Iceland Campervan - Rent.is Review

We just returned from our Iceland trip and had an amazing time camper-vanning around the country! This was our first time traveling in a camper van and Iceland was the perfect place to do it.

When we were doing our research on camper van rental companies, the few popular names that ranked top on Google searches were Kuku Campers, Happy Campers and Go Campers. Kuku Campers definitely caught our eyes with their funny (and a lil' ridiculous) marketing, while Happy Campers had a lot of blogger reviews. We ended up renting our camper van from Rent.is, which had a great website filled with useful resources and camper stories, but we couldn't find many reviews elsewhere in the blog-sphere. We had positive experience renting from them and I felt they deserved a genuine review.
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Price

Obviously, cost is the main consideration for most people. Unsurprisingly, I had a google sheet with price comparisons and all. You'd probably think I'm crazy, but that's what happens when I had more than a year to plan for this trip. =P 

Of course, cost wasn't the only thing we looked at. We also looked at reviews and these companies are all quite good. Take note of the currency differences too. Few other things we considered:

• Size of the camper. There were 3 of us in our party and we were traveling with mom so we decided to go 'big' with the Renault Master 5 that had high roof and could sleep 5 persons. 
• Extras. Find out exactly what's included/not included in the price of the camper. Rent.is listed out everything that was included in the price on the website, and they pretty much covered all essential items we needed, including free airport pick-up/drop-off. Free WiFi was included but it was limited to 5gb, so we paid ISK 500/day for the unlimited WiFi.
• Insurance. We usually decline the rental company's CDW and use our credit card's car rental coverage, but our credit card rental coverage doesn't cover camper van. Even though CDW was included in the price, we paid extra ISK 3,900/day  for the Premium Insurance Package (Super CDW + Theft protection + Gravel protection + Sand & Ash protection) to be safe because Iceland's weather can be crazy. One thing I liked about Rent.is was that they didn't even try selling us the premium insurance until we asked about it. No scams, no bs.
• Timing of booking and travel period. We dodged the summer peak prices by traveling during the shoulder season (end of May, early June), milder weather without the summer crowd. We booked our camper van 4.5 months before the trip and managed to lock in a pretty good price. The total price of our 7 days rental was ISK 143,900 ($1,363), approx. $194 per day. It would have cost about $500 more if we booked later or traveled during the summer.
• ​Discounts/incentives. Rent.is ultimately won us over because of the Camper Stories contest. We will have the chance to win a full refund of our rental (best case scenario) by writing a camper story about our trip. Even if we don't win, we would still get a EUR 100 refund when our story is published on their blog. This was pretty much a guaranteed discount of EUR 100, definitely a no-brainer as I was going to blog anyway. =)

Cost of our 7-days camper van rental:	ISK/EUR	USD
Renault Master 5 Camper van (ISK 20557 x 7 days)	ISK 143,900	$1,363
Premium insurance package (ISK 3,900 x 7 days)	ISK 27,300	$259
Unlimited wifi (ISK 500 x 7 days)	ISK 3,500	$33
Camper story refund (check out our camper story) Update: Received our refund on 8/15/2018	EUR 100	$115
TOTAL (excluding gas)		$1,540

Our camper van rental cost $513/pax. However, if we maximized the van capacity and got 2 more people to travel with us, we could potentially reduce the cost to only $308/pax. Not bad at all for a week in an expensive country like Iceland!

​Customer Service

The Rent.is staffs were helpful and responsive throughout the entire process:

• Booking. After making our booking on Rent.is's website, we received a confirmation email from Go Iceland. I found out later that Go Iceland (not to be confused with Go Campers) and Rent.is is actually the same company. I emailed them several times to ask some questions and to confirm our reservation, and the staff answered all my queries promptly (and patiently).
• Airport pick-up (free). We were informed that an agent would be waiting for us at the airport arrival hall with a sign with Rent.is logo on it every 10 minutes. However, we didn't see anyone when we got out so I called the company and was told someone was on the way to the airport. Their office was only 5 minutes away from the airport. A guy holding Rent.is sign arrived shortly, took us to the shuttle, helped load all our luggage on the shuttle, and drove us to their office.

• Paperwork. We arrived at their office after a short shuttle ride. I didn't ask but it looks like they share the same office with several other rental companies, which made it a bit confusing as everyone arrived at the same time and didn't know where to go. Rent.is had the leftmost counter and the same guy who picked us up from the airport helped us with the paperwork. As mentioned earlier, they just went with our original booking without trying to sell us any extras.

