How this Pune couple planned a budget trip to the second most expensive country

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Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. When Priti Jain and Arihant Baid set their sights on Iceland—a land of dramatic landscapes, glacier lagoons, and the enchanting Aurora Borealis—they knew they’d face one of the world’s highest travel price tags. Ranked as the second most expensive country in the cost-of-living index, Iceland offers beauty at a premium.

But with some strategic planning and clever spending, the Pune-based couple managed to turn their bucket-list trip into a reality without overshooting their budget. The couple travelled in the shoulder season, booked only Airbnbs so that they could cook their meals, and meticulously planned the road trip to avoid paying for paid tours. As part ofMint’stravel series, Jain shares a first-hand account of their 10-day Iceland adventure, which they completed in about ₹5.2 lakh.

This holiday was a pact four friends made many years back. This year we finally decided to realise it. We chose September to travel for a mix of pleasant weather, favourable conditions to witness the Northern Lights, and it being the shoulder season to help save on costs.

We are seasoned travellers and meticulously plan for all our holidays. This one more so because we were aware of just how expensive Iceland is. As a first step, we booked everything four months ahead of the travel dates to secure good prices.

Also read: Hot air balloon, Limousines, and hammams: A luxurious ₹5 lakh Turkish Holiday We chose to travel to Iceland via Amsterdam, taking advantage of low fares offered by Play Airlines for the Amsterdam to Iceland leg of our journey. Besides, flights from Mumbai were cumbersome with long layovers at the connecting airport and were priced at ₹80,000-90,000 per person. There’s a direct flight