General Iceland by panda ❄️

[landypandasam]

This is still in the planning stages at the moment but it would be great to gauge the amount of interest

I read an article a number of years ago where some Land Rover owners magazine where they took a couple of series 1 Landy's to Iceland from the uk

Sinch then times have changed and with the magic of the internet I have read the article as a PDF which also had up to date links on travel methods of how to get there.

Would anyone be interested in joining in what would be an epic panda adventure in 2018 sometime ( dates totally flexible with other panda events and my self ) taking a couple of pandas to Iceland do some wild camping , see the sites with great opportunities to see some jaw dropping scenery for photography / to see and to explore some off road tracks.

The ferry goes from hirtshals in Denmark once a week to seyðisfjörður and is €501 for 2 people per car ( I'm unsure if this is return )

To get to hirtshals it's ether hull to Gothenburg then Gothenburg to hirtshals or hull to Amsterdam then drive to hirtshals ( which is 600 miles ) or a uk ferry to Esbjerg in Denmark ( most likely Harrige ) which is 170 miles

What do people think ?

 

[adamvarley]

This is still in the planning stages at the moment but it would be great to gauge the amount of interest

I read an article a number of years ago where some Land Rover owners magazine where they took a couple of series 1 Landy's to Iceland from the uk

Sinch then times have changed and with the magic of the internet I have read the article as a PDF which also had up to date links on travel methods of how to get there.

Would anyone be interested in joining in what would be an epic panda adventure in 2018 sometime ( dates totally flexible with other panda events and my self ) taking a couple of pandas to Iceland do some wild camping , see the sites with great opportunities to see some jaw dropping scenery for photography / to see and to explore some off road tracks.

The ferry goes from hirtshals in Denmark once a week to seyðisfjörður and is €501 for 2 people per car ( I'm unsure if this is return )

To get to hirtshals it's ether hull to Gothenburg then Gothenburg to hirtshals or hull to Amsterdam then drive to hirtshals ( which is 600 miles ) or a uk ferry to Esbjerg in Denmark ( most likely Harrige ) which is 170 miles

What do people think ?

Sounds epic, I'm interested [emoji1373]

 

[kolza]

I've been there ones, and will get back for sure. Lovely place, even the Interior - but dangerous as Fuc#k.

The bigest issues if your planing to go in to / drive /cut thru the Interior are water/ river crossings.

Will keep en eye on here, but my votes goes for Nord-kapp in winter.

 

[JimMagill]

Yeah, we did Nordkapp in winter, it's harsh

 

[AndyPanda4x4]

Are you chaps which have done the trip able to offer Sam some help with the organisation of his planned event at all?

It seems to me like a great idea for a ride out..

 

[northernchap]

I've been to Iceland, but never in a Panda - although it would be fun to hit the black sand beaches in one! There are some real 4x4 nutcases over there, might be able to find a forum and ask them about it. It's really not cheap though, six of us had a curry with one beer, no starters or any sundries, and it was 160 quid!

 

[AndyPM]

Sounds like it could be the trip of a lifetime! But I think it will be very expensive, have just googled the Smyril Line and they quoted me 2425 Euros return. That's for July 2018, 2 people, 1 car and one cabin, no food. Outbound sailing from Denmark on Tuesdays and return on a Thursday. Direct Ferries.com quoted me £946.92 for this September which sounds more reasonable but still too expensive for me I'm afraid, which is a pity because it would be a real adventure.

 

[Plug]

Without wishing to rain on anyone's parade (or Parade - see what I did there?), there aren't any passenger ferries running between the UK and Scandinavia any more. Harwich - Esbjerg finished in 2014 and Hull - Gothenburg is a freight only service since last year - they don't accept cars any more.

For anyone in the North of England the only option is Hull-Rotterdam, but then as stated it's a 600 mile journey to the north of Denmark. Of course, down south we have a choice of cross-channel ferries or the tunnel but then that's even more road miles.

On the other hand, you can fly to Reykjavik with Wowair for £30. Hmm...

