Sabbatical Budget for 5 Days in Iceland

Iceland’s certainly never going to be known as a budget travel destination, but I think I did alright for my first week of long-term travel. See the full breakdown of what I spent during 5 days in Iceland below.

Note: These numbers are from July 2016. I’ve made some notes about known differences in cost for summer 2025.

Transportation $297.76

Flight on Wow Air $215
Extra carry-on baggage allowance $40
Round-trip transfer from airport to Reykjavik $42.76

Note: Wow Air is no longer in business. A one-way flight from Washington DC to Reykjavik in summer 2025 would be $185 on Play Air. Once Play Air stops serving the East Coast, airfares to Europe are likely to be more like $300-400.

Accommodations $219.96

5 nights in a 14-bed dorm at Hlemmur Square $219.96

Note: Hlemmur Square is now closed. In summer 2025, 5 nights in a 6-bed female dorm at the popular Kex Hostel would total about $350.

Dining $87.72

1 week’s worth groceries at Bonus $18.63
2 dinners at Baejarins Beztu Pylsur $7.25
2 lunches at Laundromat Cafe $28.61
1 dinner at Noodle Station $7.23
1 insanely overpriced sandwich at Primus Kaffi $26

Entertainment $234.47

Hallgrimskirkja tower admission $7.30
Wonders of Snaefellsnes tour with Reykjavik Excursions $153.93
Geysir, Gullfoss & Thingvellir tour with Reykjavik Excursions $73.24

Note: These tours with Reykjavik Excursions are slightly more expensive in summer 2025, but not by much. The Snaefellsnes tour is now $159 and the Golden Circle tour is now $89.

Miscellaneous $6.02

Coke at a gas station $2.28
extra AA batteries $3.74

Total Budget $845.93

Average Spent Per Day $140.98

This is an especially high total because it includes my transatlantic flight and a couple splurges on day tours, which I don’t normally take.

How I Saved

• Flying on a super no-frills budget airline
  • Wow Air is no longer in business. Play Air filled the gap for a few years, but has now announced it will stop serving the East Coast. I suspect another budget airline will crop up for this route in the future. In the meantime, there are still relatively low cost flights on Icelandair or Aer Lingus.
• Staying in a large dorm
  • As an introvert, I pretty much never stay in anything larger than a 6 or maybe 8 bed dorm, so I was dreading the 14 beds at my room in Hlemmur Square. Fortunately, the hostel’s dorms are quite large and laid out so all the bunks aren’t in the same area, so I got to pay roughly $40 a night for a comfortable space.
• Cooking
  • While I should have visited earlier in my trip, I did eventually make it to Bonus, Iceland’s discount supermarket, and so was able to cook roughly half of my meals.This made a huge difference! For less than $20, I picked up a pound of pasta, a jar of tomato sauce, a large bag of salad greens, a cucumber, a pint of cherry tomatoes, and several road trip snacks.
• Doing tons of research
  • I spent an entire day holed up in a cafe researching day tours, partly for a writing assignment, partly for my own benefit. I looked not necessarily for the cheapest tours, but for the best values. My research really paid off when one of the tours I booked failed to pick me up at the appointed time and I had to come up with a Plan B on the spot.
• Staying out of museums
  • Since I knew I wanted to take day tours to be able to explore the surrounding countryside, I made sure the things I did within Reykjavik had free admission. Spots like the National Museum of Iceland, the Saga Museum, and the Settlement Exhibition all have ticket prices in the $10 to $20 range, which can add up quickly.
• Not drinking
  • The tax on alcohol in Iceland is approximately a floppity jillion percent. It is so high I had to make up a new number for it. Icelanders typically stock up on booze duty free at the airport or pick up a slightly less expensive bottle at the liquor store and pre-game before going out. Taking a pass on Reykjavik’s famed djammid nightlife freed up at least enough funding to cover my hostel bed for a fifth night.