How Expensive is Iceland Really?
When I booked my $380 round-trip flight to Iceland, I was ecstatic. The cheap flight was certainly a selling point on the location. However, I soon learned that Iceland is incredibly expensive once you’re there. Here are some average expenses and tips for spending less (so you can spend more on the things you care about of course).
Accommodations ($81.98-139.06/night at the cheapest or two people at varying places)
When they were an option, Airbnbs were the cheapest accommodations choice for our trip to Iceland. If you haven’t used Airbnb before, get $40 off your first trip with this code. When I looked into hostels, many of them, even with rooms of 10+ people, were similar in price to renting a hotel room or an Airbnb, so we did not stay in any hostels.
We stayed in three separate Airbnbs in Reykjavík and one in Stykkishólmer. In Reykjavík, the least we paid was $101.12/night to rent a bedroom in the owner’s apartment; the most we paid was $139.06/night to rent an entire apartment. In Stykkisholmer, we rented a room in an apartment shared with other travelers for $81.98/night, which was the least we paid throughout the entire trip.
Since some towns and areas of Iceland are so remote, Airbnbs weren’t always an option and we had to book other options. We ended up paying $112 to stay at Hotel Framnes in Grundarfjörður (private room and bathroom), $126 to stay at Hörgsland Guesthouse not far from Skaftafell on the South Coast (private room and bathroom), and $137 to stay at Einersstadir Homestay in Vík (private room and shared bathroom).
Of course, if you visit Iceland in the summer, camping is a wonderful way to both save on accommodations costs and see the country!
Food ($4-75+ per person)
Eating out can be incredibly expensive in Iceland, so we did go grocery shopping at the grocery store Bónus and ate a lot of PB&Js and noodles while there.
At a fast casual fish and chips restaurant in Reykjavík, we spent $80 on dinner for two. We did have one nicer meal in Grundarfjörður at a restaurant overlooking Kirkjufell Mountain, where we probably spent $150+ for two.
Two of the cheapest eating out options in Iceland are the gas stations and hot dog stands. Many of the gas stations had decently high quality cooked-to-order hamburgers, hot dogs, and more (better than McDonald’s), that you could get for around $10-15 each. In Reykjavík, each hot dog is about $4, making them the best deal around. There’s a famous stand that Bill Clinton ate at, but our local tour guide told us that all the stands are the same price and taste-wise. If you get a hot dog, ask for it with “the works.” It’s delicious with toppings different than what we have in the U.S.
Car Rental ($243.28+)
We rented the cheapest car we could find, a small Suzuki two-wheel drive sedan with studded tires, which cost us $243.28 for our week-long road trip.
Gas ($80+ per tank)
Our tiny Suzuki sedan cost us around $80 to fill up. Since our week-long trip was a constant road trip, I’m sure we spent hundreds on gas. I can only imagine how much it would cost to fill up a larger vehicle.
Excursions ($28-200+ each)
Excursions in Iceland seemed to be relatively well priced. The Blue Lagoon is of course overpriced at about $100 per person, but it’s absolutely a must-do on your first trip. The Secret Lagoon is a much cheaper alternative at $28 per person that’s also more off-the-beaten path.
We also did one glacier hike/ice cave visit, which I would highly recommend. It was about $200 per person and was our favorite part of our trip. Without a guide and a 4×4 vehicle, you’re pretty limited to how close you can get to the glaciers on your own, so this experience was so worth it.
Overall, if you stay in some shared Airbnbs and don’t eat out too much, Iceland can be an affordable vacation. Luckily, most of the sights to see are free or close to it (some charge a $5-10 parking fee).
How was your experience with expenses in Iceland? Do you have any tips for keeping costs down?
Like this post? Save it for later by pinning this image on Pinterest!
