Home Photo TipsTravel How to Pack for a Trip to Iceland

How to Pack for a Trip to Iceland

by Jes + Chris
by Jes + Chris

Last Updated: February 15th, 2020

Our decision to travel to Iceland was made a year in advance. Shortly after returning home from our honeymoon to Mexico (and first time out of the country together!), we decided to book our flights to Iceland because we found them to be quite inexpensive (about $350 per ticket – round trip).

Needless to say, we had a lot of time to prepare for our 10 day campervan trip. After booking our van next, we were set to start collecting the equipment and clothing we would need to have a great trip.

The recommended items below come based on our personal experiences. For your reference, these items include links to Amazon for purchase if you so desire – just note we receive commissions on any purchase made through these links.

For the most part, we were very well prepared for our trip to Iceland ourselves, thanks in part to being meticulous planners. There are, of course, always things you cannot expect or predict – and fortunately picking up most things is easy enough within the country (at least in the main cities of Reykjavik and Akureyri).

Still, being prepared is key – and with our packing list for Iceland – you should be able to have everything packed ahead of time so you can enjoy all the beautiful sights this country has to offer.

What to Expect from the Seasons & the Weather in Iceland

While the seasons in Iceland are quite similar to what we have at home in the United States, they are what we could consider as “enhanced” versions of them. Spring and fall bring with them fairly “standard” days, with weather as is to normally be expected for those time frames.

The really unique qualities of Iceland, which exists in the Arctic circle, come during the summer and winter months.

During the summer, Iceland becomes the Land of the Midnight Sun because the sun never fully sets – instead lingering on the horizon and providing an extended sunset glow even in the middle of the “night.” It is one of the reasons, in addition to generally warmer and better weather conditions, that tourists traveling to Iceland often will choose the summer months to do so. This means getting out to sight see is entirely possible even at midnight, a really unique experience we are sure.

On the other end, winter time brings with it the opposite. There is much limited daylight hours, and as a result things can feel a bit gloomy for a good period of time. Mixing this darkness with often harsh winters filled with snowstorms and the like, and it can be a tricky time to visit Iceland due to the increased unpredictability and lack of light to see things. With that said – winter is the perfect time to see the Northern Lights!

While the weather patterns generally follow the norm – with Spring/Fall being more rain filled, Summer having warmer temperatures and less precipitation, and Winter being cold, dark, and often snowy – one thing we have learned from our time in Iceland is that the weather is always guaranteed to be unpredictable.

This is heavily the result of Iceland being an island – which results in sporadic storms popping up from time to time. Even on days forecasted to have clear and sunny skies, we encountered pockets of rain.

Trudging through rainy days, and sitting soaked in our campervan – we came to learn a whole lot about Iceland’s nature.

We saw a snippet of all the weather options Iceland has to offer when we visited in September, and as a result, recommend packing accordingly so you are prepared for whatever you may come into contact with while visiting yourself.

Our Comprehensive Packing List

Before you can pack, you will need a suitable suitcase, carry on bag, and travel backpack.

General Supplies

These are all items we brought along with us on our trip to Iceland. While your specific needs might vary, in general the majority of these items are essential for the average trip to Iceland.

If you are planning a shorter trip or staying in hotel accommodations, some items may be less necessary such as packing a power inverter.

In our experience traveling Iceland by campervan for 10 days, all of these items were essential to supporting our health, memories, and the usability of the equipment we brought along with us. While most items are pretty self-explanatory, the power inverter in particular was essential for us as we were living out of a van – but still needed the ability to keep our electronics charged such as our phones, laptop, and camera batteries.

Photography Equipment

While none of these items are “necessary,” they are recommended for the photographers among you who have found this Iceland packing list. These are our recommendations based on what we used while traveling through the country to document our trip, and take beautiful photos of the landscape there.

Given the number of items, we have italicized our highest recommendations that will give you the most bang for your buck. If you are interested in reading more about any of these items, use the search function at the top right of our website and you will find plenty of content about them, our thoughts & how we use them in our photography work.

For more input on photo gear to bring to Iceland, check out our article: What Photography Gear to Bring to Iceland

Clothing

Of all the things we had to pack, clothes were the most difficult to prepare for without taking up all of our suitcase space. The beauty of Iceland is that it is very diverse. When we visited, we experienced a wide range of temperatures and precipitation – from 65 degree days to freezing ones, from warm sun to torrential rain. There is a lot going on, and being prepared is ideal and preferable.

Generally speaking, we looked for clothing that would be suitable for a range of temperatures and weather forecasts. To a good extent, we kind of gave up on the idea of “looking cool” in exchange for more utility – by day 4 or 5 when we hadn’t showered, we started to really not care too much and instead preferred just feeling warm. As such, wool options are your friend. While you can definitely prepare some more casualware, especially if you are planning to spend some time out on the town in the cities – for most of the country, there is a lot of hiking involved and wearing clothing that will protect from the elements is best!

The biggest tip for what to wear in Iceland is to prepare layers of clothing. On a warm day, you can get away with 1 or 2 layers of clothing such as a t-shirt and a long sleeve thermal put over top. On colder days filled with rain or snow, you will want to build on this look with additional layers including a water and wind proof coat. This approach brings a lot of flexibility, and even within a single day you might find yourself adding or removing layers. We did this ourselves!

For Men

For Women

Packing for your trip to Iceland doesn’t have to be too hard. There are a lot of considerations you will need to make, but take it from us – the better packed you are, the better your trip will be (and the less trips you’ll have to make to try to find things you need).

Hopefully our Iceland packing list helps you better prepare yourself to travel there.

If you want to read more about traveling to Iceland, check out some other articles we wrote: Top Considerations When Taking a Trip to Iceland and The Best Photography Gear for an Iceland Adventure.

If you have any questions at all about packing or planning your trip, feel free to leave a comment below!

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