Traveling to Iceland and keeping costs down

Waterfalls all around every corner!

Last year I was fortunate enough to go to Iceland with several friends and I have to say it is a beautiful country! The natural beauty of the country was both incredible and very unique. If you have been thinking about it but haven't made the plunge yet, I strongly recommend it! The people are also incredibly friendly and they making traveling as easy as possible.

Now for the bad news, traveling in Iceland is also very expensive. Even "budget" travel there is not really cheap. To keep from totally blowing your budget, here are some suggestions!

1. Book accommodation with a kitchenette
Food is very expensive in Iceland because it's an island and a lot of food is imported. A quick take-out meal will run you at least 15-20 USD and a nicer sit-down meal will be 30-50 USD, more if you have a few drinks. If you can eat breakfast + another meal a day "at home," it will save you big bucks. I would suggest hitting up a grocery store your first day there and getting a few basics for some of your meals. I normally ate one meal a day out and tried to eat the rest at home.

A very delicious rack of lamb, which I believe was my most expensive meal in Iceland.
I don't remember the cost and suspect I have blocked it out. It was tasty.

I would never suggest not sampling the local cuisine when traveling but really I'm just saying, for some meals you will appreciate having a lower cost option if you are on a budget. Icelandic Skir (yogurt) is amazing and can be found at all the grocery stores. You can sample this local favorite fore breakfast at home if you have a fridge to keep it in (or go buy one for breakfast at the grocery store every morning).

2. Pack your own rain gear
Iceland has a very wet climate. They sell excellent raincoats and jackets in all the shops but at high Icelandic prices. If you make sure to bring suitable clothing you will be less tempted to drop 100+ USD on a rain jacket in an attempt to stay dry.

I bought this reasonably priced coat from Amazon and it kept me warm and dry through the whole trip!

Sadly, they're not selling the nice teal blue color I bought anymore!

3. Plan your trip from the airport in advance

Ok, I will admit I totally screwed up here but you can benefit from my mistake. The International airport to Iceland (Keflavik International Airport) is not close to the capital Reykjavik. It is about a 40 minute drive away and taxis in Iceland are really expensive. I speak from experience.

To avoid paying ~160USD for a taxi to Reykjavik, plan to arrive at time of day when there is a bus or shuttle service and make sure you figure out a plan for how you will get to your accommodation in advance.

I will admit, the more I travel the less plan...in this case, I was already in Europe for work and met my friends in Iceland for vacation on my way home. The day of my flight to Iceland, I looked up how far the airport was to our apartment and Google maps said 6-7 minutes, so I thought great, I can take a taxi. Even though I had read that they were really expensive in Iceland, since it was a 7 minute ride, I assumed the most it would be was 20USD and I was arriving late at night so it would be worth it.

I got to the airport and there were very few taxis (my flight was delayed so it was about 1:30am) and I agreed to share a taxi with another passenger. We get in the car and start driving, 10 minutes goes by with the meter going up and up and we are clearly in the middle of nowhere, driving away from the lights of the airport and only distant lights on the horizon. 

The other passenger and the driver are in the front seat chatting in Icelandic and I was growing more and more concerned in the back. I didn't exactly think they were taking me into the countryside to murder me but it was 2am, I was alone, in the middle of nowhere with 2 men (I'm a woman) speaking a language I did not understand, so yeah, I've been calmer. I finally interrupted them politely to ask how far it was going to be and that I thought it was only 10 minutes. The man sharing the taxi with me very nicely told me that I must've checked the distance from Reykjavik airport, which was for domestic flights instead of Keflavik airport, where the international flights arrive.

Yeah, I'm glad that we shared that taxi ride because my half of the fare that was charged to my credit card came to about 80 USD.

Let me say it again, plan how you will get to your accommodation from the airport and maybe have a back up plan that doesn't include a taxi, unless you have a few people to share the cost with.

4. Only purchase a few souvenirs
Souvenirs are fairly expensive in Iceland, if you don't buy many it will help your budget. This is easy for me to say I guess because I'm not really a souvenir person and I live in the south so, didn't see a lot of use for an Icelandic wool sweater since it's almost never cold enough to wear where I live. If you are in a cooler climate though, I can see that being a nice splurge! All of my friends bought at least one (150-200 USD per sweater) but they all live in climates where it's cold enough to wear it a few months of the year.

A lot of tourist destinations have troves of cheap souvenirs to be had. Most things in Iceland will run you close to 10 USD, even for something small. I bought some Icelandic seat salt for about 5-7 USD and some moss tea for about 10 USD as gifts. So keep this mind if you are the type who brings something back for everyone you know and plan to spend more than you would normally or bring back smaller items.

5. Enjoy the natural sights
So food and shopping are spendy but one thing that is plentiful and free is natural beauty. Iceland is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been and there is an abundance of unique sights to be seen and entrance to all of them was free. There are parks to hike and waterfalls to visit in abundance. If you like the outdoors and hiking, you will really enjoy Iceland. Take advantage of this free entertainment and save.


I hope you have a good trip! I definitely plan to go back to Iceland some day!


All price estimates in US dollars, at the time of this posting and my trip it was just under 100 Icelandic Krona to the dollar.