What should I pack for Iceland in August?

[IcelandQuestion]

Have you been in summer? What did you pack/ wear?

We are going for 4 days in August. It's to visit family who will also be visiting, as it's almost half way between us. DH, myself and DC who will just be 5.

I've googled the average weather, temperatures etc. For some reason I can't really get my head round what we'll need - I know it shouldn't be that hard to work out! I veer between panicking we're going to freeze and whether I need to buy thermals, to thinking 'what if it's actually really warm and we should have had shorts and summer dresses'. I think the fact that we're only taking cabin bags is throwing me too.

For DC for example, I was thinking she'd be fine in leggings, long sleeve t-shirts with a hoodie/ jumper/ cardigan. But I'll also take a warmish but lightweight coat for her. Trainers/ walking shoes rather than sandals is that right? And similar things for us.

Standard tourist itinerary I'd imagine - nothing extreme, sightseeing and out for a few meals in the evening (not fancy ones probably with young kids in tow).

I went last August :)

Do you run hot or cold? I'm naturally a bit warm, especially when walking around. I dressed a bit like how you would for the UK in October, so it could be warmish sometimes, but will likely be a bit wet and cold most of the time. Layers are best.

Walking around reykjavik I wore a t shirt, stretchy trousers (I don't own jeans but they'd be great), hoodie, waterproof jacket, trainers

For excursions I wore the same but with these walking boots -
https://www.millets.co.uk/16268845/north-ridge-womens-lite-hiker-mid-walking-boots-16268845

I also took thick and thin walking socks, for excursions.

It can get VERY cold on the boat tours so if you have thermals I'd pack them, but we were offered overalls to wear if we needed them on the boat. Hats and gloves would be good for boat tours too, you can buy them there if you need them. They'll be quite expensive though.

I don't think you'll need shorts, and Reykjavic is a very casual place, people mostly dress like they're going for a country walk even in restaurants, but you could maybe pack 1 dress for any meals out.

It can be very cold at night or early morning (I've been twice and both flights back we have to leave before 4am 😴🥶) so prepare for that. If you run cold I'd tempted to take an insulated jacket that packs down small, but I was ok without. I think if you have a decent selection of UK winter clothes, you won't need to buy much.

Let me know if you have any questions. Last year was my best holiday ever, I hope you have a wonderful time.

Iceland is fantastic. We went two years ago in August on a cruise. I wore walking boots on day trips (terrain is quite uneven) as we wanted to walk if not trainers should be okay. Wore jeans, t shirts and cardi or fleece. I invested in a mountain warehouse waterproof and wind proof jacket with a removable inner fleece. Best thing I did. Took hats and gloves and a neck warmer each. Only needed the full lot of clothing once - but glad I took it all! It helps if everyone has a day backpack to put the layers in as it can actually warm up a bit by midday!

Do take swimwear and micro fibre towels for all of you. If you get chance go to one of the outdoor pools - we did two an outdoor local pool which was part of one of the tours we took. The second one was the sky lagoon in Reykjavik - absolutely amazing and both thermally heated with saunas and plunge pools as well.

Like many others on here I would love to go back and probably will! It is expensive, but worth it.

There are other places that are more expensive than Iceland! It’s not the worst and you certainly can find cheaper eats if you need to. Mostly it’s London prices. It’s not Norway prices.

Norway used to be #2 on the cost of living rankings in Europe, behind Switzerland with Iceland at #3. Iceland has now overtaken Norway 🎉

A windproof, rainproof long jacket.

a net to go
over your hat and draw tightly round your neck or you’ll eat your body weight in midges

It has not been raining there for weeks, we came back last week from a 5 day trip and it was sunny every day, and we only saw rain on the morning we were leaving.
We didn't bring, nor did we need, winter coats, hats or gloves, not saying they might not come in handy but you really don't need to dress for the depths of winter. We brought thin layers, light rain jackets and a light padded jacket.
We did similar type activities to the ones you have planned and just wore trainers. However, I echo the previous poster that it can be slippery at some of the stops on the golden circle tour and walking shoes would be useful, if you have them.
I loved Iceland, although I understand it might not be the ideal holiday for a young child but I hope you have a wonderful time.

I use the same Didriksons rain coat and Icelandic wool jumper all year round. Just in winter I wear both together and in summer I wear one or the other (though sometimes neither) depending on whether it's raining or very windy.

We all have thin summer hats/gloves, which are different from our winter hats/mittens. You don't need them everyday but it's never a good idea to have nothing, especially for young children. My brother and SIL came last August and she didn't bring any hat or gloves - I had to lend her some. For a 5 year old a jersey cotton beanie and thin mittens are perfect to just have in your pocket in case.

@TheVeryThing 5 days isn’t a summer though is it!! It’s not been great weather and I’ve been monitoring it as we are going next week! On boats it’s colder. No one says it’s the middle of winter but layers is the best option. Just doesn’t suit people who only take Ryan Air size bags! It is definitely not a country with guaranteed sun for weeks.

