Packing for Iceland

[Shadowfan]

We are a family of four traveling on the end of June ABD. We live in northern Ohio, so we have some cold weather clothing. However, the packing list, along with the luggage restrictions is a bit overwhelming!
[Incidentally, I have investigated the option to rent outerwear in Iceland, specifically long, hooded insulated rain coats & outdoor pants. The cost would run about $575 for four people for 7 days’ use. Does this seem reasonable or excessive?]
Please let me know how you generally packed for this trip

 

[jimmymc]

I'm looking at the packing list, and it seems excessive. Between the rain and waterfalls, you will need a waterproof jacket, but you can stay plenty warm by layering up underneath. For hiking, I normally use the Sahara hiking pants from REI. They dry quickly, and you can wear long underwear if they aren't warm enough.

 

[NAB]

We were just there 2 weeks ago . Layering is a good idea. We never went up to see the icebergs or go on the boat to see the puffins. Wish we did.

Only had time for the Golden circle. Since we just did the westbound transatlantic to Barcelona . Flew to Iceland to fly home it was cheaper.

Away it was warm there . We wear shorts for the 2 days we were there. They said they never saw it so warm in 16 years. They do get a lot of rain they said. So rain gear would be good. We did have wind at night but a long sleeve shirt or hoodie took care of that.

A lot of people had sweaters and puffer coats getting off buses but it was sweating weather if you walked to the falls.

 

[Shadowfan]

Deleted

 

[Shadowfan]

I'm looking at the packing list, and it seems excessive. Between the rain and waterfalls, you will need a waterproof jacket, but you can stay plenty warm by layering up underneath. For hiking, I normally use the Sahara hiking pants from REI. They dry quickly, and you can wear long underwear if they aren't warm enough.

Yes, it is an extensive list.
With the limitation of one 44 lb checked bag and 2 soft carryon bags (total weight less than 13 pounds) per person, I am wondering how many of the bulky items we really need.
I get that we must be prepared for lots of changing situations!

 

[jimmymc]

In terms of outerwear, I think you only really need one rain jacket that's large enough to wear multiple layers underneath. Then you can wear your jeans and hiking boots on the plane, meaning you would only need to pack hiking pants, layers, and regular clothes in the checked bag. Jeans or slacks and a collared shirt will be the most formal clothing you'll wear.

 

[sayhello]

100% the raingear packages sound excessive and unnecessary. As others have said, what you need is layers, as the weather can vary wildly. It does have a tendency to rain (usually misty) there a lot, but a light rainproof jacket that you can wear over a fleece or other layers if necessary is all you'd probably need. The rain pants were also nice to have at the Seljalandsfoss waterfall because you get up close and personal with the waterfall, and can get *very* wet from all the spray. But that's really the only time I used the pants, and I got a cheap pair on sale at REI. They slip right over normal pants.

I took a heavy parka with me, and never touched it.

Sayhello

 

[Shadowfan]

100% the raingear packages sound excessive and unnecessary. As others have said, what you need is layers, as the weather can vary wildly. It does have a tendency to rain (usually misty) there a lot, but a light rainproof jacket that you can wear over a fleece or other layers if necessary is all you'd probably need. The rain pants were also nice to have at the Seljalandsfoss waterfall because you get up close and personal with the waterfall, and can get *very* wet from all the spray. But that's really the only time I used the pants, and I got a cheap pair on sale at REI. They slip right over normal pants.

I took a heavy parka with me, and never touched it.

Sayhello

This is reassuring. We will carry our waterproof rain jackets & I’ll get inexpensive waterproof pants for each of us.

 

[China Expat]

I've been twice in July. Wore my warm jacket and a hat once on a whale watch trip. Otherwise, fleece pullover, long sleeve t-shirts, jeans. Wore capris and short sleeves on numerous days when it was sunny. You will dry quick;y after a waterfall of you wear a poncho, Hiking boots a must.

 

[aggiedog]

I've been 3 times, and am going again next month. Layers are key. And understanding that the wind can be fierce (pulled a pony tail holder out of a friends hair!) and the rain can frequently go sideways. You may see sun, wind, rain, or sleet, possibly in the same day. Indoors will often be WARM, so you'll be adding/losing layers all day.

