Liquor store in Iceland vs. Keflavik Airport -  113% price difference

The only way to buy alcohol in Iceland, other than bars and restaurants, is to buy it in special government run liquor stores, at a pretty steep price. But simple calculations demonstrate how it can actually be cheaper to buy a one way plane ticket to anywhere, just to get into the duty free store (to buy alcohol), than to buy the alcohol in the liquor store in Iceland.

An example of the limited amount of alcohol that you can bring with you through the airport is 1 liter bottle of strong liquor (22-55%), 1 liter bottle of wine (<22%) and 6 liters of beer.

It is also not uncommon in Iceland to come across one way flight offers for 9.900 ISK ($77, €58). So let's look at the numbers. The price for a 1 liter bottle of Grand Marnier (10.550 ISK, $82, €61), 1 liter bottle of Baileys (5.979 ISK, $46, €35) and two six packs (6 liters) of Egils Gull beer (4.188 ISK, $32, €24) is 20.717 ISK ($161, €120) at the liquor store in Iceland.

In the duty free store on the other hand, the same amount of liquor costs 9.716 ISK ($75, €56).

[Grand Marnier (3.999 ISK, $31, €23), Baileys (3.199 ISK, $25, €19), Egils Gull beer (2.518 ISK, $20, €15)].

The difference is 11.001 ISK ($77, €58), enough for a cheap flight (9.900 ISK, $77, €58) and even 1.101 ISK ($77, €58) to spare.

So when you come to Iceland, if you plan to have a little something to drink as you enjoy our beautiful country, definitely consider doing a bargain at the duty free store in Keflavik Airport.

Source: vinbudin.is and dutyfree.is

The State Alcohol and Tobacco Company of Iceland