Many of you reacted to my budget forecast article for my trip to Iceland. It is true that this country has been a lot of talk lately, and for good reason! What an absolutely beautiful place. I’m still all stirred by what I saw and can’t quite put it into words at the moment, but I promise you tons of photos. While waiting for my budget update for Iceland, here is reality versus planning, which will answer your classic question:
Is Iceland expensive? How much does a trip to Iceland cost?
Budget for Iceland
Plane tickets
As I mentioned in the budget forecast article, my itinerary is special, because I left for Stockholm after Iceland instead of returning. Lucie, the friend who accompanied me, left for France. Everything was therefore booked separately as soon as the WOWair discounts came out. We knew we wanted to go in the summer so I watched the tickets and was lucky to grab some at $ 99 + luggage. I talk about it in this article.
Even if Claudia The Roadtripper proves that it is possible, I had no desire to leave with only 5 kg of luggage, so I paid an extra $ 59 to check in my backpack (up to 20 kg). The “outbound” portion therefore cost me $ 158 CAD (flight YUL-KEF).
To Stockholm, I paid $ 137.24 (including the 20 kg baggage) and, for the return to Montreal, a total of $ 483.64 CAD (Icelandair). Even though I paid $ 778.88 in total for my tickets, I’m sure you can find a plane ticket to Iceland for $ 400 round trip with the competitive spirit that prevails right now between Icelandair and WOWair for new direct flights.
Trick : Watch Yuli, Kayak Explorer, Skyscanner, Google Flights, Secret flight et cie so you don’t miss a thing.
| Spent | ISK | GOUJAT |
| Plane tickets (remove a portion for Stockholm) | 73,627.08 | 778.88 |
| TOTAL | 73,627.08 | 778.88 |
Transport in Iceland: the Ring Road / Circular Road
To get around, we opted for GO Campers, in a camper or caravan. You will find here the reasons for this choice. It cost us $ 3,983 CAD for two, so $ 1991.50 per person for the two weeks.
We took the FlyBus transfer from Keflavik airport to the rental offices and left with our car afterwards. Back in Reykjavík two weeks later, the company drove us downtown and we did not pay for transportation until we left for the airport on a FlyBus transfer.
I had estimated $ 400 of gasoline per person, it was a little less, but we did a lot more mileage than expected. Here is our total transport budget for Iceland:
| Spent | ISK | GOUJAT |
| Flybus transfer | 4000.00 | 42.05 |
| Reykjavik-Snaefellsnes Tunnel | 500.00 | 5.26 |
| Borgarnes essence | 2030.50 | 21.34 |
| Essence 2 Borgarnes | 984.00 | 10.34 |
| Stykkisholmur essence | 2552.50 | 26.83 |
| Essence card N1 Flokalundi | 5000.00 | 52.56 |
| Akureyri Essence | 9128.50 | 95.96 |
| Egilstadir gasoline | 4480.00 | 47.09 |
| Gasoline port | 3511.00 | 36.91 |
| GoCampers | 188255.35 | 1991.5 |
| TOTAL | 220,441.85 | 2329.84 |
* As I got a social media consulting contract with GO Campers, we were upgraded for free in the Go big and did not pay the cost for the props.
Accommodation in Iceland
The first two weeks were therefore on the road, we only had to pay once for the campsite for reasons of illogicality on our part, hehe! The last week we slept at the Loft Hostel in Reykjavík. I recommend it, it’s super modern and right in the center. The kitchen is well equipped for cooking and the lounge is really nice. If you are looking in another area and more for a hotel, I visited the Skuggi, among others, which was very beautiful.
Find accommodation to suit all budgets in Iceland on Booking or Hotels.com.
| Spent | ISK | GOUJAT |
| GoCampers | See above | See above |
| Asbyrgi campsite | 1550.00 | 16.29 |
| Youth hostel | 57190.30 | 605.00 |
| TOTAL | 58,740.30 | 621.29 |
Food
Prepare your wallet for Iceland! We wanted to stay on a budget so we cooked a lot in the camper van. We packed some essentials like noodles, tea and soup bags, freeze-dried meals, etc. We were able to save a few dollars and eat out a few times.
| Spent | ISK | GOUJAT |
| Groceries for 3 weeks | 11,373.00 | 119.55 |
| Restaurants and cafes | 29571.26 | 326.98 |
| TOTAL | 40944.26 | 446.53 |
Activities and visits
The advantage of a budget trip to Iceland is that you are often outdoors and the great attractions cost nothing. This is where I was able to save a lot compared to other countries!
| Spent | ISK | GOUJAT |
| Laugarvatn Fontana | 3800 | 40.20 |
| Phallological museum | 1250 | 13.22 |
| Shark museum | 1100 | 11.64 |
| CityWalk.is tip | 1000 | 10.51 |
| Hallgrimskirkja climb | 900 | 9.46 |
| TOTAL | 8050 | 85.03 |
Laundry and showers
I had not factored into my initial budget that I would have to pay for access to public swimming pools to take a shower or go to a campsite to do so. Also, I did a load of laundry in Reykjavík after washing my laundry by hand the entire trip.
| Spent | ISK | GOUJAT |
| Showers / Swimming pools | 3040 | 31.95 |
| Laundry | 825 | 8.67 |
| TOTAL | 3865 | 40.62 |
Souvenirs and postcards
I love receiving postcards, so I had to send some, but with stamps over two dollars for Canada, it goes up quickly! I also bought myself a souvenir book.
| Spent | ISK | GOUJAT |
| Postcards and stamps | 3923 | 41.24 |
| Little Book of Icelanders | 2791 | 29.34 |
| TOTAL | 3865 | 40.62 |
Budget for Iceland – 21 days
Reality? A trip to Iceland is expensive! I spent slightly more than I expected, but not in the same categories as I initially thought.
For example, I spent a lot more on gasoline and didn’t include showers and laundry or souvenirs in the estimate. On the other hand, I spent a LOT less on activities than I thought I would. So that’s balanced at the end.
| FORECAST | FORECAST | REALITY | REALITY | |
| Spent | ISK | GOUJAT | ISK | GOUJAT |
| Plane tickets (withdraw a portion for Stockholm) | 73,627.08 | 778.88 | 73,627.08 | 778.88 |
| Transport | 207,161.23 | 2191.50 | 220,441.85 | 2329.84 |
| Accommodation | 57190.3 | 605.00 | 58740.3 | 621.29 |
| Food | 42538.24 | 450.00 | 40944.26 | 446.53 |
| Activities | 23632.36 | 250.00 | 8,050.00 | 85.03 |
| Showers / Laundry | 0 | 0.00 | 3865.00 | 40.62 |
| Cards + Souvenir | 0 | 0.00 | 3865.00 | 40.62 |
| TOTAL | 404,149.21 | 4275.38 | 409,533.49 | 4342.81 |
Is there a way to make it cheaper? Absoutely! You can rent a smaller camper van, camp in a tent, hitchhike, eat only what you cook (unlike what I did in Reykavik), etc. Camping is relatively easy in Iceland. Does my trip represent luxury? Oh no, however! So I think this is a good example for a three week trip to Iceland (note that the big expenses were halved).
Other articles on budget for a trip to Iceland:
Have a nice trip to Iceland!
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