Non UK iceland

AdamTudor

AdamTudor

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Hope this is in the right place, So I'm hoping to be going to Iceland next Feb and was wondering what people recommend to take with them? What clothes to take? Recommended brands? Any gear people have found useful? Any good location ideas for photography? It will be the start of Feb for 4 nights or so and will be hiring a car. Any ideas on nice places to stay? (The other half is coming) and good places to look for a car?

Thanks
 
Ah I didn't think of looking in the meet thread. Thank you I will check it out
 
It's going to be cold that time of year so I suggest salopettes and good layers of clothing, good waterproof footwear. You can hire cars at various rental places at the airport but better off doing it from the uk as you get a better price. I suggest heading down towards Vik in the south or dong the golden circle route if you've only got 4 nights.
 
Thanks for the info. Yeah I guessed it would be, average seems to be about 3 degrees for Feb!
 
AdamTudor said:
Hope this is in the right place, So I'm hoping to be going to Iceland next Feb and was wondering what people recommend to take with them? What clothes to take? Recommended brands? Any gear people have found useful? Any good location ideas for photography? It will be the start of Feb for 4 nights or so and will be hiring a car. Any ideas on nice places to stay? (The other half is coming) and good places to look for a car?

Thanks
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Also well worth looking at the Iceland forums on Tripadvisor too.

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowForum-g189952-i223-Iceland.html
 
Layers!!! We took Heather's (and others') advice and went for Merino thermals and wind/waterproof top layers with a fleece in between on the top. The trousers we took were salopettes (ski trousers) sourced from Mountain Warehouse (good time to buy ATM - not exactly ski season ;)). We were never too far from the car - almost all the main attractions are a) close to the road and b) free to see! When we were thee, the ring road was kept reasonably clear and passable but was quite slushy on a couple of days. The smaller roads were pretty much closed. The road up to Gullfoss was open but got pretty impassable about a kilometre after the falls' car park and that was in a Land Cruiser with studded tyres. Our cars came from Hertz and were pre-booked for airport pickup.
TBH, for a 4 day trip, I would be tempted to do coach trips rather than rent a car, just in case you hit crappy weather and the roads were actually closed. If you look at this year's meeting thread, you'll find where we stayed - I would certainly recommend any of the hotels/guest houses and will use them when we go back (if we do the same areas). Don't underestimate the distances - it's a BIG island and you'll probably want to stop to take photographs fairly often! In 10 days we covered a little over a thousand miles and most of that was getting along the South coast and back, although we did do a fair few short excursions.
 
wow thanks for the replies. do you have a link for the meeting thread? I'm probably being a bit daft but i've searched for it and not been able to find it. Yeah skiwear/layers were what i had in mind, just wasnt too sure about overdoing it but i guess can always remove middle layers if needed. How expensive is it there? Or is it fairly normal? I just mean normal day to day things like food, drink etc
 
Cost of hotels and food etc are similar to the UK - fuel was cheaper (£1 a litre).
My top travel tip is to get a Halifax clarity credit card and/or a Metro Bank current account - fee free ATM withdrawals and purchases and a very good exchange rate. Also changing cash in Keflavik Airport gave a better exchange rate than any of the bureau de change services in the UK.
 
Oh really that Suprises me! Most airports are usually horrendous for exchange rates? Already have a card with no fees abroad etc so that shouldn't be a problem.
 
It surprised me as well but it's correct. If you need any info on booking just give me a shout, if I can help I will. All the hotels were booked through www.booking.com that way you can book now with no deposit and change as your mind right up until a week before traveling without penalty.
 
Big Andy - good point about booking.com - with 3g being available over most of Iceland you can do your booking on the day too. When we were there jan/feb there was no shortage of hotel rooms.
 
I went on the recent March trip. Wifi in all the hotels was excellent, and free. No trouble in getting on 'tinterweb.
As to currency...exchange rate in UK was approx 180IK to £ but at the airport we were given 201 IK. Rates for selling at the end were good too, but I forget what they were!
 
We didn't change any back - we had JUST enough left to pay the hotel bill on the last night (and we're talking about 150 IKR left in shrapnel!)
 
Nope, blind luck! I thought I was 150IKR short but found another couple of coins in a coat pocket! TBH, we could have got away with no local currency - everything seems to be done using cards over there.
 
If you want to get Merino thermals from mountain warehouse, get em asap! They're selling out quickly.

I'm now stuck with either buying mens trousers or paying £30+ for a pair of womens from somewhere else.

Trespass also has a sale on.
 
Are more expensive merino thermals worth it or do cheaper pairs do a good enough job?
 
Been twice, never used thermals :D

Good socks/boots, lined trousers, base layer, fleece & good jacket. Oh and don't forget gloves that you can use the camera with :)
 
Yeah I've been looking around for some gloves. Seen some where the tips uncover but I'm gonna keep looking for some full ones thin enough to wear under something along the lines of ski gloves
 
Yes gloves are very important, two layers are by far the best. I use thin silk gloves as a base layer then a pair of mitts with fold back finger/thumb covers. That way your hands are always covered even when you have to fold back the outer layer.
 
Ah that's a good idea. What about footwear? I was thinking just some decent waterproof hiking boots with some nice thick warm socks
 
Its worth downloading the 'Discover the World' brochure on Iceland even if you have no intention of using them. They give brief outlines of places to visit and the amount of time to do that. The brochure is filled with interesting colour pictures ( the aurora one at Vatnajokul is by me) that might give you an idea of where you want to go.
James
 
Thank you James, il check it out when I get back to the computer.
 
My advice for foot wear is as you say good waterproof hiking boots and thick wool socks. The beauty of wool is that it retains it's insulating properties even when wet, better than man made fibres anyway.
 
AdamTudor said:
Are more expensive merino thermals worth it or do cheaper pairs do a good enough job?
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Whether you need thermals really depends on how badly you feel the cold. But to answer your question - in my view good Merino thermals are worth every penny - they are so much better than the cheap, 100% polyester thermals. The are warmer, wick better and are anti-bacterial.
 
Yeah fair enough. Could always be a case of picking some up out their if I feel I need them.
 
No idea if the more expenisve Merino thermals are better than the cheaper ones. But get some thermals just in case.

The merino thermals I have from Mountain warehouse are a million times better than my cheapo polyester ones. They're also thinner, and much more comfy.
The only problem is, merino can itch like hell.
 
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