What to pack for Iceland, by season

Iceland’s weather is wind and water at 5 to 12°C most of the year, with temperature a distant third. The same ten things carry a July trip and a January one; the seasons add to them.

• A waterproof, windproof shell jacket with a hood that stays up in 20 m/s. Not water-resistant, waterproof; this is the single most important item.
• Waterproof over-trousers. Waterfalls, horizontal rain and wet seats on boat tours; they go on over whatever you are wearing.
• A warm mid-layer (fleece or light down) and a base layer you can hike in; wool or synthetic, not cotton.
• Walking boots with grip and ankle support, waterproof. Trainers end the day wet at the first waterfall.
• Swimsuit and a small quick-dry towel, for the pools and the hot springs in every town.
• Warm hat and gloves, in July too. A buff or neck gaiter does more than a scarf in wind.
• Sunglasses: low sun in winter on snow, 20 hours of it in summer.
• A refillable water bottle. Tap water is glacier water; bottled water is tap water at €4.
• A type F (Schuko) plug adapter, 230 V. Phone chargers and laptops are fine; hair dryers from North America are not.
• A daypack that closes properly, with a dry bag or zip bag inside for the phone and the camera.

Daylight all night, 10 to 15°C on a good afternoon and 5°C in the wind on a bad one. Add to the ten:

• A sleep mask. Hotel curtains are rarely blackout and the sky never darkens.
• Sunscreen and lip balm: long days, wind and glacier glare burn in a way the temperature does not suggest.
• A light insulated jacket for evenings and boat tours, even in July.
• Hiking socks, two pairs more than you think, and sandals or pool shoes for the campsite and pool.
• Insect head net if you are going to Mývatn in June or July; the midges are harmless and relentless.
• For the highlands: a warm hat you will wear in August, gaiters for river crossings on foot, and a paper map; there is no signal.

Around freezing on the coast, colder inland, ice on every car park and four to eleven hours of daylight. Add to the ten:

• Crampons or ice cleats that strap to your boots. The pavements, the waterfall paths and the car parks are ice; most winter injuries are falls, not cold.
• Thermal base layers, top and bottom, worn under the hiking trousers; a second warm mid-layer.
• A headlamp. Sunrise is after 10:00 in December and you will walk to a car in the dark.
• Warm waterproof gloves (plus a thin liner pair for the camera) and a hat that covers the ears.
• Hand warmers for the northern lights nights; they are a long stand in the cold.
• A big insulated jacket is optional: the shell over two mid-layers is warmer in the wind and works in the car. If you bring one, it is for standing still at night.
• Phone power bank; cold kills batteries in an hour.

The changeable months: snow and sun in one afternoon in April, the first autumn gales in late September. Pack the summer list and add from the winter one:

• Crampons in April and from mid-October; thermals as a precaution in both.
• A headlamp in October, when the dark comes back by 19:00.
• The swimsuit matters more than ever; the hot pools are where a stormy shoulder day goes.
• Autumn colours and northern lights mean a camera and a small tripod; September and October are the photographers’ months.

The tours supply the technical kit; you supply the layers underneath.

• Glacier walks and ice caves: the operator provides crampons, helmet and harness. Wear waterproof trousers and boots with ankle support; no trainers, no jeans. Thin gloves for the ice.
• Hot springs and pools: swimsuit, towel, flip-flops; a hair conditioner for the silica at the Blue Lagoon and a waterproof phone pouch for the photos.
• Whale watching and boat tours: the operator provides a flotation overall; wear everything warm you own underneath and the hat. Seasickness tablets an hour before.
• Highland hiking (Laugavegur, Fimmvörðuháls): proper boots, gaiters, river-crossing shoes, a dry set of everything in a dry bag, a map and a GPS track, and the hut bookings printed.
• Northern lights: everything from the winter list at once, a thermos, and a tripod for the camera; a phone on night mode works for a bright show.
• Camping (summer): a tent rated for wind, a sleeping bag to 0°C, and a sleep mask; wild camping is not permitted with a vehicle, so the campsite list goes in the plan.

The things people pack and regret.

• An umbrella. It will be inside out within a minute and nobody uses one.
• Cash. Every pump, hut, café and parking meter takes cards; the one thing to have is a card with a PIN for unattended fuel pumps.
• Jeans as outer layer; wet denim at 5°C in wind is miserable and dries overnight only in a hot room.
• More than one pair of shoes for walking. Boots for everything, pool shoes for the pool.
• A drone without reading the rules: national parks and most popular sites ban them and the wind takes the rest.
• A big suitcase of clothes. Hotels and most apartments have washing machines or a laundry; a week of layers covers a fortnight.