Latest / Explore Iceland Travel Podcast / E.4: Best Packing List for Iceland - Budget Friendly and Practical.
Transcript
- Monika: Welcome to Explore Iceland Travel Podcast. If you're thinking of visiting Iceland or planning your next adventure there, you're in the right place. I'm Monica the creator of Plan Pack Explore, a travel blog where I help readers plan unforgettable trips to Europe. and I'm here to inspire you to travel to Iceland. And to plan your trip in a fun, stress free way. I'll share all the must know details about places to see, both the iconic landmarks and some hidden gems, proven itineraries tested by me and my family. and practical trip planning tips based on my own experiences and mistakes we made while exploring this incredible country. I'll cover everything I wish I had known before our first trip and things I've learned from all the trips that follow. And I'm not done yet. Think of it as travel advice from tourist to tourist. Honest, helpful, firsthand insights designed to make planning your Iceland adventure much easier and much more enjoyable. Tune in and let's explore Iceland together. E. 4 Packing list: Packing for Iceland is always a challenge. It can be overwhelming as it usually involves quite a mix of items that you typically would not pack together for just one trip. I remember looking at my laundry after I came back from my first trip there And we had ski socks next to the bathing suits, next to sweaters, and it was the middle of summer. And I thought to myself, only in Iceland. but I'm here to just take some of that overwhelm out of trying to get all the right gear and all the right things packed for your Iceland trip. So I'll go over our list of some items that you must have, some items that are good to have. And some items you may not have thought about bringing that are actually pretty helpful. It all depends how you're going to spend your time in Iceland, but the essentials will be the same. So what we're going to pack for Iceland is layers. And the outer layers should be waterproof. So let's get started. First thing we're gonna talk about is footwear. You definitely wanna have waterproof shoes. You don't need fancy shoes in Iceland. You need hiking boots or hiking sneakers. unless I'm doing a big hike. I personally don't like hiking boots, so I wear hiking sneakers. If you're gonna walk around Reykjavik, you can just have regular shoes or regular sneakers. But if you're going anywhere outside, visiting waterfalls, walking scenic paths, you definitely want hiking shoes with good grip But also bring flip flops. Unless you're not going to go to a single lagoon, bring flip flops. Flip flops are also good for natural hot spring like the Geothermal River or other natural hot springs you want to have flip-flops just so you're not walking around there barefoot and they're also good as slippers. If you're inside your apartment you're expected to not wear the shoes that you wear outside. so flip-flops could serve as your slippers. let's talk about hiking gear. even if you're not doing big hikes, you want a little day pack because that's where all your spare layers are going to go to, your snacks, your water. You always want to have a backpack with you with some spare items, hats, gloves, even if it's a sunny day, you wanna have a raincoat with you, a sweater, maybe a t shirt if it's really warm, things that you can take off and put on as you need to, so you are prepared for any kind of weather. As we know, Iceland can have four seasons in a span of one day or one hour. So you want to be prepared. I always also pack a little puffer jacket, but we'll we'll get to that. you also want to include rain cover for your Backpacks. If it rains, the rain cover will keep the things inside dry. Trekking poles are optional again for just short walks. If you don't have any mobility issues, you don't need them. But if you're going to hike bigger hikes like the Highlands or even the Waterfallway or Mulagdu for Canyon, I found the hiking poles really really helpful. especially when we going down. so now let's go into those outer layers. you want a raincoat. that's also a windbreaker. You want something waterproof and windproof. Winds in Iceland are absolutely no joke. You want to have something that's going to protect you with a good hood. Do not bring a jacket with no hood. The one thing you should not bring to Iceland is umbrella. umbrellas will not last with the winds and won't protect you from the rain. So get a good raincoat that's also a windbreaker. and that you can easily layer underneath, so roomy enough. I always bring a packable warm jacket, not a ski jacket, not a big winter coat, just a packable warm down jacket. I love thirty two degree coats. they are Definitely budget friendly. They pack small, they last a long time, and they are very lightweight. So you can just have them with you tucked into the corner of your backpack. They come in handy in the most unexpected moments. You want your hats, your gloves, negator or scarf if you want. and the gloves should be waterproof. They don't have to be thick winter gloves unless you're gonna do glacier hikes or ice climbing things like that but you definitely want to have those items with you you also need rain pants you will use them a lot more than you think anytime it's rainy misty windy when you're walking around or when you're hiking those will protect your pants or your leggings underneath and anytime you go behind the waterfall You definitely want to have those on or you will get soaked. they don't have to be anything expensive. we found a really budget-friendly brand we actually bought them four years ago and we still have them and they work really, really well. So you'll find that in my packing list. Rain ponchos are optional. I have them