Iceland - what do I need to take?
Discussion
Swimming trunks, regardless of the time of year, the various hot springs are amazing.
As sides from that, good winter jacket and waterproof boots. Expect light snow but nothing extreme, Iceland is effected by the gulf stream, so conditions are not massively worse than those in northern Scotland. I went in March and temperatures where above 0 on most days.
If you are renting a car spring for a 4x4,pretty much every rental place has a fleet of ragged Suzuki Jimnys in stock, they make exploring the hills far more enjoyable and stress free as you will encounter unsealed tracks.
As sides from that, good winter jacket and waterproof boots. Expect light snow but nothing extreme, Iceland is effected by the gulf stream, so conditions are not massively worse than those in northern Scotland. I went in March and temperatures where above 0 on most days.
If you are renting a car spring for a 4x4,pretty much every rental place has a fleet of ragged Suzuki Jimnys in stock, they make exploring the hills far more enjoyable and stress free as you will encounter unsealed tracks.
Went about the same time a few years ago
Was fine with merino wool thermals and then normal clothes that you’d wear here on a cold winters day.
If you see the northern lights by boat they’ll give you a warm body suit.
Had a balaclava too but not sure I wore it.
Great place, one of my favourite holidays.
Was fine with merino wool thermals and then normal clothes that you’d wear here on a cold winters day.
If you see the northern lights by boat they’ll give you a warm body suit.
Had a balaclava too but not sure I wore it.
Great place, one of my favourite holidays.
Definitely lots and lots of money.
A pint is about £9, we had an awful meal in a restaurant in the centre of Reykjavik and paid £80 for the two of us. A bowl of soup in one of the touristy places (e.g. around Gulfoss, Geysir etc) will be about £10, hell, even the public toilets cost about £1.60 to use and have chip & pin machines fitted to the turnstiles (the locals appear to use cards to pay for pretty much everything).
As others have said, definitely take swimming gear - the hot springs are fantastic. If you decide to go to the Blue Lagoon, the upgrade to the premium ticket (i.e. the one that includes the bathrobe, slippers, free drink, extra mud mask etc) is worth it. Book at least a basic ticket in advance as they only allow a certain number of people per hour to come in, but you can stay as long as you like & upgrade at the counter if you want.
Take plenty of warm clothing - we went in July and it didn't get above about 15 degrees. They also get 4 times the amount of rain we get here.
A pint is about £9, we had an awful meal in a restaurant in the centre of Reykjavik and paid £80 for the two of us. A bowl of soup in one of the touristy places (e.g. around Gulfoss, Geysir etc) will be about £10, hell, even the public toilets cost about £1.60 to use and have chip & pin machines fitted to the turnstiles (the locals appear to use cards to pay for pretty much everything).
As others have said, definitely take swimming gear - the hot springs are fantastic. If you decide to go to the Blue Lagoon, the upgrade to the premium ticket (i.e. the one that includes the bathrobe, slippers, free drink, extra mud mask etc) is worth it. Book at least a basic ticket in advance as they only allow a certain number of people per hour to come in, but you can stay as long as you like & upgrade at the counter if you want.
Take plenty of warm clothing - we went in July and it didn't get above about 15 degrees. They also get 4 times the amount of rain we get here.
Frimley111R said:
Ok great thanks all. A quick look indicated that its not that cold there. We have a car. Looks like I ma well be sober for the 4 days then 
Which app is best?
Download the app Reykjavik Appy hour. You can get reasonably priced drinks at all hours if you chase happy hours.Which app is best?
My favourite bars are sæta svinid (happy hour 1500-1800 beer for £4.60) and Kex Hostel (happy hour 1500-1900 beer £4.60). There are some bars that do a beer for at little as £3.60.
Take a warm jacket, boots, I just waterproofed my timberlands and they’ve done the trick on the last two visits. Don’t bother with smart clothes, the locals dress practically even in nicer restaurants.
On the topic of restaurants I can highly recommend Grillmarkadurinn for dinner and Svarta Kaffid for soup in a bun and a pint at lunch time.
We had two weeks there doing the ring road in October, temp was about 4 Deg C.
-2 on the higher roads in the NE and about -10 at the summit of that volcano that blew up in 2010 I'm not even going to try and quote the name of (special off road 4x4 trip with South Coast Adventures).
