When you start researching Iceland, the first thing you see is that it’s a very expensive country. This is both true and false. We explain why in this detailed Iceland trip cost, and give you some tips on how to reduce it.
Iceland is a bucket list destination for us due to its incredible free hot springs, volcano craters, infinite roads, rock formations, breathtaking viewpoints, black sand beaches, northern lights…
We’ve been there multiple times and know precisely how to visit Iceland on a budget.
On my first visit to Iceland, I spent 620€ on my 6-day and 5-night road trip in the south of the island.
This price includes the round trip flights, five nights in hostels or guesthouses, rental car and gaz, food and activities. Here is how I did it and how you can to. ⤵️
Breakdown of an Iceland Trip Cost for ALL Budgets
A trip to Iceland can cost an arm and a leg, but you can also visit on a limited budget if you plan it very carefully! To help you calculate your budget according to your travel style, here’s what you need to budget for airfare, accommodation, car rental, food and activities.
✈️ How much is a flight to Iceland?
Few airlines offer direct flights to Iceland, which can make the destination a little expensive if you don’t book in advance.
Among the best-known are Icelandair, SAS, Air Iceland and Wizz Air. All international flights arrive at Keflavik airport, just over 30 minutes from downtown Reykjavik. To compare flight options, use the one and only Skyscanner.
The cost of a flight to Iceland obviously depends on the departure airport and on the season. Here are a few examples to give you an idea:
– London to Reykjavik: 100 – 200€
– Paris to Reykjavik: 150 – 250€
– New York to Reykjavik: 250 – 400€
🏨 How much to spend on Iceland accommodation?
Yes, Iceland hotels are where you’ll spend the most money. In Reykjavik and its surroundings, you can easily find cheap and welcoming hostels. But most towns you’ll drive through during your Iceland trip are just one street long.
The smallest the city is, the less there are guesthouses and the biggest the price of the accommodation will be. Here’s the type of accommodation you can choose based on your budget and the average price per night.
💲 Low budget – in the “big” cities of Iceland, the cheapest you can find is probably a bed in a hostel’s dorm. If there is no hostel, guesthouses are your best bet. Here are a few options whose prices are regularly between 30€ and 50€ per night per person.
In Reykjavik, we loved the vibe, and price, of Bus Hostel Reykjavik and Dalur – HI Eco Hostel. In Vik right after the Golden Circle, we recommend The Barn and in Akureyri, the capital of the north, we liked the capsule beds of Hafnarstræti Hostel. Most other towns don’t have hostels, so you’ll have better luck looking for guesthouses!
💲💲 Mid-range – you have three great options: hotel rooms, guesthouses, or sleeper vans! We recommend renting a van in the summer or shoulder seasons for a easier and cozier experience on the road. Hotel or guesthouse double rooms cost an average of 70 to 100€, while the rental price for a sleeper van starts at €70.
Our two favourite hotels of our recent trip were Gesthus Selfoss in the Golden Circle for its hot tub and cute cabin, and Hotel Skaftafell in the south east for its incredible location and service. In Reykjavik, you can stay at Víðines Guesthouse.
💲💲💲 Luxury – there are many atypical hotels in Iceland, offering unique experiences and often connected to nature. From a glass-fronted cabin under the northern lights, to a spa break in one of the country’s hundreds of hot springs, there’s no shortage of emotion-packed options! Expect to pay a few hundreds dollars.
There are many unique hotel experiences scattered around Iceland… From the Glass roof lodge with private hot tub only an hour a half away from Reykjavik, to the incredible Blabjorg Resort with its pool and sea view in the north east of the island, the sky is the limit.
🚘 How much should you budget for Iceland Rental Car & Gaz?
Which kind of car for a road trip in Iceland?
Unless you are only staying in Reykjavik, which is very unusual for Iceland travelers, you’ll have to rent a car. The choice of car depends on the itinerary you’ve chosen, and therefore on the roads you’ll be taking.