on my list. I always have them with me. I never actually use them yet. Not to say that I wouldn't. That's why I always have them. But they're inexpensive enough to have just in case. As far as your clothing, you want again things that you can layer. So lightweight sweaters, fleece sweaters, things that you can put over a layer that's closer to the body that's not too bulky. You want long sleeve base layers. You can also bring some short sleeve shirts for the warmer days. Depends on the season when you are visiting. I like compression sleeves. on warmer days when I don't necessarily want to have a long sleeve layer underneath my sweater because I'm afraid I'm gonna get too hot after I put a tank top or a short sleeve shirt and I put the compression sleeves on not for compression just to keep my arms warm until it gets warmer outside and I can just take them off. So that's why you see them in my packing last I actually used them my daily life at work too, so I really love them. I find many uses for them. And then you want some comfortable pants. There was a big discussion ongoing whether you should be bringing jeans to Iceland. Here is my take on it. And a lot of the articles on my blog actually do see me and my family members in jeans. I don't think there's anything wrong with it. However, they need to be comfortable, they need to be stretchy, they need to allow you movement. And you do not want to wear jeans when it's going to rain, unless you're gonna stick them underneath your rain pants. If your jeans get wet, you're not gonna be happy. They're going to take forever to dry. so that's my take on jeans. I do wear jeans in Iceland, but not when it's supposed to be wet and rainy. hiking socks or any comfortable cushy socks are good. You definitely wanna bring bathing suits. You'd want more than one unless you're only planning to go to one lagoon. But if you're planning to go to more, bring maybe two bathing suits so you have one dry when the other one is drying. I also recommend a quick dry towel, especially for those natural hot springs and also a lot of the spas they charge extra for renting a towel and those little extra charges tend to add up during your trip. So just bring the quick dry towel from home you're gonna be all set and prepared. shorts. I have seen people in shorts. I don't pack shorts myself. It depends if you run really, really hot. You can have a pair in your suitcase for those unexpected hot days, but otherwise I would say skip those. You wanna remember your travel gear. your charging cords for your phones, your plug adapters. Iceland runs on 220 voltage, and they have different wall sockets, they're different shape. So you want some plug adapters to plug in your electronics. Most of the phone and laptop charges are already worldwide so you don't have to worry about a voltage converter but you want the plug. if you're bringing anything like hair dryers although they're usually everywhere flat irons electric shavers toothbrushes things like that you definitely want to make sure they're dual voltage if you have a lot of appliances to charge overnight i recommend bringing just one multiport device charger you just plug it into the wall and it usually has a few ports to charge your appliances. that's what we do instead of trying to find three or four different outlets for everyone to plug in Also a multi-port car charger for your car. Those rental cars typically do not come in with too many charging ports. And one will most likely be taken out by your Wi-Fi hotspot if you rented one. So bring one that goes into the cigarette lighter and has a few ports for everyone to plug in. I also recommend bringing your suction cup phone holder to hold your phone while you're driving so you can follow your Google Maps. That's definitely helpful and keeps you safe on the road also not a bad idea, a solar power power bank. Power bank in general is a good idea unless you're going to charge your devices in the car as you drive, but if you're doing a longer hike, a solar power power bank is a good idea, Magnetic ones are really helpful too. just because when you take many pictures, your battery goes down pretty quickly. depending on how you travel, you may want to bring a selfie stick that helps you with the pictures, especially if you're traveling solo. some things that are food and drink related that you may not think to bring, but are actually very helpful. I bring a small foldable fabric cooler. It's cool enough in Iceland most of the time that if you put your snacks or your lunch in there it will stay cool or if you do bigger food shopping trip but you still have a few stops on the road you can put your items that need to be kept colder in there. it packs up small, it doesn't take up a lot of room and it doesn't add a lot of weight. And if you have your own apartment, you can freeze water bottles and use them as freezer packs. So that helps as far as packing your own lunches and things like that. I also like to have a big thermos to hold hot water in, to make some instant meals on the go or to make my own coffee. There isn't always a gas station or a place to stop by for food, especially if you're in more remote areas of Iceland. So we had tested on many trips a stainless steel thermos It's forty ounces it holds hot water for twenty four hours. It is super convenient. We always travel with that anytime we think we might need hot water on the road. along the same lines, we actually found these silicone collapsible cups. They don't take a lot of room. in your suitcase, they are lightweight and they're easy to clean So if you're gonna make an instant soup or some coffee, you can do that. I also always bring a coffee mug. I am a sipper, I cannot just down my coffee, so I make it and sip it on the road. So bring your