{"id":8712,"date":"2018-10-01T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-10-01T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/camperstories\/camper-van-love-story\/"},"modified":"2026-05-19T12:14:41","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T12:14:41","slug":"camper-van-love-story","status":"publish","type":"camperstories","link":"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/de\/camperstories\/camper-van-love-story\/","title":{"rendered":"Camper Van Love Story"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hi, I\u2019m Brandon and I live in San Jose, California. This is my girlfriend Maca, who lives in Madrid, Spain. We have been together for just over a year and have been in an amazing long distance relationship. For our one year anniversary, we wanted to travel somewhere special for about a week to spend time together and celebrate. However, deciding a place to travel to was difficult because we each only had about a week of vacation. After naming a few cities, Maca said \u201cIceland?!\u201d. On Facetime, we looked at each other with mouths open wide and started looking for pictures and videos and searched for flights. After seeing numerous Iceland landmarks and waterfalls on Instagram, we decided we\u2019d be the envy of all of our friends and booked a 7 day trip to Iceland at the end of May.<\/p>\n

After a few days of research, it was somewhat unfortunate to find out that the Northern Lights<\/a> most likely would not be visible in May because the sun sets past 11PM and rises before 5AM. It just doesn\u2019t get dark enough during this time of the year! However, visiting in the Spring\/Summer was a whole new experience in itself. Our daily conversations including Maca asking, \u201cWhat time is it? 5PM?\u201d \u201cNo honey\u2026 it\u2019s actually 10PM!\u201d \u201cWHAAAAAAAT?!\u201d<\/p>\n

Before you go to Iceland here are a few important tips that helped us:<\/p>\n

Download Google Maps (The absolute #1 most important thing to do!)<\/span><\/h3>\n
    \n
  1. Download Google Maps<\/li>\n
  2. Search for Iceland<\/li>\n
  3. Go to Menu >> Offline maps >> download an offline map: Custom map<\/li>\n
  4. Download about 8 offline maps with each map covering about 1\/6th of Iceland. The custom maps should overlap.<\/li>\n
  5. By downloading multiple maps of Iceland, it will allow you to use GPS without internet or WiFi. Your location will still be located (blue dot) and you can navigate to bookmarks while you\u2019re on airplane mode.<\/li>\n
  6. Create Lists to bookmark landmarks you are interested in visiting. Feel free to start with our personal list of Iceland landmarks, waterfalls, B\u00f3nus supermarkets and campsites<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Music<\/span><\/h3>\n

    Download Spotify Premium, Pandora One or Apple Music apps and save music (playlists\/albums\/songs) to your phone for Offline listening.<\/p>\n

    Bring from home<\/span><\/h3>\n
      \n
    1. AUX cord (To connect your phone to car speakers)<\/li>\n
    2. Phone charger<\/li>\n
    3. Car phone charger\/adapter (charge via cigarette lighter)<\/li>\n
    4. Cell phone power bank<\/li>\n
    5. Playing Cards<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Once you arrive in Iceland, get your check-in luggage but DO NOT leave the area. I repeat, DO NOT leave the baggage claim area just yet! Why you may ask? Two words – Duty Free. If you enjoy soda, candy, beer, wine, or liquor, go to the Duty Free shop located right next to the baggage claim as you go down the escalator. This is an absolute must especially if you plan on drinking alcohol during your trip! The price of alcohol outside of Duty Free can be 1.5 to 3 times more expensive. Maca and I both enjoy drinking beer and wine so we bought a variety of 78 beers and 5 bottles of wine.<\/p>\n