L'Islande

First things first, you need to be ready to adapt your trip to weather conditions and be flexible! We planned a very precise road, and we made changes along the way because some F roads were closed or because the weather was better at other places. That’s one of the consequences of travelling outside of the busy season! On the other hand, the places were mostly empty, and we were able to enjoy and experience nature at its fullest. We hope this article will give you a better idea on what your budget can be on a day-to-day basis. To plan our trip we draw inspiration from a lot of articles of the Kuku campers blog so this one is only to give you a better view of your expenses.

If you need a Camper Van solution for your roadtrip, we recommand KukuCampers. This is the best solution (value for money). There are really flexible and give a lots of tips for your adventure so : rush in !!

Day 1 - Pick up the Van

Arrival at the Keflavik airport at 14 p.m. The Kuku shuttle gave us a ride to the Kuku site and we got our van there. We paid a supplement to be able to drop off the van directly at the airport as our return flight was super early (8 264 isk). After a few formalities, the kuku staff gave us advice and interesting tips, don’t hesitate to ask any question you want. And off we went on our adventure!

Our first mission was to get some food and necessary goods for our trip. We chose the Bonus store, very close to the airport and bought enough for a few launches and breakfast (rice, pasta, toilet paper…). As we like to get a few beers after à long day, we also bought some alcohol (very expensive there!).

Total budget of this first grocery mission: 15 712 isk (food) / 9 967 isk (alcohol)

Then we had time left our first Island wonder, so we went to the Porufoss fall. However, this weather shifted very quickly. It started raining and the wind became stronger. We decided to go look at the fall anyway, but I must say it was our first encounter with the wild elements of the country and it was a strong one! We left for the nearby camping of Phingvellir (3 933 isk). The accommodation was very clean, the site give you a view of the surrounding nature and the showers are very hot. We were very excited for our first night in the van, we tested our stove for the first time, made our bed, arranged our stuff. And we went to bed, eager for the next day!

Total expenses of the day: 37 876 isk

Day 2 - Discover Phingvellir

After breakfast, we went for a nice walk in the national park of Phingvellir (parking 1 300 isk). The place is full of history and legends. Panels along the path taught us that Vikings used to gather there. We took our time to enjoy the nature before returning to the van.
Our next stop was the Kerios crater (1 000 isk), an old crater with a lake at the bottom, creating a very particular mix of red, brown, green and blue colours. The famous Geysir is a few kilometres away, we stopped there for lunch at the cafeteria (8 730 isk). Then we walked around, waiting for the Geysir to explode. We watch 3 explosions of water, the huge blue bubble that forms right before the explosion, the hight of the water column, the coulor of the ground, it is quite a show!

For the afternoon, we planned a specific activity that we booked before leaving. Clearly, we did not anticipate the water temperature or the winds before choosing that. But we decided to go anyway to enjoy rafting trip on the river with Artic Adventure! Not a surprise, the water was freezing, but we spent a very good moment. The river and its surroundings are beautiful, the staff was funny, we laughed a lot and were scared only a little. Afterwards you can warm up into their jacuzzies and enjoy a drink from the bar. (37 980 isk for the rafting, 3 000 isk for the beer). We then stopped for the night at the Skojll camping (3 800 isk).

Total expenses of the day: 55 810 isk

Day 3 - The wonder of waterfall

We had to change our plan because the F roads we needed to take were closed. Instead of going for ahike in Kerlingarfjöll, we headed south and stopped at the secret lagoon. A smaller and more intimate location than some other ones like the famous blue lagoon. We made a reservation there before coming to Iceland, but they agreed to change the day without any additional fees. We paid 7 200 isk for our time there. After our deep in the warn waters of the outdoor pool, and to enjoy the beautiful sun of the day, we took a snack and drinks on the location (2 350 isk). The place is cozy, we had difficulties leaving at all. But we were able to leave and join our next adventure, a hike in the Haifoss canyon (free parking). You will need a 4x4 to access the place, it is a bumpy ride up to the start of the trail. The landscape is worth the detour that is needed to access the place. The various waterfall and the wilderness of the nature around them made beautiful pictures.

