What to Pack to Visit Iceland in the Summer | brokeGIRLrich
I was feeling pretty good about my Iceland budget, until I remembered some of the pre-Iceland shopping I did.
If you’ve ever traveled to Iceland, you probably searched “what to pack” and found tons of helpful lists, like I did, from experienced travel bloggers.
One of the awesome things about Iceland in July/August is the fact that you get every. kind. of. weather. It makes packing oh-so-delightful. I feel like I nailed it pretty well though with what I packed and I squeezed it all into my carry on backpack and a duffle bag.
Weather was in the 50s/60s most days and we did experience one of Iceland’s rare summer 70s day. There was also rain at some point every day and we did climb inside a glacier, which was as cold as you’d expect.
My packing started with the basics: PJs, bathing suit and underwear.
I also packed two pairs of jeans and a pair of thermal leggings. I flew there in a pair of LulaRoe leggings that I never wear because they are hideous. I also packed a pair of rain pants.
Thermal leggings were one of my Iceland purchases. I didn’t own any and the more I read up on the weather, the more sure I was that I would prefer to wear a pair of thermal leggings for glacier day. I also knew that this was one of those items I could justify reusing for work this winter. I went with Yogipace Water Resistant Fleece Lined Thermal Leggings for $30.99. They’re incredibly comfortable and have a zippered pocket in the waistband by the small of my back that fit my phone, which I loved.
Just like the model…. #amiright?
What I did not love was that since I was unsure of my size, I ordered two different sizes and I had to pay for the return of the one that didn’t fit, even though it was through Amazon and I’m a Prime member. Not cool.
Another Iceland purchase was the rain pants. I was happy I had them in the glacier, but other than that, I didn’t use them. I went with the Columbia Storm Surge Pants from Amazon for $36.94. I’m hopeful they’ll get some use at work during the year.
This picture is from t-minus 10 seconds before flopping into the snow to make a snow angel. And I stayed dry.
I packed a pair of ballet flats (my despicable Tieks), a pair of sneakers, a pair of flip flops and a pair of boots.
The boots were a big purchase. I knew I wanted subzero boots to get me through this winter at work, because I was frozen all of last winter and it was miserable. I decided now was the time to buy.
I looked at three different pairs:
- Columbia Women’s Bugaboot Plus III for $160
- UGG Women’s Adirondack II Winter Boot for $225
- Columbia Women’s Heavenly Organza II Omni-Heat Boot for $124.98
They all had really great reviews. The Bugaboot felt a little too bulky. When I walked around, I felt like I was walking on the moon. The UGG boot was really cute and warm, but I didn’t love it enough to be worth $100 more than the other boots. I went with the Heavenly Organza II Omni-Heat boot and it was perfect on this trip.
Did I mention I loved these boots?
I actually never wore my sneakers. Other than when we were in pools and lagoons wearing flip flops, and running out of the apartment for dinner in my flats, I wore those boots every day. I did a quick hike in them. I clamored around waterfalls in them. I wore them on a glacier. I wore them on the airplane. My feet were never cold and always stayed dry. They are incredibly comfortable and warm, but they were also not too warm. We’ll see how they hold up to NYC in January, but it’s looking good.
I packed several t-shirts, one bulky sweater, a cardigan and a sweatshirt. I also packed a rain jacket and a lightweight down coat.
The majority of the week, I wore a t-shirt, the bulky sweater and my rain jacket and I was fine.
I read on a lot of blogs that they recommended bringing a down jacket. I had never owned one and I was intrigued so I ordered the Wantdo Hooded Ultra Light Weight Down Jacket for $48.76 with the mentality that if I tried it on and really liked it, I would keep it. Turns out, I did kind of love it and it packs down so small, it seemed like a win.
Sadly no glamour shots of me in this one.
I only wore it one day, on our walk to Elfschool, and it was actually a little warmer than I needed. If the temperatures had been a little colder, I probably would’ve been happier to have it. As it was, I probably could’ve done without easily.
On the flip side, I had been looking for a better rain jacket that the crappy one I used all of last year that didn’t actually keep me dry. One of those travel bloggers had a review of Nau raincoats and they seemed a little more hipster-y than I’d usually go with. They’re super green and give 2% of every purchase to Partners for Change (a general do-gooder group).
But I figured, what the heck? I’ll just return it if it sucks. It’s called the Cranky Jacket and it was $105.00. It is so freaking comfortable. It is waterproof, lightweight and warm. I like lived in that thing in Iceland. It was the most perfect coat. Somehow it kept me warm, but I was never hot.
Again, very model-like (though you can also see this jacket featured in every other picture.)
It’s pretty much incredible. It is definitely the thing that I bought that I recommend the highest.
The last thing I packed was a microfiber towel and No-Jet-Lag.
I will admit. I thought this was super sketchy. BFF #1 has a story she likes to tell of the time we went to Edinburgh and I had such bad jet lag on the first day some poor guy working at Edinburgh castle asked if he could take our picture and I snapped at him like a crazy lady.
I don’t even remember this happening.
I am aware though that I am terrible with jet lag. Like seriously, the worst. I used to get it real bad when I would fly to new cruise ships. I had the worst case of it in my life that lasted a whole week when I was living in Sheffield in the United Kingdom and flew back there after being home for the holidays. I had it kick my butt in Edinburgh and when we went to Hawaii two years ago. I know it’s a problem.
I walked past this No-Jet-Lag stuff in Target one day and thought, “what the heck?” and grabbed the box. I shared it with BFF #1 as we flew to Iceland. We are both converts. We got like no sleep but functioned all day the next day and it really wasn’t that bad.
I have no idea what’s really in the stuff. Unicorn blood? Chupacabara toes? Maybe the whole thing is a wild placebo. At any rate for $8.46, it worked.
Miracle drug… not a drug? Placebo? Whatever.
I also bought a tiny, amazing RainLeaf Microfiber Towel for $15.99 because it promised to dry fast and was super lightweight. I wound up using it when we went to a random pool on our way to the airport on the last day. I think a regular towel probably would’ve been just as good considering this was the only day I really needed it. However, if we’d done more hiking, it packs down much better than a regular towel and works just as well.
A few other I items I brought from home included a power adaptor for Icelandic power (they have the two round prong type of plug), my car charger & USB cable for the rental car, a warm hat, a power block for my phone, a book that I never touched, and my pillow.
There was just so much to do, this book had to wait.
And if you’re wondering how I kept it all organized, I used my wonderful eBag system. I freaking love packing cubes and I’ve been using the matching toiletry bag for 3 or 4 years and it’s pretty good too. I even threw a packing cube in my carry on of just the items I would need for the Blue Lagoon so it wouldn’t be in my way when I rummaged through my bag during the flight and it would be easily accessible when we got to the Blue Lagoon.
I totally have this funky shade of green… I’d probably pick a different color, if I were you.
Things I packed that I never wore:
- Thermal undershirt
- Dress
- Long Sleeve T-Shirt
- Sneakers
- Scarf
My extra spending for Iceland appropriate clothing was $371.12, which brings my Icleand total up to $1961.58 – about a thousand dollars under budget. Yeah!