• Camper inspection and introduction. After we were done with the paperwork, the same guy did a walk around of the camper van with us and showed us the various features and facilities available in the camper. (This guy is a busy man...haha!) We took our time to inspect all the existing dents, scratches, and damages, making sure that they are all marked on the inspection sheet. (Tip: One thing we always do when we rent a car is to take videos and photos of the whole car, never needed them but better be safe than sorry). We also checked the tires condition, spare tires, heater, lights, wipers, lighter socket, etc. to make sure everything was working before driving. Glad the staff was patient. =) A side note, we were told the front passenger door of our camper was previously damaged by strong winds. So remember to hold on to the doors! 

• Random SOS. The one and only time we had to contact the rental company was when we couldn't figure out how to shift to the reverse gear, and we were stuck halfway in the middle of the street in Reykjavik...lol!! Fortunately, the staff was able to guide us through the phone. He probably thinks we are idiots...haha! Other than this small hiccup, we didn't encounter any other issues with the camper throughout our trip!
• Return of camper van and free airport drop-off. The process of returning the camper van was swift and easy, with a "Return OK". We did our part as well by cleaning the van and filling it up before returning. Their office had power outage but fortunately we were not affected as we were just returning. The shuttle then dropped us off at the airport. All done in 20 minutes. =)

Camper van design and features

​After living in our 'home' for 7 days, I’ve come to the conclusion that the Renault Master 5 we had was very well-designed and equipped, especially for people with no experience camper-vanning like us. After seeing other smaller camper vans at the campsites, we were glad we opted for the larger camper even though it costs slightly more, as it made the trip so much more comfortable and convenient. =)​ 
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Easy to Drive

This was hubby's first time driving such a big a$$ vehicle, and all credits to him for driving 1,700 miles (according to the camper odometer) in 7 days and keeping us safe. His feedback on the camper - easy to maneuver (p.s. this was a manual vehicle), has good power going up mountains, and most importantly, the driver's seat was comfortable (very important for driving long hours).

​Functional Space

Several things I liked about our camper:

• Fixed beds. Unlike smaller campers, it was convenient not having to fold up/ transform the beds during the day. 
• 'Activity' space. We still had plenty of space to move around and stand up (without crouching or kneeling) at the back of the van to do things like change, cook, and set up a table to eat! Worked great when it was cold outside!

• Storage space. We brought 4 suitcases (mostly food), and was able to fit all the food into the drawers/cabinets, and stored our suitcases under the bed. It was helpful to stay organized when space is limited.
• Front seats & dashboard. There was space for 3 of us to sit at the front of the van. All the compartments on the dashboard came in handy for our multiple gadgets. =P

​Well-Equipped

Our camper came equipped with:

• 5 sleeping bags & pillows - Coleman brand.
• Heating system - Runs on 2nd battery. We barely used it as the sleeping bag was warm and comfy.
• Cooler/refrigerator - We kept it on the whole time.
• Chairs & table - Used the table in the van a few times, not the chairs as it was too cold outside.
• Camping stove and gas - They provided 1 free gas butane, and we bought another one. The lighter they provided came in handy.
• Pots, pans, dishes & cutlery - Decent quality, good enough for simple cooking, some brand new items.
• Music/chargers - The van had 3 cigarette charging sockets, USB dock for the radio, and 2 USB charging docks. We brought our own Wagan power inverter (affiliate link) to charge our laptops.

​Picture-perfect Exterior

This is probably the least important 'function' of the van, but I really liked their design! It's uniquely Iceland, cute, nice, great for pictures, and not flashy (you know who I'm talking about :P). Love the quote on the van - "Where the midnight sun and the hot springs flow". =)

I think I'm a lil' too obsessed with this van...haha!

​If you want to find out more about this camper van, check out this link & the following video by Rent.is​

Closing Thoughts

Big thanks to Rent.is, we had an amazing and memorable trip camper-vanning around Iceland! I'll do a separate blog post to share more guides and tips on how we traveled in a camper van around Iceland. If you're interested to experience traveling in a camper van, Iceland is the perfect place to do it! We had a pleasant experience renting from Rent.is, and I would definitely recommend them to anyone planning to travel around Iceland in a camper van! 

Now the best part of this post. This review is solely based on our personal experience renting with Rent.is, and I do NOT receive any compensation or kickback from Rent.is for this long post. This is just a way to express our genuine gratitude for a wonderful and memorable camper van experience. =)

Regardless of which company you decide to rent from, make sure to do your research, know what you're paying for, be courteous, be nice, and have a good time in Iceland! Hope this lengthy post will be helpful to anyone considering to rent a camper van in Iceland.

Related post: Iceland Road Trip Expense Report