Tesla Model Y Europcar Rental: Iceland Scenic Road Trip — Superchargers, ON Chargers, Level 2 and Level 1

Wed, 31 May 2023 00:00:00 +0000

We rented a Tesla Model Y from Europcar for a scenic road trip across Iceland — Ring Road driving, waterfalls, black-sand beaches, and a crash course in keeping an EV charged where the weather changes every twenty minutes. The route covered the south coast and back, roughly a day and four hours of driving with ten stops. Here’s the trip, charger by charger.

The rental: a black Model Y from Europcar

The trip starts at the Europcar lot — a black Tesla Model Y, which would be home for the next several days. “We rented the Tesla from Europcar” is the whole premise of the video: an EV, not a gas SUV, for a full Iceland road trip.

Tesla Superchargers all along the Ring Road

The first charging lesson lands early: there are Superchargers all along the Ring Road. The video’s first stop is a Supercharger at a gas station in Hvolsvöllur, with the Model Y plugged in and topping up while the trip gets underway. If you’re driving a Tesla in Iceland, the backbone of your charging plan is already built.

A pizza stop worth the caption

Not everything is about electrons. The video calls out an “Excellent pizza here!” at Björk Restaurant & Bar — the kind of roadside food stop that earns its own caption. Then it’s back on the road: “Continuing on to Seljalandsfoss.”

Seljalandsfoss

Next stop: Seljalandsfoss, the waterfall you can walk behind. Even in moody weather it’s one of the south coast’s essential stops, and it sits right on the driving route.

Level 1 charging overnight

The slow-charging strategy: plug the Model Y into a regular outlet at the overnight stay and let Level 1 charging do its thing while you sleep. The drone shot shows the car parked outside the lodging, cable in, for the night. It’s slow — but when the car sits for eight-plus hours, slow is fine.

Reynisfjara black sand beach

Daylight hours are for sightseeing. The trip continues to Reynisfjara, the famous black-sand beach near Vik with its basalt columns and pounding surf — one of the most photographed spots on the south coast.

ON chargers at the tourist stops

Iceland’s other charging network is ON — the bright orange fast chargers that show up at gas stations and, notably, at many tourist places. This one sits with a glacier lagoon full of icebergs behind it. Two practical tips from the video: there are ON charging stations at many tourist places, and it’s highly recommended to install the ON charging app before you need it.

Detour on Rt 208/209 on the way back

On the return leg, the route takes a detour on Rt 208/209 — gravel highland-edge roads through wide-open mossy terrain, the Model Y raising dust on the dirt. This is the scenic, slow part of the trip: empty roads, big landscapes, and the car well outside the paved Ring Road.

Gullfoss, then a charging fail at Geysir

The Golden Circle leg includes a stop at the magnificent Gullfoss — the great two-tiered waterfall, seen here from the drone. But the charging story takes a turn at Geysir: “Fast charging fail at Geysir.” The Model Y is plugged into the orange ON charger and it simply doesn’t work — the one real charging failure of the trip.

The fallback: “Level 1 slowww overnight charging in the cold.” Back to the wall outlet, overnight, in a small town — slow charging in cold weather, but it gets the job done.

Back in Reykjavík: Hallgrímskirkja

The trip wraps up in Reykjavík with a stop at the “epic church in the center of town” — Hallgrímskirkja, its basalt-column-inspired tower unmistakable against the sky.

Returning the car

The Model Y goes back to the Europcar lot near the airport — a short walk or shuttle back to the terminal, and the trip is done.

Verdict: EV road-tripping in Iceland works

Charging a Tesla across Iceland turned out to be very doable: Superchargers line the Ring Road, ON’s orange chargers cover the tourist stops (install the ON app), and Level 1 overnight charging fills the gaps — even if it’s slowwww in the cold. The one honest blemish: a fast-charging fail at Geysir, a reminder to always have a backup plan. Rent the EV, plan around the chargers, and the south coast is yours.

Delta One Business Class on a Narrowbody 757: JFK to Keflavik, Iceland — Flight Review and Europcar Car Rental

Sat, 20 May 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Delta flies a narrowbody 757 to Iceland — a long way in a single-aisle jet, but in lie-flat Delta One up front the cabin is the same premium seat the airline puts on much longer routes. This short trip video covers the whole journey: JFK Terminal 4 and the Delta Sky Club, the Delta One 757 seat and its trade-offs, the night flight across the Atlantic, landing into low clouds and rain at Keflavik, and the Europcar rental pickup — a Tesla Model Y.

JFK Terminal 4 and the Delta Sky Club

The trip starts at JFK Terminal 4, Delta’s home terminal. Before the flight there’s time in the Delta Sky Club — and the lounge is large, with a full bar, plenty of seating, and a buffet spread. It’s a comfortable place to wait out the evening before an overnight crossing.

Boarding the 757

Boarding is through the jet bridge for the narrowbody 757 — Delta One is up front, of course. It’s a striking thing about this route: no widebody, just the 757 stretched across the North Atlantic.

The Delta One seat: lie-flat, but limited storage

The Delta One cabin on this 757 is the lie-flat business seat — proper bed mode for an overnight flight — set up in the usual narrowbody premium layout. The trade-off the video calls out directly: limited storage, and a very basic amenity kit. There’s a side console with power outlets and USB to keep things charged, but cubby space for personal items is tight.

Amenity kit and onboard service

The amenity kit is a Delta-branded pouch with the basics: a Grown Alchemist skincare pouch, a Humble Co. bamboo toothbrush, and an eye mask. Nothing lavish — but it covers the overnight essentials. On the tray table there’s a pre-departure drink and the meal service to follow.

Departure from JFK, on time

Pushback and takeoff happen on time — the caption in the video makes a point of it. The 757 taxis past the lit-up Terminal 4 ramp and climbs out into the night over New York.

Arrival into Keflavik: low clouds and rain

Morning arrival into Keflavik comes with classic Icelandic weather: low clouds hanging over the lava fields and steady rain on the window. The descent shows the wide, empty Keflavik peninsula below — a stark contrast to the New York skyline left behind.

Getting through KEF: immigration, bags, customs

Keflavik is a compact airport and the walk-through is straightforward. The video’s captions walk the sequence: get through immigration, head down to arrivals — note that baggage claim is through the gift shop, a very KEF touch — and then finally cross the border at customs.

Europcar pickup: a Tesla Model Y

For the Iceland road trip, the rental is a Tesla Model Y from Europcar. Iceland is one of the best places in the world to rent an EV — cheap, abundant geothermal electricity and a solid charging network — so an electric crossover is a natural pick for a Ring Road trip.

Verdict

The narrowbody 757 is a smaller jet than you’d expect on a transatlantic, but Delta One up front makes it a genuinely comfortable overnight: a real lie-flat bed, on-time departure, and the lounge start at JFK. The honest downsides are the ones the video flags — limited seat storage and a basic amenity kit. On the ground, Keflavik is easy to navigate and the Europcar Tesla Model Y pickup gets the Iceland road trip started right away.

Europcar on Visit Karma