Category: International Adventures

Is a trip to Iceland on your bucket list?  But do you fear that the cost of such a trip is beyond your budget?

Are you discouraged by hearing and reading how expensive Iceland is?

Well, I’m here to give you hope and to feed your dream.  I’m going to share with you the actual cost of my trip to Iceland for a winter weekend for two; myself and my 12 year old son.

It still feels a bit surreal and over the top.  I picked my son, Gunnar, up from school on a Friday and headed to the airport, took a 6 hour overnight flight to Iceland, spent two nights there and headed back to Michigan on Monday.  He missed one day of school and gained an experience that will surely stay with him for a lifetime.  

This Iceland trip must have cost me a fortune, huh?…at least many seem to think.  But honestly, after reviewing my expenses, I don’t know of many places that I could fly to, even within the United States, and spend a fully packed itinerary weekend for less money.  So how much exactly did it cost?

Here’s my itemized expenses…

Round trip airfare for two people ($668):

You can actually get some incredibly affordable airfare deals to Iceland these days, particularly on Wow Air.  It’s important to note that the prices the airline advertises are for inclusion of only one personal item for luggage.  Carry-ons and checked baggage incur additional fees.  We were quite successful packing everything we needed for a winter weekend with just the add on of one carry on per person.  

For personal items, we took one large camera backpack and one bag full of lots of food/snacks, water bottles and misc gear.  So the price we paid above was round trip for two adults (anyone who has celebrated their 12th birthday counts as an adult), 2 carry-ons, 2 personal items and all taxes and fees.  That’s $334 round trip cost per person to fly across the Atlantic to Iceland?!…I think that’s a pretty awesome deal.  Go ahead and see what flight deals you might find on Expedia…

Accommodations for two nights ($199)

I really wanted to stay outside of the big cities or towns in hopes to see the Northern Lights from that location with minimized light pollution.  We were successful in that!!  

We rented a cozy little cabin that had the necessities that we needed and then some.  There was a little kitchen, refrigerator and burners to store and heat food.  For about $99/night, I consider that pretty reasonable, even if we were renting a place in the US.  There are lots of unique and affordable choices to explore on Hotels.com, take a look…

Rental car for three days ($202)

Second to airfare, this was the next largest cost for our Iceland trip.  Yet the freedom it gave us to explore on our own time and terms was worth every penny.  My personality and travel style is not a match for the alternative of taking bus tours around the sights (not that those would be any less expensive).  

We rented a manual transmission, 4 wheel drive vehicle with studded tires for 3 days with unlimited milage allowed.  Included insurances were collision/super collision damage waiver, gravel protection, and theft protection. 

International phone/data plan for three days ($30)

At home, I have AT&T cellular service and with their plans, you can opt in on a daily international pass. For a $10 charge per 24 hour period, you can use your phone as if you were at home while visiting certain countries.   It important to us to be connected with people back home and have access to data during our stay.  We used it to navigate, research information about points of interest, weigh our food options, and more.

I had been fearful of getting spotty reception outside of the larger cities.  But I was so pleasantly surprised that everywhere…I mean everywhere… that we traveled on the western side of the country, we had excellent reception.  Even when we seemed to be in the middle of nowhere, we were connected. That was so reassuring when traveling in an unfamiliar country.  Definitely worth the investment for the convenience and sense of security.

Gas ($98)

This cost of our trip was kind of an uncertain one while we racked up the miles over the roads of Iceland.  I was actually kind of scared to see the price of our fill up before heading back to the airport to return the car.  

We traveled for several hours every day and accumulated 601 miles (968km) on the vehicle.  I ended up pleasantly surprised at a fuel cost of under $100 dollars!

Food ($79)

This is one of the areas that we actively and consciously saved a lot of money.  Yes, the cost of food can be expensive in Iceland and raise your trip costs significantly.  But honestly, the food that we splurged on was well worth the cost.

