In the spirit ….packing light for Scandinavian tour

Jen,
I just returned from this fabulous tour, my 8th tour!

Packing was a challenge for me as I’m warm natured and live in the South so I stay comfortable in cooler temperatures. Many of my tourmates wore their puffer and/or fleece jackets daily. I asked a couple of these ladies if they were cool or warm natured, they said they get cold easily. I wore my fleece jacket two days and likely could have worn a sweater under my hooded water resistant jacket instead. Our temperatures were cool, in the 50’s to 60’s in mid-May to early June. A couple days we had some rain and in Copenhagen and Ærø Island, it was very windy with strong gusts. I did feel somewhat cold then. I’m going into this detail so you can gauge how your personal comfort level might vary from or be similar to mine.

Also important: is what size luggage are you bringing? I ask because I brought a 24” 4 wheel spinner because of the extra clothing I packed. I regret this because that bag was just too difficult to handle. I also brought my RS Euroflight bag which I love. I should have brought my RS Ravenna 21” bag with 2 wheels. There are locations where handling your luggage will be more challenging. I am single so I was responsible for my bags, occasionally a kind man or two offered to help me while I was struggling. If I had had my smaller bags, that wouldn’t have been an issue.

Given the above, you are going later in July so packing decisions may be easier as temperatures will be warmer.

Good luck to you! It is a joy to finally travel again, I’m glad for you!

Hi Jen…. What dates? We are on Scandinavian trip july 24 to aug 6.

I am very very hot natured.

Right now we just finished up a week in Iceland on a tour. t times it was rainy, windy, cool, warm. Now. I am sitting In hotel room in Glasgow for 2,days, then we head for Orkney and Shetland.

We took our 24” spinner suitcasesbecause I took our walking polls and and tad more clothes, and stuff to buy for our grands. We have small private tour only 3 hotels, in and out of Mercedes van, one hotel for week in Orkney and one hotel in Shetland. It has been fine for us. But as Judy said, I am going to take my RS Ravenna and day bag like her. I will downsize my clothing for Scandinavian tour.

This is what I brought, one pair jeans, one dry fit type Capri, s/s running shirt. (these are for my traveling to and home day plus here in Glasgow and Edinburg, kinda warm here today).

4 dry fit long pants (from Duluth trading and Columbia) 4 l/s dry fit tops from bass pro and one s/s, 10-12 dry quickly jockey briefs, shorts/T to sleep in. One nylon base L/s top from lands end, merino wool l/s base layer top. I bought two merinos wool top on Iceland( like them, good for future cold travels trips). Gloves, gaitor, head band, puffy jacket ( worn it everyday). Columbia water resistant jacket( worn when raining or windy). Hiking boots(they were old ones and I never noticed they were ripping). I bought some boots in Iceland and threw away my old one. Another pair of walked shoes, and slip ones for hotel or short walk to dinner etc. they are wearing out but not sure if I am dumping or keeping. Swimsuit that was on its last use because we went to blue lagoon. I threw it away, about 5 pairs of merino booties. Think about all. All stuff I brought has been useful.

We are only be gone 16 days for our end of July trip, so I will not take as much .

We will be gone 26 days this trip.

I like the dry fit clothes , easy to sink wash

Hope this helps

Ps. Did this on phone. Sorry for fat fingers lol

It is of course impossible to predict weather so far in advance, but late July/early August is usually very warm (by Scandinavian standards) so no need to pack warm clothing. You can probably expect 20-30°C during the day which drops to a bit under 20°C during the night. It's not a particularly rainy period but you should be prepared for rain. Bring a thin water/windproof jacket, that will probably be enough. A jean jacket will probably be fine as long as it doesn't rain too much.

I've never worn a jean jacket. Won't it be a lot heavier than a fleece or puffer jacket? I'd think one of the later two would provide considerably more warmth per ounce of weight. What's your hoodie made of? If it's fleece, I doubt that you'll also need a puffer vest. (But full disclosure: I have a packable puffer jacket jammed into my compression cube, just in case.)

I'm in Flam (partway through the Nutshell route) right now. The high temperature on Tuesday was about 14C/57F; it was totally overcast with some intermittant rain, though I managed to dodge the rain completely. I'm moving on to Bergen today (Wednesday), where a high of 11C/52F is predicted. Those are not frigid temperatures, but it can be quite breezy, and if you get wet... Bergen in particular is a very rainy place.

Scotland can be cold and wet enough even in July that you may be glad of something warm to wear under your slacks unless you have actual rainpants. Of course, you may be luckier with the Scottish weather than I was.

I'm cold-natured and am spending over two months in Norway-Sweden-Finland, so I have a set of lightweight merino wool long johns in my bag (but no tights). I wore the bottoms on Tuesday and was quite comfortable even on the bridge across the little river in Flam, which has been windy every time I've crossed it. I wore long johns (at least once two pairs at the same time) several times during my 26 days in Scotland in 2019.

I think you are on the right track.

Yes, I'd take the puffer jacket. If it's cold and rainy (hopefully won't be in July/August but it happens), you can use the puffer jacket under your waterproof rain shell. The rain shell just needs to be waterproof; it doesn't need to be bulky. On chilly but dry evenings, the puffer jacket adds a second choice for outerwear. If I was going to drop anything, I'd drop the hoodie (and jean jacket). Cotton isn't the best travel material and anything bulky should stay out of your bag. I prefer full zip on my warm layers because it gives you options depending on whether you're too hot or cold. Traveling in July/August, one good warm layer should be fine.

In summer, I always add a pair of shorts (and take away a pair of pants). I'd pack a light swimsuit also. It's one of those things I'll bring, even if I don't plan specifically to use it.

An ideal pair of shoes is something you can walk all day in, can take some rain and look fine for dinner. If you are doing any real trail hiking, a pair of trail runners work well. In Scotland, I'd go with something that is waterproof and pack non-cotton socks that will still be functional if they get wet. Comfort is better than style but make sure they will still be comfortable if they're wet. I pack one pair of shoes and wear them on the plane. I add a pair of very light weight flip flops to my bag just to have something to change into occasionally (shower shoes, laundry day, etc.). You might use your sandals more than I would.

Leggings are also a good choice. Think non-cotton material and choose the least bulky.

Laundromats can be hard to find but I always find one when I need it. I do pack a large (two-gallon) Ziplock bag and some dry laundry sheets from REI. I'll wash a couple pairs of socks, underwear and maybe a t-shirt when I arrive at lodging in the afternoon then hang dry them overnight. This works for fast-drying fabrics. Did I mention non-cotton?