Campers and travellers in camper vans take note: It is illegal to spend the night in a tent, a camper van or RV outside designated campsites in South Iceland. According to a police ordinance for South Iceland which took effect on November 13 2017 all camping outside designated campsites is illegal and subject to a fine.
You can still pitch your tent in the wilderness
However: The ordinance only applies to inhabited areas, and does not cover wilderness areas. This means hikers can still pitch their tents while hiking on mountains, on heaths or other wilderness areas far away from human settlements. Inhabited areas is defined as any area not classified as wilderness. It is a bit of a circular definition, sure, but a good rule of thumb is that if you are more than an hour or two away from settled areas, farmlands or major roadways you are in an uninhabited wilderness area.
The chief of police in South Iceland told the local newspaper Morgunblaðið that the goal of the new ordinance was to regulate the growing numbers of camper vans which are popular among many foreign travellers. Most current regulations and police ordinances are largely quiet on camper vans, leaving town authorities and police powerless to respond to complaints from locals who have been frustrated by travelers who have spent the night in their camper vans parked in the parking lot of preschools or homes, blocking driveways.
The lack of explicit bans on camping outside campsites has also resulted in bizarre situations where travellers have pitched tens in public parks and other public in towns and villages.
Read more: Locals in Borgarnes, W. Iceland fed up with travellers camping in parks, on preschool grounds
A key criticism has been that camper vans bring with them unhygienic waste, as they are not equipped with toilets. Most spots where travellers have been stopping their vans along roads lack public toilets. By banning camper vans from spending the night at spots other than designated campsites the authorities hope to eliminate toilet paper and human waste from rest stops and the road.
Campers and travellers in camper vans take note: It is illegal to spend the night in a tent, a camper van or RV outside designated campsites in South Iceland. According to a police ordinance for South Iceland which took effect on November 13 2017 all camping outside designated campsites is illegal and subject to a fine.
You can still pitch your tent in the wilderness
However: The ordinance only applies to inhabited areas, and does not cover wilderness areas. This means hikers can still pitch their tents while hiking on mountains, on heaths or other wilderness areas far away from human settlements. Inhabited areas is defined as any area not classified as wilderness. It is a bit of a circular definition, sure, but a good rule of thumb is that if you are more than an hour or two away from settled areas, farmlands or major roadways you are in an uninhabited wilderness area.
The chief of police in South Iceland told the local newspaper Morgunblaðið that the goal of the new ordinance was to regulate the growing numbers of camper vans which are popular among many foreign travellers. Most current regulations and police ordinances are largely quiet on camper vans, leaving town authorities and police powerless to respond to complaints from locals who have been frustrated by travelers who have spent the night in their camper vans parked in the parking lot of preschools or homes, blocking driveways.
The lack of explicit bans on camping outside campsites has also resulted in bizarre situations where travellers have pitched tens in public parks and other public in towns and villages.
Read more: Locals in Borgarnes, W. Iceland fed up with travellers camping in parks, on preschool grounds
A key criticism has been that camper vans bring with them unhygienic waste, as they are not equipped with toilets. Most spots where travellers have been stopping their vans along roads lack public toilets. By banning camper vans from spending the night at spots other than designated campsites the authorities hope to eliminate toilet paper and human waste from rest stops and the road.