How did we minimize our food expenditures while still indulging somewhat in the cuisine?  We brought a lot of food from home!  Compact, easy to pack dry food items.  These include Cliff Bars, trail mix, chocolate bars and sweet treats (I have quite a sweet tooth), crackers, peanut butter, dehydrated fruit, etc.

We had a bag full of this food that we kept in the car along with stainless steel refillable water bottles.  For breakfast and lunch, we ate from this sack while on the go.  Not only was a cost saving tactic, but also a day light saving tactic.  With so few hours of daylight available to us during the winter months, we didn’t want to waste any of it stopping off to eat.

After dark, we chose to indulge in a nice sit down dinner that my son and I shared.  One night we shared a salmon appetizer of very generous portion along with a basket of bread ($24).  Another evening we shared a 3 course meal of a trout appetizer, a main course of lamb and skyr to finish plus a basket of bread ($55).

One thing to keep in mind when you consider the cost of food is that the price on the menu is the price out the door.  Compare that to a menu cost in the US.  What we see on the menu here is subject to the addition of tax (6% in Michigan).  And then in addition to that, it is customary to add on a tip (say 20%).  With all things considered, especially the quality of food, I really  thought that the food in Iceland was reasonably priced (and I tend to be a fairly cheap butt).

Coffee ($12)

Between the red eye flight, which I was not successful in getting much rest on, the short hours of daylight, and staying up in search of Northern Lights…I did need to grab a couple caffeinated drinks (double expresso, please) throughout our trip.  The cost of such was not much out of line with the big green Seattle based coffee chain.  

One perk offered with our rental car was free coffee at participating gas stations.  That was a bonus that I took advantage of and kept these costs down as well.

Geothermal bath admission ($31)

I’m not sure that a trip to Iceland is quite complete without experiencing a geothermal bath.  The cost of which was a budgeted, must do expense in our planning.  We opted away from the Blue Lagoon and took preference to a smaller venue close to our rental.  

Turns out that kids 12 and under were free of charge, so the admission cost we injured was just for one adult.  We did bring our own suits and towels from home to avoid rental costs of those items.

Shark museum admission ($10)

Gunnar and I watch many travel documentaries together, it’s one of our quality time things at home.  It was in one of those that we learned of this museum.  I had no idea what it would cost, but it was among our must do’s on our Iceland trip itinerary.

Turns out it was $10 for adults and once again, the magic age of 12 allowed the boy admittance for free.  Included in the admission price was sampling of the infamous fermented Greenland shark.  It was a fun and uniquely tasting experience.

Souvenirs ($64)

I honestly don’t typically purchase souvenirs.  However, since this was a one on one trip with my son while the rest of the family stayed at home, I thought it best for the kid to bring home some souvenirs for his little sister and dad.  He was also gifted money for his birthday which he used to buy some keepsakes for himself.  Everything pictured here totaled $64 in cost.

TOTAL (for two people): $1,393

Under $1,400 in total trip cost for two for a weekend in Iceland!

Now imagine if you split many of these expenses (especially the big ticket items like air, room and car rental) with a friend or someone outside of your own household…then it begins to look even more affordable.

Could we have spent a lot more?  Absolutely.   Do I feel that I was hindering my experience by keeping a mindful eye on expended cost for this Iceland trip?  Not at all.  

A visit to Iceland is very much about taking in the amazing landscapes, which you can enjoy for free.  We knew before going that there were certain things that we we wanted to experience and were willing to pay for.  This included visiting a geothermal bath, sampling the fermented shark and savoring some local cuisine.  

While some people have the resources and desire to splurge on many extras, some of us may be a little more selective of what and where we choose to save and splurge.  I share these figures above in order to encourage others that Iceland can be visited and fully enjoyed on a self restricted budget and minimized costs.

Do dream of visiting Iceland?…What is the number one thing holding you back from going?

Kristin

I’m a mom with travel bug.  Forever seeking new places to see and things to do whether they are close to home or across the globe.  I’m always anxiously planning our next adventures and doing my best to stretch our dollars and time to their fullest in doing so.