6 Things You'll Regret Not Packing For Iceland

After reading hundreds of comments from people who have traveled to Iceland in the past I have compiled a list of things people regretted not bringing with them to Iceland and put them into six categories. Most of it makes sense like your passport and some of it does not make sense. Like, your cat. You can bring your cat if you like but it will need to be quarantined for weeks and most likely suffer anxiety as a result. So perhaps leave your cat at home. Don't worry if you forget to pack something. You can always buy what you need when you get to Iceland. Like a new cat. But consider this. People in Iceland go to other countries to buy what they need. Not only to get the good stuff from the pharmacy but also to save money. Without further adieu, let's start with number 6. money. I'm assuming people meant enough money. Because if you didn't bring any then you will probably die. But what is enough money? Icelanders are huge fans of money, so bring as much as you possibly can. You are probably going to need it and we are going to want it. Preferably bring a credit card. There is very little need for cash in Iceland. Obviously, budgets are going to differ. You can live off noodles, stay in campgrounds and hitch a ride everywhere you go. In which case you will still probably need $20 per day. Surviving Iceland on 20 dollars per day might be a challenge I'll try in a future video so make sure you subscribe. Realistically, you won’t find a place to stay for less than $100 unless it's a haunted place without top sheets or a prison. Then you need another $30 per day to eat. $70 for a rental car if you are happy riding around in the worst car known to man. Price of gas at the moment is around 2.30 per liter or 9 dollars per gallon. Could be 12 if you are watching this tomorrow. And then you need to factor in your activities. This is all minimum princess. Add another $150 if you want to go out to dinner at a place that sets your cocktails on fire and add another 2.000 dollars if you plan to drink and drive. Although that would grant you a free night in prison I guess. Better yet. Don’t drink and drive. So yea. How much money you should bring depends. Just know that Iceland is quite expensive. Speaking of drunk driving. If you plan to consume 6 beers per day the worst beer you can find will cost you at least 12 dollars for a six pack and 10 dollars for a single pint at a restaurant. So many regretted not bringing alcohol. You could also buy it from the duty free. Strong liquor and beer is much cheaper in the duty free store than it is in the government run Alcohol stores in Iceland. Yes, you can technically only buy alcohol to takeaway in dedicated state run alcohol stores. Although some online stores have been cropping up and some brewpubs have started selling alcohol to go to challenge the status quo. Be careful at the duty free store. You can buy as much alcohol as you want duty free, but the customs guys will confiscate it and give you a fine if you try to bring too much through customs. So either drink it all while you wait for your baggage or try to decipher this point system at the duty free store that tells you how much alcohol you can take through customs. It’s quite a lot so unless you are sponge bob drunk pants then you should be fine. If you are bringing food or regret not bringing food then I don’t know what to tell you. There is plenty of food in Iceland. All sorts of food. Not just sheeps heads and ram testiles. Oh, that's a typo. Let’s keep it to stay monetized. And I can’t say that it’s worth smuggling fresh Argentinian steak through customs just to save a few bucks. Quite a few people mentioned that they felt they brought too much. Probably the same people that mentioned that they wished they had brought with them top sheets and washcloths. If you are wondering if you should pack top sheets and washcloths then you are probably packing too much. Unless you are camping. Then washcloths make sense. An extra towel isn’t a bad idea as there are many great swimming pools all around the country. That’s where you will meet the locals. I would definitely visit those even if it is just to grab a good shower while you are on the road. Then a good towel will come in handy. Bear in mind that I am a scruffy guy that doesn’t see much point in tiny towels, unless its … oh wait, nevermind. I use those all the time. If your hotel or hostel or AirBNB requires you to bring your own top sheet then you really must be paying very little for your accommodation. Otherwise, tell them to Fu** off. You should get a very nice Icelandic duvet wherever you go. So enjoy sleeping like a local under a fluffy feathered duvet.And if you get too hot, open a window. Unless of course, if you are camping bring a good sleeping bag. If you didn’t know that then perhaps you should’t be camping. Either way, be aware to not pack too much. I know you have already paid for a really nice portable blow dryer but you will find one at every hotel and at the swimming pools in Iceland so perhaps it's safe to leave yours at home? Then you can save space for some extra gear people regret not bringing with them to Iceland. Gear like Binoculars, hiking sticks, travel adapter and a waterproof phone case. Let's get the adapter out of the way. I see this question sooo many times on the travel site. This is what our plugs look like. It's 220 volts. If the device you are traveling with cares about voltage it's probably not necessary on the trip or very outdated. Refer to tip number three and carefully consider if it is really necessary to bring your kitchen aid. But if you are unsure, get a magnifying glass and read the text on the device charger or next to the device's power input. It will most likely say “input 100-240v”. Unless you have a very shity device. And if you have a shity phone it’s probably not waterproof. Most recent phones are waterproof, ish. If not, then definitely bring a waterproof phone case just in case you want to snap a selfie for instagram in the Sky Lagoon or something. Let me reuse this joke because it was expensive. This joke cost me two hundred dollars. I don’t think you should bring your binoculars to the sky lagoon. But many Icelanders will have binoculars in their cars. Mostly old people. But now that I think about it, there have been many times I would have liked to have had binoculars in my car. I might actually get one for my car. Am I getting old? If I see something interesting I send the drone but