Iceland is an incredible destination, but the country and its capital Reykjavik are notoriously expensive. This makes it hard to figure out exactly where to spend your money.
What things should you hold back on and what should you spend more on? And how on earth to keep those Reykjavik trip costs down? Well don’t worry – I hatched a plan to figure out how to crack exactly this question and get the best value from your trip.
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The Best Value Things To Do in Reykjavik - Testing Out Budget, Mid-Range and Luxury
On my recent visit to Reykjavik, I decided to test out three different budgets: budget, mid-range and luxury.
I assigned a full day to test out each one, meaning I could test out differently-priced options and discover which things make sense to spend your money on.
To keep things simple, I booked the same five things per day, so that I could easily compare. These five categories were:
- Food
- Bars
- Activity
- Geothermal spa
- Hotels
And to make sure you’ve got a fair balance, not only will I select a winner of each category, but I’ll ask ‘luxury James’ to do so too. Just in case you too are more of the fancy variety!
Right – let’s see how we got on! Keep scrolling for all the details and cost breakdown.
Food in Reykjavik: Budget vs Mid-range vs Luxury
Reykjavik has loads of great food spots, from street food classics to world-class restaurants, but it’s an area I often hear people complain about when it comes to cost.
Budget: Víkinga Pylsur
The budget option we tried was a hot dog from Víkinga Pylsur for just over a fiver (kr 890). This is a no-frills hot dog stand – but there is a vegan option.
Mid-range: 101 Reykjavik Street Food
For our mid-range meal, we hit up 101 Reykjavik Street Food, a traditional spot serving up Icelandic cuisine. They do lots of hearty foods like lobster soup, traditional Icelandic soup and even fish and chips. It was all SO GOOD. The Icelandic soup and lobster soup were £15.57 (kr 2350) and the fish and chips was £19.56 (kr 2950).
Luxury: Skreið
For our luxury option we visted Skreið, a Basque-style tapas bar on the main street, Laugavegur. This was totally divine, one of the best meals I think I’ve ever had! Price-wise, it was very comparable with London – which we all know is expensive, but I was happy to find this place was a similar price. The total bill was £114.20 (kr 17,236).
The hot dog was very good for the price but for once, I’m siding with luxury James because that Basque meal was exceptional. And for the standard, I’d expect to pay the same amount in London. Definitely a treat, but one I’d recommend!
Easy – I am not a sausage guy, so the hot dog was a no from me. The luxury meal was so good; I love a restaurant where you get to sample lots of small plates, and every dish was a hit.
Bars in Reykjavik: Budget vs Mid-range vs Luxury
Travelling is thirsty work, so we made sure to test out three different options for drinks, before our dinner each evening.
Budget: Lebowski Bar
For our cheap drinks we made a beeline for Lebowski Bar happy hour. It’s an American-themed burger joint (named for the movie of course) and has a great vibe. A beer cost £6.18 (kr 1,050) and a cider was £6.48 (kr 1,100).
Mid-range: Hús Máls og Menningar
We chose Hús Máls og Menningar for our mid-range drinking den. It’s actually a bookshop that stocks international books, and there’s a small cafe bar there too. We went in the evening when there was live music between 8 and 11pm, which was free to enter.
Now the drinks were quite expensive – it was £17.89 (kr 2,700) for a gin and tonic and £11.27 (kr 1,700) for a cider, but I felt like this was offset by the free entertainment. This could easily be your activity for the evening too!
Luxury: Kokteilbarinn
Our luxury pick was Kokteilbarinn, a super cool spot which has an actual historic train carriage inside. If you know me you’ll know this is right up my street! We actually went for happy hour by accident, which helped us save a bit on our bill. My martini had 25% off so it was £17.85 instead of £23.79 (kr 3,590).
The joy that came from belting Queen at the top of my lungs with a load of other tourists has to win. The band were SO GOOD that it made me forget the gin was £17!!
Oh my God, I’m agreeing with Chelsea two times in a row! The bookshop was such a unique bar and the band are so good, they had everyone in that place singing along. I’d definitely go back.
Activities in Reykjavik: Budget vs Mid-range vs Luxury
I found us three different daytime activities to do during our stay.
Budget: Reykjavik self-guided walking tour
Free
Our budget activity was a self guided walking tour – you can easily do these for free if you google the city you’re in and ‘free walking tour’. You get loads of results. After a brief search I found this site which had a couple of great maps with routes marked on, and just the right amount of detail so I didn’t neeed to have my head in my phone while we were out exploring!
Mid-range: Lava show
£39 each
We went to a lava show for our mid-range activity. This recreates an actual lava explosion in a safe setting. It was pretty cool to see, and seeing as you can’t really get that close to the real thing without getting singed, it’s a unique experience. This cost us £39 each (kr 5,886).
Luxury: Whale watching trip
Time for a bucket-list experience for the luxury activity – a whale watching trip. We had a lovely clear day for this. The trip costs £85 (kr 12,829) each.
