[0:00] Iceland known for its stunning
[0:04] Beauty and being pretty expensive it's
[0:07] no secret that Iceland is not the most
[0:09] affordable destination in the world but
[0:11] what if I told you that you could
[0:13] experience all the magic of Iceland
[0:16] without spending a fortune in this video
[0:18] I'm talking about how to travel Iceland
[0:20] on a budget including accommodation
[0:22] tours food drink and all of the things
[0:26] hey my name is jeie and I've been
[0:27] exploring Iceland for the past 10 years
[0:30] I've written guide books and itineraries
[0:31] that have over 500 f-star reviews and my
[0:34] mission is to help you plan the best
[0:36] trip ever let's get into it all right
[0:39] let's talk about your first big expense
[0:41] where you're going to sleep at night
[0:43] there are a few different options to
[0:44] keep your cost down first is you could
[0:46] stay at something like a hostel or a
[0:49] guest house this is a great option for
[0:52] solo Travelers or small groups hostels
[0:54] in Iceland are not like hostels in
[0:57] Europe they're cleaner more expensive
[1:00] and very cozy so the benefits of staying
[1:04] in a hostel is that you're going to be
[1:05] saving money and you'll have a shared
[1:07] kitchen so that you can cook your own
[1:08] meals guest houses are probably one of
[1:11] my favorite ways to stay in Iceland this
[1:14] is going to be more like a big home for
[1:16] example with a private room but shared
[1:20] Community spaces like shared couches to
[1:22] hang out on and a shared kitchen as well
[1:25] so this way prices are going to be
[1:26] cheaper than hotels but just as
[1:29] comfortable for this type of
[1:30] accommodation you'd probably budget
[1:32] between $50 to $150 a night really
[1:36] really depends on if you're getting like
[1:38] a shared accommodation in the hostel or
[1:40] if you're having more of a private room
[1:42] private bathroom in a guest house
[1:44] another way to go is by renting an
[1:46] Airbnb or a local rental these options
[1:50] are going to be much cheaper than
[1:51] staying in a hotel but much more private
[1:54] than a hostel or a guest house for this
[1:57] option you're going to need to budget
[1:59] around $150 to $250 a night Pro tip very
[2:05] very important you need to book these
[2:08] accommodations as far in advance as
[2:11] possible especially during Peak travel
[2:13] times it's the number one area in
[2:16] tourism in Iceland that cannot keep up
[2:19] very well with the demand in the sheer
[2:21] number of Travelers so as it gets closer
[2:24] to that Peak Travel season they do start
[2:26] bumping up the prices because they know
[2:28] that people will have to pay for them
[2:30] regardless so do yourself a favor and
[2:32] make sure to book early the last option
[2:35] is to camp camping is a great way to
[2:38] save a lot of money because this is
[2:40] where you're going to get your cheapest
[2:42] accommodation Iceland campsites are open
[2:45] year round weather permitting but
[2:47] camping is a great way to see Iceland
[2:49] I've done several videos on renting a
[2:51] camper van if you don't want to rough it
[2:53] with a tent so make sure to check out
[2:55] those videos for a lot more information
[2:58] but in terms of budgeting you're
[3:00] thinking about5 or $10 per person per
[3:03] night okay we need to talk about how to
[3:06] get around Iceland my personal opinion
[3:10] the best way to see Iceland is by
[3:12] renting a car and driving yourself there
[3:15] is nothing better than a road trip in
[3:17] Iceland nothing renting a car gives you
[3:20] the flexibility and freedom to go
[3:23] wherever you want you can explore all
[3:25] the remote areas at your own pace and it
[3:28] gives you complete freedom to stop
[3:31] whenever you want one way that you can
[3:33] save on rental costs in this area is to
[3:36] get a smaller economy car I don't
[3:38] recommend doing this for winter travel
[3:41] but if you're traveling in the summer
[3:42] and you're not planning on traveling
[3:44] into the highlands or the F roads if you
[3:46] just get a small economy car and just
[3:49] cram in as much as possible that will be
[3:51] your most budget option for renting your
[3:54] own vehicle if you're looking to do
[3:56] public transportation just know that
[3:59] this is not the easiest way to get
[4:01] around Iceland but it is possible if
[4:03] you're thinking about staying in raikov
[4:06] and you're just wanting to kind of
[4:07] explore around the city then you're
[4:08] going to want to hop on the public
[4:10] transportation bus which is called stto
[4:13] and this is really your great option for
[4:15] short distances around the city if you
[4:17] want to travel out into the countryside
[4:20] or do some day trips then there are bus
[4:22] companies that do like a day trip around
[4:25] the Golden Circle or even kind of like a
[4:28] hop on and Hop Off tour around the Ring
[4:32] Road even this is just going to require
[4:34] a lot more planning in terms of like
[4:36] knowing bus schedules but there are
[4:38] companies that will drop you off in SOS
[4:42] and drop you off in ve just knowe that
[4:45] this is a much slower option for
[4:47] traveling and it's also less convenient
[4:50] for exploring those more remote areas or
[4:54] getting to the hidden gems another great
[4:56] way to save on Transportation is car
[4:58] pooling there is a car pooling and
