On my first day in Iceland, I posted a “help” message online because the prices there absolutely shocked me — it wasn’t just a matter of cutting corners, but more like feeling you’d go broke unless you stopped eating, drinking, and doing anything fun. Of course, some readers chimed in jokingly, saying, “I went with six people sharing a rental car, and it didn’t feel that expensive.” It’s like back when I wrote about enjoying Poland’s autumn solo and someone joked, “There were so many people when I went, why didn’t you see any?” The world is full of such self-assured folks. But let’s put that aside. This article is based on my experience traveling solo as a backpacker and joining local tours. If anyone wants to argue that traveling with ten people by car is totally affordable, I won’t bother responding.
Iceland is very expensive, but surprisingly, public toilets on the streets are free, and you can find quite a few of them around.
Getting back to the main point, the cost of living in Iceland is really extremely high. Personally, I think even Norway and Denmark aren’t as pricey as Iceland. Maybe Iceland is just a “tourism-oriented country,” with tourism as its main industry — for example, around 90% of Icelandair’s passengers are tourists. Plus, it’s a small country located right in the middle of the ocean, relying heavily on imports, which might be why prices are set higher than other Nordic countries. Moreover, there are two main reasons why it’s hard to save money in Iceland: if you want to travel, either you join extremely expensive tour groups (don’t worry, there aren’t big discounts because they know you’ll have to book one anyway), or you rent a car (but fuel isn’t cheap either, and at places like glaciers, you still often have to “join a group”). It’s hard to “compare prices” between these options because even if there is a difference, it’s not huge. Don’t worry, apart from the city areas, there’s pretty much no bus or train service to other places, and even if there is, it might only run once a day or even once a week. We’ll talk more about travel routes next time.
When I flew from Lithuania — where prices are incredibly low — to Iceland, where prices are sky-high, I realized that the cost of a decent meal in Iceland could only buy me a cup of coffee. That’s when I decided to cook for myself. But after stepping into the supermarket, I found out that cooking wasn’t cheap either. For example, I wanted to make the simplest, quickest pasta with meat sauce — the kind that’s not too “sad” — and a 500g jar of meat sauce turned out to cost over a hundred Hong Kong dollars. Was it wagyu or Kobe beef sauce? Who would dare buy that? Of course, if you want to “keep it real” and save some money, it is possible. The best way? If you’re a backpacker, there’s usually plenty of leftover food left by previous guests in the “free food” section of hostels. But in this super expensive place, whenever new free food shows up, everyone almost “fights” over it. It’s definitely the most budget-friendly option, but you’ve got to mentally prepare yourself to “fight” for it. If you’re coming from elsewhere, I suggest bringing some dry food and condiments if you have space in your luggage. If you’re a backpacker, you know what I mean.
To get “real money,” set aside time to visit a bank in the city center.
Before you can “spend money,” the first thing you need to solve is the issue of “money.” Iceland is not a member of the European Union, nor does it use the euro, so you’ll need to exchange for Icelandic króna (ISK) upon arrival. Credit cards are accepted almost everywhere in Iceland — whether it’s buying a bottle of water at a convenience store like “10-11” (our equivalent of 7-11) or a postcard at a souvenir shop. But I still prefer using physical cash, so I had to find a currency exchange. There’s an exchange counter in the arrival hall of Reykjavik’s Keflavik International Airport, but it was already closed by the time I arrived before dark. Thinking of exchanging money in the city center like in other countries? Sorry, Iceland doesn’t really have “currency exchange shops.” You have to go to a bank. On the pedestrian street Austurstr...
If you're looking to buy cheaper daily necessities (though they're not exactly dirt cheap), Bónus or Krónan are your go-to options. The one on Laugavegur is almost a must-visit, while the slightly farther Krónan has a larger floor area.
The same logic applies to supermarkets. Aside from the convenience stores 10-11 mentioned earlier, there are two main supermarkets in Reykjavik: Bónus and Krónan. Supermarkets located near the edge of the city center tend to have later operating hours, such as the Krónan near the Saga Museum at the harbor. However, most tourists stay around the main street, Laugavegur, in the city center, and usually shop at the Bónus on that street, which closes extremely early—at 6:30 p.m.—and doesn’t open until 11 a.m. If you're constantly joining all-day Local
Tours, you’ll also never catch the supermarket when it’s open.
