What does a 10-day trip to Iceland cost for 4 people?
About 1,205,000 ISK ($9,699) in total, or 30,000 ISK per person per day — travelling in September, with a 4x4, staying in guesthouses and eating out about half the time. The realistic range is 941,000 ISK to 1,592,000 ISK, and flights are on top.
Where the money goes
| Car rental | 150,000 ISK | 12% |
| Rental insurance (SCDW + sand and ash) | 60,000 ISK | 5% |
| Fuel | 34,000 ISK | 3% |
| Kilometre road tax | 14,000 ISK | 1% |
| Parking at paid stops | 10,000 ISK | 1% |
| Accommodation (incl. lodging tax) | 356,000 ISK | 30% |
| Food | 380,000 ISK | 32% |
| Activities and entry fees | 200,000 ISK | 17% |
The same trip, month by month
Only rooms and car hire move with the season. Everything else costs the same in February as in July, which is why the spread is narrower than people expect. The light does not behave like the price at all, which is why it is in the table: a cheap month can be a short one.
| Month | Total | Per person per day | Usable light |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 1,106,000 ISK | 28,000 ISK | 7 hours 30 minutes |
| February | 1,106,000 ISK | 28,000 ISK | 10 hours 15 minutes |
| March | 1,131,000 ISK | 28,000 ISK | 13 hours 30 minutes |
| April | 1,166,000 ISK | 29,000 ISK | 16 hours 45 minutes |
| May | 1,205,000 ISK | 30,000 ISK | 21 hours 45 minutes |
| June | 1,377,000 ISK | 34,000 ISK | 24 hours |
| July | 1,451,000 ISK | 36,000 ISK | 24 hours |
| August | 1,451,000 ISK | 36,000 ISK | 18 hours 45 minutes |
| September | 1,205,000 ISK | 30,000 ISK | 14 hours 30 minutes |
| October | 1,156,000 ISK | 29,000 ISK | 11 hours 30 minutes |
| November | 1,116,000 ISK | 28,000 ISK | 8 hours 30 minutes |
| December | 1,180,000 ISK | 30,000 ISK | 7 hours |
What to know about this trip
Four people is the size Iceland prices well. You need two rooms but still only one vehicle, and food and activities scale per head whatever you do — so the fixed costs of the trip, the car and its insurance and the road tax, are split four ways instead of two. That is why the per-person figure here (30,000 ISK a day) is lower than the same trip for a couple.
Ten days is where the Ring Road stops feeling rushed. At roughly 1,617 km you have room for a rest day, or for weather to close a road without wrecking the itinerary — which in Iceland is a scheduling assumption, not pessimism.
On this trip the biggest single line is food, at 380,000 ISK — about 32% of the total. That is the lever worth pulling first if the number is higher than you hoped.
Other trip shapes
5 days, 1 person · 5 days, 2 people · 5 days, 4 people · 7 days, 1 person · 7 days, 2 people · 7 days, 4 people · 10 days, 2 people · 14 days, 2 people · 14 days, 4 people · Campervan or hotels in Iceland: which is actually cheaper? · The cheapest month to visit Iceland, priced
Change the assumptions and price your own trip · Driving distances