Cheers,

Plug

 

[lprescott]

Without wishing to rain on anyone's parade (or Parade - see what I did there?), there aren't any passenger ferries running between the UK and Scandinavia any more. Harwich - Esbjerg finished in 2014 and Hull - Gothenburg is a freight only service since last year - they don't accept cars any more.



For anyone in the North of England the only option is Hull-Rotterdam, but then as stated it's a 600 mile journey to the north of Denmark. Of course, down south we have a choice of cross-channel ferries or the tunnel but then that's even more road miles.



On the other hand, you can fly to Reykjavik with Wowair for £30. Hmm...



Cheers,



Plug

So how many pandas can you fit into a container?

 

[Sjvarley]

Reckon it's 5 if doubled up three and two above need some good roof racks though[emoji43]

 

[AndyPM]

This thread seems to have gone quiet lately but I've been doing some research and it seems that back in 2014 some 4x4 Pandas did a promotional tour of Iceland. I can't find out what route they took though they do seem to have stuck to the easier routes and they were all factory modified with raised suspension and snorkels but it does prove that the trip is doable with careful preparation.
The consensus is that you will need a ground clearance of about 20cm and a fording depth of 40 to 50cm to travel safely, plus extra fuel because garages are non existent in central Iceland. The best time of year to go? Well the touring season is from late June/early July to late September/early October but Icelandic weather is notoriously changeable so who can tell. August or September after the tracks have dried out but before the winter rain and snows arrive would be my preference.

 

[AndyPM]

The best maps I can find are the Ferdakort 1:250 000 series especially #5 Halendid which covers most of central Iceland, (£13.95 on Amazon)
The best guidebook by far is Trackbook Iceland by Lindenblatt and Gottenauer, (£20.46 on Amazon) From reading it I judge that all of the Green and most of the Blue routes are accessible to a suitably modified Panda, but you can forget the harder Blue routes and all of the Reds, the river crossings are just too dangerous.
There's also lots of good advice on some of the car hire websites particularly https://www.sixt.is/travelling-in-iceland/4x4-rental/
https://www.google.co.uk/search?sou...64.psy-ab..0.23.3576...0i131k1.0.Xn_HW6mknjs#
which also has some useful links embedded.
Hope this is helpful with the planning, just wish that I could come but I still think its going to be ruinously expensive.

 

[AndyPM]

Have finally managed to find the details about the 2014 expedition and it was a privately organized German expedition rather than an official Fiat promotional trip as I first thought. http://fiatislandtour2014.tumblr.com/ Lots of info about the trip and vehicle mods.

 

[AndyPM]

Ooops, that's in good clear German. Try http://translate.googleusercontent.c...AsvNIFDGywjCdQ Found it on Fiat 500 owners.com

 

[landypandasam]

Thanks andy , good job on the research

 

[landypandasam]

So how many pandas can you fit into a container?

I'd guess 2

 

[AndyPM]

Been doing some more research and a trip to Ireland seems quite practicable so long as it's carefully planned. After all its a country as big as Ireland but with only about 300 000 people in it, so there are plenty of unpaved country roads to drive on without having to go near the notorious F roads - which I still think are off-limits to a Panda.
For instance there are two roads on the east coast not far from the ferry terminal, the R915 and the R955. Both are gravel, have good scenery and come with interesting bends, sheer drop=offs and no guard rails. Or if you go inland a bit there is the R842 to the Aldeyjarfoss waterfall, it's a lonely though not very exciting road but you can return to Akureyi via the F821 and F881 which seems an ok route for Pandas
Of course the cost of shipping Pandas to Iceland remains horrendous, it would make much more sense to fly and then hire 4x4s. But that wouldn't be quite the same would it?

 

[AndyPM]

There's no harm in dreaming, it's what makes life bearable, and sometimes dreams do come true.

 

[AndyPanda4x4]

Good work Andy, just a question from the start though are we planning on Iceland or Ireland with your suggestion? Both would be fantastic as far as I'm concerned.

 

[AndyPM]

Oops! Spelling mistake. Meant Iceland, though the west coast of Ireland does indeed have some fantastic scenery. Been there twice now, all the roads are tarred just like here though some of them are pretty narrow and have grass growing down the middle.