There are three kinds of roads in Iceland. First, the one road that fully circles Iceland, mostly by the coast, is called Route 1 or Ring Road. It’s in perfect condition, and you don’t need a special car to use it.
However, as soon as you turn right or left off this road to visit a spot, you can expect more gravel roads. The third type of road is found in the highlands, the center of the country, or in the mountains. It is highly unlikely that you will visit these extremely remote areas on your first road trip in Iceland.
For our 6 Days South Iceland Itinerary in 2018, we rented a small Nissan Micra and it was fine. At that time, renting it for 4 days and a half only costed us 110€. To fully tour the Ring Road in 2023, a 4×4 Jeep Renegade was useful. The 12-day rental was 500€.
How to book a car for a trip to Iceland?
Booking a car through Discover Cars for your trip in Iceland ensures a seamless and flexible travel experience, offering a wide range of vehicles to suit every kind of road trip.
I’m 100% sure of myself when I say they offer the best deals, because it actually compares both local and international rental companies. Additionally, Discover Cars provides affordable and comprehensive insurance options when renting a car through their platform.
Things to know when renting a car in Iceland
We’ve had our ups and downs with car rentals in Iceland… Here’s what we’ve learned so you don’t make the same mistakes!
First things first, most Iceland car rental companies requiere a credit card to make a reservation. That’s different from the debit card, used daily in most countries of Europe, among others.
If you don’t have one, we recommend that you order one from your bank as far in advance of your trip as possible. If it’s too late and you don’t have one, they may ask you to pay a deposit, or simply refuse to rent the car.
Another thing we city dwellers don’t always think about is the distance between garages in remote places like Iceland. Fun story, we put the wrong gaz in the car (yes, it happens…) and had to wait 2 hours for a tow truck to arrive, then they drove us 1 hour to the nearest garage… The bill was salty.
Moral of the story: get a credit card, read your rental contract carefully and be careful on the road!
How much do you spend on gaz in Iceland?
The price of gazoline in Iceland varies according the worldwide market. It is usually one of the countries with the most expensive gaz in Europe, due to its remote location and taxes. As of 2024, the average price per liter was 2€ ($2,10 USD or 290 ISK).
🐟 What is the price of food and drink prices in Iceland?
Restaurants in Iceland
This is where the ruin really begins. Restaurants in Iceland are very expensive, and I think this is the main reason for the country’s expensive reputation.
Most dishes cost between 20 and 30€, and that’s not counting drinks, starters or desserts. A glass of wine is usually more than 10€, while a beer is around 9€.
The good news is… you don’t go to Iceland for its restaurants. You go to see its natural wonders, and you can 100% skip the restaurants by booking accommodation with kitchen.
🤫 And, honestly, you won’t be missing a thing by doing so… It is not what the country is famous for, most of the dishes are frozen, not very varied. We are food lovers and paying €30 for a frozen pizza is not for us.
Supermarkets in Iceland
As on all islands, supermarkets are generally more expensive than on the mainland due to the cost of transporting foodstuffs. However, it’s still much more cost-effective than eating out.
Kronan is the cheapest supermarket brand. You can probably only plan 10€ per person per day for food.
If you’re on a tight budget, here’s what I did on my first trip to Iceland… I packed a lot of dry food (pasta, rice, tuna, cereals…) and bought only fresh produce (milk, vegetables, fruit…) at Kronan.
It may not be representative of the average Iceland trip cost, but it saved me a lot of money! It’s just to tell you that planning a trip to Iceland on a budget is 100% doable with a bit of thinking 😉
🏔️ How much should you budget for activities in Iceland?
Free activities in Iceland
That’s when the good news is! Most of activities you’ll be doing in Iceland are free, because these are natural wonders. The landscapes are so mind-blowing that you really don’t need to pay for a lot of human-made activities.
You can visit the free hot springs of Iceland, waterfalls, canyons, volcanoes, geysers, black beaches, viewpoints, the Solheimasandur Plane Wreck, or even hike to the magical Seljavallalaug Swimming Pool, without spending a cent.
