Looking to visit Iceland but worried about how expensive it is? Check out these tips for a budget friendly Iceland trip!
Tips for Saving Money on Food in Iceland
Tips for Saving on Lodging & Activities in Iceland
Tips for Saving on Travel to Iceland
Iceland is an amazing bucket-list destination but it is expensive. When we went in 2021, we had just bought a house and we were really feeling the pinch. We wanted to go on a trip but we had to get smart with our budget and itinerary to make sure we weren’t overextending ourselves financially.
People always say that Iceland is too expensive for a trip, but then go on a seven day trip to an all inclusive resort or take a trip to Disney World. If you can make those trips work on your budget, you can absolutely make Iceland work too!
In this post, I’ll cover how we saved money when traveling to Iceland on food, lodging, and travel. Read on for tips for traveling to Iceland on a budget!
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Tips for Saving Money on Food in Iceland
Because it’s an island nation and everything has to be imported, unfortunately food is REALLY expensive in Iceland. Here are five ways to save money on food in Iceland.
Buy Groceries and Cook
Unfortunately my advice for saving money in another country is the same as it is when traveling abroad (so not fun, I know). Groceries are really expensive in Iceland. But it’s more expensive to eat out and if you’re eating out every meal, that adds up quickly. We had good luck shopping at Bonus and Kronan.
As you can see in the photos, we kept it pretty basic with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch and then food that could be cooked on a camping stove for dinners. We only ate out for dinner twice the entire trip.
Pack Dry Goods from Home
Iceland allows all visitors to bring 10 KG (22 lbs) of dry goods into the country for personal use. If you’re planning to cook in a camper van, bringing your own food is clutch for saving money on groceries. We didn’t even touch the limit (and I think when we went it was only 3 KG).
We packed things like spaghetti, ramen noodles, dense snacks like Cliff Bars, and other allowable items. Note that meat and dairy products are NOT allowed to be brought into Iceland (though who really wants to get on a flight with meat?!)
For more information on what you can and cannot bring in, visit this website. Be sure to follow all rules set forth by the Icelandic government, or you could face serious fines.
Eat at the Gas Station
Yup, you read that right. But Iceland gas stations aren’t like gas stations in the US. They actually have some good food and snacks that haven’t been on a hot plate for 36+ hours.
We loved the Icelandic hotdogs and picked up a lot of our favorite driving snacks like Paprika chips at the gas station. They also had some healthier options, like the skyr or yogurt we ate for breakfast and apples.
Buy Alcohol at the Airport after You Get off the Plane
Alcohol in Iceland is EXPENSIVE. I don’t drink anymore, but I did when we went to Iceland and this really saved us some cash. We grabbed two bottles of wine at the airport in duty free and they lasted us for most of the trip! We did have a beer or two the two times we ate out, but grabbing alcohol at the airport saved so much money.
Stay at a Hotel or Bed & Breakfast that includes Breakfast
This is a tip that works well anywhere, but especially in Iceland. A lot of places include breakfast in their pricing and getting one all-you-can-eat meal (while adding some of the dry goods to your pockets for later) can really help your food budget.
Since we camped when we were in Iceland, we didn’t get to take advantage of this. But camping saves you money in other ways like…
How to Save Money in Iceland – Lodging & Activities
Lodging is an area that can make or break your travel budget and leave you no money for activities. These three tips will save you money on lodging and activities in Iceland!
Sleep in a Camper Van
We were able to rent a camper van for seven days for a little over $500 in 2021. Most other places we’ve traveled that would MAYBE cover three nights of travel, but more likely only two. While prices are likely higher now, you’re still going to be saving money if you’re not paying for both lodging AND the cost of a rental car.
Campsites range from $10-25 per person so your highest cost is the van rental and gas to drive around. But if you’re traveling the Ring Road, you’d be paying for a rental and gas anyway.
For the best seven day Iceland itinerary, check out our guide to seven days on the Ring Road in a camper van!
Use Points or Miles for Lodging
While we stayed in a camper van for all nights except for one, we were able to use Chase points to stay in our hotel in Reykjavik. We booked through the Chase portal, which points gurus will tell you is not the best use of points. But we were just happy to not pay cash!
If you have points through a transfer card like Chase or Amex, you can check transfer bonuses for hotel chains. If you have a credit card through Marriott that has a free night benefit, save it for your Iceland trip since it’s likely more expensive than other destinations.
However, this strategy only works if you’re staying in Iceland’s larger cities. For example, Hilton has six current and future properties in Iceland. Four of them are in Reykjavik and a fifth is in Akureyri (slated to open in August 2026). Marriott only has three properties, all in or close to Reykjavik. If you’re traveling the full Ring Road, leveraging points and miles will only work for a couple of stops.
To book hotels in Reykjavik, Iceland, check out the map below!
Do the Free Activities
Many of the natural wonders in Iceland are free – waterfalls, black sand beaches, and hikes. (You may have to pay for parking). You can have an amazing trip and plan to do entirely low cost and free activities. However, you will miss on some of the iconic and bucket list Iceland activities like Blue Lagoon.
Our big activity splurge for our trip was snorkeling in Silfra between two tectonic plates. I thought it was 100% worth it and Peter thought was NOT worth it. So probably just depends on how much you like snorkeling!
Tips for Saving on Travel to Iceland
Flights are one of the biggest costs of any trip and they’re a requirement for getting to Iceland. Here are three ways to save on travel to Iceland.
Go in a Low Season
High season in Iceland is busy. Things like rental cars and lodging are in higher demand, which means higher prices. Flights are also more available, but more expensive.
We went to Iceland in late August/early September. While this is still a relatively busy time, it’s not quite as busy as peak summer (June to early August). If you visit in May or October, you’d likely see even better availability and prices. However, you’ll have shorter days and less predictable weather as a trade off.
Book Your Flight with Points and Miles
Not paying cash for a flight means that you have a LOT more left in your budget for fun things. This requires planning in advance, saving points through a credit card that will transfer to an airline that flies to Iceland, and looking for the best award availability (usually not during high season or popular days to travel like weekends). However, if you’re able to nail it, there’s no better feeling than boarding a flight having only paid taxes and fees.
Check out this The Points Guy article on how to book on Icelandair with points and miles.
Visit Iceland via a Long Layover
While I highly recommend spending a long time in Iceland, your budget might not be able to accommodate that. Icelandair offers long layovers in Reykjavik so that you can do a stopover in Iceland for a day or two before heading on to your final destination. When researching flights to other places, we often found that those flights were cheaper than flights not going thru Iceland.
The following European destinations have flight legs directly from the Reykjavik Airport (airport code KEF):
- London (to hike the Cumbria Way)
- Oslo
- Helsinki
- Paris
- Munich (perfect for visiting Austria)
- Amsterdam
- Berlin
- Dublin
- Lisbon
- Milan
- Rome (a great place to spend a weekend and then get a ferry to explore Sardinia!)
- Glasgow
- Edinburgh
The following North American destinations have flight legs directly from the Reykjavik Airport (airport code KEF):
- Toronto
- Pittsburgh (Iceland is one of my best destinations from the Pittsburgh Airport)
- New York
- Chicago
- Seattle
- Baltimore
- Washington DC
- Boston
Check directly with the KEF website to see if your destination is reached directly from Reykjavik as flights change regularly.
Have more tips for traveling to Iceland on a budget? Let me know in the comments or send me a message on socials @torytalkstrails!