Iceland Travel Costs: Flights, Car Hire and Supermarket

I’ve enjoyed frolicking around, making the most out of £5 flights but recently I realised that I was eager for a new challenge.

And what better place to flex my money-saving muscles than Iceland?

Renowned for its beauty – and the price tag that comes along with it – I thought it would be the perfect destination to do on a budget. Keep reading for the lowdown on all the Iceland travel costs!

The Cheap Iceland Road Trip Challenge

The challenge (which I do indeed accept) is to get flights, accommodation, 4×4 car hire, petrol, food, drink and activities for a 6 night road trip around Iceland’s ring road for less than £600.

In the first video, we nab flights with Wizz Air for £57.98 each, a 20kg suitcase for £29.50 each (we shared!), 4×4 car hire via Northbound for just £78 per person and our first supermarket shop for £28.50 each.

Total spent so far = £193.98 each

Total left = £406.02 each

Cheap Flights to Iceland

We flew with Wizz Air from London Luton for £57.98 each. Being Wizz Air club members (€29.99 a year for two people) we saved around £15 each but we could have flown for just £55 without the discount (£39 with!) the week prior – alas, the flights didn’t work for James’ work!

Is it worth joining Wizz Air’s discount club?

If you’re planning more than one trip per year with them and travelling with the same person, then yes. They also do a group membership for €59.99 where the member + 5 companions get discounts so if you often travel as a family or social group, it’s definitely worth looking into.

The flight itself was more than fine. Wizz Air has a very similar offering to Ryanair so sure, it’s not luxury, but for the price you really can’t complain.

As we were travelling in the winter, we decided to add on one 20kg suitcase which cost £59 – ouch. However, as well as helping to keep us warm with the numerous jumpers packed inside, it also made financial sense as I was able to pack some food bits and towels that we’d later get charged to hire at the geothermal pools.

Whether you know your dates and destination or just your budget, here's my guide on how to book cheap flights for every occasion.

Cheap Iceland Car Hire

I usually jump straight onto Skyscanner yet I quickly realised that it wasn’t bringing up any local rental companies. Some googling later, I found Northbound who consistently offered the cheapest prices.

Northbound are a broker, so they’ll scour a whole host of local companies to bring you the best price.

As we were there during some pretty icy weather, we definitely needed a 4×4 and I quickly found a Suzuki Jimmy for just £156 for 6 days. At just £26 a day, I think that’s unreal value!

One tip – if you’re searching from the airport, make sure to change your pickup destination to their local office as this can often save you even more money.

On arriving at Keflavik Airport (that’s Reykjavik’s international airport), we looked out for our name on a board and were greeted by a very friendly fella from Lava Rentals. Two minutes later, we were in their minibus and five minutes after that, at their Keflavik office.

We lucked out being the first to be served at the desk (there were around four people behind me) and five minutes later we were in our car and ready to go.

We were honestly so impressed with speed and efficiency of the people at Lava Rentals and would definitely recommend the whole process!

Iceland Travel Costs
Iceland Car Rental

It is worth saying that I reached out to the folk at Northbound asking for more info after noting their cheap costs, and they gave us a Dacia Duster. Lava Rentals show this model online at £40 a day but I bet you could find it cheaper via Northbound‘s site.

All in all, we saved around £60 by booking with them over Skyscanner. NOT TOO SHABBY PALS!

Here's how to find a cheap car hire rental for your next holiday or business trip - whilst avoiding any hidden fees and charges.

Iceland Supermarket Costs

Finding cheap flights and a cheap car was simple enough, but I quickly realised that if one thing was going to catch me out, it was going to be the cost of food on the road. So I had to take into account supermarket prices when calculating overall Iceland travel costs. 

Iceland Travel Costs: Supermarket
Iceland Supermarket

I knew that we’d be cooking most of our meals but I was nervous about the prices and whilst I’d watched numerous videos about what to expect, I did feel that this area could be my downfall.

So my top tips here are to:

  • Make a food plan at home
  • Work out what you can bring from home (small packets of salt, pepper, etc.)
  • Make a list of everything you need to buy

List in hand, we rocked up to the Netto which was just 400m from the hire car company. The other budget supermarkets are Kronan and Bonus – the latter being undeniably the cheapest – yet as we were fast approaching 9pm, Netto was one of the few places still open.

This is what we ended up buying in our first big shop:

Item Quanitity ISK GBP
Beef mince 500g 936 £5.99
Bags 1 40 £0.26
Tortellini pasta 1 pack 498 £3.19
Frozen pizza 575g 679 £4.35
Semi skimmed milk 1 litre 182 £1.16
Orange juice 1.5 litre 299 £1.91
Heinz baked beans 400g can 99 £0.63
Heinz baked beans 400g can 99 £0.63
Red kidney beans in chilli 400g can 189 £1.21
Fusili pasta 500g 199 £1.27
Schwepps tonic 2 litre 339 £2.17
Ham 1 pack (6 slices) 309 £1.98
Sour cream and onion crisps 165g pack 230 £1.47
Spring onion Bunch 205 £1.31
Iceberg lettuce Half (220kg) 94 £0.60
Bread 1 loaf 820g 479 £3.07
Coca cola 1 litre 239 £1.53
Salad tomatoes 365kg 127 £0.81
Carrots 500g 389 £2.49
Onions 635g 98 £0.63
Potaotes 1.15kg 277 £1.77
Strawberries 250g 579 £3.71
Chopped tomatoes 400g can 179 £1.15
Chopped tomatoes 400g can 179 £1.15
Red pepper 200g 96 £0.61
Mystery item I can’t remember N/A 156 £1.00
Bananas 4 (740g) 181 £1.16
Leek 1 (400g) 144 £0.92
Lemon (1) 190g 64 £0.41
Lime (1) 95g 46 £0.29
Lime (1) 90g 43 £0.28
Skyr yoghurt 500g 277 £1.77
Butter 400g 459 £2.94
Eggs 10 pack 498 £3.19
TOTALS . 8907 £57.00

Overall, I was super pleased by how affordable most things were. Yes, a little pricier than normal but no where near as bad as I had built it up in my head! I also could not believe that Heinz baked beans were cheaper there than in the UK – MADNESS!!!

However, the list definitely helped and I found this particular Netto (this one!) had a really good range of items. Everything I looked for, I found!

Catch up on the rest of the road trip!

Iceland Travel Costs

Although Iceland has a reputation for being slightly on the more expensive side, planning ahead and discovering how much you’ll be expected to spend will keep you on top of your budget!

Now you have all the Iceland travel costs; get planning your next trip!

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