Trip To Iceland Cost For 2: How Much Does It Cost To Go To Iceland  

How much is the cost of a trip to Iceland? I’ll tell you my trip to Iceland cost for 2. But before you start planning your trip to Iceland, it’s important to set realistic budget expectations and discuss the cost of the trip to Iceland.

The internet is full of jokes about how expensive Iceland is. But nobody wants to actually say how much did they spend in Iceland and exactly how expensive Iceland is. 

I visited Iceland in mid-June 2023 and stayed for five weeks. That’s why I will give you my entire Iceland travel budget, which includes a detailed budget breakdown of flights, hotels, accommodation, car, trips, tourist attractions, and food.

In this post, I want to break down all my Iceland expenses, and I will include all the actual expenses. I visited Iceland with my boyfriend, so this is a very accurate trip to Iceland cost for 2. 

Here is a list of all Iceland travel costs to consider:

• Flight costs to Iceland
• Iceland Airbnb expenses
• Iceland hotel costs
• Iceland food costs
• Iceland car gas costs
• Iceland car rental costs

Icelandic money and exchange rate

Iceland’s official currency is the Icelandic Krona (ISK). 

For this Iceland trip cost, I will express most prices in ISK and EUR, because I already have the conversion on my bank statements. 

Note that the exchange rate used for these calculations was about 147.100 ISK = 1 EUR.

I paid by card everywhere, and the conversion might have fluctuated from that value (minor daily variations), but it still stands as a good reference point. 

My Iceland trip 

Let me first explain how I planned my 5-week to Iceland. 

I booked an Airbnb in Reykjavik for the entire 5 weeks in Iceland. I was there from mid-June up to mid-July (no Northern Lights for me, but a lot of midnight sun). 

We then took many day trips (some longer and some shorter), and we aimed to return back to Reykjavik to not pay extra for hotels in a different city. 

Given that there were almost 24 hours of daylight, we ended up on 10 hours or longer day trips. It was a lot of fun, but also tiring. 

We also worked during our stay in the city. Check out my impressions of being a digital nomad in Iceland. 

But since Iceland is so big, I ended up booking some extra hotel nights because otherwise, it would have been impossible to complete the Ring Road road trip. 

I realise that most people will not choose the same arrangements and that most people spend around one week to 10 days in Iceland. 

That’s why I will also give specific info on hotel costs and tips so that you can better estimate your cost for a trip to Iceland. 

Flight costs to Iceland

Flying to Iceland isn’t particularly expensive, but it does depend on your origin. 

My flight to Iceland was Bucharest – London – Keflavik.

If you’re flying to Iceland from Europe, London is one major hub, and it has almost daily flights to Iceland. 

I booked my flights about 5 weeks in advance. 

I booked through two low-cost carriers. These are the Iceland holiday costs for 2 plane tickets, one way only, with priority boarding (includes big carry-on luggage, no checked luggage):

• WizzAir (Bucharest OTP – London LUT)   – 131.6 Euro
• EasyJet (London LUT – Keflavik KEF)      –  228.4736 Euro

How much does it cost to go to Iceland? 

The cost for 2 was 228.50 Euros from London, a common departure point for anyone travelling from Europe to Iceland. 

In my case, the total cost was 360 Euros, one-way tickets, no checked luggage, from my home to Iceland.

I didn’t get a return ticket because I wanted to travel to a different place after leaving Iceland. Also, note that there was a layover of 6 hours in London Luton during the night, and the small airport doesn’t have any proper resting place. 

It was not comfortable, but it was the cheapest option. Would I do it again? Maybe, but I would look for better alternatives, even if slightly more expensive. 

What was the cost of flying from Iceland back to Europe? 

I looked for the best alternative for me, given the flights on a specific day when I was supposed to leave (when I had to check out from the Airbnb) and decided to go to Amsterdam. 

I booked a flight to Amsterdam using Transavia, the low-cost carrier of KLM. It was 256 EUR, for two people, with priority and one big carry-on, no checked luggage. 

It would have been cheaper to fly to London or Italy, but I wanted to visit Amsterdam. 

The total cost of flights to and from Iceland, starting and ending from Europe, was 616 Euro for 2 people. 

