Safetravel and emergency info for Iceland
What is Iceland's emergency number and what should I download before I go?
Iceland's emergency number for police, fire, ambulance, and mountain rescue is 112. Download the 112 Iceland app before travelling — it sends your GPS coordinates to rescue services even in remote areas. Register your itinerary on safetravel.is before any remote hiking, F-road driving, or highland trips.
The single most important safety number
Iceland’s universal emergency number is 112.
It covers:
- Police (Lögreglan)
- Fire service (Slökkviliðið)
- Ambulance (Sjúkraflutningar)
- Mountain rescue (Björgunarsveit) — this is the most relevant for tourists in remote areas
Store 112 in your phone contacts before you arrive in Iceland. It should be the first call you make in any life-threatening situation.
The 112 Iceland app — download before you travel
The 112 Iceland app (free, available on iOS and Android) is the most important safety tool for any visitor to Iceland planning to go anywhere remote.
What it does:
- Sends your precise GPS coordinates to the Rescue Coordination Centre (RCC) when you activate an alert
- Works even in areas with no data connection — the GPS signal itself is independent of mobile data
- Allows you to register your travel plan so rescue teams know where to start looking if you do not return
- Provides emergency contact information and safety tips
Why this matters: Iceland’s most dangerous scenarios involve people being injured or stranded in remote areas where there is no mobile signal. The 112 app uses your phone’s GPS receiver (which works independently of mobile networks) to pinpoint your location. This single feature has been credited with saving multiple lives.
Download it before you leave your accommodation. Activate it if you enter a dead zone for an extended period, especially in the highlands.
Activate an alert by: Opening the app, pressing the SOS button, and confirming. Your GPS coordinates are sent immediately.
Safetravel.is — register your route
The safetravel.is website and associated app are operated by the Icelandic Association for Search and Rescue (Landsbjörg) and the Association of Icelandic Rescue Teams.
The most important feature for visitors: route registration.
Before any serious hike, highland F-road drive, or remote coastal walk, go to safetravel.is and register:
- Your planned route
- Your vehicle registration (if driving)
- The number of people in your group
- Your expected return time
- An emergency contact
If you do not return and no one has called off the search plan, rescue teams know exactly where to start looking.
How long does it take? About two minutes. There is no fee. It costs you nothing and potentially gives rescue teams hours of advantage.
Call off your registration when you return safely. Rescue teams take all registered unreturn reports seriously — do not waste resources by forgetting to call off.
Road conditions: road.is
Check road.is every morning before driving. This is the Icelandic Road and Coastal Administration’s real-time road condition system.
Colour-coded road status:
- Green: Good conditions
- Orange: Difficult conditions (ice, snow, wet, limited visibility) — proceed with caution
- Red: Road closed — do not attempt
Roads close for multiple reasons: volcanic activity, snow, flooding from glacial rivers, storm conditions. Closures can happen quickly. A road that is green in the morning may close by afternoon.
F-road status: The highland F-roads are shown on road.is. They are typically closed from October to late June, but exact dates vary by year and conditions. Never attempt an F-road when it shows as closed. Your rental car insurance is void on F-roads, your vehicle may become stuck, and you may need rescue.
Weather: en.vedur.is
The Icelandic Meteorological Office at en.vedur.is provides the most accurate Iceland-specific weather forecasts. Check it before any outdoor day.
Weather warnings are colour-coded:
- Yellow: Be aware — conditions may be difficult
- Orange: Be prepared — potentially dangerous conditions
- Red: Take action — dangerous conditions
Orange and red warnings in Iceland are serious. They represent storms that can ground helicopters, close roads, and make outdoor activity life-threatening. Check the map view, not just text forecasts.
What to do in specific emergencies
Medical emergency
Call 112. State your location — GPS coordinates from the 112 app if possible, or describe landmarks. Iceland’s ambulance response time in Reykjavik is typically under 10 minutes. In remote areas, helicopter evacuation may be needed.
Hospitals with full emergency departments:
- Landspítali University Hospital, Reykjavik: Iceland’s main hospital
- Akureyri Regional Hospital (FSA): Serves North Iceland
- Selfoss Health Centre: South Iceland
Accident on the road
Move to safety if possible. Call 112. Iceland’s roads see serious accidents involving tourists each year, often from gravel roads at speed, F-roads, or icy conditions. Do not attempt to move injured persons unless there is immediate danger.
Single-lane bridges: If you are involved in a collision on a single-lane bridge, get clear of the bridge if safe. Traffic coming from the other direction may not see you.