My light weight rain coat and rain pants work well as a wind barrier, too. I have a light weight puffer jacket, a thermal mid layer, and a smart wool undershirt. Jeans aren't great, as once they get wet, they stay wet and cold. Technical fabrics work better for Iceland, as they can often repel a little water and will dry much faster. With rain pants, you won't likely need a base layer under your pants. Good, waterproof hiking shoes (I suck it up and wear them on the plane), light weight wool gloves, wool beanie, gaiter/scarf. Wool socks, which work well in warm or cold weather.

If you are flying Iceland Air, they have very restrictive, and enforced, carryon size limits. I carry on for lengthy trips all the time and have a very hard time doing it in Iceland. I make sure I at least have one change of clothes and my outdoor gear in my carry on (along with the usual meds and other items I never check.)

 

[Shadowfan]

I've been 3 times, and am going again next month. Layers are key. And understanding that the wind can be fierce (pulled a pony tail holder out of a friends hair!) and the rain can frequently go sideways. You may see sun, wind, rain, or sleet, possibly in the same day. Indoors will often be WARM, so you'll be adding/losing layers all day.

My light weight rain coat and rain pants work well as a wind barrier, too. I have a light weight puffer jacket, a thermal mid layer, and a smart wool undershirt. Jeans aren't great, as once they get wet, they stay wet and cold. Technical fabrics work better for Iceland, as they can often repel a little water and will dry much faster. With rain pants, you won't likely need a base layer under your pants. Good, waterproof hiking shoes (I suck it up and wear them on the plane), light weight wool gloves, wool beanie, gaiter/scarf. Wool socks, which work well in warm or cold weather.

If you are flying Iceland Air, they have very restrictive, and enforced, carryon size limits. I carry on for lengthy trips all the time and have a very hard time doing it in Iceland. I make sure I at least have one change of clothes and my outdoor gear in my carry on (along with the usual meds and other items I never check.)

We are flying Iceland Air, and the ABD itinerary has an internal flight, as well.
Do you do any laundry while in Iceland?

I have had varying experiences with managing laundry during travel, as well as “packing light”. Sometimes, with some trips, it is not as challenging. This one is a challenge for me.

 

[sayhello]

We are flying Iceland Air, and the ABD itinerary has an internal flight, as well.
Do you do any laundry while in Iceland?

I have had varying experiences with managing laundry during travel, as well as “packing light”. Sometimes, with some trips, it is not as challenging. This one is a challenge for me.

I wouldn't worry about the internal flight on this trip! If you manage with Iceland Air, you'll be fine for the internal flight! The Reykjavik airport is *very* small and pretty lax. The plane was a small (propeller!) regional plane, so we all had to gate check our carryons, as the overheads were tiny, but I was half way out to the plane when I realized I was still wheeling my carryon, and had forgotten to gate check it. And nobody else had noticed or said a thing! (Ah, a brain is a horrible thing to lose!)

Sayhello

 

[aggiedog]

We were staying at self catering cottages and did do a bit of laundry one day. I was glad to have my 26yo with me, as the Icelandic washing machine was thoroughly confusing to me. No dryer, just a small drying rack in the cottage, so not good for heavy items.

The one good thing about Iceland is that it's cool. You don't sweat much. You can wear the same clothes several times and not be gross. I don't do that at home, but for travel, I've made the concession that if people see me in the same pants and shirt, so be it.

 

[sTitchNeeyore]

Good Morning. We are on the September 13-20 Iceland Adventure. This thread has been thought provoking, to say the least. We live in New Hampshire and have a fair assortment of cold weather clothing, but have differing ideas about what to bring! Shadowfan, in particular, it looks as if you and your family just came back. Any advice on packing from anyone out there would be welcome, and thanks - Deb

 

[Shadowfan]

Good Morning. We are on the September 13-20 Iceland Adventure. This thread has been thought provoking, to say the least. We live in New Hampshire and have a fair assortment of cold weather clothing, but have differing ideas about what to bring! Shadowfan, in particular, it looks as if you and your family just came back. Any advice on packing from anyone out there would be welcome, and thanks - Deb

Hello! This thread was quite helpful for me, so I hope I can pass along a bit of packing advice, too.

