Happy Campers vs Geysir Car Rental

Happy Campers runs one of Iceland's largest and most varied campervan fleets, advertising 200-plus vehicles organized into four practical tiers. Budget solo and couple travelers get the Happy 1 line, including cheaper, openly older and higher-mileage EX vans that trade cosmetic wear for a lower price. The Happy 2 adds an indoor dining table and sleeps three, while the Happy 3 is a large 2WD that sleeps up to five with a full kitchen. At the top, the Happy 4x4 range -- up to the VW Crafter-based 4x4 XL that sleeps five -- is insulated, Webasto-heated, and legal on Iceland's interior F-roads. The fleet is overwhelmingly automatic, with the older EX models the main manual exception.

Geysir Car Rental takes a far more focused approach, fielding roughly five to eight camper models at a time split into two distinct families. The first is a set of iKamper roof-tent 4x4 SUVs -- a manual-diesel Dacia Duster sleeping two, an automatic plug-in-hybrid Jeep Compass, and a larger Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 4xe with a Skycamp 3.0 tent that sleeps three to four. These are genuine four-wheel-drive vehicles rated for gravel and F-roads, but they carry no built-in kitchen, toilet, or shower -- you cook outside and rely on campsites. The second family is conventional built-in motorhomes, from an X-van for two up to a six-berth Family Motorhome, all diesel with a gas stove, fridge, Truma propane heating for cabin and water, a fresh-water tank and sink, and 220V hookup; the six-berth adds a shower and toilet. Unlike the 4x4s, these motorhomes are road-going and not F-road rated.

On equipment readiness the two diverge sharply. Happy Campers is among the best-equipped operators in this comparison, shipping seven of eight categories trip-ready out of the box -- thick duvets and linen, a gas stove with enough canisters for 10 to 15 days, an electric cooler on a dual battery, a Webasto diesel heater, USB and 12V power, and running water, plus free 4G Wi-Fi on all non-EX models (EX adds Wi-Fi for about EUR 10/day). Only furniture is an add-on. Geysir bundles the mechanical basics -- insurance, unlimited mileage, and heating and water on the motorhomes -- but treats bed linen and a camping set of tables and chairs as optional paid extras, and its roof-tent 4x4s deliberately carry no indoor kitchen or plumbing at all. Travelers who want to unpack and go with minimal add-ons will find Happy Campers the more complete package, while those set on a stripped-down highland roof-tent rig or a self-contained motorhome, and who don't mind renting linen, will be comfortable with Geysir.

The two also sit at opposite ends on heritage and public reputation. Geysir is one of Iceland's oldest independents, tracing to 1973 and independently operated since 2003, running its campers under the Motorhome.is brand from a depot at Bogatrod 11 -- about ten minutes from Keflavik Airport with a free shuttle both ways; handover is staffed in person from 08:00 to 18:00, with no 24/7 key box for motorhomes. Its public scores are mixed and heritage-driven: the geysir.is car-rental Trustpilot is a polarized 3.2 from roughly 36 reviews, split between complaints over vehicle condition and drop-off charges and praise for fast staffed pickups and transparent pricing, with the camper side reviewed separately under Motorhome.is and no reliable Google count. Happy Campers, by contrast, is a long-established family-owned operator (renting campers in Iceland since 2009) with a deep public track record -- a 4.8 Google rating from roughly 2,690 reviews and a 4.2 on Trustpilot from about 161 reviews -- praised for staff warmth, smooth shuttle pickups, and clean, Iceland-ready vans, though reviewers flag EX cosmetic wear, peak-season pickup delays, and a high base insurance self-risk of EUR 3,000 on the base CDW tier.