You know what warm clothing is so just take some, including a woolly hat.
As others have said, food and drink prices are astronomic. Don't try calculating anything back from ISK to GBP while you're there, it could spoil your trip! Just take your credit card and pretend it's not happening.
Do try Myvatn Nature Baths if you are heading north, far less commercial than the Blue Lagoon. And don't bother paying for a northern lights trip - they are in the sky and free, we saw them 4 times over the two weeks. Once they were right over our heads on the south coast - totally hypnotic. But amazingly, most of the time and unless they are really dense, they look like normal clouds until you take a time exposure of them, then you see the colour.
Enjoy.
-2 on the higher roads in the NE and about -10 at the summit of that volcano that blew up in 2010 I'm not even going to try and quote the name of (special off road 4x4 trip with South Coast Adventures).
You know what warm clothing is so just take some, including a woolly hat.
As others have said, food and drink prices are astronomic. Don't try calculating anything back from ISK to GBP while you're there, it could spoil your trip! Just take your credit card and pretend it's not happening.
Do try Myvatn Nature Baths if you are heading north, far less commercial than the Blue Lagoon. And don't bother paying for a northern lights trip - they are in the sky and free, we saw them 4 times over the two weeks. Once they were right over our heads on the south coast - totally hypnotic. But amazingly, most of the time and unless they are really dense, they look like normal clouds until you take a time exposure of them, then you see the colour.
Enjoy.
If you want to do a tour then look for Moonwalker - Bessi is a love chap and superb guide. He's an ex-mountain rescue driver as well so plenty of experience.
Make sure your coats are wind proof, it can be biting. Echo the blue lagoon suggestion - book a slot and upgrade when you get there if you want.
The other thing I'd say is research the restaurants and prices - we had a meal for 4 in an Italian in Reykjavik for under £80. It's not all expensive.
Make sure your coats are wind proof, it can be biting. Echo the blue lagoon suggestion - book a slot and upgrade when you get there if you want.
The other thing I'd say is research the restaurants and prices - we had a meal for 4 in an Italian in Reykjavik for under £80. It's not all expensive.
Frimley111R said:
Ok great thanks all. A quick look indicated that its not that cold there.
Which app is best?
"Not that cold" is very different from "I've been standing here not really moving for a few hours" - I'd use merino wool base layer, decent jacket (something like down), hat, gloves etc. As mentioned tripod. Which app is best?
I wouldn't rely on the apps too much - just more how the forecast is for the evening. I am in a better place for the lights and often the hourly lights forecast from some apps isn't really useful IME. Also bear in mind if it's a very big storm it will come and go more quickly, so be patient and check regularly. In the most extreme case I've seen it go from nothing to full blown crazy display and back in just a minute or two. If it's moderate it tends to move more slowly and stay there for a lot longer (30min to hours).
caelite said:
Swimming trunks, regardless of the time of year, the various hot springs are amazing.
Definitely this!caelite said:
As sides from that, good winter jacket and waterproof boots. Expect light snow but nothing extreme, Iceland is effected by the gulf stream, so conditions are not massively worse than those in northern Scotland. I went in March and temperatures where above 0 on most days.
And this. Also, take some spikes to attach to your footwear. When we went there were areas in various places we visited where the ice was solid under foot, notably on some of the footpaths around the edges of Reykjavik and also at Gulfoss and Strokkur. We also went in March (2016) and it did snow heavily. For us that added to the experience, particularly at Fontana Wellness where you'd step out of the hot water and walk to the drink station with heavy snow falling on your exposed skin!BoRED S2upid said:
Money sacks full of it it’s eye wateringly expensive.
Depends what you do. I didn't think it was noticably more expensive than the UK, but I'm not that bothered about alcohol other than having a glass or two of wine with my meal, which didn't seem particularly pricey.MitchT said:
Also, take some spikes to attach to your footwear.
That is an excellent suggestion.Lots of people slipping around the Waterfalls and Geysers.
You can get spiked overshoes quite cheaply.
We went on a Northern Lights 4x4 Tour and got really cold due to standing around in the wrong Clothing.
And no Lights!
Was a couple of Years ago we went. The Food and Drink was expensive but not stupid.
I liked the Einstock White Ale. Bitter/IPA my usual. About £7/Pint I think in our Hotel.
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