Iceland on a South Korean Licence — F-Roads, Gravel & 4WD Rules

Iceland is reassuringly familiar to a South Korean driver in the ways that usually cause trouble: it drives on the right, just like home, and there is no left-side switch to relearn. The paperwork needs one fix before you fly: because a Korean licence is printed in Hangul rather than Latin letters, Iceland’s licensing regulation only lets you drive on it for up to 12 months when it comes with an International Driving Permit or a translation into English (or Icelandic, Danish, Norwegian or Swedish). The permit Korea issues is the 1949 Geneva type, which matches Iceland’s treaty membership. Beyond that, what makes Iceland demanding is the land itself, and the weather sitting on top of it.

Start with the roads that aren’t really roads. The interior is crossed by F-roads, gravel mountain tracks that are legally restricted to 4WD vehicles and often involve unbridged river crossings. If you rent a 2WD and take it onto an F-road, your insurance is instantly void and you are liable for the whole car. Decide before you book whether you actually need the highlands; for most itineraries the Ring Road and coastal routes around the island are enough, and a normal car handles them.

Even on the main routes, the surface and conditions are the challenge. Long stretches are loose gravel, bridges are frequently single-lane (the nearer car goes first), and blind summits and crests hide oncoming traffic. There is no motorway network, so the highest limit you will see is 90 km/h on sealed rural roads and 80 on gravel — plan journeys by hours, not distance. The weather is the wild card: wind strong enough to tear a car door off its hinges, sudden whiteouts, and roads that close at short notice. Check road.is and the forecast every single morning.

Iceland sets no date for winter tyres; instead, every tyre needs at least 3 mm of tread from 1 November to 14 April, and snow or ice on the road calls for chains or winter-pattern tyres. The alcohol limit is 0.02, stricter than South Korea’s 0.03, and police checks are common — treat it as zero. Fuel is among the priciest in Europe at around €2.15 a litre, so the Fuel Cost Calculator is worth running for a full Ring Road loop, and a typical speeding fine of ISK 10,000 (about €65) can be checked with the Speeding Fine Calculator. Our Iceland driving guide has the F-road and equipment detail. Emergency services answer on 112.

Sources

• Reglugerð um ökuskírteini nr. 830/2011, article 29 (non-EEA licence valid up to 12 months; Latin letters or a translation into Icelandic, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish or English; an international driving permit counts as a licence): reglugerd.is
• UN Treaty Collection, Convention on Road Traffic, Geneva 1949 (Republic of Korea and Iceland parties): treaties.un.org