Getting lost or stranded on a hiking trail
Stay where you are if possible — this makes finding you significantly easier than if you continue to move. Activate the 112 app. Call 112 if you have signal. If no signal: the 112 app can transmit your GPS location regardless.
If you are on a registered route (safetravel.is), rescue teams will begin searching your registered path when you do not return.
Vehicle breakdown in a remote area
Pull as far off the road as safely possible. Switch on hazard lights. Call for roadside assistance:
- Félag íslenskra bifreiðaeigenda (FÍB): Icelandic automobile club, provides roadside assistance. Most rental car companies have a specific breakdown number — find it in your rental documents before you need it.
- If you are in danger (weather deteriorating, no shelter, night falling): call 112.
Volcanic eruption
If you are in an affected area, follow instructions from the Civil Protection and Emergency Management Department (almannavarnir.is). Exclusion zones around active eruptions are clearly marked on the ground and published online. Do not cross exclusion zone barriers.
If you are driving and see eruption activity, do not stop on a road to watch. Pull fully off the road in a safe location, well away from the lava path and any gas emissions.
Iceland’s current volcanic activity is primarily concentrated on the Reykjanes Peninsula near Grindavík. Check current eruption status at the Icelandic Meteorological Office or safetravel.is before visiting that area.
Unexpected waves on black sand beaches
The standard advice: if someone is swept into the sea by a wave at a black sand beach (Reynisfjara, Vík, other Atlantic-facing beaches), do not enter the water to rescue them. Attempting to wade in almost invariably results in a second casualty. Call 112 immediately. Throw any floating object (nothing in your hands? Run to the car for a rope or clothing) toward the victim to give them something to grab.
This sounds callous, but rescue services explicitly give this advice. The currents at these beaches are powerful enough to sweep trained swimmers off their feet.
Icelandic search and rescue: how it works
Iceland’s mountain rescue operation is primarily run by Landsbjörg (Association for Search and Rescue), which coordinates approximately 100 volunteer rescue teams (björgunarsveitir) spread across the country.
Key facts about Icelandic search and rescue:
- Volunteer-based: Most rescue team members are local volunteers with professional jobs who respond to callouts. They are extensively trained.
- Highly capable: Iceland’s rescue teams have helicopter support from the Icelandic Coast Guard and can reach most areas of the country within hours.
- Experienced with tourists: Icelandic teams rescue thousands of tourists per year. They are experienced with the typical scenarios — F-road vehicles stuck in rivers, hikers lost in fog on highland routes, people stranded by weather in remote guesthouses.
- Free for victims: Iceland does not charge for mountain rescue, which distinguishes it from Switzerland and some US states. The costs are covered by national fundraising (the annual Slysavarnarsjóður Landsbjörgar “day” when Icelanders make donations) and public funding.
How a rescue is triggered: Either the victim calls 112, or a registered trip plan expires (you did not return to check in on safetravel.is and your registered contact raised the alarm). Both work; the former is faster.
Volcanic activity and safety
Iceland is one of the most volcanically active countries on earth. With approximately 30 volcanic systems, eruptions have occurred on average every 3–5 years historically. Since 2021, the Reykjanes Peninsula has been in an exceptionally active phase with multiple eruptions.
What volcanic activity actually means for tourists:
Most eruptions in Iceland occur in uninhabited or remote areas. A visible lava flow on the Reykjanes Peninsula or an eruption in the Vatnajökull system does not mean Iceland is dangerous to visit. It means there is a designated viewing area with safety barriers, and road.is and safetravel.is will tell you what is accessible.
The specific risks:
- Toxic gas (SO₂ and H₂S): Active volcanic vents emit sulphur dioxide and hydrogen sulphide. Both are toxic in sufficient concentrations. Exclusion zones exist for this reason. Wind direction matters — gas can travel kilometres. Check current air quality alerts at safetravel.is during active eruptions.
- Ash fall: Major eruptions (like the 2010 Eyjafjallajökull event) produce ash clouds that damage aircraft engines and reduce visibility to zero. Ash on roads is slippery. Breathing fine ash is harmful. Ash events are unpredictable but civil protection authorities issue warnings quickly.
- Lava flow direction: Lava moves much slower than most people assume (typically 1–10 km/h in Iceland), but its path can change as terrain changes. Stay well back from active lava fronts. The exclusion zone boundary is set conservatively.
