I’m a little bit intense, especially when it comes to getting into the details of things. So when I started planning our Iceland trip, and reading through blogs and Reddit threads, I started overthinking what we needed to pack.
If you’re looking for a place to start, check out the list below! Here, you’ll see what we packed for a week in Iceland in the summer, as well as notes on how useful (or not) each item was.
Clothing for Iceland: Layers, Layers, Layers
That’s right, layers were the name of the game here! All of this stuff fit into a carry-on sized bag for each person, which was an added bonus.
- Rain Jacket (1)
- Essential! 3 days of our trip were pretty much constant rain, along with several showers other days.
- Make sure yours has a hood!
- Rain Pants (1)
- We used these a few times. The first night of our trip, we wanted to wander and explore Reykjavik a bit, despite the rain, so it we donned all of our rain gear so we didn’t rush back due to being wet and uncomfortable. We also wore them when we got up close to waterfalls.
- Waterproof hiking shoes (1)
- Another essential item for us! We wore these nearly every day of our trip.
- I bought Adidas Terrex ones for myself and the kids and we all loved them. Kept our toes toasty and dry even when the weather was dreary.
- Fleece Jacket (1)
- This was the “warmest” item we packed (no puffer type coat for us) and it worked great; if it was extra chilly one day, we just made sure to add a sweatshirt layer underneath.
- Our jackets were nothing fancy, just basic Columbia ones.
- Sweatshirt (2, different thicknesses)
- I probably ended up wearing a t-shirt + hoodie [+ rain jacket] more than I ever wore the fleece.
- I liked having one with a hood because sometimes misty rain came out of nowhere, so it was helpful.
- T-Shirts (5ish)
- I probably would’ve packed even fewer shirts, but only our first Airbnb had a washing machine. As it was, I didn’t mind rewearing a couple of the shirts because it wasn’t sweaty weather.
- I started getting into my head about the type of shirts I was bringing (wool?? sweat-wicking?? “cotton kills”??) but a mix of normal cotton t-shirts and athletic wear was totally fine for us.
- Leggings (5ish)
- This was my ideal packing scenario because I completely skipped packing jeans (LOL). I figured if I packed jeans and they got wet, it would just be annoying to deal with.
- As far as leggings, I packed a mix of fleece ones and regular ones. With the summer weather (50-60 degrees every day), I didn’t feel strongly that I needed one kind or the other.
- Swimsuit (1-2)
- Gotta make sure you have a suit or two to hit up the Blue Lagoon and the local geothermal pools!
- Socks (7ish)
- I packed a mix of wool socks and my regular everyday socks. I liked having the option of both.
- Underwear (7ish)
- Flip flops or other pool shoes (1)
- Gym shoes or other hiking shoes (1)
- I packed a spare pair of shoes in case my main shoes (waterproof hiking shoes) happened to get wet inside.
- Hats and gloves
- The kids wore theirs a couple of times, but husband and I didn’t. Probably skippable if you’re hearty midwesterners like us, but they also don’t take up much space.
Other Helpful Things to Pack for Iceland
- Towels (4)
- At the pools, you can typically rent a towel, but it’s pricey! For example, at Laugarvatn, I think it was 9ish USD to rent one. I’m glad we packed ours – we went to pools 5 times, so the rental costs for the 4 of us really would’ve added up!
- Pool bag (1)
- I used a cheapy mesh one, probably from Target a million years ago. Just something to put your wet stuff in after the pool.
- Foldable Cooler bag (1)
- Some of the drives between rental houses were quite long (and we often stopped on the way), so we stashed away any perishable items in the cooler bag to keep them chilled until we got to our next place.
- Travel Size Clarifying Shampoo & Conditioning mask
- We visited the Blue Lagoon our first day and, as I expected, I got pretty much all of my hair wet in the pool, despite trying not to. I heard the minerals in the pool can mess up your hair pretty badly, so I made sure to give it a good clarifying wash and then deep conditioned, and it ended up feeling pretty good!
- Mini first-aid kit
- Bandages, antibiotic cream, hand sanitizer, small scissors, tweezers, nail clippers, barf bags, and a few of any kind of medication we could possibly need for a couple days
- A couple of our cottages were far from the nearest store (30-40 minutes) and I think Icelandic pharmacies have pretty limited hours, so I wanted to make sure I had anything we could need if one of us was suddenly sick
- Outlet adapters (if applicable)
- Don’t forget, their plugs are different than the ones in the US 🙂
More Resources
Still planning your trip? Check out our Iceland itinerary next!
