How Much Does It Cost to Go to Iceland?

iceland diamond beach, ice on black sand beach at sunset

Iceland is one of the most expensive countries in the world. They have to import almost all their goods including things like gas, and most fruits and vegetables. Now I knew Iceland was going to be expensive before we went, but I was a little bit shocked after totaling up all our costs! Thomas and I spent 11 days/10 nights in Iceland and while almost all of our trip was DIY (aka no tours and minimal activities), this was by far the most expensive trip I’ve ever taken in my life.

I’ve written a cost breakdown here, so you can have a better estimate on how much a trip to Iceland costs. I didn’t list out every single item, but tried to take all the “big” costs into account. I also didn’t note down the costs in ISK while I was there, so this is referencing my credit card statement once I received the bills in USD.

Transportation

The rental car was actually very reasonably priced. It was gas that kicked our butts on this trip. Because we drove the entire Ring Road, we had to stop and refill gas quite often. If you’re not planning on tackling the entire loop, you can probably get away with cutting out large percentages of that gas fee. We also had a 4WD so it wasn’t exactly gas efficient.
Car: $686.84 or $62.44/day
Gas: $817.73
iceland katla ice caves exploring blue glacier glacial cave on a volcano

Activities

Doing tours and activities in Iceland isn’t cheap, either. These are the only 3 that we did and none of them were possible to DIY, or we probably would’ve done that instead.
Whale Watching: $164 for 2 or $82/person
  • We got extremely lucky and saw all kinds of rare whale sightings, but for the average experience I would say this one isn’t particularly necessary.
Blue Lagoon (Basic Package): $131.72 for 2 or $65.86/person
  • This one you cannot do on your own, you must go with a guide. The price is certainly hefty, but I enjoyed this and thought it was a super unique experience!
iceland, whale watching, humpback whale breaching out of water, boat tour

Lodging

We stayed in hotels, hopping around from night to night as we drove along the Ring Road. The hotel costs in Iceland vary quite a bit. For example, the hotels in Reykjavik and Skogar (South Iceland) were reasonably priced, but all the hotels in Myvatn were $200 or more per night.
Hotels: $1160.85
  • Reykjavik: $425.30 (4 nights) or $106.33/night
  • Skogar: $191.44 (2 nights) or $95.72/night
  • Hofn: $131.44/night
  • Myvatn: $201.12/night
  • Snæfellsnes: $125.68/night
  • Reykjavik: $85.87/night

Dining and Groceries

Meals are quite expensive, there are a few days we only ate gas station sandwiches or snacks for lunch. Eating out is so expensive that I highly recommend buying groceries and making your own food if you have a kitchenette or are traveling by campervan.
We mostly ate out because Thomas didn’t want to deal with cooking, but restaurants are extremely pricey with a regular meal easily costing $30/person. The only reason why this per diem is so low is because of those days we ate gas station food or snacks!
Food: $783.45
  • $71.22/day for 2, or $35.61/day/person

iceland restaurant sker shellfish salad with strawberry


Total: $4153.01 for 2 people, 11 days/10 nights
  • $2076.51 per person for the whole trip
  • $188.77/day/person

I’m definitely not used to spending over $100/day on my usual trips, but with Iceland it really couldn’t be helped. If you’re looking to travel Iceland on more of a budget, I’d say the best places to cut costs would be food and activities. Cooking your own food or buying prepackaged food at grocery stores or gas stations will save you a massive amount in the dining category. And of course you can cut out activities if need be. (It’s also possible to cut down on lodging fees if you’re traveling by campervan, but it might raise your gas fees too.)

I hope the cost transparency breakdown helps in planning and budgeting for your own Iceland trip! This one’s definitely not a budget destination, but I’m still glad we shelled out the money and went. Even if you come back with your wallet severely damaged, I can promise the dramatic landscapes will have been worth it.


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