Iceland is expensive. Period. There’s no sugarcoating this one, or lulling you into a false sense of hope that you can arrive in Iceland with very little moolah and enjoy your trip. I’ll be honest, when we booked our trip, I read numerous resources that said it was expensive to travel in Iceland. But the inexpensive nature of our flights through Icelandair lulled me into a false sense of security. I didn’t research much further or make any preparations. And boy was I surprised.
A cup of coffee in Iceland cost about $6-8 USD. Black. A latte or fancy, sugary something-or-rather costs $10+. Starbucks (BIGbucks) is looking pretty good about now, isn’t it? The average, cheap meal in Iceland is around $20. That’s fast-food type foods, people. We shared an ice cream cone downtown (1 scoop) and it was $12. I had a bowl of soup that was $20. The prices go up from there. Oy.
So how do you make Iceland less expensive? David and I were so impressed with the land of fire and ice that we will definitely be back. And probably sooner, rather than later. Yes, we loved it that much. Here’s how we intend to save some dollars.
Book an Airbnb instead of a hotel. The Airbnb we stayed in was around $90/night and had a great little kitchen and nice table.
Pack some non-perishables in your suitcase. Icelandair allowed two checked bags for free per seat, and we each only took one bag. Next trip, we will take a suitcase with snacks. Cereal, ground coffee/tea or energy drink packets, Shakeology, a mini blender or blender bottle (I took this one here and LOVED it!), sandwich bread, crackers, chips, homemade cookies, PB packets, applesauce packets, granola bars and some soup.
We drank our Shakeology for breakfast every morning and usually packed some snacks if we went out early in the day. We neglected to pack coffee and as avid consumers of the liquid energy, had to fork over the $8 per cup every day – sometimes more than once a day. Yikes. Our room had a coffee maker and we only took advantage of it for about half the trip.
Be sure to pack a water bottle, too. We chose these collapsable bottles and refilled them many, many times a day. The cold water in Iceland is tasty and safe to drink. The collapsable bottle is perfect for long layovers in airports too. As most people know, you can’t take a full water bottle through security. We emptied out our collapsable bottles, threw them in our bags and then filled them up at a drinking fountain by our gate. Big money saver, these bottles!
Be sure to hit up the grocery stores in Iceland for some perishable items to cook. BONUS was our favorite, budget store and they were easy to find. Look for the pink pig. We grabbed cheese and meat for sandwiches, jelly for PB&J, almond milk for cereal and coffee, etc.
We did eat out a few times, but often found ourselves wishing we had shared a meal. Like the Fish & Chips at this place, Kaffivagninn. Definitely big enough for two people to share. Our favorite little restaurant of the trip was this local watering hole called Café Bryggjan. It was $20 per person for two bowls of soup (each) and all the bread you could eat. The bowls were huge and I couldn’t manage to eat two full bowls, but Dave sure did. That was our lunch and dinner for the whole day. It’s hard to imagine coughing up $20 for two bowls of soup and bread here in the USA. But in Iceland, it’s one of the cheaper meals you’ll purchase in a restaurant and most didn’t offer the refill like this place did. Plus, it’s a total local haunt. You might even see an Icelandic celebrity or two there. The owner’s sister was totally delightful and so informative. We visited twice. It’s also a wonderful place for a coffee and a dessert.
Transportation was a tough one where money was concerned. We went into the trip trying to be frugal and do things like ride the bus system. If you have two or more people and aren’t afraid of driving in a foreign country, DO consider renting a car. Bus tickets added up in cost and took away precious time. We only had 4 days and spent too much of it waiting around at first. Then we got smart and rented a car. We paid about $80 per day for the vehicle, and it saved us from having to pay for tours as well. Not to mention the freedom. Sweet, sweet freedom.
I’d love to hear from any of my readers who’ve been to Iceland or an expensive place like it, and what your tips are for keeping the budget somewhat sane.
xoxo,
Stacey
