Iceland.

The social scene is small but tight. With one main university in the capital, everyone orbits the same handful of bars, pools and events, so you make friends fast. Icelanders can seem reserved when sober but transform on a night out, and the famous rúntur, the weekend bar crawl around downtown, kicks off late and runs until four or five in the morning.

Exchange life leans heavily on the Erasmus and international networks, who run trips to glaciers, hot springs and the Golden Circle at prices you could never book solo. Join early. Between organised trips, house parties and the geothermal pools (the real social hubs), you will never be short of something to do, even in the depths of January darkness.

There is no sugar-coating this: Iceland is one of the most expensive countries on earth. Almost everything is imported and carries a premium, and a casual pint or restaurant meal will genuinely make you wince. You survive by cooking at home, shopping at Bónus or Krónan, and treating nights out as occasional events rather than routine.

Budget realistically, because rent and drinks will hurt the most. The saving grace is that the best of Iceland, the pools, hikes, waterfalls and aurora, is free or nearly free once you are actually here.

• Room in a Reykjavik flatshare: €700/mo
• Pint at a downtown bar: €11
• Weekly Bónus grocery shop: €55
• Public geothermal pool entry: €7
• Student monthly bus pass: €55

Housing is the hardest part of an Iceland exchange, so start the day you are accepted. The University of Iceland student housing (Félagsstofnun stúdenta, FS) is the cheapest and best option, but demand hugely outstrips supply, so apply the moment you can and treat it as a lottery rather than a plan.

The private market is small, pricey and lives on Facebook groups more than listing sites. Expect to pay a premium for anything central and be wary of scams asking for deposits before viewings. Many students end up out in Grafarvogur or Vesturbær and commute in. Whatever you do, do not arrive with nothing lined up, because short-term options are brutally expensive.

• FS student housing, cheapest, apply immediately on acceptance
• Facebook groups, main source for private rooms and flats
• Never wire a deposit before viewing a place in person

Reykjavik is compact and walkable, and most student life sits within a 20-minute stroll of downtown. For everything else there is Strætó, the yellow city bus network, which is reliable but infrequent, so download the app, check the times, and do not expect a bus every five minutes. A student pass makes sense if you actually commute.

The real freedom comes from renting a car with friends for weekend trips; the Ring Road opens up the entire island. Cycling is fine in summer but grim in winter wind, and there are no trains at all. For the airport, the Flybus links Keflavík to the city in about 45 minutes.

• Strætó app, buy tickets and check live bus times
• Flybus, Keflavík airport to Reykjavik in ~45 min
• Split a rental car for weekend Ring Road trips

The University of Iceland (Háskóli Íslands) in Reykjavik hosts most exchange students, with Reykjavik University a smaller, more business- and tech-focused alternative. Teaching runs on the standard ECTS system, and plenty of master's courses are taught in English, though English-taught bachelor options are thinner, so comb the catalogue carefully before you commit.

The academic culture is relaxed and discussion-driven, with smaller classes than a big mainland university and professors who go by first names. Autumn semester runs roughly late August to December, spring from January to May. Deadlines are taken seriously even where the vibe is casual, so do not mistake the informality for a soft ride.

This depends entirely on your passport. Iceland is in both the Schengen Area and the EEA, so if you are an EU or EEA citizen you can simply move over and register, with no visa needed. The one essential is a Kennitala, the national ID number you use for everything from opening a bank account to getting a phone contract.

If you are from outside the EEA, including the UK, US, Canada and Australia, you need a study residence permit applied for through the Directorate of Immigration (Útlendingastofnun) before you travel. Start early, budget for the proof-of-funds requirement, and do not book flights until it is approved.

• EU/EEA, no visa; just register for a Kennitala on arrival
• Non-EEA, student residence permit via Útlendingastofnun before travel
• Proof of funds required, a set minimum monthly amount

Icelandic food is built on lamb, fish and dairy, with skyr (a thick yoghurt-like staple) in every fridge and the pylsur hot dog as the unofficial national snack, best grabbed from Bæjarins Beztu. The tourist-baiting dishes like fermented shark are more dare than dinner; locals mostly eat hearty, simple and seasonal.

Culturally, Iceland is laid-back, egalitarian and quietly proud. People swim year-round in geothermal pools, half-jokingly believe in elves, and the whole country reads, publishing more books per head than almost anywhere. Everyone is on first-name terms, surnames as you know them barely exist, and the small-nation intimacy means you keep bumping into the same faces.

With one real city, your Iceland exchange is a Reykjavik exchange, and that is no bad thing at all. Nearly everything student-related happens here, and the rest of the island is only ever a road trip away.

• Reykjavik, the world's northernmost capital and your basecamp: compact, colourful and packed with pools, bars and the entire student scene, with raw wilderness starting where the suburbs end.

Weekend trips are the whole point of being here, and you do not need to go far. The Golden Circle is a classic day out, the South Coast delivers black beaches and waterfalls, and the Blue Lagoon is the touristy-but-worth-it soak. Rent a car with a few mates and split the cost, because it is by far the cheapest way to see the country.

For further afield, Keflavík's cheap flights to mainland Europe make a long weekend in Copenhagen or London genuinely doable. Just respect the weather: Icelandic road conditions change fast, so check vegagerdin and safetravel.is before any winter drive.

• Golden Circle day trip, Þingvellir, Geysir, Gullfoss
• South Coast, Seljalandsfoss, Reynisfjara black beach and Vík
• Blue Lagoon or the cheaper, newer Sky Lagoon
• Snæfellsnes peninsula, 'Iceland in miniature'
• Cheap Keflavík flights to Copenhagen, London and Oslo

A few things nobody tells you until you have already made the mistake. Iceland rewards preparation and quietly punishes anyone who treats the weather or the prices casually.

• Bring a proper windproof layer, it is the wind, not the cold, that gets you
• Never buy bottled water; the tap water is among the best on earth
• Pre-drink at home, bars are brutal and alcohol is only sold in state Vínbúðin shops
• Sort your Kennitala first, almost nothing works without it
• Arrive with housing secured, never 'to sort out later'
• Learn to love the pools; they are the cheapest social life you will find