Iceland on a budget

Hallgrimskirkja Church

That dream trip to Iceland…..Does it need to cost the earth? Absolutely not. If you’ve always fancied it but thought it was out of reach read on for my tips on how it can be affordable. Sure it’s not Eastern Europe, it’s never going to be a steal but you can definately save by using some really easy hacks.

Where to start? Ok so this is a beginners guide. Its not a 3 weeks driving in Iceland kinda comprehensive bible. It’s a how to fly into Reykyavik, spend a couple of days, do the Golden circle-kinda-guide. (Excellent English there Bex) So here’s a little spends breakdown of what I think you would need….

Flights

I’m basing this on a random cheap week in Jan. Mon 20th to Friday 24th will set you back as little as £36 pp with easyJet from Luton. Now we managed on hand luggage last time but if you need a case you can pay extra. We had thermal layers which roll pretty small and wore our coats and boots on the flight but that’s your call.

Car Hire

It’s rare I hire or use a car abroad but Iceland is my exception. My reasons are; getting to/from the airport is around €28 each way pp, you could then visit the blue lagoon on your own which will save the same again and rather than doing a golden circle tour which would set you back around €80 you can do it at your own pace and just pay parking. So as an example a Suzuki jimny with the full insurance (I would recommend the full cover) would cost you around £265 for the 4 days. When we went with our besties, split 4 ways was so reasonable even with petrol.

Where to stay

There are a tonne of cool places to stay in Reykjavík, hostels offer value and there’s plenty of beautiful Airbnb’s. Here’s a good shout for the dates I’ve mentioned and I think again offering decent value at £96.25 each for 3 nights. https://abnb.me/AXcgiVc0s0

What to do

I am assuming you have 3 days and there’s so much to do and see in Iceland but if you only have three days I would try and get an early flight on the first day and do this:

Gorgeous red building in Reykjavik

Day one-Pick up your car, pick your jaw off the floor (The landscapes remind of fraggle rock-come-the scenes in frozen where the trolls live) wander round the City, the shops are lovely the seafront is cool, bars and cafes are fab and you must see the epic Hallgrimskirkja church. Download the appy hour app to work out which bars to visit at certain times for cheap/reasonable drinks and grab lunch at Icelandic street food. For about £12 you get a loaf of bread filled with lamb or seafood soup, free refills and free cakes and it’s so filling and delicious. You can takeaway or eat in the bar next door. I would also recommend the public pool in Reykjavik to get your first slice of geothermal goodness.

Reykjavik is a colour lovers dream

Day two-golden circle day! Grab breakfast from Braud & Co and get on the road to drive the golden circle. First stop Thingvellir national park. You can walk between the North American and European tectonic plates, see the some of the clearest water in the world (100m visibility) and even dive there at the Silfra fissure. Diving was high on my wish list but as this was a budget trip the £120 (totally worth it) wasn’t to be for this one.

Silfra

Next onto Laugarvatn for lunch. There’s a fab hostel called Heradsskolinn you can get a double for 87 euros a night or dorm for 39 and they do a really reasonable lunch, pizza comes in at around £10 and it’s so cozy. Lindin bistro is also nice, a bit pricier but not so bad for a burger (think UK Gastropub prices). If you had time it would be cool to stay here a night and there’s also the Laugarvatn Fontana, it’s a beautiful lake side hot spring spa, kids go free under 12 and adults are about £24, nowhere near as big as the blue lagoon but this is on my list for next time as it looks amazing.

The coolest hostel in Laugarvatn

Next stop Geysir. The place to see geothermal uprisings…. Such a strange and awesome experience-you can feel the heat and everyone’s waiting and anticipating that blow of water, you know it’s coming but it still makes you jump. Again there’s a cool cafe serving soup, looked delicious but we didn’t get chance to try and the slickest looking spa hotel so may be worth looking at although I bet it’s spendy.

Gullfoss is up next aka the golden falls. I’ve not visited Niagra, Victoria or Iguazu falls but this place took my breath away. You park and walk about 10 minutes down some steps and it just hits you (not just talking about the spray).

Kerid Crater is next up for mars-like landscapes. A quick stop and a couple of euros but I reckon worth it. After this we headed over to the blue lagoon for an evening session. I did question wether it was worth it on booking but I was 100% glad we did. Yes it’s touristy, yes it’s commercial but for me it was so special. To top it off we were treated to a dazzling display from the Northern lights whilst in the blue lagoon. Double bucket list checked off for me! Blue lagoon will set you back around £50 depending on the day and time and from there you are looking at about 45 minutes back to Reykjavík.

Life on Mars….Epic Kerid crater

Day 3-Totally short and underwhelming after the epic itinerary from day 2 but my personal tip If you are in season is to do a whale watching trip. You can get a decent one for around £50 and it’s the biggest regret I have from our trip, we only had a morning left and we were worried about timings but I have a big whale shaped void that I’m desperate to fill. There’s some nice coffee shops on the front and good breakfast places to visit. In the evenings I would 100% eating the fish and chips. About £15 a pop but THE best I’ve ever had. Incredible.

Coffee with a view at the harbour

So there you have a little budget itinerary, price breakdown is as follows based on 4 adults sharing. Obviously these prices are correct at the time of writing and can fluctuate but hopefully may make you think Iceland’s more affordable than you originally thought.

Airbnb £96.25 Car £66 Flights £36 Petrol £15 Blue lagoon £50 Food & Coffee £50 (assuming you have 2 cheap dinners out as mentioned and make your own lunch) Whale watching £50 Total PP £363.25

I would honestly say it’s the most unique country I’ve ever visited and in my top 5 which is saying a lot. If you aren’t sure please give it a go. Any questions? As always pop me a comment 👇🏼

All the models at blue lagoon….I’m just channeling Trunchball.