However, even if most spots are free to enter, you’ll need to pay a small amount of money for parking lot.
Which activities are worth spending money on in Iceland?
If you’re visiting Iceland on a budget, there’s truly enough to see with the natural sites to make the trip worthwhile. But if you want to do more, and can afford to, here are some of the activities we loved in Iceland!
Paying hot springs
The number one activity people choose on their trip to Iceland on a visit to the country’s famous hot springs. The Blue Lagoon in Reykjavik, the most famous one but also the one with the bluest water you’ve ever seen, is remarkable yet expensive. The entrance ticket 83€ to 105€ depending on the season and hour.
Another great option is the Sky Lagoon in Reyjkavik, an infinity hot spring pool facing the ocean. Prices range from 89€ to 117€, with access to different treatment rituals.
If you venture into the north-east of the country, we fell in love with the Vök Baths in Egilsstaðir, surrounded by the frozen lake. A dazzling natural spectacle and very pleasant bathing, that you can access for 48€ per person.
Laugarvatn Fontana Geothermal Bakery
In the golden circle, you can have a unique bakery experience. This place bakes the local bread in the ground, heated by local geothermal energy. You dig it up with your guide, then we reintroduce a new pot. Then comes the divine moment of tasting the bread with salmon. My taste buds are still salivating!
Jökulsárlón Glacier Tour
Vatnajökull National Park in the southeast of Iceland, is home to the largest glacier in Europe, Jökulsárlón. It’s one of the most impressive nature sites in Iceland, but this one can’t be visited on your own.
Glaciers are very fragile and constantly on the move. Ice caves are forming all the time, so there’s no other way to visit them than with a guide. And we highly recommend the experience! It’s so unique to set foot on a glacier and explore it, with someone passionate about showing it to the world while explaining how to preserve it.
Northern Lights Tour
We know northern lights can be seen on your own, without going on a tour with a guide. But we also know how difficult it can be to spot them and how important it is for some travelers. Therefore, if that’s a bucketlist item for you, we recommend going on one of the many private northern lights tours.
There are aurora borealis almost every night during the aurora season, but you often need a good guide to catch a glimpse. These people have the science of the aurora and will drive far to get that little bit of clear sky that will allow you to see them.
✔️ If you don’t catch a glimpse during your excursion, they’ll refund your money or suggest you join another expedition. We therefore recommend that you book a tour at the beginning of your stay!
So, what is the Iceland travel cost per day?
Depending on your travel style, you’ll spend 100 to 280€ per day in Iceland (flights not included). This breaks down into 30€ to 100€ for accommodation, 40€ to 100€ for car rental, 20€ for gas for an average of 150 kilometers per day, €10 if you cook or €60 if you go to a restaurant for lunch and dinner, and €0 to €50 for activities.
With that in mind, the cost of 7 days in Iceland for two person with a mid-range budget would be 250€.
How to have a cheap trip to Iceland?
So yes, Iceland is considered one of the most expensive countries to visit in Europe. But as we’ve just seen, there are many ways to reduce your Iceland budget. Here’s a roundup of our top tips for visiting Iceland on a budget.
1. Choose your period wisely: according to flights and not the other way around! Summer months are extremely expensive.
2. Book long in advance.
3. Travel with your partner, friends or family.
4. Do not book paying activities. Nature already has so much to offer!
5. Book hostels or guesthouses with a kitchen.
6. Do not go to the restaurant, instead bring dry food in your suitcase and buy fresh products at the supermarket.
Iceland Trip Cost: Final Thoughts
As we’ve just proved, you don’t need to break the bank to visit Iceland. It’s a country that can be adapted to any budget, depending on the sacrifices of comfort or the plurality of experiences you wish to have. Your Iceland trip cost depends on you.
Now that you know it, book your plane ticket, pack warm, comfortable clothes, check Road.is before hitting the road, stay safe when exploring the great outdoors, open your eyes wide to soak up all these natural wonders and enjoy every moment of it!
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