Well you can’t beat free, but I do think that if you’ve got whale watching on your bucket list then Reykjavik is a great place to do it. But the self guided tour just pips it for me!
Geothermal spas in Reykjavik
The lava show won it for me! Yes it’s a bit expensive, but how often do you see molten lava slide down a metal chute towards you?
Geothermal Spas in Reykjavik: Budget vs Mid-range vs Luxury
Reykjavik is famous for its Blue Lagoon, but there are lots of other spas around. We set out to test three of them, which was very hard work!
Budget: Sundhöll Reykjavíkur pool
Entry: £8.42
The budget spa we visited was Sundhöll Reykjavíkur. This is actually geothermally-heated swimming pools rather than an outdoor lagoon, but you can’t beat it for the price – £8.42 (kr 1,430). There’s a large outdoor pool and an indoor pool as well a plunge pools and a sauna.
Mid-range: Hvammsvik hot springs
Classic package: £49.85 each
Havammsvik hot springs was our mid-range choice, and it’s a gorgeous spot in Whale Fjord. There are multiple hot springs on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean – it’s so beautiful – and the biggest one even has a swim up bar. I mean, say no more!
There are three levels of ticket here. We went for the Classic experience which cost us £49.85 (kr 7,523). This gets you access to all the hot springs, the geothermal sauna and the bar and bistro restaurant, plus use of the changing room, private shower (with shower products) and a locker to stow your things safely.
There are extra activities you can choose to add on, like paddle boarding and even cold water plunges with a Wim Hof-approved instructor.
Luxury: Blue Lagoon
Premium package: £111
It was time to check out the Blue Lagoon for our luxury spa experience. We spluged on the Premium package which was £111 each (kr 16,753), but you can get other packages from around £83 (kr 12,527).
As standard you get access to the Blue Lagoon, a colder lagoon, the sauna and steam bath, plus a mud mask at the bar, shower products, a towel, private locker and a non-alcoholic drink at the bar in the lagoon.
Premium gets you a few extras like a bathrobe, any drink at the bar, two extra face masks to do while you’re there and another mask to take home with you.
This one is the easiest decision to make – it has to be Hvammsvik!! I jus loved the care and attention given to the buildings and the hot springs themselves. Next time I’d go before sunset to see the lake in the daylight, and I’d stay late in the hope of seeing the Northern Lights!
Accommodation in Reykjavik
Blue Lagoon is spectacular, and that’s obvious when you’re there as everyone wants to show Instagram how nice it looks. But Hvammsvik was a surprise winner for me. Brilliantly done and worth the drive out of Reykjavik.
Hotels in Reykjavik: Budget vs Mid-range vs Luxury
Accommodation in Reykjavik has a reputation for being expensive – so we tested out the options from budget to bougie.
Budget: CityHub Reykjavik
Pod: £62 per night
Our budget stay in Reykjavik was at CityHub. I’ve stayed in CityHubs before and they are such great value, especially if you’re staying as a pair. The pods are cosy and spotless, with colourful lighting to add a bit of energy.
There were lovely clean and modern bathrooms and lounge areas too, and even a hot tub on the roof! We didn’t find the time to climb in sadly, but the whole stay cost us just £62 for the both of us for one night.
They don’t serve breakfast here, so it’s an excuse to get out a try a local spot like Sandholt bakery, just 3 minutes’ walk away.
Mid-range: Hotel Fron
Room: £120 per night
For our mid-range stay, I picked Hotel Fron. It’s a great 3 star hotel right on the main street, Laugavegur. This means you’re very well located, with all the sights, bars and shops within walking distance. For breakfast they do a big contintental spread that fills you up for a day of exploring. Our stay cost us £120 for the night.
Luxury: Hotel Exeter
Suite: £277 per night
Our luxury stay was at the 4 star Hotel Exeter. We (Ok, James) decided to splurge on a Junior Suite which was £227, but their cheapest room the night we stayed was £165. Both these prices include breakfast.
I really liked the decor here, the room was really stylish but cosy too. The views over the harbour were lovely – it was handy to be so close for when we took our whale watching trip. Plus there’s a bakery actually inside this hotel – so of course it gets my vote!
It’s got to be the budget option because the facilities at CityHub make it feel like you’re having a luxury treat anyway!! And that’s ultimate value for money.
I could do CityHub for one night, it very well built, but it’s too small for me for any longer. For me, it’s Exeter Hotel!
Get The Best Value From Your Stay In Reykjavik
Figuring out how to spend your budget when the prices in Iceland are so high doesn’t have to be left to chance! If you know what matches the hype and what doesn’t, you can figure out which areas to spend on. Your Reykjavik trip doesn’t have to cost the earth!
I hope this helps you with planning a great value visit to Reykjavik – and I’d love to hear from you if you try any of the things James and I did during our trip!
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