Iceland 2018 - Cost
Posted by Mark Richardson on Sep 01, 2018
The trip cost around the £1000 mark but you could easily tailor it to suit a lower budget, the hotel accommodation for example could be dispensed with if you stayed at the campsite near to Reykjavik City Centre; I paid £130 for airport parking which may not be required; restaurant meals are also expensive in Reykjavik, there are cheaper alternatives.
Minimum cost could be around £600, though any extended stay without camping and cooking your own meals would soon rack up additional cost.
A note on Flights; There are two airports at Reykjavik, one is relatively near to the city and is for internal flights, the other is Keflavik which caters for international flights and is a 40 minute transfer to the city centre. There are direct flights from Manchester, London and Glasgow which are quite cheap, I initially looked at flights from my local Newcastle airport which were more than double the price of a direct flight which I got for £200.45.
A note on the Hotel Booking; I booked my first night from the UK through Booking.com, I usually leave any subsequent bookings until I am at the hotel then they don’t have to pay third party commission, especially as the Hotel Orkin is a small privately owned hotel. However this backfired as they charged me an extra £50 saying that they only had a large room available for the night I wanted – the room was large but the extra room was only enough to get another couple of beds in. I felt they took advantage.
Campsite Fees; I usually wild camp on these trips and was intending to do the same here, however my guide doesn’t give much information about water sources etc.. and although the first few days were quiet once I got to Landmannalauger the trail became relatively busy, combine that with finishing mid afternoon on many days and I didn’t feel comfortable wild camping. It would be even worse in the peak season, so I took advantage of the camping that was available and of course paid the fees, which were typically 2000IKr (£13.73) per night, which I paid by cash which I had drawn from an ATM in Reykjavik.
- 2 weeks car parking Manchester Airport - £129.99
- Return Flight - £200.45
- Initial bus ride to start of trek - 9100IKr/£65.57
- Return airport transfers - £47.59
- Hotel Booking, First Night, Hotel Orkin - £124.94
- Hotel Booking, Second Night, Hotel Orkin - £173.29
- Meal First Night - £43.92
- Meal Last Night - £67.86
- Campsite Fees Landmannahellir - 1500IKr/£10.30
- Campsite Fees Landmannalauger - 2000IKr/£13.73
- Campsite Fees Hvanngil - 2000IKr/£13.73
- Campsite Fees Botnar/Enstrur - 2000IKr/£13.73
- Campsite Fees Basar - 1500IKr/£10.30
- Bus Ride Skogar to Reykjavik - 5520IKr/£37.84
- Taxi Ride to Hotel - 3000IKr/£20.38
*Cash £113.74 from ATM
Grand Total: £973.62
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Mark Richardson |
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Mark was the founder of Ultralight Outdoor Gear back in 2006 and has completed long distance backpacking routes in some of the remotest parts of the world. His favourite hikes have been Torres del Paine (full circuit), the John Muir trail and the Markha Valley trail (Ladakh, India). Although semi-retired Mark has not lost any enthusiasm for minimalist backpacking and is tackling Scotland’s Munros choosing multi-day backpacking routes over the more usual guide book excursions. |
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