Need advice on what to pack for a trip Aug 28-Sept 4

Your itinerary kooks great. You will not need a winter coat. A good waterproof (not resistant!) jacket with layers is more than ample. That is what I usually take on our winter trips there as well, FWIW. Rain pants should be included, the kind that go over your other pants and can zip on/off over your boots so you don't have to take those off. A good hat and waterproof gloves are a must. I always bring two pair of gloves in case one gets wet, or like me and you lose one. On one winter trip I had to buy a new pair of gloves and I was cold before I could do that. You did not ask, but you will want good sturdy hiking boots with ankle support. Those are a must for the glacier hike, and if you do not have them you can rent them. The crampons won't work on soft soles, and you need the ankle support.

You don't mention where you are from, but if it is a warm climate, you will feel the cold more. I am in the Seattle area so usually just do a technical quarter zip under my rain jacket and am good. If it is very cold, then I will add a thin long sleeve layer under the quarter zip. For pants you want something that is quick drying, not jeans. You may want a thin base layer under those. I rarely do that, but my husband always does. Wool socks are key too. Just avoid anything cotton for the layers, but that is fine of course for going out to dinner, or relaxing in the evenings.

@mikliz97 -- Thanks so much for your reply. My husband and I live in Charlotte, NC, and our girls both live in New York, NY. I guess we feel the cold a little more than PNW, but our skin is a little thicker than a Floridian. :-) Glad you think the base layer, quarter zip and waterproof rain jacket will be sufficient. That's what I was hoping. We have a lot of hiking pants which we planned to wear over a base layer, but hadn't considered rain pants that go over everything. I know the tour company we are doing the two-day South Coast tour has rain pants we can use. Do you think we would need them for the other days as well? I plan to have everyone bring hat, gloves, and high top waterproof hiking boots too. Thanks for all your suggestions and tips!

Yes, you will want rain pants on the other days as well, especially around the waterfalls. A friend is there now and the weather was so bad a few days ago on Snaefellsness and they were in their full rain gear, and being from Seattle, they were used to it. Iceland is just one of those places that the weather can really mess with you, so always be prepared.

@Mikliz, I was just watching a FB video last night of a guy from Belgium who's been in Iceland the last week with his family. They were cold as were your friends.

https://fb.watch/tpcewuo4Js/

I traveled to Orkney and Shetland last August and while it is not the same as Iceland, I did take rain pants with me. What worked well was a large size packing cube (mine is Eagle Creek) that fit my waterproof rain jacket, waterproof rain pants, plus lightweight Smartwool glove liners and a ball cap. I am not a ball cap wearer but it was really useful to don under my rain jacket hood to keep the rain off my face when it was windy. I wound up buying a beanie when I was there to wear over the ball cap. I could fit the packing cube into my smaller day pack and still have room for my lunch and water.

Pam--Ball caps don't work in Iceland as they fly away immediately;) I have even had a ponytail holder ripped out of my longish hair a few years ago from the wind! A packing cube is smart to keep all of that in. We used cubes last summer when we had a camper van, but for all our other trips we just toss it in our bag, and then they are loose in the car as you need them so often every day there.

Pam, that video is hilarious! Yes, Dettifoss would not be the right place to go to avoid the wind/rain, lol! One year we were there, we had a heat wave, and it was in the mid 80's for one day. Of course a day we were hiking. I told our adult kids to pack 1 pair of shorts and t-shirt, but our daughter did not. Yes, we had to stop and buy her a tank top before the hike. Thank goodness there was an ice cream truck near the parking lot!

Oh, I wore the ball cap under the hood which was cinched down!

And laughing about the heat wave! Kids…even grown ones!

Somehow I started watching Hair Buddha’s videos on hair fails. He’s pretty funny…

Pam--The funny thing is, our daughter and I are going to Norway in a month. She is just now realizing that it may not be warm, lol. She is very smart, book smart, but some things escape her;)

When we went to Iceland I wore either fleece lined leggings from Athleta or fitted hiking pants from Title 9 as my base layer, and brought a pair of Columbia rain pants that I bought in once size up so they could easily slip on and off over my base layer. I wore the rain pants every day but not all day every day. For my top I did a quarter zip, then a fleece, and then I had either a rain jacket or very lightweight puffer jacket, depending on the day and activity. I carried a backpack with me for my outer layers and just added or subtracted as needed. I wore the same water proof hiking boots every day but I brought a pair of regular running shoes to change into once we were back at the hotels, to give my feet a rest. I did not pack a hat and ended up buying one, a ball cap, to keep the constant light rain off my face. I also ended up buying very light weight running style gloves, as my hands got colder than I expected.

