Ok, so here’s the scoop. Iceland can be extremely expensive.
Especially if staying in Reykjavik. Restaurants are expensive. Lodging is expensive. Shops are expensive. Cafes are expensive.
Bars are expensive (the cheapest beer we drank was $10). Even bottled water
from gas stations are expensive. Well, don’t worry. I have just the tips to
avoid some of these expenses while enjoying the beautiful island of Iceland.
1) Take the time to find the cheapest flight. Regardless,
you should be doing this anyway to save the most money (Refer back to one of my
first posts: “Make Travelling Happen!”). However, to help you out a bit, take
some time to look at WOW! Airlines during your search for best prices. It may
be your best bet. I have found that lately (and as of right now) WOW! Airlines
has some of the best options for cheapest airfare to Iceland. So, do your best
to find those cheap connecting flights that will fly you to the city airports
that house WOW! Airlines. Round trip tickets from Boston,
Chicago, and Los Angeles to Iceland can average around only $300!
2) Don’t spend all your time in Reykjavik. Since
Reykjavik is the capital, it makes sense that it can be a little pricier than
other areas of Iceland. After all, most of Iceland’s inhabitants reside in
Iceland. Take my advice. You wouldn’t want to spend all of your time in
Reykjavik anyway. It is a quaint little city with some pretty amazing sights,
museums, restaurants, bars, and activities, but staying put here will not even
give you the slightest clue of what really makes up Iceland and why it’s
becoming one of the most popular countries to visit. Explore outside of
Reykjavik, around the island. Your wallet will be happy, and you, yourself,
will be happy for allowing yourself to explore some of the most incredible
natural sights you have ever seen. I
say, spend AT MOST 2-3 days in Reykjavik and the rest of your time in Iceland
exploring all around the island.
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| Reykjadalur Hot Springs Thermal River, Hveragerdi. |
3) Find Alternatives. You will be happy to know that many of the
sights that you already want to see in Iceland are free/cheap. The only natural
sight that we paid to explore during our visit was the Keird (not in Icelandic)
crater. And that was only $7 US per
person! All of the other amazing sights:
waterfalls, geysers, glaciers, beaches, etc. were free. Now, keep in mind that some
of the hot springs or geothermal pools may cost you. To experience the Blue
Lagoon, for example, may cost somewhere around $30 US. If you decide you want
to partake in this experience (some people say it’s worth it and part of the
Iceland experience), I have read that you need to book in advance. However, if
you’re like us, we always want to “be” locals. Therefore, after researching geothermal pools in the area, we found one
that took us on a hike up the mountains that had breathtaking views and bridges
that went over geysers. The trail led to not only a geothermal pool, but a
geothermal river that had only a few people and an unforgettable backdrop. In
my mind, THIS was the ultimate Icelandic experience. Did I mention it was free?
4)
Don’t
stay in a hotel or B&B. Rent a campervan. I already mentioned this in
my last post, and since I’m mentioning it again, I obviously mean it! Why would
you stay every night of your trip in the same hotel? This would mean you would
have to back track and go back through the same places/cities you have already
seen. You ain’t got time for dat! Your time is limited already! Every day you
should be aiming to see more and more. Even if you were to get a hotel/B&B
in each city in which you will be stopping, not only will you be spending a lot
of money, you would have to limit your time at certain places to make it to
your next hotel on time. This means either A) Rushing at certain sights in
which you may want to spend more time or B) Spending more time at a sight than
what you would like to use up time you have before checking into your hotel/BnB.
If you rent a camper van, you can go as far as you would like, be at each sight
for as long as you would like, stop whenever you would like, and camp almost
anywhere you would like. I can’t even begin to explain to you how incredible it
is to wake up to the sight and sound of a waterfall. Keep in mind that since
most of the nature sights don’t have a closing time, you can avoid tourists by
going at a later time (during the summer solstice, it stays light all day and
night). That means that you could possibly have a whole place to yourself! No
time limits. No back tracking. No wasting time. No curfew. No expensive hotels/BnBs.
No worries.
