Iceland 2022 overview

 This post is mainly an overview of our Iceland trip. Partly for us to keep track of in case we decide to do Iceland again. Because it was an awesome trip, we loved it! I know some people might be uncomfortable sharing these details, but we firmly believe that travelling is possible on a budget. This was definitely the most expensive vacation we have ever taken, it is not something that we can do often.

Here is my working list of what we usually spend our money on for each trip with details:

Accommodations at our location - This was our winner for BTI (Big Ticket Item) coming in at about $4300. We added on the premium insurance when we picked up the van which was another $300. This included the cost for extra sleeping bags which we definitely needed as well as the hotspot which meant we did not need to use our phones for GPS and anything else we needed for internet. We were able to  get the 15% Happy Challenge. 

Campsites were actually more affordable than in the US. We bought the Iceland camp card which was 180 Euros and gets you into campsites for up to 29 days. I think we stayed in non-camp card sites 2 or 3 times. We did sometimes have to pay for showers, sometimes it was included. But, as we have found from other travels, we had to pay for showers in Yellowstone and the Tetons. I believe the showers were actually cheaper in Iceland. And they didn't charge for the kids because they were under 14. 

Gas for driving the van around ended up being about $1000. This was because the price of gas pretty much doubled in the few months before we took our trip. It was out of our control. 

Travel to our location - This was our other BTI, once we paid all the fees for luggage it totaled to about $3000 for the five of us to fly to Iceland. We booked in November before gas prices went up due to war in Ukraine. If we would have waited until spring to book we definitely would not have been able to take the trip.

Accommodations while traveling to location - NONE!!! This was fun. Being able to do direct flights from Chicago to Keflavik was awesome. Very different than our normal get in the car and drive for 14 or more hours to get to our destination.

Food on the way to our location - This was probably the most expensive food on our trip. Burger King in Chicago airport was $70 for the five of us. Restaurants were cheaper in Iceland than in the airport. And then we had to pick up snacks in the airport in Keflavik. So, that stunk, but not much we could do about it.

Food at our location - I won't give exact amounts because grocery stores in Iceland we actually thought were comparable to stores in the US. We went to Bonus stores (similar to Aldi) when possible and a couple of times used other chains in the north where there were no Bonus stores. We ate at three restaurants on our trip and I think we got gas station hot dogs twice. Gas station hot dogs cost about the same as what we do with Kwik Trip in Wisconsin. The restaurants were actually not badly priced. They were cheaper than the Burger King in the Chicago airport. We ate at a pizza place after a long day of hiking in the Myvatn area, we stuffed the kids full of Domino's Pizza before getting on the plane to come back and we ate at one fish and chips place in Reykjavik. Oh yeah, and the hot dog place we were required to visit for the Happy Challenge. So, overall, money we spent on food (except for in Chicago) was about what we would have spent if we would have stayed home and gone nowhere. 

Any miscellaneous new gear for the trip - We had to get the kids new hiking boots, but they would have needed those before whatever trip we were taking. But, shoes and pants are items we have to get even if we stay home. We did need to get the kids fleeces to make sure they had enough layers. So, they got the fleeces as Christmas presents. We all needed new camp towels for the trip, so the kids all got those as birthday presents.

Any fees we will have for activities Iceland is actually a pretty kid friendly place. We had to pay entrance fees to get into the National Museum and the Arbaer Open Air Museum. Both times we only have to pay the entrance fee for Jim and I, the kids were free. We paid for two boat excursions. The first was to Grimsey so that we could cross the Arctic Circle. Total for that was $123 for all of us. We did that boat trip because I REALLY wanted to do it, which everyone reminded me when we got seasick on the ferry. Then we did whale watching in Husavik and that was $255 for all five of us. The whale watching was our family Christmas present. (In case you can't tell, because we plan ahead, we use things we need as gifts. Which means yes, there are not many items under the tree at Christmas, but hopefully we are teaching our kids that our time and experiences together are more valuable than stuff under the tree.)

Other stuff - House sitters was $275, travel to and from the airport was $150. Jim and I did get Icelandic sweaters because they are awesome. We usually do not buy much in the way of souvenirs unless it is something really unique to the area. We bought the kids wool cowls which they wore lots. 

So, it ended up being about $1900 a person for our 20 day trip in Iceland. That is not counting food because I am counting the cost of NOT being at our house. Definitely MUCH more expensive than any other trip we have taken and we won't be able to take another trip like in in quite a while.