My friends back in the U.S.A. were celebrating Memorial Day weekend Jersey Shore style, while I was on an airplane headed over to Iceland with hiking boots, long sleeves and rain jackets in tow. I didn’t realize what I was getting myself into when traveling to Iceland.

A few tips when traveling to Iceland and trying to save some money in the land of the “tourist trap”.

1. Currency: Not needed! Save the ATM fees. I did not need to go to the ATM once. Everywhere, including baggage check at the Blue Lagoon, had credit card machines. Just make sure your credit card has no transaction fees. I used my United Club Credit Card the entire trip.
2. Food: Please remember that all tax and tip  is included in the price listed on the menus. If you are used to New York City prices, the prices are not too far from that. What I suggest doing is stopping at Bonus, their supermarket, to pick up some snacks and breakfast items. Yogurts are sold at the coffee shops, but if you purchase them at Bonus they are about $1 compared to $3-$4 bucks at the coffee shops. Iceland is known for their fish, so try to indulge! The Sea Baron, located close to the harbor, is a casual restaurant and relatively inexpensive for a meal. We were 3 people and split red fish and whale (looks like steak) and had 3 beers for about $17pp all in. Not too shabby. We also tried out Old Iceland Inn, which was amazing! You may need to make a reservation for this place, so plan ahead. We paid $53pp, but had an appetizer, entree, split a desert and had a glass of wine. Compared to NYC, this is about right since this also included tip and tax.
3. Alcohol: I wish I could speak Icelandic because I would ask where the locals went to purchase liquor. I did not see one liquor store in the city. If you have time when you land at the airport, stop at Duty Free and pick up whatever alcohol you would like to drink on the trip. You will save a lot of money and you will not have to spend $8-$10 on each drink at the bar. We tried to stick to the bars that had 1/2 price cocktails during happy hour since we did not have the opportunity to pick up alcohol when we landed! Learn from my mistakes!
4. Water: DO NOT buy bottled water. Icelandic water is so incredibly clean and fresh to drink. It may smell a little bit like rotten eggs, but that is just the sulfur. You will get used to it 🙂
5. Taxis: Try to avoid them at all costs since the taxis are very expensive. Gray Line is a great bus company that operates worldwide and they provide pick up and drop off from the airport to your hotel in Reykjavik for around $18pp each way.
6. Souvenirs: All the souvenir shops in Reykjavik are so expensive. If you have the chance to travel outside of the city (Golden Circle tour or the “Inside the Volcano” tour, try to purchase souvenirs at those stops). If you would like to purchase Blue Lagoon lotions and masks, do not purchase them directly at the Blue Lagoon. I’d recommend waiting until you are at the airport on the way back to your home country to go to the Blue Lagoon duty free store. You will save 20% there.
7. Weather: During the month of May, it is cold, windy and rainy! I did not realize that and did not bring a scarf or heavy jacket. You do not want to have to spend extra money on the ridiculously priced clothing in Iceland, so please remember to pack accordingly! It was also light out 19 hours out of the day. Crazy! I’d suggest bringing some sort of sleeping mask so you do not wake up throughout the night thinking it is time to get up 🙂
8. Blue Lagoon: If you are headed to the Blue Lagoon, which I highly recommend (photo in this post), try to head to the Blue Lagoon right when you get off your flight. Blue Lagoon is located closer to the airport and you can save a lot of money if you purchase the Blue Lagoon basic package with transportation from the airport to the Blue Lagoon and then from Blue Lagoon to your hotel. Baggage check is safe and the Blue Lagoon locker rooms have secure lockers to keep all of your belongings. There are Spa like showers, hairdryers, etc. that you can use. I was pleasantly surprised with their facilities.
9. Golden Circle Tour: Take this through any tour company. It is totally worth it. It cost around $80pp for this 8 hour tour. I got to see the waterfall, where the North America and Eurasia tectonic plates spread apart and the hot springs.
10. Inside the Volcano Tour: This tour was a bit pricey at $350pp, but it is a once in a lifetime experience. You literally are lowered down 120 meters inside a volcano and left to explore for about 45 minutes. In order to get to the volcano, you need to hike 45 minutes through lava fields. This is the ONLY place in the world you can do something like this. Do it. I am all about saving money, but I splurged completely on this experience and I am so happy about the splurge.