Iceland Airbnb expenses + hotel costs

The biggest expense in Iceland was the accommodation. 

I booked an Airbnb in Reykjavik, the capital city, for 5-weeks (35 nights exactly), and then a few extra hotels for when I did some longer road trips around Iceland. 

I don’t recommend doing this unless you’re a digital nomad; you have the time and want to experience how locals live in Iceland. 

The Airbnb for 35 nights was 2,297.52 EUR. This is about 65.64 EUR per night. 

I also booked 3 more hotels rooms while in Iceland, as follows: 

• Hjalteyri, 20 minutes from Akureyri – € 85.62
• Myvatn – € 173.40
• Egilsstadir – € 88.34

Total spent on hotels in Iceland – € 347.36.

All hotels were booked via Booking.com. 

I don’t recommend that you do the same, as this meant I had to drive a lot during my road trips to not pay for any extra accommodations. 

Iceland car rental costs + public transport

Another huge trip cost when travelling to Iceland will be your car rental. 

After checking all rental companies on RentalCars and Northbound, I was ready to give up and only rent a car for a couple of days at a time. 

Then I got really lucky, and the owner of the Airbnb offered their family car for rental, at a much better rate, for the entire period. You won’t find this price at any rental company, but then again, you won’t be renting for 35 days. 

I paid €1,000 for renting the car. This was a true stuck of luck, and it is much lower than what you will find on any rental website. 

To increase your chances of getting a better deal, try to book well in advance, book with a reputable company, and make sure to have a good itinerary set in place so that you don’t waste time during your rental days. 

If you don’t want to drive in Iceland, there are ways to get around. Places like the Golden Circle are often offered as day trips from Reykjavik by local agencies. I wrote documented all your options for visiting Iceland without a car. 

Other transportation costs:

Airport bus (one way for 2 people, on arrival) – 7780 ISK (52.52 EUR) 

Ferry trip to Grimsey (round trip for 2 people) – 16000 ISK (108.44 EUR)

Total transport costs in Iceland – 1160.96 EUR

Iceland gas costs + parking

It’s not just the car rental that will cost you a lot. After that, you need to consider the fuel cost and the parking fees. Most places have free parking, but more popular spots, especially those on private land, have a parking fee. 

The total cost for gas in Iceland, for 5 weeks and about 3.000 km (I forgot to get the exact km, sorry) was 608.8.45 EUR. 

The total cost of parking was 44.44 EUR.

Iceland food costs

Food isn’t cheap in Iceland because almost everything is important. 

Except for a few greenhouses, there is no agriculture or food production in Iceland. 

Restaurants are expensive. Here are some examples of meals for 2 in a restaurant, with some average prices:

• Fast food meal (similar to McDonalds) – 4,598 ISK (31.57 EUR)
• Breakfast cost in a normal restaurant – 5680 ISK (39.05 EUR)
• Pizza at a restaurant in Reykjavik centre – 3200 ISK (21.96 EUR)
• 2 beers at Einstok Bar Reykjavik – 2500 ISK (17.19 EUR)

Since I had an apartment in Reykjavik, I bought everything I needed from grocery stores and cooked most of my meals at home. 

Iceland has quite a few supermarkets – Kronan, Bonus, Hagkaup and more. I shopped mostly at Kronan, and the average cost of a grocery cart was about 100 EUR. 

The total cost of groceries during my 5 weeks in Iceland was 974.44 EUR, for 2 people.  

This includes everything, from fish to beer and wine. We didn’t hold back from anything and had everything we needed. We don’t eat meat, and we don’t tend to eat a lot. 

Note that there are special stores for alcohol (Vinbudin) and fish (Fiskbudin).

The total cost for the few restaurant meals was 146.68 EUR. (including bars)

Miscellaneous

Of course, there were other costs that didn’t fit into the above categories. 

These are unnecessary costs, small souvenirs, some museum tickets, and small fees: 64,289 ISK (439.07 EUR).

I would add that you can keep the cost of attractions in Reykjavik low by skipping some of the overpriced and overhyped attractions, such as the Blue Lagoon, and going for the more affordable local options.

For instance, you will find many public hot pools all over Iceland, which are much more reasonably priced compared to Blue Lagoon or Sky Lagoon, which are essentially luxury spas.

