I dare say that Iceland is a must for any passionate traveler, lover of nature and spectacular places, and for us, it quickly climbed to the top (alongside Norway and New Zealand).
But since it's not exactly a cheap country and the weather is quite capricious, I'd say you need a good few months of planning in advance to have a successful vacation from all points of view.
So, I'll bring to the forefront the details about how we organized our three weeks there, to be noted and useful for anyone who takes a look here.
Before I outline the budget details, I’ll share a bit about how we thought through our three weeks of exploring the land of puffins because, no matter how "in season" you go, the weather in Iceland is very changeable and those places you see on the net might not correspond to reality if, once there, it’s foggy, raining, and you can barely stand because of the wind (been there, done that).
After lengthy discussions, we realized that for us it was important:
- not to rush between attractions, to do everything slowly, at our family's own pace with three children
- to be able to juggle destinations from day to day, depending on the weather forecast
- to spend time in the places we like, even if that means giving up other planned visits
We initially thought about going the Airbnb and car plus tent route and alternating Airbnb days with camping. That would have been a bad decision, considering the low night-time temperatures and the huge prices for accommodations.
So after a quick calculation, we rethought our plan and decided like this:
- For the first 6 days, we rented a 4X4 Toyota to allow us to explore the less accessible areas (the highlands) and to stay near the Thingvellir National Park, where the famous Golden Circle is located.
- For the next 10 days, we rented a motorhome to serve as both our house and our meal provider, enabling us to chase sunny days wherever they were and to escape from places where it was raining or too cold; if we had fixed accommodations, we would have been forced to stick to a set itinerary, regardless of the weather.
- For the last 2 days, we planned to set up our "base" in Reykjavik, to rest and prepare for the long journey home.
I intend to document in the finest details everything we did, experienced, and explored there, because the beauty of Iceland is unlike anything I have seen before.
What to pack?
Our first experience with the Nordic countries two years ago taught us a lot about the weather, how people live there with so much light in the summer (in Iceland, the sun set at 1:00 AM and rose around 3:00 AM, so there were about 22 hours of daylight), how slow their pace is, and how they manage to be so happy. So this time, we were ultra-prepared.
Our luggage was more than half filled with wool and technical clothing for rain and wind. It’s absolutely necessary to do this, otherwise, you just can't manage. I don’t know how all these influencers who wear fancy dresses or pose on the ridges of volcanoes in T-shirts do it, but we were nearly blown away by the wind and rain while taking a couple of photos of puffins at Dyrholaey, and we quickly ran away from Black Sand Beach for the same reason.
Landmannalaugar was a total failure due to the wind that blew all the volcanic dust in our eyes, and in Selfoss, we stayed in a place where the blinds were white and semi-transparent, so there was hardly any sleep after a tiring journey there.
Therefore, great care with packing, I’d say that a list made in advance is very useful and helps you not to miss important things, as we did with the gloves, for example.
With that said, let's also take a look at what this meant in terms of costs.
Iceland – the not so budget-friendly country
Yes, Iceland has rapidly climbed the charts, not only in beauty but also in terms of costs. We planned everything in advance, kept an eye out for last-minute deals, and ended up with an approximate cost of 2600 euros per person for a 3-week vacation, with absolutely everything included (car, accommodation, food, tours, souvenirs) which is not bad at all if you think about it. But there are five of us. Here are the details of this budget:
- Airfare Budapest – Reykjavik: 1800 euros for 5 people, with 3 checked bags included (Finnair - we chose this option to avoid the huge costs of flights departing from Bucharest and flights with more than one layover)
- Transport to Budapest and parking for personal car, one night's accommodation near the airport: 300 euros
- 4X4 car rental (Blue Car Rental): 950 euros for 8 days, with full insurance and a child seat
- Advance lost on motorhome rental (I'll explain a bit below): 700 euros
- Motorhome rental: 3700 euros for 11 days, with full insurance and a child seat (Car Rental Iceland)
- One night's accommodation in Keflavik (BergOne): 160 euros
- 3 nights' accommodation in Selfoss (Hafdis’ Place): 600 euros
- 2 nights' accommodation in Grimsnes (Aurora Cottages): 360 euros
- 2 nights' accommodation in Reykjavik (an apartment through Airbnb, I’ll provide the link later): 300 euros
- Camping: an average of 50 euros per night, so 500 euros
- Whale tour in Husavik (Friends of Moby Dick): 200 euros
- Tickets to Perlan Museum Wonders of Iceland: 100 euros
- Tickets to Myvatn Nature Baths: 100 euros
- Parking, fuel: 700 euros
- Food (supermarket, 4 restaurant outings, ice cream or drinks in town), souvenirs: 2300 euros
This breakdown gives a clear picture of what to expect budget-wise when planning a trip to Iceland for a family of five, showcasing that while Iceland is an unforgettable destination, it requires significant financial planning, especially for a larger group.
A Short Series of Observations
I mentioned "lost motorhome deposit" in the expense list. The first motorhome, booked several months in advance, would have cost us around 5600 euros and it would have come completely empty, without linens, utensils, or consumables, for which we would have had to pay a fee of 45 euros per person.
So, after paying the deposit and booking it, my husband continued to look for motorhomes. Just a few weeks before departure, he found a motorhome that cost us even less than what we still owed on the first one. So, we managed to save a few hundred euros even with the paid deposit. The surprise was that it came fully equipped; we even had towels, which has never happened to us before.
For camping, we used Park4Night and it’s worth noting that in Iceland, off-camping is prohibited, meaning you can only stay overnight in designated areas. They care a lot about preserving the fragile nature and there are numerous restrictions that prohibit even hiking off the marked trails, all in the desire to preserve the flora, so parking the motorhome wherever you like is completely out of the question.
The campgrounds are much below what we've seen in Europe; we were surprised to find that some didn't even have showers or facilities to empty the tanks at the same price paid in campgrounds equipped with everything needed. And be careful with the showers, they have a more Viking style of "group" showering, meaning without cabins or separators.
We didn’t use cash anywhere, we paid for everything with Revolut, on the spot or online, parking operates on trust, and for Airbnb accommodations, we almost always had self-check-in.
They are relaxed and friendly, few in number, you rarely encounter them working in tourism or services, so if you want to get a feel of the locals, go to a public pool or to family-run restaurants and businesses.
If we were to do it all over again, we’d "steal" some days from the time spent in Selfoss at the beginning to reach the western fjords or to explore more of the highlands; we felt that the area around Reykjavik, with the famous Golden Circle, is something that could take a maximum of 3 days, not 6 as we did. But we had to leave something for next time, right?