You certainly won’t find breathtaking natural scenery within Reykjavik itself, but the city does have several worthwhile attractions to explore, such as Tj
Many people I met at the hostel were constantly joining local tours, using Reykjavik as just a place to stay for a few nights. Although Reykjavik doesn’t really have many sights to see, that doesn’t mean it has nothing of interest — such as the majestic Hallgrimskirkja church, the quirky Penis
Museum (which might leave you “blushing red”), and the large lake in the city center, Tj
Hl 鲮labátar（图一）是价格“较能接受”的快餐店，难得在竟会包一瓶汽水，但既来冰岛，就到要一尝B 骊arins Beztu Pylsur的热狗（图二、三），虽然个人觉得不至于惊为天人，欧洲吃过更多更好吃的热狗，但在冰岛能找到这类几欧有交易的热狗，而且质素不赖，夫复何求呢？
若真不想自己煮的话，市中心内要便宜还是有不少选择。印象中，在市中心我看不到一家麦当劳，连锁快餐是Subway或Domino等最便宜，若想较地道的餐厅，于Austurstr 骠尽头Information Center外的Hl 鲮labátar，一只“潜艇”连汽水只需约900ISK（约60港元），当然还有那间被誉为全冰岛最好吃（也是必吃）的B 骊arins Beztu
Pylsur，一只热狗也只是约廿多港元。由于其人气过盛，在那边得有心理准备最少要排队排上十多廿分钟，不过热狗不算特大，未必能作正餐。
虽是十六人房，但面积颇大，而且中间有墙分隔开，倒也不算太混乱
解决了“食”的需要，玩了一整天也得要好好休息。Hostel最便宜的房间一晚差不多约200港元看似跟其余欧洲国家相近，但这里“一百尾二百头”的房间，却是一家16人，甚至24人的房间。大部分Hostel更是不包毛毡，得再加约60港元才能有一套被子。若想再省一点的话，可查清Hostel有没有提供、自备睡袋。是次行程我住过两家Hostel，分别为KEX Hostel及Hlemmur
Square（网上最便宜、风评最好的Bus Hostel略嫌与市区有点距离）。去旅行除了便宜外，舒适也很重要，因此我对房间的接受程度为8人房。在冰岛8人房也真太贵，我住进16人房间，庆幸不如澳洲悉尼、珀斯般“狗窦”，房间面积颇大，16人房都有墙分隔，有如两间八人房般，不如澳洲那些“集中营”。
大抵每个人都是来此旅游，作息时间正常，又有Housekeeping定期清理房间，因而环境绝无想像般恐怖，再“Party Hostel”也能睡得甜，住宿环境倒也不俗。或许，每个人都是在此浅留几天，又没有那些长期寄宿在Hostel的怪人，“人”的方面变相也较为“正常”。甚至，房间因为住客较多，彼此之间能互相交流不同Tour的资讯，对于刚在波罗的海三小国不断“包Hostel”的我而言，这几天还是满热闹的。
最大问题反是厨房。由于冰岛物价实在太贵，几乎每位入住Hostel的住客都会自己煮食，因此那个小小的厨房场面混乱不堪，各食具都常被客人拿到房间内，连厨具都被拿走，我想炒碟Pasta，竟连一个煎盘也找不到，最离奇的是，有一晚竟然所有叉子都不见了，到底如何吃意粉，当然得要Backpacker本能上身，自己想办法啦。
说起厨房也有一件趣事。话说我在厨晚餐时，几个英国同房约我去晚餐兼饮酒，我说很贵也很累，他们以一副“Weird Asian”的眼光看我，觉得我根本不懂饮酒而婉拒，然后就离开了。一小时后，他们一脸尴尬地拿着一条面包回来，对我大叫：“Shit! It’s even more expensive than England!”我冷静地说：“Told you.”最尴尬的是，他们太晚外出，连Bónus都关了门，得在10-11捱“贵面包”、一条白面包夹果酱，阴功猪．．．
下回再谈旅程的重点：Tour啦。
旅游专页：www.facebook.com/360.days.in.australia