Whit Monday, or Pentecost Monday, is a Christian holiday. It is the day after Pentecost, also known as Whit Sunday or Whitsunday, which commemorates the descent of the Holy Ghost upon the disciples of Jesus Christ, according to the New Testament of the Bible.

Þetta reddast

Maundy Thursday commemorates Jesus Christ’s Last Supper with his thirteen disciples and it marks the beginning of Easter. As well as offices and school, many shops will be closed and this is one of the most popular days for young Icelanders to be confirmed.

Religion: Most Icelanders (80%) are members of the Lutheran State Church. Another 5% are registered in other Christian denominations, including the Free Church of Iceland and the Roman Catholic Church. Almost 5% of people practice ásatrú, the traditional Norse religion.

Icelandic

Icelandic króna

While Icelandic is the official language, appr. 98% of Icelanders speak English fluently, so the latter is enough to start a new life in Iceland. If you are not a native speaker, note that fluency is absolutely required if you want to do anything other than housekeeping or dishwashing.

This fair country, however, holds a reputation other than the allure of its natural wonders. According to Numbeo’s Cost of Living Index, Iceland currently ranks as the third most expensive country in the world. Local banks have also studied the essential travel costs for tourists, and the numbers are staggering.

How much things cost in Iceland

Item	ISK (average)	Price in GBP (approx)
Coke/Pepsi	342	£1.96
Bottle of water	263	£1.51
Meal, inexpensive restaurant	2,500	£14.32
Three course meal for two at a mid-range restaurant (excluding wine)	15,000	£85

Like the Big Mac (which costs £3.49 on its own) this Iceland snack has double-cut buns, double burgers, cheese slices and secret sauce.

Iceland in 8-12 days. 8-12 days is an ideal amount of time to spend in Iceland as it means you can explore different regions. You could drive around the Ring Road in a full circle to reach the diverse corners of Iceland, from the South Coast to eastern fjords, around North Iceland and over to the Snæfellsnes peninsula.

summer

Put simply, the cheapest time of year in Iceland is during its off-peak season; this covers September to November and January to May. Visiting Iceland in Autumn or Spring will be kind to your wallet and allow you to visit popular destinations without them being crowded, a win-win!

If you’re travelling to Iceland you will need to budget for approximately £90 per day per person or £630 per week to include meals and excursions. If you plan lots of excursions, you may need to increase your budget.

Iceland doesn’t have to be expensive to visit. Granted, it’s never going to be a cheap destination but it doesn’t have to break the bank either.

How long is the flight to Iceland? An average direct flight from the United Kingdom to Iceland takes 13h 33m, covering a distance of 1045 miles. The most popular route is London – Reykjavik with an average flight time of 3h 05m.

While meal prices in Iceland can vary, the average cost of food in Iceland is kr3,783 per day. Based on the spending habits of previous travelers, when dining out an average meal in Iceland should cost around kr1,513 per person. Breakfast prices are usually a little cheaper than lunch or dinner.

In 2009, Hjörtur Smárason bought the last McDonald’s burger sold in Iceland before the fast food restaurant ceased operations in the country for good. It is now on display at a guesthouse in South Iceland, which provides a live stream of the peculiar exhibit. McDonald’s opened its doors in Iceland in 1993.

Iceland was in fact the cheapest online grocery retailer for the first week of August, but the fact that no prices of products were changed during the rest of the month meant that ASDA was able to retain its crown for the remaining three weeks.

Iceland is One of the Most Expensive Countries in the World to Live in. The equipment needed to run a farm has to be imported, making Icelandic farms costly. Other factors, such as a growing tourism industry that circulates around the city centre, has made rent prices for locals out of proportion.

The Efling, one of the biggest workers’ union in Iceland, has its own minimum wage figures. In Efling, as of 2021 the minimum salary in Iceland is of 351,000 ISK per month for a full time position. Although this might not apply to all classes of workers in Iceland, it is a pretty standard figure for the country.

In 2019, the prices of a single-flat home in Iceland increased by 2.37%, while a multi-flat came in at just under 3.47%. Currently, the average residential property in the capital is between 40 million ISK (US$ 382,500) to 50 million ISK (US$ 478,130).

The general VAT–Tax Rate in Iceland is 24%. A number of specific consumer goods and services are subject to a lower VAT rate of 11%. Among these services are: Foods, hotel accommodation, newspapers and books, heating, electricity and fuel.

Resident individuals are fully liable for tax payments in Iceland on their worldwide income. Non-resident individuals staying temporarily in Iceland, who derive income from employment during their stay, are subject to national income tax on such income.

In Iceland, imported sweets and alcohol are slapped with an extra cargo fee and all wheat products are subject to a relatively high tariff. So prepare to shell out for that bread. The country’s currency also keeps costs high.

Taxes in Iceland are levied by the state and the municipalities….Income tax.

	Percent
Municipal tax (13.7% – 14.52%)	14.44
Total	36.94 – 46.24

PROPERTY TAXATION Real estate taxes are levied at the municipal level. The tax is imposed on the officially assessed value of the property, at rates that vary depending on which municipality the property is located. The maximum real estate tax rate is 1.65%.

A single person can expect to spend ISK 137,000 (USD 1,050, EUR 970) a month on food, clothes, medical services, recreation, transport, communication, and other services. For comparable figures for families check this website. Here is the website of Statistics Iceland that shows average household expenditure.

A recent report, published on the website missingprofits. world, shows that Iceland loses 15 percent of its corporate tax revenue to tax havens.