Ah!, Iceland. Land of ice and fire, raw nature and, from November through March, a kaleidoscope of northern lights dancing in the sky.
Before you rush to pack your suitcases though, take the time to carefully plan your budget. Iceland isn’t cheap. According to Numbeo’s Cost of Living Index, Iceland currently ranks as the third most expensive country in the world. The essential travel costs for are shocking. Prices of restaurants and lodging exceed the European Union average by 44 percent. To simply put it, this Nordic destination makes other European countries look like a Walmart.
But do not dismay. It is possible to explore the uniqueness of the Icelandic landscape, with its glaciers, lava fields, steaming hot springs and breathtaking volcanoes, on a regular-folk’s budget. My husband and I did it with two teenagers (code for “eating machines”) and didn’t have to take a second mortgage to pay for it. Let’s start with the basics.
Lodging
The Icelandic Tourism Board reports that in 2016, 1.8 million people visited the small, 300,000-resident island. That is a whopping 39 percent more than the year prior. Rooms in regular hotels — the kind that have a lobby, a bar and amenities – are pricey (expect to pay upwards from $200 per room) and hard to come by as the country doesn’t have nearly enough to accommodate the growing number of tourists. The locals have stepped up to the plate to fill the lodging void. Guest houses, bed and breakfasts, hostels and Air B&Bs are more readily available, and you can find wonderful deals any time of the year. I stayed with my family in the summer in a lovely 2-bedroom Air B&B apartment in downtown Reykjavik, just steps away from restaurants, pubs and shops, for about $120 per night. That’s a deal anywhere. In Iceland, it’s a steal.
Transportation
Public transportation is almost nonexistent in Iceland. Your best options for getting around are driving a rental car, or riding a tour bus. Uber has not made it here yet. In our case, we opted for the rental car. Even though we paid the equivalent of $115 dollars a day without insurance for a compact car, which by American standards would be outrageous, it was worth it. To give you an idea why, a taxi ride from the airport to the city center (about 31 miles) is about $130. An eight-hour tour of the Golden Circle, a scenic rout sprinkled with national parks and some of the most stunning sights in the country, is about $100 on average, per person. Multiply that times four and you’ll get my working-family dilemma. So, if you’re traveling with a few people, it just makes more sense to rent a car.
We rented at the airport from Iceland Car Rental and had a pleasant enough experience. But feel free to Google it and compare prices and reviews from other car rental companies.
Meals
Trips are not for dieting. But if you don’t plan it right, going to Iceland in a budget may make you go hungry. Food at restaurants is expensive. Period. Care for a steak, a baked potato and salad? That will be $100. A snack size bag of Doritos at the popular thermal spa The Blue Lagoon? That will be $5. A beer at a downtown Reykjavik pub? Almost $20. That doesn’t mean, however, that there aren’t deals to be had. An Icelandic hot dog – made with a blend of meats that includes lamb — loaded with delicious toppings will only set you back $7.50 in most stands throughout the island. Ethnic restaurants, like Mandi, a Palestinian restaurant in downtown Reykjavik, are also a good value. One night, all four of us we dined on lamb shawarma, falafels and hummus for under $50.
Because we were staying at a place that had a kitchen, we took advantage of it. We cooked breakfast every day, and made sandwiches and snacks to take with us in our sightseeing expeditions. That way, we only had to have one meal out a day. If you are using Reykjavik as your base, there are plenty of good supermarkets. Bónus, Kronán and Nettó were the ones I visited. The stores are smaller than what you would typically find in an American supermarket chain, but clean, well-stocked and with friendly personnel to help you find what you need. Prices are higher than in the states, especially when it comes to beef products, but still a much more economical option to eating three meals out daily.
Entertainment and Sightseeing
Iceland’s national parks’ entrance fee varies depending on the park but, overall, they are reasonable. Where you’ll encounter hefty price tags is in the activities you may choose to do in the parks, be it snowmobiling, sledding, cave exploring or volcano hiking. We used Reykjavik Sightseeing because it was better priced than other tour operators, has a great website with helpful descriptions of what each activity entails, and offers a diversity of tours with activities for all kinds of fitness levels (from couch potatoes to marathon runners). But, by all means, Google the heck out of tour companies, compare prices and carefully read reviews.
Iceland is like no other place in earth. If you take the time to research it and plan, you’ll be able to enjoy it even more.