On our way to the camping site, we took some gas (13 735 isk), we bought an additional bottle for our camping stove (1 239 isk) and some snacks for our hikes (3 106 isk). We visited the impressive falls of Gljúfrarbúi and Seljalandfoss (900 isk) that were nearby our last stop of the day. We slept at the Skogafoss camping in order to be on site for our hike there the next day (4 000 isk). A small warning here, the showers are not included in the price of the night.

Total expenses of the day: 31 291 isk

Day 4 - Fimmvörðuháls Trek

We left the van at the parking to do the Waterfalls hike of Skogafoss. The full hike is quite long, we decided to enjoy it as much as possible, so we planned to spend the day there. It was a smart decision as it took us 5 hours to complete the path. There was at least one hour spent admiring the surroundings, taking pictures, feeling like we were in Lords of the Rings…
We slept at the Skogafoss campsite again (4 000 isk) and we paid for a shower this time (400 isk).

Total expenses of the day: 4 400 isk

Day 5 - Þakgil

After the long day we had, we planned a more chill trip for our fifth day. We visited several places accessible by car and close to the camping, like the Loftsalahellir cave and the Dyrhólaey arch above the black beach. We took a walk on the black beach of Reynifjara (1 000 isk). The place is beautiful but touristic so it is better to go there in the morning if you can. For the rest of the day, we made the journey to the Þakgil campsite and had lunch in the van on the way over. Once we settle their, we paid for the night and went on a small hike in the surrounding mountains (4 800 isk).

Total expenses of the day: 5 800 isk

Day 6 - Let's go to the East !

Next stop was a walk along the Reynifjara canyon (1 000 isk). We enjoyed the nice weather and took our time to make this tour before leaving for the Skaftatell national park. We decided to have launch at the restaurant there before looking at the several waterfalls of the park and of course the beautiful glacier. The park is not to be missed but we advise to avoid having launch there as it was quite expensive (9 977 isk). After that, we looked at the amazing glacial lagoon of Jökulsárlón with its bleu icebergs! There are several parkings there, don’t hesitate to stop a bite before and walk to the beach, otherwise you will need to pay for the parking (1 000 isk).

Once we were done enjoying the icebergs, we left for Stokkness and its viking village. We were also running low on food, so we bought some groceries before joining our camping (15 469 isk). Its camping has a beautiful view of the entire bay. Try to get there not too late and park at the top of the hill to enjoy it while taking your dinner. The price includes both the camping and the access to the entire site (5 000 isk).

Total expenses of the day: 32 446 isk

Day 7 - The Stokkness bay

We woke up early to visit the Stokkness bay. We first went to see the seals sleeping under the sun. The water of the beach makes an incredible mirror for the surrounding mountains, think about checking the tide time to make sure you can walk on the sand. And of course, we visited the Viking village which was a fun experience. We took two paninis at the Viking café (5 800 isk) to eat them on the way to our next location. The route needed a lot of stops to take pictures before we reached Hengifoss. We did the hike there before getting back in the van. On the road to the Seyðisfjörður camping we went through the mountain and snow started falling from the sky! Quite surprise for us European at this time of the year. But it made the landscape around us even more breathtaking. (5 233 isk camping).

Total expenses of the day: 11 033 isk

Day 8 - Winter is still here !

In the morning, we did a sporty hike to Storurd. There was a lot of snow and the path was muddy but we enjoyed our time there. It took us about three hours to complete the circuit. We made a detour to go to the famous canyon of Studlagil. The parking there is free, there are several areas where you can park depending on the walk you want to make. There were already some people there, but we managed to take pictures and enjoyed the very peculiar form of basalt columns formed by the lava. We spent the night in a camping in the mountains a bit further (4 000 isk).

Total expenses of the day: 4 000 isk

Day 9 - Wonderful Myvatn

We left for the famous place of Myvatn far north. We bought snacks (1 515 isk) in a nearby town and groceries for the upcomings days (6 228 isk). We reached the Namajfall site and parked there (1 200 isk). The place is amazing, there are some small geysir, fumes coming from the ground, the earth is yellown, green, orange, even blue at some spots. It felt like being on Mars, or at least what you assume another planet could look like.

