Iceland on a Polish Licence — From 140 km/h Motorways to Gravel & F-Roads

A Polish driver arrives in Iceland with the paperwork already sorted — licence accepted as-is, no permit, and the same right-hand traffic as home. The jolt is pace. Poland’s A-network runs to 140 km/h; Iceland has no motorways at all. Sealed roads cap at 90 km/h, gravel at 80, and the open road that looks invitingly empty is often the one demanding the most caution.

That’s because gravel covers much of the network, and the trickiest moment isn’t a bend — it’s the seam where tarmac becomes loose stone. Hit it at speed and you lose grip or fling a rock into the windscreen. Ease off deliberately at every surface change, especially on the descents.

The bigger trap sits inland. Iceland’s interior runs on F-roads — mountain tracks restricted by law to 4WD vehicles. Take a standard hire car onto one and the insurance is void the instant you leave the marked route, even for a flat tyre. Many F-roads also ford rivers with no bridge, and reading a crossing wrong is the classic way a rental is written off. The paved Ring Road suits an ordinary car; the highlands need a proper 4WD and a contract that allows it.

Weather is the wildcard that ties it together. Wind, sleet and whiteouts close roads at short notice even in summer, so check road.is and the wind forecast before every leg. Off-road or closed-road driving draws a fine from about ISK 10,000 (around EUR 65); you can sanity-check any speeding penalty with our speeding fine calculator.

Alcohol is 0.05, looser than Poland’s strict 0.02 — but with single-car crashes common, keeping it to none is the safe call. Fuel is steep at roughly $2.15/litre, the emergency number is 112, and offline maps are essential away from the coast. Read the full rules on our Iceland driving guide and confirm your documents with the driving permit checker before you collect the car.