BUDGET ROAD TRIP GUIDE TO ICELAND
Being a life-long Bjork fan, Iceland as a country has always intrigued me – more than intrigued me, it has always been top of my list of countries to visit – a pilgrimage if you will to the land of the spiritual leader of my 13 year old self. However, until recently actually getting to Iceland hasn’t been the easiest if you are intending to do so on the cheap. It has only been the last year or so that Easyjet have started flying regularly to Reykjavik from London, and these budget flights were the breakthrough I needed to finally fulfil my destiny of finally visiting one of the craziest places on our planet – Iceland, homeland of Bjork.
As I mentioned, I was intending to visit Iceland on a budget, and contrary to what other people may tell you it is actually perfectly possible to do so providing you are sensible and use a bit of initiative (quick budget guide to Iceland list forthcoming alert) :
BUDGET GUIDE TO ICELAND CHECKLIST :
– First of all, do not fall for groupon, or Iceland-tourism-board-advertised Reykjavik breaks for £300+. Whilst not a rip-off, these are usually 3 nights tours including accommodation of their choice, not yours. These trips usually involve a lot of coach tours as you get ferried around on the familiar tourist trail. Great if you are past the age of really wanting mass exploration, but you are really missing the best of what Iceland has to offer if you aren’t.
– Instead use a website such as Skyscanner to book your flights in advance cheaply (ours were £95.00 return with luggage), any time from mid-March to late-September are good! Just remember in the Winter months the country has a lot less daylight (and warmth) which could impact your trip considerably so probably aren’t the best times to be booking a holiday.
– Use a website such as AirBnB to book your accommodation! Not only is this so much cheaper than staying in a hotel, its much likely to be a lot bigger, nicer, convenient and cheaper. With AirBnB you can rent out a whole house or apartment opposed to a room which is much better value for money (and usually nicer), and also means you get your own kitchen so you can prepare your own food, instead of having to eat out 3 times a day – instant massive saving on your trip.
– Finally, go with somebody that can drive so you can hire a car. Not only does this give you absolute freedom to explore, its much cheaper than seeing the country via a coach tour. With a car you will see a lot more, and you can do it on your own time. You won’t have to deal with a bunch of other people you have no interest in, and you will probably have a much better trip as a result.
Following the above, for the amount of money a 3-night £300 Reykjavik package tour would have cost us, we managed to book a 5 night/6 day trip, stay in a beautiful huge house next to the sea in Reykjavik (with a kitchen!) and rented a car (2X drive) to get us around the country – really not bad going I do not think (sounding smug right).
One of the first things I would suggest you do once you have landed, is do a supermarket run. Not perhaps what you are desperate to do the minute you land in this land of insanity, but you will probably be glad you have done once you discover Reykjavik restaurant prices. My favourite was the supermarket called BONUS – recognisable by its huge yellow sign with what seems to be a drunk piggy-bank on it. These are all over populated area’s of Iceland (including one in Reykjavik city centre) and seemed to match UK supermarket prices pretty closely to me. My best tip is their amazing packs of dense rye and spelt breads – great with some cheese and tomato for a picnic lunch, and cousin-of-yoghurt SKYR which is massive in Iceland. Essentially really thick yoghurt, it is really delicious and packs a whopping amount of protein per pot/drink. I was absolutely addicted during my time there! Buy and cook your own food, save a fortune.
Budget guide out the way, details of our actual road trip to follow in my next post…
Luke Ferris
notaparticularlygreatdancer.wordpress.com 