coffee mug. we also found helpful reusable portable cutlery like little sets with a spoon and knife and a fork. they're eco-friendly. we've used them on many other trips too, but we found them for our second trip to Iceland. And again, if you're out in the more remote areas or if you get hungry where there isn't a lot of places to buy food, if you're making your own, these come in really, really helpful. you can also bring some food to Iceland. And yes, Iceland does have everything that you need in the grocery stores. But if you have your favorites, if you have picky eaters, if you have dietary restrictions, if you have any other needs or wants, you can bring your food. I usually just bring the initial load of some snacks, some power bars maybe some instant soups that we all love, and of course my instant coffee for the road. and then I just shop at the grocery store for everything else that I might need. then there's some miscellaneous items that are helpful. for example a dry pack. It comes in handy if you are outside, for example at the geothermal river in the steam valley and it starts to mist, you can put your clothes in there so they don't get wet. bug nets are very helpful, especially if you're visiting northern Iceland in the summer. There's a lot of midges. Those midges are everywhere. We had to fight them off and run and we had some laughs about it, but if you don't find it funny, just get some bugnets. They are very inexpensive. You can get them on Amazon and they work best with a baseball hat because the beak of the hat will keep the net away from your face and give you some breathing room. what else? A portable luggage scale. Great for packing on the way back, especially if you buy some things. I buy coffee, chocolate, things like that. So you want to make sure your luggage is not overweight. I also recommend bringing a good map of Iceland. A paper map, yes. most of the time you're gonna have reception, you're going to have your Wi-Fi box, but if all else fails, you want a paper map just so you can see where you're supposed to be going, especially if you're venturing into the highlands, especially if you're going into some more remote areas. on little side roads well beyond the ring road you want to have a good map of Iceland. I'll link the one that I have. Unfortunately it's not available anymore from Amazon, but I link it in there so you have it in case it comes back. But if you can't find this one, just find any other paper map that you feel will be helpful to you that it's easy to read and just have it with you. Hopefully you'll never use it, but just have it. The other thing that I recommend bringing is some laundry detergent sheets. You won't find laundry washing machines and especially dryers commonly but It's good to have it even if you're gonna do some hand washing in the sink. also another thing is a sleep mask. Sleep masks is good to have if you're sensitive to light and you're visiting in the summer, like June, July, where you have endless daylight. if there are no blackout curtains where you're staying, or if you're doing the camper fun trip, those little curtains are not blackout. So you wanna have a sleep mask just to make sure you can sleep and get some rest. What else? miscellaneous items like ziploc bags. Yes, you can buy them. You can buy them in Iceland, but you can also just bring some from home for packing lunches, snacks, things like that. Remember your sunglasses, your lip balm, your sunscreen, especially for the summer. Your hand wipes, your hand sanitizer and first aid kit. That is actually very important. You cannot buy cold medicine, things like that in Iceland over the counter. so to be safe, I always pack a little medication kit with some cold medicine, motion sickness medicine, band-aids, antibiotic ointment, everything that you feel will be helpful just in case. Better have it and not use it than spend time during your trip, trying to find a doctor or a pharmacy just so you can get some decongestion. And my own personal little tip for hair care. Icelandic water is rich in sulfur. It could be a little drying for your hair. so I like to use keratin-based shampoo and conditioner during my trips to Iceland just to neutralize that sulfur a little bit. And speaking of that, just a random tip do not ever put your hair in the water at the Blue Lagoon. It will be dry for weeks. of course don't forget your documents. You want your passport, your plane tickets, your reservations, your health insurance cards, your travel insurance, your driver's license. Please do not forget your driver's license. if you're renting a car, you need to have your driver's license with you at all time. so this is what you're gonna need if you are visiting in the summer. For colder months, just add more long sleeve layers, lightweight snow pants or waterproof lined pants Definitely warm insulated gloves, a warm hat, definitely a scarf or a negator, waterproof hiking boots or insulated snow boots that are also waterproof and have good grip. You can also add some micro spikes to put over your shoes to walk around. That comes in really handy in the winter. and a protective face cream for the wind. It's going to help your face not get so dry and raw. So that's it for my packing list. I keep that list in my phone from my very first trip. I just keep adding to it here and there the little things that I find helpful, but this is a pretty comprehensive list that I just gave you. I follow it every single trip to Iceland and I have to say it kept me pretty well prepared for all my trips. So it stays in my phone. I'll be using it for my other trips. if you have any more questions about packing lists or anything related to planning an Iceland trip, feel free to reach out. Otherwise I will see you in the next episode.