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I stepped off the plane in Reykjavik on a gray October morning wearing a light denim jacket and a confidence that can only be described as deeply misplaced. By the end of day two, I was standing in a tourist shop near Laugavegur, holding up a set of thermal base layers like they were the Holy Grail, while the cashier gave me the patient smile of someone who has seen this exact scene play out roughly four hundred times. If you are planning your first time in Iceland, these tips exist so you do not repeat my mistakes — or at least so you make different, more interesting ones.
What Iceland Actually Feels Like When You Arrive
Nobody really prepares you for how alive Iceland feels the moment you land. The landscape between Keflavik Airport and Reykjavik looks like the moon decided to grow a little moss, all black lava fields stretching out under a sky that cannot seem to make up its mind. It is dramatic in the best way, and I was so busy pressing my face against the shuttle window that I temporarily forgot I was already shivering.
Reykjavik itself is compact, colorful, and surprisingly walkable. The famous Hallgrímskirkja church towers over everything, the harbor is postcard-ready, and there are excellent coffee shops on nearly every corner — which you will need, because the wind coming off the North Atlantic is not playing around. The city rewards slow exploration on foot, but once you start planning day trips or a ring road adventure, things get logistically interesting fast.
Before I left home I had grabbed a copy of the Lonely Planet Iceland’s Ring Road guide, which I cannot recommend highly enough for anyone considering a self-drive itinerary. It breaks the route into manageable stages, highlights the stops that are genuinely worth the detour versus the ones that look impressive in photos but take two hours of gravel road to reach, and gives honest practical notes about road conditions by season. I dog-eared about forty pages before I even left the hotel on day one.
The Honest Iceland Packing List (From Someone Who Got It Wrong)
Let me save you the tourist-shop moment. Iceland’s weather operates on its own chaotic schedule, and the old local saying — “if you don’t like the weather, wait five minutes” — is funny until you are standing beside a waterfall in horizontal sleet wearing a jacket rated for a brisk London autumn.
The layering system is not optional here. It is the entire philosophy. Here is what actually belongs in your bag:
- Thermal base layers, top and bottom — merino wool is worth the investment and does not get as funky after multiple wears
- A mid-layer fleece or down jacket that packs small
- A waterproof and windproof shell jacket — this is your armor
- Waterproof hiking boots with ankle support, especially if you plan to walk on lava fields or near waterfalls
- Wool socks in multiples — your feet will thank you daily
- A neck gaiter or buff and a warm hat — a hood alone is not enough when the wind picks up
- Gloves that are waterproof or at least water-resistant
- Sunglasses and sunscreen — yes, even in autumn, especially if there is snow glare or surprise sunshine
- A reusable water bottle, because Icelandic tap water is genuinely some of the best in the world and buying bottled water here is an unnecessary expense
What you can leave behind: anything you packed with the vague hope of looking stylish at dinner. Reykjavik restaurants are relaxed and forgiving. Nobody is judging your hiking boots at a table.
Planning Your Time: What to Prioritize and What to Skip
First-time visitors almost always try to do too much. Iceland looks compact on a map until you are actually driving it and realizing that the road between two waterfalls is ninety minutes of slowly navigating sheep crossings and sudden fog banks. My personal advice is to build in buffer time everywhere and resist the urge to tick fifteen attractions off a list in a single day.
The Golden Circle — Þingvellir National Park, the Geysir geothermal area, and Gullfoss waterfall — is genuinely unmissable and easy to do as a full day from Reykjavik. The South Coast, with its black sand beaches at Reynisfjara and the jaw-dropping Skógafoss and Seljalandsfoss waterfalls, is equally essential. If you have a week or more, consider the ring road. I used the Lonely Planet Journey Iceland’s Ring Road activity guide to keep track of routes and experiences along the way — it is a genuinely satisfying trip companion that helps you engage with what you are seeing rather than just driving past it.
What to skip, or at least temper expectations on: the Blue Lagoon if you visit without booking weeks in advance, because walk-ins are rare and the prices have climbed significantly in recent years. It is beautiful, but there are natural hot pools around the country that cost a fraction of the price and feel more authentically Icelandic. Sky Lagoon near Reykjavik is a worthy alternative and easier to book closer to your travel dates.
Also worth skipping: panic about the Northern Lights. They are visible from roughly September through March when skies are clear and solar activity cooperates, but they are not guaranteed on any given night. Download an aurora forecast app, stay somewhere outside the city light pollution if you can, and then let it go. Chasing the lights at 2 a.m. across three different viewing spots while exhausted will not make them appear faster. Patience and a warm hat work better than sprinting.
A Note on Driving in Iceland
If you plan to rent a car — and honestly, for anything beyond Reykjavik you probably should — a few things are worth knowing. The F-roads, which lead into the highlands, are only open in summer and require a four-wheel-drive vehicle. Do not attempt them in a compact rental regardless of what your GPS suggests. Road closures happen fast and without much warning, so check road.is every morning before you drive. And fill up the tank whenever you see a petrol station in rural areas, because the next one might be an hour away.
Budget Reality Check
Iceland is expensive, and there is no gentle way to soften that. Eating out for every meal adds up quickly. Grocery shopping at Bonus (look for the pink pig sign) and making simple meals at your guesthouse or Airbnb kitchen makes a real difference to your daily spend. A sit-down lunch rather than dinner at nice restaurants is another easy way to experience Icelandic food without the full dinner bill. And budget for petrol — it is considerably more expensive than most travelers expect.
For deeper destination research before you travel, the Lonely Planet Iceland travel guide is the most comprehensive single resource I have found. It covers everything from Reykjavik neighborhoods to remote fjords in the Westfjords, with solid practical sections on getting around, accommodation types, and seasonal considerations. Reading it before you go means you arrive with context, not just a list of GPS coordinates.
Bringing Iceland Home: Final Thoughts on Your First Visit
There is something about Iceland that gets under your skin in a way that is hard to explain until you have been there. Maybe it is the scale of the landscape, the way a glacier sits completely unbothered beside a highway, or the strange twilight that lingers in autumn evenings. Whatever it is, most people who go once start planning a return before they have even landed back home.
If you want a small reminder of the trip sitting on a shelf at home, this Northern Lights over the Mountains Iceland porcelain ornament is a lovely keepsake — the kind of thing that catches the light on a winter evening and takes you straight back to standing in a dark field waiting for the sky to do something extraordinary.
The most important first time in Iceland tips I can give you are these: pack warmer than you think you need to, drive slower than you think you have to, and leave more days than you think are necessary. The country will fill them. It always does.
Ready to start planning? Pick up the Lonely Planet Iceland guide to start building your itinerary, and if a ring road trip is on the horizon, grab the Ring Road travel guide to map out your route. Drop your questions in the comments below — I am happy to help you avoid buying emergency thermals on day two.