Check out this post — Expense Report: Pre-Trip Costs — for a better understanding of other costs associated with a RTW trip, as well as a definition of my travel style and how it impacts my budget.

Man, it’s been awhile since I’ve written one of these! Glad to be back at it.

Here’s what I spent in U.S. dollars over 7 nights / 8 days in Iceland:

• Accommodation = $142.12 … $20.30 per night*
• Food = $162.06 … $20.25 per day
• Groceries = $37.57 … $4.69 per day
• Coffee = $33.89 … $4.23 per day
• Activities = $121.07 … $15.12 per day
• Cell & Wifi = $24.67 … $3.08 per day
• Transportation = $910.60 … $113.82 per day
• Miscellaneous = $71.12 … $8.89 per day

*I spent two nights at KEX Hostel for $50/night, then it cost roughly $12/night to camp for five nights

And the grand total for 8 nights in Iceland is…

$1,503 USD, which works out to $187.88 per day.

Here’s how those numbers compare with other countries I’ve traveled to:

• My daily average in Cook Islands: $157.05
• My daily average in New Zealand: $88.56
• My daily average in Australia: $83.37
• My daily average in Singapore: $78.86
• My daily average in Indonesia: $51.34
• My daily average in Malaysia: $117.09
• My daily average in Palau: $160.91
• My daily average in Philippines: $49.21
• My daily average in Japan: $89.55
• My daily average in Nepal: $75.42
• My daily average in Jordan: $68.88
• My daily average in Israel: $70.62
• My daily average in Turkey: $72.42
• My daily average in Egypt: $192.41
• My daily average in Dubai: $218.03
• My daily average in Morocco: $54.94
• My daily average in Ethiopia: $87.55
• My daily average in South Africa: $70.95
• My daily average in Iceland: $187.88

Compared to how much I’ve spent in other countries, Iceland is one of the most expensive places I’ve traveled to. But it’s also the most dense with stunning sites and activities, as evidenced by these photos snapped during my trip — in my opinion, it’s totally worth saving up the extra money to go here:

A few notes:

• I used xe.com in mid-August 2015 (the time of my trip) to calculate the exchange rate and at that point in time, 1 ISK (Icelandic Kroner) = .0075 USD.
• I received the following blog discounts during my time in Iceland: 15% off my car rental (savings of $90 USD), camping gear rental (value of $110), Inside the Volcano tour ($300), 20% off Silfra snorkeling tour (savings of $31.87), Northern Lights exhibit entrance fee ($12), Blue Lagoon entrance fee at ‘comfort’ level ($53.40). Total savings = $597.
• I did not include my flight into Iceland (from USA) or out of Iceland (to Spain) because I’ll note all international flights at the end of this month-long, multi-country trip. (For the record, it was $366 from Boston to Reykjavik [including baggage fees] and then $180 from Reykjavik to Madrid). I did not take any domestic flights within Iceland.
• I paid around $25 USD for a local SIM card at the airport (I went with Siminn based on on-line reviews) which came with 1 GB of data plus airtime to make local calls. I found that data was essential because I used Google Maps on my phone while driving. I continue to use the Viber app to communicate for free with my friends and family who have the app back home.
• I continue to use my Charles Schwab debit card to avoid international ATM fees.
• A few items in the miscellaneous slice of the pie include… laundry at KEX Hostel ($7), 10 postcards and 10 stamps ($32), souvenirs & gifts ($30).
• Yikes, Iceland is just as expensive as I feared, based on its reputation as a pricey destination. But it’s worth noting that a HUGE part of my expenses — nearly two-thirds! — was my rental car and gas. That cost me $883 total: $553.54 for a 7-day car rental and $329.13 for gas (higher than I expected for gas but that’s probably because I was in a 4WD vehicle). If you take the rental car and gas out of the equation, then I spent only $620 for 8 days in Iceland, which is pretty affordable. (I returned my rental car on my second-to-last day and simply walked around Reykjavik that final day.) But without a rental car, the quality of my Iceland experience would have been drastically reduced. Yes, you can base yourself out of Reykjavik and do day trips from the city to avoid renting a car. But those day trips are pricey (around $150-$300 depending on how far away / ambitious the trip is), and my car rental with gas “only” cost $126 per day for the seven days I drove it. I saw so many incredible, overwhelmingly majestic places — many of them free, like hikes or waterfalls — that I would not have seen without the freedom and flexibility that comes with having my own set of wheels. I think renting a car is the best way to see Iceland — it’s super easy to drive there, and some of the best gems are hidden off the beaten path. Plus I can’t put a price on the ability to pull over and take a photo (or 50) whenever I see a pretty view out my windshield.
• So… how can experiencing Iceland this way be more affordable? If you have a lot more time, you could take the bus, but it might take 2-3 weeks to see what I saw in 8 days. Hitchhiking is definitely an option — it’s very acceptable there and you’ll likely see lots of other friendly backpackers doing it. But therein lies the problem… during high season, there are too many hitchhikers and not enough willing drivers, so that’s not a reliable mode of transit for Iceland. Again, if you have a large chunk of time to spend here, then hitchhiking is more feasible — but it’s less than ideal for a shorter trip. Another option would be to check out this ride sharing website, where people post if they are driving somewhere and willing to take other passengers. Alternatively, you can post that you are looking for a ride from A to B on a particular date and see if you get any takers. It’s a bit of a gamble but could work out. My best piece of advice is to split the cost with other people. If you are traveling as a couple, awesome; those numbers are divided by two — the same trip I did would have only cost $442 per person! Or my sister traveled roughly the same itinerary around Iceland with two other friends, in a smaller car (non-4WD) that was more fuel efficient. That limited the places they could go (gravel roads became trickier) but in the end they spent maybe $250 EACH to do roughly the same itinerary I did for $883! And that’s including a 15% discount on the rental price due to my blog coverage; otherwise it’d be $90 more. In that light, it seems like a giant waste of money to travel a place like Iceland on my own. But such is the life of a solo traveler — sometimes I have to shell out more money (in this case WAY more money) to pay for a trip alone instead of splitting costs. I decided to go to Iceland just 3.5 weeks before my departure, and at that time I reached out to a few friends to see if they wanted to come with me. They both responded that they would love to, but jobs and life would keep them from joining along, which is totally understandable. Do I regret traveling to Iceland at this juncture in time, rather than waiting to share the trip with someone else? No, because it was a life-affirming trip; I felt so alive and in wonder of everything around me, literally every hour while I was in the country. I could have gone with my sister and friends back in July but then I would have missed volunteering at summer camp in Connecticut, plus we had different experiences even through we did a very similar itinerary only two months apart (they had nearly 24 hours of sunlight, I had more normal day/night times and saw the Northern Lights), plus I had the benefit of learning from their experience in regards to what to do / what not to do. And you can’t compare a trip with friends to solo travel — they are both valuable in their own ways. That said, if you can split the cost of a car rental in Iceland with other people, it will be undeniably more budget-friendly.

Verdict: Iceland has at least tied (if not superseded) South Africa as my favorite country. I can’t recommend it highly enough. Especially if you can tag it onto a longer trip via layover or score cheap airfare from the States or Europe.