Iceland 2015: Why it became my most expensive trip

March 2015

South of Iceland

w. bran

Update:

Uploaded video of my trip to Iceland! Have a look!

Made my mark in my first Scandanavian country!

The view of Iceland from the place was amazing.

I must have taken a couple hundred of pictures like this one. 

They don't even need any filter because Iceland's sceneries.. wow!

I have had the fortune of travelling to different countries every birthday since my 20th one. I thank my parents and boyfriend for keeping up with me. 

Iceland has been on my go-to list for about a year. Was super excited to get there. Until I realize I underestimated Iceland.

By about few hundred quid.

At the end of the trip, 2 budget travellers (bran & I) spent double of what they intend to spend. wtf.

Here is why.

Firstly, tours/entrance fees in Iceland are exorbitant. Hardly any tours/fees here are below £30, cheapest being the Blue Lagoon Geothermal Spa's entrance fees at est. £30. 

However, to get to the Blue Lagoon, you would need to pay a tour company for transport (approx. ISK3000/£25) or rent a car. Another example, I paid for a £90/person tour and although it was the most beautiful experience I've ever had, the price was subconsciously hindering my enjoyment. 

Secondly, Iceland weather is madness.

They said Iceland is green and Greenland is ice. 

Well, Iceland is ice too. 

During the week I am here, I have gone thru about 3 snow blizzards. 
When I told God I wanted snow for snowball fight, I didn't mean knee-deep snow.
I should have been more specific.

Met a girl from California, who rented a car to go South-East of Iceland and ended up trapped in a snow storm, had to call the 112-emergency line and then paid approx. £220 car-towing fees. As a safety measure, I upgrade our ride (we rented a campervan) to a 4x4 vehicle, which costs me an additional £200. It was a much needed upgrade due to the chaotic weather but the money! 

On the way out of Iceland, we were stuck in the airport and had to miss our connecting train back to Liverpool because of another snow storm. That meant we had to spend another £100 on new tickets. I'm still working on our compensation from the airline. 

I don't know anything about airlines compensation, but after this one, I'm pretty good on my rights. So I wrote in to demand compensation, citing EU Directives.

However, I still can't do anything over the fact that Easyjet only gave two £3 refreshment vouchers on two separate occasions for my 8 hour delay. At £3, I could only buy a drink or had to top up for any food. The total of £6 was supposed to last me tea and dinner meals.
Do I look like a mouse? 

Third, necessities in Iceland are expensive. With the same amount, I probably get more from Aldi (one of the cheapest grocery store in England) compared to Bonus (the cheapest grocery store in Iceland). The fact that Iceland in not self-sufficient meant everything is expensive. 

Those 3 reasons are sufficient to bump up my budget threefold. To top this, I am travelling in their low-season (winter), which means everything is cheaper compared to the peak-season (summer). Summer in Iceland would break my bank account.

Aside from the budget issues, Iceland was a good trip.
Definitely one I won't be forgetting anytime soon.