As a family we mostly wore what I would say was layered “hiking” attire. We wore quick-drying pants, long or short sleeve tee shirts (synthetic or cotton), mid-weight fleece jackets, rain/windbreaker-type shells, wool socks and hiking boots. We also brought rain pants, beanie hats, and thin gloves.
I purchased items we didn’t already have from Old Navy, Amazon, and REI co-op.

We had our swimsuits and tevas for the blue lagoon.

We wore our hiking boots the entire trip, just because I chose not to pack any other closed-toed shoes. But our fiftish-year-old and teenage feet were okay with them, YMMV.

We had thermal underwear for river rafting. (The rafting company provided us full dry suits and water proof over shoes.)

For the four of us, we took two large suitcases (each weighed less than fifty pounds) and two carry on size spinners, although for the flight within Iceland we checked all of our bags. We each also had a back pack.

I don't know if September is a lot cooler than late June, when our trip was. June weather in Iceland reminded me of our northern Ohio April

 

[sTitchNeeyore]

Hello! This thread was quite helpful for me, so I hope I can pass along a bit of packing advice, too.

As a family we mostly wore what I would say was layered “hiking” attire. We wore quick-drying pants, long or short sleeve tee shirts (synthetic or cotton), mid-weight fleece jackets, rain/windbreaker-type shells, wool socks and hiking boots. We also brought rain pants, beanie hats, and thin gloves.
I purchased items we didn’t already have from Old Navy, Amazon, and REI co-op.

We had our swimsuits and tevas for the blue lagoon.

We wore our hiking boots the entire trip, just because I chose not to pack any other closed-toed shoes. But our fiftish-year-old and teenage feet were okay with them, YMMV.

We had thermal underwear for river rafting. (The rafting company provided us full dry suits and water proof over shoes.)

For the four of us, we took two large suitcases (each weighed less than fifty pounds) and two carry on size spinners, although for the flight within Iceland we checked all of our bags. We each also had a back pack.

I don't know if September is a lot cooler than late June, when our trip was. June weather in Iceland reminded me of our northern Ohio April

 

[sTitchNeeyore]

Thanks so much, Shadowfan! you've helped me to be more clear about WHAT to take. Now I have questions about how to do it. The handbook section about carryons (we are flying Icelandair BTW) is very specific. Did they weigh your carryon? and you were allowed to bring wheeled bags with no difficulty? we are probably overthinking this; we've been going around weighing all the luggage in the house based on how we've interpreted the handbook.

 

[Shadowfan]

I tell ya, I was very concerned about the luggage weight, too. But it ended up okay!
I didn’t mean to be misleading regarding taking the spinners strictly as carry ons throughout our trip.

So this was what we ended up doing:

We flew Delta from our home base to Boston, and on the return.

Flew Icelandair from Boston to Keflavik, and the reverse on return. We chose to check all four of our suitcases (there was no additional fee.)
They did not weigh or measure the backpacks we carried on. We did take a change of clothes and nightwear in our backpacks, just in case the checked luggage didn’t make it.

So we did check our spinners for Icelandair flights. There were four of us travelling and we had four checked bags.

This trip was great!
BTW, you may have Mike Torres as one of your guides—he was on our trip, too. He rocks!

 

[aggiedog]

IcelandAir is very restrictive in what it allows for carryons. If it fits under your seat, you'll be fine. For actual luggage, it's really small and they seem to very much enforce it. (Though I've seen one guy on TripAdvisor who flies business class say he's not had a problem with his luggage. Maybe they give those people a pass.)

I'm leaving this weekend for a hiking trip in Iceland. Between the restrictions and the fact that I need some fairly specific gear, I've resigned myself to checking a larger than usual bag, along with my backpack stuffed full with everything I need to live out of for a couple days, and the bare minimum for hiking.

 

[toesmom]

This is reassuring. We will carry our waterproof rain jackets & I’ll get inexpensive waterproof pants for each of us.

we did this for our trip 2 years ago, good hiking boots also helpful, some days were warm others were cold. Very interesting country