---
title: 'STOP Overpaying for Iceland Travel! Budget Tips You NEED to Know'
source: 'https://youtube.com/watch?v=VWVE27kNkHQ'
video_id: 'VWVE27kNkHQ'
date: 2026-06-30
duration_sec: 621
---

# STOP Overpaying for Iceland Travel! Budget Tips You NEED to Know

> Source: [STOP Overpaying for Iceland Travel! Budget Tips You NEED to Know](https://youtube.com/watch?v=VWVE27kNkHQ)

## Summary



## Transcript

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