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| Our caught fish, potatoes, onions, seasoning. |
5)
Buy and
prepare your own food. Since many cities in Iceland are pretty pricey, you
may want to buy your own groceries and cook your own food. Not only is it a fun
and memorable experience to prepare your own food, but it is far cheaper and a
time saver! Our breakfasts and lunches were on-the-go so we didn’t miss a
second of sight-seeing. Since our dinners took a bit of time, we prepared them
at the very end of the night, before bed. So make sure to buy some snacks too! Go to local supermarkets such as “Bonus” to
buy your groceries for the week(s). Be smart with what you buy. You may not
have a cooler, let alone availability to ice. So take simple foods. Your
campervan may provide you with some pretty helpful supplies, so be sure to find
these out before your trip so you can plan out your food menu accordingly. Here’s what we ate during the week:
Our
Typical Menu in Iceland (Our campervan came with a cooler, cooking supplies,
and a butane cooking stovetop):
Breakfast:
Skyr (basically an Icelandic thick yogurt) with muesli and fruit; boiled eggs;
bread; instant coffee pads we had brought from home.
Lunch:
Peanut butter sandwich, peanut butter and banana sandwich, or turkey and cheese
sandwich; chips; fruit
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| Location/Busin we rented fishing poles, Reykjavik. |
Dinner:
Fish we caught from the Reykjavik harbor the first day (We were so happy when
we found out that not only was it cheap to rent poles and fish from the harbor/piers,
but you can keep an unlimited amount of fish! Of the 50 we caught-yes 50, we
kept around 12. Our dinners were set!); boiled potatoes; cooked onions; chips
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| Plaice fish caught in Reykjavik harbor. Our dinner. |
Alcohol:
Be sure to buy your alcohol at the Duty-Free on your way out of the airport. It
is far cheaper than buying it anywhere else.
Drinks
for every meal: Water (You’re in Iceland! Drink some of the best water in the
world!)
Tip: Buy a gallon or two of water at the supermarket and re-fill the
jug at gas stations, restaurants, etc. People in Iceland were so nice to
re-fill our jug for us. Even at busy restaurants and gas stations where they
obviously sell water, they would take some time to fill our jug for us. The
best part was that it was free to re-fill and they did not mind at all!
In Reykjavik:
We did not eat any meals at a sit down restaurant. However, we had to try the
fermented shark (hakarl), dried fish with butter, and Brennivin ($20 US for a
sample plate for 2 people). We also had to try a few of the local beers. Luckily
they have happy hour! We limited the beer since it was so expensive. Lastly, we
ate local hot dogs at the convenient store on one of the main streets in
Reykjavik. They say that one dish you must eat while in Iceland is their
hot dogs, so we wanted to give it a try. We looked at a popular hot dog stand
that EVERYONE goes to. After finding out that one hot dog cost around $5 US, we
decided to save some money and go for the convenient store deal that included 2
hot dogs (unlimited condiments), a big bag of chips, and a liter of soda for
$5. We would have gone for the next
“best” hot dog in town which was around $4 a hot dog, but they were closed. Next
time!
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| Brennivin shot, Hakarl (fermented shark), butter, dried fish. |
Conclusion:
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| Tasting Hakarl. |
A bartender at a pub in Reykjavik asked me, “Many
tourists say Reykjavik is expensive. Is it really that expensive?” I paused and said to the bartender, “Um, I’m
not going to lie to you. Yes…yes, it is very expensive.” She sighed. “Oh,” she
said. “A lot of tourists have been complaining about the prices here in
Reykjavik."
Iceland has become a
popular country to visit in the last 5-10 years due to its natural beauties.
However, will people start to steer clear of it because of the constant
complaining about the prices there? I hope not. Because it is possible to make
the most of Iceland on a little budget. We did so ourselves! All you need to do
is be smart, research and plan out your Iceland trip ahead of time. Believe me,
you don’t want miss out on one of the most amazing countries in the world
because rumors say it’s expensive. You can make it inexpensive and affordable!
TOTAL Expenses for our 6 day, 5 night stay in Iceland (2 people with 2 nights
in Reykjavik): $1,360
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| Free geothermal pool, Reykjavik. |
