival and collect your keys from the keybox, without needing to arrange winter tyres or decide between insurance packages at the counter.

The car is already set up for the season when you arrive, so the decisions left to you are the ones that matter in March: the route, the forecast and the conditions.

Iceland applies a nationwide kilometre-based road tax. Zero handles this as a fixed daily charge rather than billing you according to how far you drive, so unlimited mileage still means unlimited mileage. Our guide to Iceland’s road tax explains how the system works.

Is renting a car in Iceland in March worth it?

March is the point in the year where winter scenery and a workable driving day overlap. You still get snow on the mountains, nights dark enough for the aurora, and sights that are quiet by summer standards. What you gain over midwinter is time. In exchange, you plan for winter conditions, check the forecast every morning, and accept that the weather may still rewrite a day.

Choose the car for the route rather than the month, treat the extra daylight as margin rather than mileage, and leave room for Iceland to change the plan. If your trip runs later into spring, our guide to renting a car in Iceland in April picks up where this one ends.