Thanks Pam for the additional advice! That video was funny and also terrifying! I just hope we don't have bad weather for five days!!! This trip is getting more and more expensive based on all we have had to buy!

I went in June 2023 (oh, how it pains me that is over a year ago!). And I think our two weeks were colder and wetter than it normally is in June. But I was very happy to have the following:

1. light-weight puffy winter jacket. It packed up small and I'd say I used it 3-5 days of our 14.
2. water proof coat
3. fleeced-lined yoga pants, wore 2-3 days
4. wool socks
5. RAIN PANTS--I wore those probably 12 days of the trip.
6. Waterproof hiking shoes. I opted not to do boots and the shoes were fine for everything, but the glacier hike and I rented those.
7. Stocking hat

Our whale watching tour was on the coldest day and I think the high where we were was maybe 35 degrees. On the boat, I wore the fleece-lined pants, winter coat, rain pants, the tour companies wet suit, and rain jacket. And I was still cold ;). And I'm from Iowa.

I know it goes against every Rick Steves belief, but we overpacked for Iceland and were happy with it. We had a car and having 3 25 inch bags for two people was kind of silly. But it was also really nice.

MHA - thank you for your tips! I am learning the rain pants are a must have! I was originally thinking wool or wool blend base layer but do you think athletic leggings like Athleta would be ok? If so, I know the girls and I have plenty of those already so that would save some money!

Thanks Jenny! Rainpants, rainpants, rainpants - going to have to get everybody some of these. I appreciate your feedback! I am torn on the puffer jacket. The waterproof raincoat I got is really a winter raincoat so it has lots of warm lining. I was thinking I could just put on and take off as needed.

And the back pack to put the rain pants and hat/gloves in case the sun comes out. Just came back from Iceland and got lucky with only a little rain and lots of sunshine. Try the puffin tour on Rib out of the old harbor in Reykjavik (they give you suits for over your clothes)

You'll probably be fine without the winter coat---almost everyone on here doesn't think it's needed whenever the question comes up. I just like to chime in because I was happy to have it. ;)

And you're right about the rain pants---just get them one size too big and they will be easy to slip over your pants. And they pack extremely light. At the end of the trip when I was peeling off the rain pants and taking off my hiking shoes one last time---I realized that my body hadn't been wet for the entire 2 weeks. And they helped block the wind and keep my legs warm.

I have never taken my puffers to Iceland, but I know some people are happy to have theirs. I tend to run warm though. Rain pants often are already sized up a big, so if you are ordering online you may want to order 2 sizes to be sure and then return what doesn't work. I have had mine for years since we do a lot of outdoor activities here at home, so bought mine at REI. Their brand runs large enough to allow for regular clothes underneath.

In addition to MikLiz' rain pants advice, I'll add to look at the ones that have zippers up the sides so you can pull them on and off over your shoes. I went cheap when I got mine many years ago and mine just have a wide leg and velcro fastener at the bottom. I can ease them on over my low cut Lone Peak athletic shoes but I have to sit or lean on something to do it. When I spring for new ones I will get the side zippers to make it easier to don them.

The plus about waterproof gear is that it is windproof as well.

I'm glad you laughed at Hair Buddha! And yes, I hope your conditions are better!

Thanks everyone! I am headed to REI tomorrow to see what they have in stock as far as rain pants, but will order online if they don't have them in store.

Good plan! It's good to feel the fabric and make sure it's not too "swooshy" sounding if you know what I mean??

Remember George Costanza's swooshy pants? Starts at 2:00 (they've put this clip together awkwardly so this is the early part)

https://youtu.be/7fr5ByQo5TI?si=ShbyF_rjwy2Wf51h

LOL - too funny! It would be great to find a pair that is less "swooshy" - I figured they all were.

Some are less noisy than others. Some are crinkly as opposed to swooshy, hahaha! We want a full report on your shopping trip, lol. If it's not too blasted hot where you are, I'd wear the shoes you plan to take with you to see how donning them works.

Good idea to wear my hiking shoes to try pants on!

We all ended up getting the REI Co-up Flash Stretch Rain Pants - they were the least "swooshy." A bit of an investment, but we should be able to keep them forever.

Those look awesome! Leg zips and completely waterproof plus zippered pockets.

I love the marketing descriptions of things, particularly:

“Crotch gusset and articulated knees for increased mobility”

I actually need this for my body as it ages…hahaha!!