How much is a trip to Iceland for 2?

For me and my boyfriend, considering all the details stated above, these five weeks in Iceland cost us 6,503.77 EUR. 

If you want to find the cost per person, you could divide it by 2, but note that car rental, gas cost and hotels are almost the same, as they can’t be divided. 

This is not to say that if you only stay for one week, it will cost you five times less. The plane tickets will be the same, and changing hotels daily will quickly add up. Also, most people who visit Iceland only visit for one week and do not have the luxury to cook in an apartment, which means that you could spend more on restaurant meals. 

If you opt for extra tours and activities (Blue Lagoon, helicopter tours over the volcano, boat tours on the Glacier Lagoon and other stuff), your costs will dramatically increase. We got super lucky and had the opportunity to visit the 2023 volcano eruption, which is free to visit. 

Here is my Iceland budget breakdown: 

So here you have it, my trip to Iceland cost for 2.

In our case, the cost per day for visiting Iceland was 185.82 EUR for 2. 

Considering all this, the cost of travel in Iceland was 92.91 EUR per person per day. This is not to be considered unless you’re travelling as a group of 2. 

However, I feel that the cost per day will vary dramatically for each traveller. I spend many days indoors, working. This means that most days, I didn’t need to fuel up the car, buy expensive restaurant food, or pay for parking or entrance tickets. 

Given that a lot of people wonder how much a vacation to Iceland costs, I wanted to share the actual cost of travel. 

You can now decide for yourself if Iceland is cheap or expensive. 

Note that I didn’t do any crazy tours and often opted for the more accessible activities. And you can save money by avoiding some of these super hypes activities, such as the Lava Tunnel. 

I have also left out travel insurance because this isn’t a cost specific for travelling to Iceland. But you still need travel insurance for Iceland. 

Iceland trip cost: Conclusion

This is one of the most transparent blog posts I’ve ever published, and I don’t intend to publish other detailed expense blogs in the future. 

In the end, there is no definitive answer to “How much does it cost to go to Iceland?” because we are all different and have different travel styles.  

My best advice for figuring out what budget you actually need for your trip to Iceland is to check out my guide on planning a trip to Iceland and then also check out this 7-day Iceland itinerary. 

These two guides will give you a much clearer framework of what you can and should visit in Iceland on your first visit. From there, you can start sketching your Iceland itinerary and map out all the obvious costs. 

Make sure to set aside some money for the unpredictable. 

Things like a flat tyre, a broken rental car, and irresistible souvenirs are costs that nobody wants but often happen. 

FAQ:

Is it really expensive in Iceland?

Yes, Iceland is expensive because most things need to be brought to Iceland. Food doesn’t grow here (except for a few greenhouses), and there are no factories. 

The Icelandic climate is also quite inhospitable, which makes life outside the city almost non-existent. 

When travelling around Iceland, there are only a few hotels around. The most remote hotels need to bring everything they need from the city, and the staff needs to commute daily. This raises the prices of remote hotels greatly. 

How much does it cost to vacation in Iceland?

If you are travelling in Iceland as a group, you should consider at least 14,400 ISK / 100 EUR / 108 USD per day per person. As a group, you split the cost of car rental, accommodation (many hotels have triple or larger rooms), gas, and even food, decreasing your costs substantially. 

If you are travelling solo to Iceland, I would recommend a basic budget of 200 Eur/215 USD per day. 

What is the cheapest month to visit Iceland?

July to August is considered peak season in Iceland. Avoid travelling during the peak season to get more for your buck. However, the cheapest month to visit Iceland is actually anytime during the low season, which is January to April or even May. 

How expensive is it to stay in Iceland for a week?

The needed budget for a week in Iceland comes down to your activities. The absolute cheapest might be under 1,000 EUR / 1,080 USD, if you were to rent a room in Reykjavik and cook at home. 

But if you want to rent a car and drive around the Ring Road for a week, I would recommend a budget of at least 1,500 EUR/ 1,620 USD, assuming you are travelling solo, outside peak season, and sleeping in a tent at camping sites.

For a more comfortable experience, which includes hotel stays, I would recommend a budget of 2,500 EUR for a solo traveller. In this case, a trip to Iceland cost for 2 would cost 3,000 EUR.