Iceland has been one of the top of destinations I’ve wanted to visit for ages but getting there always seemed out of reach. It’s notorious for being one of the most expensive countries in the world and is a long way away from Australia. When traveling around Europe without a plan in 2024, I decided to make it the single place I had to go to. There’s a plethora of information online about visiting Iceland due to its popularity. Even so, I thought it’d be helpful to share my experience of planning a (relatively) cheap Iceland campervan trip, plus what I learnt and what I’d do better next time.

How much for an Iceland campervan trip?

Look elsewhere if you’re seeking a genuinely cheap holiday destination! Actually though, my solo 10-day Iceland campervan trip didn’t cost as much as I had originally feared.

All up, I spent a grand total of $3,000. Below I’ll break this spending down into different categories and explain where I could’ve saved some bucks.

Firstly, I booked the absolute cheapest campervan I could find which ended up being from KuKu Campers. Thanks to a coupon deal and it being last minute, I paid about $950 for 10 days. This doesn’t seem too out of line with what you’d pay in Australia and I imagine many other countries. It was also only slightly more than what a rental car was going to cost me.

I got a manual Dacia Dokker that included almost everything you might need. It’s basically a mattress in the back of a van with a mounted box containing cooking and cleaning gear. There are also pull out benches. The van didn’t have a heater, which was fine for me in mid-September.

There is a sheet on the mattress but you’ll need to hire or bring additional bedding yourself. I paid $35 to rent a sleeping bag from KuKu. Gas to use with the included stove also costs extra, however I got lucky since the person before me barely used any of their gas.

One thing I’ll highlight as the only real negative with this campervan: the USB port charged incredibly slowly. I wish I’d packed a USB car charger because they were very pricey in Iceland.

Filling up

Fuel was the next biggest cost of my Iceland campervan trip at $640. Petrol was much pricier than in Australia. I paid between $3.25-$3.45 per litre, and that’s with a small discount from N1, Iceland’s largest service station chain, which you get from KuKu Campers and other rental companies.

Iceland’s Route 1 Ring Road is 1,322km. I ended up driving more than 2,400km including lots of side trips and some occasional backtracking. Sticking mostly to the main road would be one way to cut down on fuel costs but I wanted to see as much I could. I have no regrets!

Additionally, there are opportunities to save more through planning. A price comparison service called GSMbensín tracks fuel prices across the country and I did check this occasionally. Usually though, I filled up when and where I needed to. N1 doesn’t seem to be the cheapest company either, I was just sucked in by some free coffee vouchers. Their cheap hot dogs are appealing too…

Food for thought

Speaking of, dining was my next biggest expense at $435. I don’t mean to be critical of Iceland’s cuisine, but if I did an Iceland campervan trip again, I’d be more careful where I dine.

There were no bad meals, it is just a bit tough to look back and see that I spent a bundle on unmemorable food. (Most of this was out of convenience following a long day of driving).

To be fair, I did have some truly standout meals:

• An $8 hot dog from Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur is almost an essential component of an Iceland trip. You can even get one at the airport when you arrive or depart.
• Friðheimar’s tomato-based dishes are worth trying in spite of the eye-watering menu prices. My tomato soup, tomato cheesecake and tomato beer came to $65.
• The soups from Icelandic Street Food are absolutely delicious. $27 is a lot, but you get free refills, great service and can try each of the different soups. Waffles are also included!
• The Omnom Chocolate and Ice Cream Shop sells one of the best desserts I’ve ever tasted: The Polar Bear. This $17 ice cream sundae cup features “torched marshmallow, 70% dark chocolate sauce, oatmeal cookie crumble, and birch smoked sea salt from Saltverk”.

Attractive attractions

I spent $325 on what I’m calling “attractions” – mostly museums and geothermal spas. Almost half of this ($155) went to the famous Blue Lagoon. I was on the fence about visiting. In the end, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity. I had a great time however, if I go back to Iceland, I wouldn’t return to the Blue Lagoon. It’s almost a must do, if only it didn’t cost so much.

That’s where other geothermal lagoons might be appealing. I only visited one other – the Secret Lagoon – which was smaller and lacked the Blue Lagoon’s fancy features like a bar and mud masks. It was less than a third of the price though ($50) and the water seemed just as nice to me.

The three museums that I went to were all top notch:

• I learnt a bunch about Iceland’s history and culture at the National Museum of Iceland ($27).
• Perlan ($65) is interesting and educational. The highlight is probably the ice cave and glaciers exhibition. It’s expensive, especially if you’re in a family or group, but a top pick for a rainy day.
• The Glaumbær Farm & Musée ($22) provided a fascinating look at traditional Icelandic turf houses. I promise it’s better than it sounds! The houses made for awesome photos.