- Lahars and jökulhlaups: Volcanic eruptions under glaciers melt ice rapidly, creating catastrophic glacial floods (jökulhlaups). The main risk areas are known (under Vatnajökull in particular). If you are in the southern ring road area and a jökulhlaup warning is issued, move to high ground immediately.
Downloads to complete before leaving for Iceland
- 112 Iceland app — iOS / Android, free
- Safetravel.is app — or bookmark the website for route registration
- Google Maps Iceland offline — download the Iceland map area for offline navigation
- en.vedur.is — bookmark in browser; check before each day
- road.is — bookmark in browser; check before each day of driving
Weather emergencies: what to do
Stranded by a blizzard or sudden road closure
If you are driving when a storm closes a road or visibility drops to near zero:
- Pull completely off the road — do not stop in the lane even briefly if you can avoid it
- Hazard lights on
- Stay in the vehicle — a car is shelter; wandering in a whiteout is dangerous
- Call your rental company’s roadside assistance number — or 112 if you are in danger
- Check road.is (if you have signal) to understand which direction roads are open
- Do not attempt to continue until conditions improve or emergency services direct you
Iceland’s road maintenance service (Vegagerðin) ploughs and salts major roads during blizzards. Waiting is usually the right answer.
Swept off a cliff by wind
High winds at Iceland’s headlands and cliff edges have pushed people off their feet. If you are in a group and someone is near a cliff edge in high wind, shout a warning and move away from the edge immediately. There is no rescue option from the bottom of an Icelandic cliff onto the North Atlantic.
The practical rule: if wind is strong enough to require significant effort to walk, you should not be near any unguarded cliff edge.
Rescue from glaciers and ice caves
Glaciers and ice caves require specific rescue considerations:
Crevasses: Crevasses (cracks in the glacier) can be concealed by snow bridges and are often deeper than they appear. A fall into a crevasse is extremely difficult to self-rescue from. This is why all glacier hiking should be with a certified guide who knows the safe routes and carries rescue equipment.
Ice cave collapse: Ice caves are stable in cold winter conditions but can become dangerous as temperatures rise (typically from late March/April onward). Reputable tour operators close ice cave tours when the risk assessment identifies instability. Never enter an ice cave independently.
Rescue from ice: If someone falls through ice into glacial melt water, the survival window is very short — water at 0–2°C causes incapacitation in minutes. Throw a rope or line (keep at least one end in your hand); do not enter the water yourself. Call 112 immediately. Keep the victim horizontal when retrieving them to prevent cardiac shock from sudden redistribution of cold blood.
Key contact numbers
| Service | Number |
|---|---|
| All emergencies | 112 |
| Police non-emergency | 444-1000 |
| Rescue Coordination Centre | 545-2000 |
| Akureyri Regional Hospital | 463-0100 |
| Landspítali University Hospital | 543-1000 |
Frequently asked questions about safety and emergencies in Iceland
Does the 112 Iceland app work without signal?
Your GPS receiver works independently of mobile data. The app stores your GPS coordinates and attempts to transmit them when any signal becomes available. In areas of absolute no signal, carry the 112 app in offline mode with your last GPS coordinates cached. The app also has a pre-alert feature where you can send your coordinates to emergency services automatically if you do not confirm you are safe by a certain time.
What is Landsbjörg?
Landsbjörg (Association for Search and Rescue) is Iceland’s volunteer-based mountain rescue organisation with over 100 rescue teams. They are the primary responders for wilderness emergencies involving tourists. Professional and highly capable, they operate throughout Iceland including in the most remote highland areas.
Do I have to pay for mountain rescue in Iceland?
Currently, rescue operations by Landsbjörg are free of charge, regardless of nationality. Iceland has not introduced rescue fees (a debate that has occurred in other countries). However, if your rescue involves air ambulance from a private operator or lengthy hospitalisation, those costs will be billed. Travel insurance with search-and-rescue coverage protects you.
Can I call 112 from a foreign SIM card?
Yes. Emergency calls route through any available network and do not require a local SIM. If you have any signal from any carrier, a 112 call should connect.
What should I do if my car gets stuck on an F-road?
Call for help immediately — either your rental company’s assistance number or 112 if you are in danger. Do not attempt to free the vehicle by gunning the engine (this buries you deeper in soft ground or damages the transmission). Mark your location clearly. Stay with the vehicle unless shelter is needed.
Is safetravel.is only for hikers?
No. It is recommended for all travellers in remote areas — F-road drivers, highland tours, remote coastal areas, and multi-day hikes. Even a single day trip into the highlands benefits from a route registration.