@Puffinshop Are you expecting around 60 degrees mostly? Any warmer weather expected for early July?

May was utterly glorious and it's always shit around Independence Day for some reason so a lot of people are joking that we've had summer now. But I am sure there will be a few nice bits in July and August!

At the moment we're happy if it gets above 10°C and stops raining for a minute but there'll probably be another warm period of 15-18° at some point. I have one child born in June and one in August and the August child always has nicer birthday weather so I remain optimistic!

I know you aren’t asking for travel tips but I’d try and do a tour or trip every day. There is nothing much to do in Reykjavik.

I agree. If you aren't going on a boat you don't need a hat or gloves, and I managed without, but it was really cold on the top deck. We went whale watching.

We went Ryanair hand luggage only, we wore our walking boots, hoodies and waterproof jackets, and we had enough room with cabin bags.

I'd also say if you have room take some breakfast bars/biscuits/nuts, they can be £5+ over there.

Except just wandering around, seeing the pond, big relief map of the island in the town hall, rainbow street, water front, food and drink, loads of museums including Perlan, swimming pools, going up the church tower, quirky shops, concert hall.

Definitely go on some tours, but you can easily fill a couple of days in Reykjavik too.

It depends which part of Iceland you're going to as well. I went to Reykjavik in August and even though the locals told us it was really good weather it was still quite chilly. But apparently the north of the island has warmer summers.

@Anxioustealady We are going for 10 days and if it’s 85 degrees here I’m not wearing my zodiac gear! I need options.

Yeah luckily it wasn't hot here last August. We were late too so we were running in all our gear with our bags lol.

10 days is amazing. Are you planning on travelling around Iceland? We only had 3 days (more like 2.5 with travelling) so just stayed around reykjavik with 2 day tours.

Best swimming pool in the capital area: Kópavogslaug. I used to say Lágafellslaug in Mosfellsbær but Kópavogslaug has new slides now and is just as good and closer to the centre. Kids love Icelandic swimming pools, you must go to one!

A bit out of the centre, but my favourite museum which is also great for kids, is Árbæjarsafn, an open air history museum. It has olden days toys to play with, loads of old buildings to explore including a genuine turf farmhouse, go karts for kids, lots of farm animals in the summer. And it's right by Elliðaárdalur which is a nice park with a waterfall in it.

@Anxioustealady We are going on a ship with around 50 cabins. We’ve used this company before and know the ship. They use zodiacs for exploring off the beaten track. We are going to the Snaefellsness peninsular, western fjords, Grímsey, Siglufjordur, Akureyri, Hrisey, Húsavík, Neskaupstadur, Mjoifjordur, Hofn, Westman Islands (Surtsey) and Reykjavík and Golden circle. (Apologies for any incorrect spellings!)

@Puffinshop May I ask about midges! We have been told to buy midge hoods. Have got them and can hardly see through them! Are midges common around the coast? Are they more of an inland issue? Marshy and river areas? Any advice gratefully received or I’m looking at everything through a black gauze!

Midges are found near rivers and lakes, because that's where they lay eggs and live as larvae. No issue at all by the sea because they only like fresh water - though of course you can be close to the sea and fresh water at the same time.

They can be really bad if you're right near a lake on a still summer's day, but not a huge issue in most places.

This is Vífilsstaðavatn, a lake near Garðabær - I don't know if you'll be able to see the dots against the sky but this is peak midge 😁

@Puffinshop That’s what we thought. Hopefully no issue for us!

I can see the swarm!! Looks awful. We should be mostly out on zodiacs apart from 1 day inland so I’m hoping we avoid them.

Lots of layers, it won’t be hot!

I wore walking gear, trainers, fleece and jacket. We were on a cruise so I also had hat and gloves for when we were at sea. We were so unlucky with our Iceland cruise last July and missed 2 ports due to storms. Iceland is amazing though and we are going back in 2027.

To illustrate the need for layers this was 1 day last June. Started of really foggy and cold then cleared but a very cold wind and light drizzle. Even horse riding I needed long sleeved t-shirt jumper and waterproof. By the time we got to Husavik it was lovely and I'd stripped down to the t-shirt and took off my thermals long johns. We went to Geosea in the afternoon and the fog rolled right in, couldn't see very far and it was damp and chilly but warm in the pool. Definitely needed to as jacket to walk back to dump our swimming stuff in van. Walked into town for fish and chips before our late evening whale watching and it was lovely again. Definitely needed layers under the overalls for whale watching but the walk back to the campsite just after midnight was pleasant with a jumper and no coat.

I had an amazing time there in summer but I did find it a damp, penetrating kind of cold. Like others, I thought my hat and gloves would be overkill. They weren't, and I wish I'd brought my thickest winter waterproof as well as my warm waterproof layers.

That sounds incredible. I would love to do a Norwegian cruise at some point. Enjoy!