oftentimes Binoculars would have been much easier. Especially when the drone crashes on its way back. Binoculars will rarely do that. But if your binoculars do crash then this next item might be useful. Quite a few people said they regretted not bringing hiking sticks. I have only ever used those once and I found they just got in the way of my filming. I don’t quite understand what they do. But if you find that they offer some benefit then by all means bring some sticks to carry around with you. Who knows, they might come in handy when you get lost in the dark. Although a flash light would be much more useful in that case. You may not know this, but the day gets really short in Iceland with the shortest day of the year being 21st of december. It is around 4 hours and 7 minutes. I never realized how useful a headlight is until Armytek sent me one, for free. Probably because I have recommended a headlight more often than once in my videos. And for good reason. So many people were hiking to the volcano while it was active without headlights which is scary to think about. And while the volcano is no longer active, a good headlight still remains a recommended gear if you are going to be here during the darker months. Especially If there is any risk of being out on a hike after sunset then headlights are essential. At first I was just going to do a review on the light on my other personal channel so I started using it during the winter solstice. I never realized how useful it could be. I have been fumbling around in the dark or with a shitty phone flashlight all this time. This light is now always in my jacket pocket. That's no word of a lie. Should you get this exact light? No, just bring a decent one. Can I recommend this light with good conscience if you need one? Yes, it's great. Link in the description. And 15% of with my code. Feel free to leave it at home if you are traveling in June. But never leave without your medication. Odds are that your over the counter medication requires a prescription in Iceland. You need a prescription for melatonin in Iceland for crying out loud. So bring those too. If you do find yourself in Iceland without your medication then you need to get in touch with the nearest health clinic. I'll put the link in the description. Feel free to put it in your favorites for this trip just in case. So depending on how lucky you are you might get an appointment with a doctor who can fill out your prescription. The rules vary depending on the drug you need. The point is, don't forget your meds. It could be a major problem. Especially if you are in the countryside. And bring as much of the good shit from home as you can. Many people regretted not bringing flu medicine and painkillers. I was very happy that when we got covid we were in New York. We went to the pharmacy and got all the Quils and pills available. You won’t find those in Iceland. The best you can get is a nasal spray and some mild painkillers. And while we are on the topic of drugs. Some people regretted not bringing weed. So this advice might save your trip. Don’t bring weed. The police and customs in Iceland take weed way too seriously. They haven’t gotten the memo that weed is awesome and that the war on drugs is lost. You could very well end up in jail. But the number one thing people regret not bringing with them on their trip to Iceland was… Clothes. Well, not many people came naked. They wouldn’t let them on the plane. But rather, people made many mistakes when choosing the clothes to bring. So let's break it down a little. First of all there is sun in Iceland believe it or not. Some people regretted not bringing their sunglasses. I definitely recommend you bring them especially polarized ones during the winter months. It can be blinding to drive during sunrise and sunset. Now imagine if sunrise and sunset took the whole day. And it goes without saying, bring sunglasses in the summer. You might even need sunscreen. But that’s not clothes. But a cap is. A few people mentioned that they regretted not bringing a cap. To keep their hair in place. It gets quite windy in Iceland. Although a good hat is probably more practical. And speaking of practicality. Many reported to regret not bringing hiking boots. I wear these hiking boots all winter. It's January when I am recording this and this kind of condition outside is not uncommon. Your feet will get wet and you will fall and break your wrists if you don’t wear waterproof shoes with decent grip. In which case crampons aren't a bad idea. I'm not talking about tampons for crabs. But these things. Just small spikes to add grip to your shoes. Fortunately the streets aren’t always like this. And you may want to dress down and relax on a summer evening. In which case perhaps you should consider bringing some sneakers and light eveningwear. Many people reported regretting not bringing comfortable clothes. It can be tiring to slug around in heavy snow gear all day and have nothing comfortable to slip into for the evening dinner. The second most mentioned item I could find on online forums was gloves. And people got quite specific about the gloves. Some regretted not having touch screen gloves, some heated gloves and some waterproof gloves. So if you can find heated, waterproof touch screen gloves then you will be golden. I always have gloves in my pockets. And during winter they are essential if you like to keep your digits. You only have 9 spare. And the number one regret I could find on online forums by far was warm waterproof clothes in general. Only thing that surprised me about that was that so many people failed to do basic enough research before heading to Iceland to know that they should bring warm waterproof clothes. I have been promising an in depth video on what clothes you should wear for a long time now. And eventually I will get to it so make sure you subscribe. In the meantime I'll refer you to this quite funny video from “inspired by Iceland”. But this is a very complicated subject. What clothes you should wear depends so much on what you are going to be doing in Iceland and what time of the year it is. In general, make sure you have thin comfortable layers and that the top most layer is waterproof. Full disclosure. This is not a definitive list. If you find yourself in Iceland without your pacemaker don’t blame me. You should make your own list of course. But this has hopefully helped you to create your checklist. And if it has, then how about hitting that like button? Have a great trip.

