Lava Car Rental vs Indie Campers

Lava Car Rental operates a narrow, focused fleet centered on a single model: the Renault Kangoo campervan (2024-2025 model years, automatic transmission, 2WD). This is a compact campervan designed for two travelers, equipped with heating, cooling, power, water, and furniture as standard. Sleeping and cooking gear come with caveats worth reviewing before booking, and Wi-Fi is available as an add-on. The vehicle selection process is straightforward -- there is one campervan to choose, and Lava includes a comprehensive base insurance package (TPL, CDW, SCDW, and Gravel protection) with every rental.

Indie Campers fields a broader lineup spanning multiple categories. Their Iceland offerings range from budget-tier models (Active Bunk and Standard Select) through mid-range options (California and Comfort Standard) to premium and off-road vehicles (Comfort Standard Select and Adventure Tent Select). Cooking gear, cooling, heating, power, and water systems come trip-ready across the range, while sleeping equipment and furniture are available as add-ons depending on the model. Wi-Fi is also offered as an add-on. This tiered approach gives travelers more choices but also more decisions to make during the booking process.

The two vendors occupy distinctly different positions in the Iceland campervan market. Lava Car Rental is a family-owned Icelandic company founded in 2016, operating exclusively from Keflavik with a focus on simplicity and a compact offering. Indie Campers, founded in Lisbon in 2013, is a continent-scale operation with over 10,000 vehicles across 100-plus locations and more than 350,000 completed road trips. Lava provides an airport-adjacent pickup with 24/7 summer availability, while Indie Campers operates a depot roughly ten minutes from Keflavik Airport. Both serve the same pickup region, but their scale, fleet depth, and operational philosophy differ considerably.