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We spent a week in Iceland in mid March. We did not circumnavigate the whole island, but focused on the south shore as far as the Jokulsarlon glacier and Diamond Beach, where little bits of icebergs the size of small boulders float back onto the beach with the tide, and the western coast, up as far as the Snaefellsnes Peninsula. The roads were well paved, well marked, well travelled but not crowded. We did get about 6” of snow, one day, but the roads remained open, and the long driveway to our Airbnb remained passable with a 4-wheel drive vehicle, which I recommend, even though we did not engage the 4WD. We saw no black ice, but that’s what I would watch out for in the event of precipitation, thawing and freezing. Driving felt quite safe and less challenging than in New England in winter. That said, you might get freak weather and should use common sense, being willing to postpone driving for a day, and just visiting local sites, if conditions are bad. I painted the gorgeous view from our window on the day it snowed, with a paint kit I brought along. Homes are well heated, generally. It’s good to have a rainshell which will fit over a winter down coat with a hood, a merino woolen cap for under the jacket hood, merino woolen underwear, wool socks, hiking boots, mittens. Little, elastic crampon-like things are a plus if you plan to hike on ice, but the local ice cave tour guides will loan them to you as part of the package. At about 75 years old, I liked having walking sticks.
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