Rent.is vs Geysir Car Rental

Rent.is, founded in 2012 near Keflavik Airport, brands itself as Iceland's largest campervan fleet and backs the claim with roughly 18 distinct model lines organized into four bands: compact two-person campers (Fiat Doblo Maxi, VW Caddy, Suzuki Jimny 4x4), mid-size three-to-four-berth vehicles (Renault Trafic, VW California Beach, Crosscamp Lux), larger four-to-five-berth vans and motorhomes, and a dedicated 4x4 highland tier. These categories differ in kind, not just size -- a compact camper, a 4x4 roof-tent SUV, a California pop-top, and a full motorhome are genuinely different vehicles -- though F-road access is limited to a handful of models (the VW California 4x4, Dacia Duster, and Crosscamp Flex) and river-crossing damage is uncovered across the board. Geysir takes the opposite approach, with roughly five to eight models live at a time split cleanly into two families. Its iKamper roof-tent 4x4 SUVs -- the manual-diesel Dacia Duster, the automatic plug-in-hybrid Jeep Compass, and the larger Jeep Wrangler Rubicon -- are genuine 4WD vehicles rated for gravel and F-roads, while its built-in motorhomes run from an X-van for two up to six-berth family units. The trade-off is stark: the roof-tent 4x4s reach the highlands but carry no onboard kitchen, toilet, or shower, and the motorhomes are self-contained but road-going only.

On equipment, Rent.is includes more in the base rental. Sleeping bags, sheets, and pillows for every passenger, a table and chairs, a Webasto diesel heater, a 12V cooler or compressor fridge, USB and 12V power, and a fresh-water tank all arrive trip-ready; the main caveat is cooking, where the single included gas canister lasts roughly three days and most travelers buy a couple more, and Wi-Fi is effectively paywalled behind the top Platinum Plus insurance tier. Geysir's included kit depends entirely on which family you book. Its motorhomes are genuinely self-contained -- gas stove, fridge, Truma propane heating that warms both the cabin and the water, a sink, a 220V hookup, and, on the six-berth units, a shower and toilet -- but bed linen and a camping set of tables and chairs are optional paid extras. Its roof-tent 4x4s come with the tent and mattress only; you cook outside on separately rented gear and rely on campsites for water and toilets. Travelers who want bedding and furniture bundled without add-ons will find Rent.is more inclusive out of the box.

The two operators sit at opposite ends of the heritage spectrum. Rent.is is an Iceland-first specialist just over a decade old, running a single Keflavik base at Flugvellir 22 about five minutes from the terminal, where both the office and the free shuttle operate 24/7 -- a real advantage for travelers landing on a red-eye or returning for an early departure. Geysir, by contrast, is one of Iceland's oldest independents, founded in 1973 and independent again since 2003, operating its campers under the Motorhome.is sister brand from a depot at Bogatrod 11, about ten minutes from the airport with a free shuttle both ways. The catch is hours: Geysir's motorhome handover is a staffed, in-person walkthrough available 08:00-18:00 only, with no self-service key box, so a late arrival means collecting the vehicle the next morning. Neither vendor confirms a Reykjavik camper pickup, so both are effectively Keflavik-only for campervans.

Insurance, deposits, and cancellation reveal further differences. Rent.is publishes a clear ladder -- CDW with a 450,000 ISK self-risk that buys down to 50,000 ISK on Premium or zero on Platinum -- rents to drivers as young as 18 (under-20s must add a package), and uses a renter-friendly binary cancellation: no prepayment at booking, a full refund until 24 hours before pickup, and a full charge inside that window. Geysir bundles CDW, theft, and liability with unlimited mileage, a two-way shuttle, and a fuel-discount card, but its lowered excess is still non-zero (around 500,000 ISK on motorhomes and 360,000 ISK on the 4x4s), it requires drivers to be at least 25, and it takes prepayment that is fully refundable only until midnight of the day 48 hours before pickup -- after which early returns convert to a 365-day voucher rather than cash. On reputation, Rent.is carries a strong, high-volume 4.7 on Trustpilot from 998 reviews plus a 4.3 Google score from roughly 1,550 reviews, with complaints skewing mild (linens, utensils, equipment freshness). Geysir's car-rental brand shows a polarized 3.2 on Trustpilot from just 36 reviews and no reliable Google count; its campers are reviewed separately under Motorhome.is and tend to rate higher, so a single blended Geysir figure can mislead a camper booking.