Iceland is a beautiful country with an almost unimaginable number of natural beauties and attractions. However, traveling in Iceland can be very expensive, especially if you’re looking for an affordable vacation or one that doesn’t drain all of your savings. Fortunately, there are some ways to save on flights and accommodations in Iceland that will help make your trip more affordable. From searching for flight deals and using discount codes to booking in advance and staying in hostels or guesthouses, there are many ways to save money when planning your trip to Iceland. Let’s take a closer look at them.
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There are several low-cost airlines that connect Europe (and Italy) to Iceland. The one we recommend is Wizz Air, which offers low-cost flights to Keflavik (very close to the capital, Reykjavík) from Rome and Milan. This is a great opportunity for travelers who want to explore Iceland’s breathtaking landscapes without spending a fortune, as you will often find flights for less than €50 one way.
We departed from Milan Malpensa and spent €45 per person for a one-way ticket: we only traveled with a very spacious travel backpack (here’s the link if you want to take a look, we are finding it very useful), so we didn’t need any additional luggage. In this case, the advice from true travelers is: “put on many layers,” you’ll need them once you get there.
Renting a car in Iceland is generally very expensive, so brace yourself. To ensure that you and the vehicle are adequately protected, it is important to take out comprehensive insurance when renting a car. This will cover any damage that may occur due to the rugged and often unpaved terrain (especially when traveling to some tourist destinations), as well as any other unforeseen circumstances. The comprehensive insurance – at least in the case of our car rental (which we leave you the link for) – allowed us to get a Wi-Fi router to have internet connection even in the most remote and isolated places. So, we recommend it.
For one week, we spent about €500 on car rental, and our wallet is still crying!
On average, accommodation in Iceland costs €80 per night per person, which is definitely expensive but not exorbitant. Of course, this data can vary depending on the location and type of accommodation chosen. We made some mistakes when choosing accommodations, so be careful and take notes:
- You should always prefer apartments with a kitchen so that you can cook for yourself at home: traditional cuisine is not great (unless you want to try the rotten shark, but we didn’t have the courage ahah). Additionally, restaurants are expensive.
- Change your accommodation according to your itinerary: the distances between the various attractions can be very long, so choose accommodations that allow you to not waste gas unnecessarily (which also costs a lot, more than €2 per liter).
In short, doing a quick calculation: we spent about €1100 per person for 7 days in Iceland. And we were generally very careful, otherwise the cost would have skyrocketed.
