Iceland in Winter: What to Pack: Everything Else

 

Glacier

Everything I brought with me to Iceland for a late December trip fit in my carry-on backpack and its clip-on daypack.  I did a ton of research about what to bring.  Some tips worked surprisingly well.  Since, I wrote about clothing in this post, I’m going to discuss what else I brought.

Yak Trax gives you traction on ice.  They are metal coils wrapped around silicone that stretch around the soles of your shoes.  I had no problem getting through airport security with them in my pack.  They nest in each other and fold in half to take up less space.  I placed them in a nylon drawstring bag to protect the other items in my pack.  These saved my bum from many bruises.

When it’s cold outside, my nose runs.  On this trip, pretty much everyone’s nose ran.  I brought slim packs of facial tissue that fit in my pocket perfectly.  Each pack held ten tissues.  And I had six packs.  I should have brought more.  Hotel rooms also have tissues—rough, nose scratching ones.  I could not find tissues in the grocery store.  Maybe I wasn’t looking in the right place.  I did buy a box at a 24 hour convenience store in Reykjavik when I ran out.  The packs were easy to refill, but no longer slim.

A reusable beverage container saves from buying bottled water.  It must be empty when you go through security.  However, most airports have a place to fill it afterwards.  I used a slim metal Yeti that slipped perfectly in my pack’s water bottle holder.  I had planned on using it for hot water as well as cold water, but I didn’t have the need for hot water in it.  Hot water can be obtained from coffee shops in the airport, some hotel lobbies, and from the electric tea kettle in the hotel room.  Iceland has delicious cold water straight from the tap.  Do not drink the hot water from the tap.  I kept my bottle filled and drank from it on the plane, on the bus, and in the hotel.

I am a writer after all, so of course I brought a journal, pens, and a mechanical pencil.  The journal has a leather binding and refillable paper books.  Using the pencil, I wrote my thoughts about my trip.  Sometimes, I wrote on the bus.  Other times, I wrote in the hotel room.  I even scribbled a book idea in the journal.  The mechanical pencil has a retractable tip, saving the lead from breaking while in my bag.  I find my handwriting better using a pencil.  Its lead drags across the page, slowing down my hand, allowing me to be able to read what I wrote later.  The pen I used to fill out my tax forms so that I could get my VAT back from my souvenirs.  Ask the shop at checkout for the tax form.  Pre-fill the form in pen before you get to the airport.

The only electronic device I brought was my phone.  Not having a laptop or tablet made going through airport security easy.  I slipped my phone into my coat pocket and placed it in the bin with my shoes.

To keep my phone screen clean, I brought some lens wipes.  They barely take up any room in the bag and can be used for sunglasses and reading glasses as well.

Picture taking has never been my thing.  Other people on my tour brought cameras with tripods, special video cameras, and one had a drone.  For pictures, I had my phone.  My phone took relatively poor photos of the northern lights.  All other photos it took well.  I took on average over 100 pictures a day.  I got to see some of the drone footage.  It was beautiful.  Most places, however, banned the use of drones.

For my phone, I brought a six foot charging cord, a base, and a simple European outlet adapter.  The cord is a heavy duty braided USB-C to USB-C that fits into my super-fast charging base.  The super-fast charging worked extremely well in Iceland with the outlet adapter.  I expected charging to take longer for some reason.  The super-fast charging, which only works with Samsung models, lessened any anxiety over charging the phone in time for getting on the plane or the tour bus.  I also expected my phone’s battery to drain more than it did.  My power bank, which also supports the super-fast charging, never got used.

Airports have outlets and USB ports in or near most seats for charging.  Hotel rooms can have outlets anywhere.  I had to unplug a lamp in one room to plug in my phone.  Some outlets also have USB ports.  I didn’t use the ports anywhere although I brought a USB-C to USB-A adapter.  The USB adapters were also for my USB-C wired earbuds in case I wanted to plug them into the in-flight entertainment.  I didn’t use the entertainment.  My connecting flight was too short and, especially for the first one, I was too excited.  I slept on my overseas flights.

Wifi in Iceland, while plentiful, stunk more often than not.  I had trouble uploading pictures to Google Drive in the hotels.  Cell service worked pretty well most of the time.  There were times when we were driving through mountainous regions that it didn’t work, but that happens here as well.  I added international roaming to my plan before I left and the transition to their network was seamless.

Icelandic horses

You can bring small amounts of snack food into Iceland as long as it’s not meat.  I brought granola bars, fruit strips, ginger candies, and tea bags—green and lemon ginger.  After a long, cold day, having a cup of tea in the hotel room relaxes.  Every room had an electric tea kettle, instant coffee, creamer, sugar, and tea bags.  The type of tea differed from hotel to hotel.  Sometimes, I used their tea; sometimes, my own.  With your after dinner tea, it is nice to have something sweet.  That little sweetness came in the form of the ginger candies or a fruit strip.  When there was not enough time for lunch between activities, a granola bar and my water tied me over until dinner.  With all I ate—they had excellent breakfast buffets—I did not suffer from traveler’s tummy.  I thank the ginger.