The Myvatn Natural Bath were our next stop (12 244 isk). It was much more grandiose than the
natural bath that we did before. The light blue of the water, the surroundings mountains, the amazing view from the baths, it was something we never saw before. The relaxing time after all the road that we did was welcome. We decided that after such a time in the hot water we did not have energy to cook so we went to a pizzeria 10 minutes away (8 000 isk) before joining the camping. We also used the laundry service there (4 000 isk) as we were starting to run low on clean clothes. The camping was quite packed, but we managed to find a spot without too many people (5 733 isk).

Total expenses of the day : 38 920 isk

Day 10 - Time ro rest !

This day was dedicated to rest. I was feeling a bit under the weather and needed some time to sleep and recover so we stayed around Myvatn. We did a small hike around Leirhnjúkur and the Víti crater but most of the day was spent in the van reading and napping. We splet at the same place as the day before (5 733 isk).

Total expenses of the day: 5 733 isk

Day 11 - Go the west Fjords !

We woke up a bit late that day, as our next stop was not too far away, and because after all we were on holidays! We went to the Grjótagjá cave and to the famous Dettifoss waterfall. The cave is really worth your time, the colour of the water is an incredible shade of blue. Take a few minutes there to grasp the atmosphere of the place. And we started our long journey to the West Fjord. As we passed through Akureyri we stopped at the Subway, our first fast food of the trip, for launch (5 269 isk), gaz (24 000 isk) and groceries (10 175 isk). We travelled all afternoon towards the camping site of Patreksfjörður (4 000 isk). There is also a gaz station nearby if needed.

Total expenses of the day: 43 444 isk

Day 12 - A wild country

We planned to spend the day driving around in the south of the West Fjords. The land is very wild, you will see a lot of sheeps and not many people. We stopped many times to take photos. There are also various hot sources where you can enjoy the warm water in the middle of nature. We had launch in the van, facing the fjord and admiring the view. We took time to look at the beautiful waterfall of Dynjandi, on the biggest and largest of the area. We found a nice and cosy hot stop to relax at the end of the day. Don’t go there to late as it can become a little bit crowed. We stayed there for an hour enjoying our time. The campsite we stayed at was free but there are no commodities.

Total expenses of the day: 0 isk

Day 13 - Let's go back to the south of the Island

We decided to do a little detour as the weather was still quite warm and went to the West. Our goal was to follow the coast up to the Öndverðarnesviti lighthouse. The road has various spots where you can stop to enjoy the view and take pictures. The bright colours of the lighthouse will surprise you and create a magical ambiance if you catch the sundown light. As the trip was coming to an end, we took our lunch in the van down the road to finish our leftovers. After that we had quite a road to go back to the South for our next stop to the glacier. We had to stop
for gaz (30 491 isk). We booked a camping a little above Reykjavik (5 000 isk).

Total expenses of the day: 35 491 isk

Day 14

We woke up bright and early and went to the Solheinmajokull glacier as we booked a hike in the morning (27 472 isk). The hike felt like walking on another planet, the ice landscape white from the snow and black from the ashes created a beautiful contrast.

We took the van back to Reykjavik to enjoy the city for the afternoon. We grabbed a quick bite on the road as we did finish our food the day before (3015 isk). We walked around the place trying to find some souvenirs for our families and friends. There is a lot of nice shops where you can buy some locals products to bring home. After completing our shopping list, we took a break and had a drink at a bar with a jazzy ambiance (2 200 isk). Our family had gifted us with a voucher for a tasty restaurant, if you have some budget left don’t hesitate to go to the “Kol restaurant”. You will not regret it.

Total expenses of the day: 32 687 isk

As we had a very early flight, we decided not to book a hotel or a camping. We drove to the airport right after dinner and we dropped off the van at the parking.

And back to our homes, away from this land of wonders!