Sighting sites for an Iceland campervan

Hiring a campervan allows for plenty of flexibility but you still need to find somewhere to park and stay. (Iceland seems to be strict about parking outside of designated camping areas).

Across ten nights, I paid a total of $270 for campsites. The cheapest was $20 per person per night and the most expensive was $42. As with the cost of the campervan rental, these prices really wouldn’t seem too out of place in Australia.

I thought all of the campsites I stayed at were good, although confusingly I sometimes paid more for places with fewer facilities such as showers or cooking areas. This probably comes down to their locations and whether there’s any competition in the area.

Again, I failed to do much advance planning. By lunchtime each day, I knew roughly where I would end up for the night. I’d then check maps published by KuKu Campers, Cosy Campers and Tjalda.is. Then I would look at Google Maps to see a campsite’s rating (minimum 4 stars for me) and recent reviews (which can give a heads up if a location is unexpectedly closed or facilities are unavailable).

To save some cash, you could plan to visit the specific campsites that are most affordable. Many sites can be reserved online if you do go this route. They can theoretically sell out (probably only at the very busiest times) but I never had any problems.

Finally, it’s worth mentioning the Iceland Camping Card. For €179 ($308), two adults and four children can stay at selected camping sites across the country for up to 28 nights. I didn’t buy one as I knew it wouldn’t work out for my solo Iceland campervan trip. The card expires on 15 September each year so you’d need to get in all your camping by then anyway.

Supermarket spend

While checking my transactions, I was surprised to find that I spent $185 at supermarkets during my trip. Then I remembered that I probably spent half of that (or more) on local snacks like Nóa Kropp, Ris Buff and Omnom Chocolate bars.

The other half went towards actual food. Unfortunately, I didn’t keep receipts, but I thought grocery prices were fair, especially considering how much is brought in from overseas. Just as an example, you can pick up staples like a loaf of bread or pack of pasta for around $3 each.

Fresh fruit and vegetables did seem to be significantly more expensive than somewhere like Australia, save for a few locally-grown options and the occasional discount offer. Meat prices were also high. However, it isn’t impossible to put together a quality, affordable meal. I spent $15 or so making beef burgers with all local ingredients which was enough food for two.

When not overspending at restaurants, I mainly relied on fast and simple meals like ramen and pasta. A jam sandwich and a tub of tasty skyr made a great breakfast and was just a few dollars a day.

From what I’ve read, some people bring packs of food with them from home. I reckon this isn’t worth the hassle to save a few bucks. A properly smart move would be to bring some kind of versatile herbs and spices mix and/or sauce, as these stood out as being particularly expensive.

The best tip I have is to go to Bónus, which has become my new favourite supermarket chain. This is not just because of it’s pig mascot but also their good products and prices. But mainly the pig.

Parking points

I’m not sure I entirely understand why Iceland’s parking situation is the way it is, but I’ll explain it as I see it. Very few of the major natural attractions such as waterfalls cost money to visit. However, some do have paid parking. My Iceland campervan trip included a grand sum of $110 in parking fees.

800-1000 ISK or $9-11 is a common price to park at top sites like Seljalandsfoss and Jökulsárlón. Meanwhile, places like Gullfoss, Skógafoss and Goðafoss confusingly all have free parking. Maybe this comes down to crowd control more than anything else?

One downside of this system is that a solo traveler ends up paying as much as a whole family in a minivan. At least it’s usually pretty easy to pay for parking through the Parka app. Some locations have different systems which can become confusing. If you’re putting together a list of places to visit, it could be helpful to include notes about parking so there are no surprises.

Summing up my Iceland campervan trip

On one hand, $3,000 for a 10-day Iceland campervan trip might not seem all that cheap. On the other hand, I’m not sure I’d recommend trying to aim for much cheaper. Remember that more than half of that cost is for the campervan and fuel.

I could’ve saved a couple hundred bucks by being smarter about where I ate and what groceries I bought. Isn’t trying new things part of the fun of traveling though, even when it doesn’t work out?

Let’s say I did spend my money smarter, tried to cut down on the kilometres and optimised the whole trip around which petrol stations to fill up at and the cheapest campsites to stay at. Say hello to some savings but wave goodbye to any flexibility or spontaneity!

If you have no interest in expensive places like the Blue Lagoon and Perlan, that’s an easy cut.

The biggest saving opportunity? Going with a friend or partner, of course. Splitting the cost of the campervan, fuel and parking in half would reduce the per person price from $3,000 to $2,150. Groceries also work out cheaper for two. A budget of $2,000 per person is probably within reach.

Note that campsites seem to charge per person, so you wouldn’t save anything there. But if want to take a cheap Iceland campervan trip, the best tip may well be to try and find someone to join!