Iceland on a Budget: How to Save Money in Iceland

 

Iceland is a popular but expensive travel destination. To help with your trip planning, we’ve put together a guide to how to travel to Iceland on a budget. Our   Iceland DMC  advice is based on the 6 weeks we have spent traveling throughout this beautiful country.

In this post we’re going to share our top Iceland budget tips to help you save money on your Iceland trip. We’ll start with giving you an idea of what things costs in Iceland and how to set up a budget for your trip, and then we’ll share 21 different budget tips to help you travel in Iceland on a budget. We share ways to save money in Iceland on flights, accommodation, rental cars, dining out, camping, alcohol, groceries, fuel, and sightseeing.

Whether you are traveling on a $1,000 budget or a $10,000 budget, you want to get the most out of your money and your trip to Iceland, and that’s what this post will help you do! 

Planning your Iceland Budget

Planning your Iceland budget is a really important part of planning your Iceland trip. You definitely don’t want to arrive and suffer sticker shock and end up spending much more than you anticipated.With a bit of advance planning we think you will be able to come up with a realistic idea of how much your trip to Iceland is going to cost you, and this section of the post will help you figure that out.

How Much Do Things Cost in Iceland?

Iceland uses the Icelandic krona (ISK) so be sure to check the current exchange rates of the krona with your home currency before you to know the exchange range. You’ll also want to have an idea of the current costs of goods and services.

To find out a good rough idea of the current prices for things in Iceland we recommend checking out a site called Numbeo. Here you can check for prices of basic goods (bananas, a pair of Levi jeans, gasoline, restaurant meals, wine) by country or check on prices of goods for a particular city (see here for Reykjavík).

Grocery Items – Iceland currently has some of the highest prices in the world for grocery items. Here are some average prices: loaf of fresh white bread (357 ISK; USD $2.98), bottle of mid-range red wine (2400 ISK, USD $20), 1 kg of bananas (260 ISK; USD $2.17), 1 kg of white rice (330 ISK, USD $2.75), and 1 kg of boneless chicken breasts (2050 ISK; USD $17.08).

Eating Out – 450 ISK (USD $3.75) for a hot dog from a hot dog stand, 1089 ISK (USD $9.08) for a 12-inch Subway sub of the day special,1,750 ISK (USD $14.58) for hamburger at fuel station, and 12,000 ISK (USD $100) for 2-course meal (no drinks) for 2 persons at mid-range restaurant.

Tours & Activities – Prices range a lot based on the type of tour, length, and inclusions but here are some general prices (per person) to give you an idea: 5000 ISK (USD $42) for 1 hour puffin watching boat tour from Reykjavik, 10,000 (USD $83) for a full-day Golden Circle sightseeing bus tour, 15,000 (USD $125) for a 2 hour snorkeling trip, and 20,000 (USD $167) for an ice cave tour. For multi-day tours, 80,000 ISK (USD $667) for a 3 day/2 night tour, 160,000 ISK (USD $1,333) for a 6 day/5 night tour, or 220,000 (USD $1833) for a 8 night/7 night tour.

Lodging – Prices depend a lot on location and time of year as summertime prices can be double wintertime prices and expect to pay more in Reykjavik than in the countryside. But we provide some rough average prices. 3,000 (USD $25) for a bed in a shared dorm room in a basic hostel, 5,000 (USD $42) for a bed in a shared dorm in a nicer hostel, 8,500 ($71) for private guesthouse room with shared bathroom, 12,000 (USD $100) for a budget hotel or guesthouse, 20,000 (USD $167) for room in mid-range hotel, and over 30,000 (USD $250+) for a room in a 4-star + hotel.

Campsites – Campsites are about 1,000 to 2,200 ISK (USD $8 to $18) per person/night plus a small overnight tax that is currently 333 ISK (USD $2.78) per tent or campervan. Additional small fees often apply for use of extra services like laundry, waste disposal, and showers.

Museum Entry Fees – On average, museum and attraction entry fees range from 800 ISK (USD $6.67) to 2500 ISK (USD $21). Museums are the most expensive in Reykjavík and less expensive outside of major tourist towns.

Rental Cars – Car rental prices range but here are some rough estimates to help guide your budget: 3,200 ISK (USD $27/day) for a 2X2 compact car, 5,500 (USD $46/day) for a small 4X4 Jeep, 9,000 ISK (USD $75/day) for a small campervan with roof tent, and 13,000+ (USD $108+/day) for luxury cars and Jeeps. All rentals generally come with mandatory insurance (often called basic CDW) but to upgrade to include physical damage/gravel coverage is generally an extra 2,000 to 2,500 ISK ($17 to $21)/day

Gasoline – The estimated average cost for 1 liter of gasoline is 222 ISK (USD $1.85). Note that 1 liter is only about 1/4 of a gallon. A gallon of fuel would be 888 ISK (USD $7.40).

Public Transportation – A one-way regular adult bus ticket in Reykjavík costs 460 ISK (USD $3.84), but you can save money with a bus pass if taking the bus a number of times. In Akureyri, the local city buses are free. Long-distance bus ticket prices depend on location and time of year, but a ticket from Reykjavík to Akureyri will likely cost between 8,000 ISK (USD $67) and 11,000 ISK (USD $92).