[5:01] Iceland website if you're wanting to
[5:03] hook up with other Travelers that are
[5:05] kind of traveling around and trying to
[5:07] ride share or just by traveling with a
[5:10] group of people is going to be a great
[5:12] way to split your travel costs like a
[5:14] vehicle rental or fuel speaking of
[5:16] saving money if you're renting a vehicle
[5:18] in Iceland I have arranged a VIP
[5:20] discount for you the company I recommend
[5:22] is blue car it's a local business with
[5:25] great customer service and insurance is
[5:27] already included in their prices grab my
[5:29] disc account by clicking the link in the
[5:31] description below moving on to food and
[5:33] beverage if you're not careful this can
[5:36] take up a big majority of your budget
[5:39] but don't worry with a little bit of
[5:41] planning and some Pro tips you can keep
[5:44] your meals affordable first thing I
[5:46] recommend is to cook your own meals
[5:49] especially if you're staying at a place
[5:51] we just talked about before like a
[5:52] hostel or an Airbnb and you can shop at
[5:55] a grocery store bring it back at the end
[5:57] of the evening and cook your own meals
[6:00] this is definitely going to be your most
[6:02] budget option an average meal in a
[6:05] restaurant and I'm talking any
[6:07] restaurant is going to be between $ 20
[6:09] to $50 but your average price for a
[6:12] home-cooked meal would be around $5 to
[6:14] $10 so huge money-saving opportunity
[6:18] here another thing to consider is eating
[6:20] at like a budget friendly Cafe slash gas
[6:25] station it feels silly saying this but
[6:28] hear me out first first of all the local
[6:31] bakeries are so good they don't just
[6:34] make sweets a lot of times you can find
[6:37] pizza or sandwiches that are really
[6:40] affordable so you can just kind of grab
[6:42] that and head out on the road another
[6:45] thing to look out for is a soup Buffet
[6:47] because a lot of times they'll allow a
[6:49] refill and have unlimited bread and
[6:53] don't discount the Icelandic hot dog at
[6:55] a gas station for about $5 each I know a
[6:59] lot of people use this as a way to stay
[7:02] really under budget while traveling
[7:03] around Iceland because you can't beat it
[7:07] and they're actually good another tip
[7:09] for avoiding costs in food and drink
[7:11] category is to not buy alcohol while
[7:14] you're at a restaurant now I get it it's
[7:17] really really fun to sit at this
[7:19] beautiful Cozy Cafe and have a beer or a
[7:22] glass of wine but those prices are very
[7:26] very jacked up so what you could do
[7:28] instead is wait until you get back to
[7:30] your hotel or accommodation for the
[7:32] evening and crack open the dutyfree that
[7:35] you had grabbed at the airport and enjoy
[7:38] your adult beverage there moving on to
[7:41] activities to save money in Iceland the
[7:44] good thing about this beautiful country
[7:46] is that there are so many free things to
[7:50] do free things to see so you don't have
[7:53] to take a tour or pay someone to bring
[7:57] you to a place in order to see the most
[8:00] fantastic sites so the first thing we
[8:02] consider doing is hiking there are so
[8:06] many so many hiking trails in Iceland a
[8:09] lot of them are well known like hiking
[8:11] up to raake your dollar or or hiking to
[8:15] waterfalls I have an entire hiking and
[8:18] Iceland playlist definitely start there
[8:20] to check out some of those videos for
[8:22] inspiration on where to go and what to
[8:24] do but hiking is a great way to kind of
[8:27] explore the Wilderness for free
[8:29] another activity that you can do is get
[8:31] into those hot springs or geothermal
[8:34] pools and I know what you're thinking
[8:36] the Blue Lagoon is the most expensive
[8:38] thing in Iceland but there are
[8:40] definitely a budget Spa alternatives for
[8:44] example the secret Lagoon does it have
[8:47] the blue water and the white mask no but
[8:50] it is an experience that is definitely
[8:52] more affordable than the Blue Lagoon
[8:55] another thing to do that is severely
[8:57] underrated which is visit the local
[9:00] geothermal pools and if you have little
[9:03] ones a lot of times there's a mini
[9:05] splash pad or water slides the perfect
[9:07] little activity at a fraction of the
[9:10] price you can still get in your hot
[9:12] water fix and you don't have to pay
[9:13] those High Spa prices if you do want to
[9:17] take a tour I have a couple of great
[9:19] options to save money first of all the
[9:21] food walk is where you can sample
[9:24] Iceland's most delicious Cuisine with
[9:26] the highest rated f tour in rikic you
[9:29] can use my code Iceland with a VI to get
[9:31] 10% off this is such a great way to
[9:34] sample Iceland's delicious Cuisine or
[9:38] there is actually a free City Walk tour
[9:41] that you can book with a guide to walk
[9:43] around ruic they'll point out all the
[9:45] important buildings and give you some
[9:47] Icelandic culture lessons see lots of
[9:51] things to do on a budget now that you
[9:53] know how to travel to Iceland on a
[9:54] budget we need to talk about the best
[9:56] activities and tours to book on your
[9:58] trip and then next video I'm going to
[10:00] give you the inside scoop on the best
[10:02] tours and how to book them without
[10:03] breaking the bank I'll see you in the
[10:05] next video but until then Happy planning