Even though I didn’t bring complicated food, I considered bringing travel utensils.  After not finding a set I liked, I convinced myself I didn’t need them.  I was going to be eating out all of the time.  Then, I found a set in a store.  Since I had a coupon that made the set extremely cheap, I bought it.  I got a sturdy plastic set consisting of a fork, spoon, and chopsticks inside a case.  Bringing a knife, plastic or otherwise, may or may not get through security.  I found that while I did use the utensils, I did not need a knife.  The shallow bowled spoon from the set would have spread something like peanut butter.  The chopsticks, especially, came in handy for eating food from the grocery store when we had no restaurant.  Plus, the entire set cleaned easily at the bathroom sinks.

Somewhere I read about bringing binder clips.  I brought a handful of small ones.  Never in a million years did I think I’d use them.  But, I did.  One kept the bag of crisp bread closed.  One secured a net bag for individually wrapped cheese.  Then, one room’s drapes didn’t meet in the middle, and I was directly across from other hotel rooms.  Three binder clips brought the drapes together.  For the tiny amount of space they took in the bag with the lens wipes, they were worth taking.

Taking up more room in my backpack were toiletries.  Non-liquids stuffed my toiletry bag.  Small items like my toothbrush moved aside for larger items like deodorant and bar soap.  Since I have sensitive skin, I had to take the larger versions.  Next time I travel, I am going to try to pare down or at least find a less bulky way to bring them.  

Don’t forget to separate your liquids into that clear bag.  Toothpaste and mascara are liquids.  I was only asked at security while leaving Iceland to remove them from my bags.  Although I brought my own shampoo, I used it once since all the hotels had liquid shampoo/body wash.  All the liquid soap, hand and shampoo, smells like balsam in every hotel all around the country.  Most of the hotels had nothing else in their bathrooms.  Some had makeup wipes.  Only one had conditioner or lotion.  Good luck finding cotton swabs or bar soap.

Two of the rooms that I stayed in provided washcloths.  I brought a set of two quick drying washcloths.  Mine had a large loop on the corner for easy hanging.  I would wash it after use, writing it out, and hang it to dry.  If I needed the washcloth to dry more quickly, I wrung it in a hand towel or used the hairdryer.  Then, I placed it in a special wet/dry compartment in my toiletry bag.

Hotel bathrooms have hairdryers and little counterspace.  Most don’t even have a hook for extra items.  Some have heated towel racks.  Some don’t have any heat.  The hot water is heated naturally and can be scalding.  I didn’t notice much sulfur smell from the hot water.  Out of the seven different rooms in which I stayed, only one had a tub.  In most hotels, the entire bathroom gets wet during the shower.  

Just in case, bring first aid and medicines.  You may need a band aid or have a headache.  These items are found in pharmacies, however there might not be one when you need something.  Buy a small kit and bring it.  You can always augment.  I added Dramamine because we were going to taking a boat whale watching.  I also brought chewable aspirin that I ended up taking for a headache.  What I had wished I brought were non-drowsy antihistamines and decongestants.  Someone’s lotion on the bus affected my allergies and all I had was Benadryl.

Jokulsarlon Lagoon

Some items I brought but didn’t use on this trip.  Of course, it doesn’t I mean I won’t use them on a future trip.  The extras were carabiners, a headlamp, a collapsible cup, extra AA batteries (for the headlamp I didn’t use), a camp pillow (for the plane, but Icelandair has nice pillows and adjustable headrests), general wipes, sunglasses, and antibacterial wipes.

The items I didn’t bring at all are jewelry and perfume.  I wear both every day at home.  Jewelry can easily be misplaced.  A man on the tour bus lost his wedding ring.  Luckily, it was under his bag that he placed on the top shelf.  Perfumes and other strong scents should not be worn on airplanes or buses.  You never know if someone, like me, can be sensitive to these scents.  And the confined space can magnify the fragrance.  One hotel patron bathed in a perfume that lingered in the halls and stairway.  Luckily, the smell disappeared as soon as I left the hotel.  

Next time I travel, it will be carry-on only again.  Most of these items can be brought on any trip anywhere.  I used compression packing cubes—one small and two medium—for all my clothing.  A small, nylon doppel bag sufficed for my toiletries and a clear zippered bag for my liquids.  I forgot a bag for my mules, so I snatched the plastic laundry bag from the first hotel.  I am going to invest in an actual shoe bag.  A nylon laundry bag fit perfectly in the mesh zippered compartment in the opening panel of my backpack.  The compression straps held it all in place.  A TSA compliant luggage lock kept the zippers closed.

Before my trip, I printed any prepaid ticket.  I wrote all my reservations, dates, and other important information on a small piece of paper.  These were kept in a business sized envelope that easily slid into my daypack.  All receipts also went into that envelope.  During and after my trip, I used all that information.  When plans changed, I adapted because I had everything I needed with me.