Channel: Time Warp Iceland

Views: 14,822

Keywords: iceland, icelandic, travel, packing, regrets, essentials, money, credit card, noodles, alcohol, meat, top sheet, wash cloth, towel, binoculars, hiking sticks, travel adapter, waterproof phone case, flashlight, drugs, sunglasses, cap, hiking boots, crampons, slippers, gloves, waterproof clothes, Adventure travel, Nature, Outdoor activities, Scenic views, Hot springs, Volcanoes, Geysers, Road trip, Camping, Hiking, Solo travel, Budget travel, Winter travel, Landscape photography, Iceland travel vlog

Id: SzfVcWkCRdY

Length: 11min 8sec (668 seconds)

Published: Sat Jan 28 2023

Reddit Comments

[u/BTRCguy]

His channel has lots of good (and amusing) videos. Including how to open your car doors in a heavy wind. Which will be useful if you decide to get in a car tomorrow.

[u/NoLemon5426]

Head lamps are a good idea especially if you will be camping when there are dark nights. One small example is that campsites are really dark and if there is mud (often the case), you’ll be happy to avoid it if you have to go use the toilet at night.

Good video, 9/10, could use more Brando! 🐾🐶

[u/Iamnutzo]

Great Video!

[u/emeraldead]

This is you? Already watched yesterday and re watched with my partner. Very amusing AND practical PLUS kitty = fantastic!

[u/SpookyDooDo]

I just watched like an hours worth of your videos this morning. Really entertaining and informative. It’s so nice to hear the names of places pronounced correctly.

[u/wildwoodstitchwitch]

Informative & hilarious!

[u/Icantdrown]

Great video and great humour!! See you October!