4-star hotel, the access to warm water, a comfortable bed, a cup of hot coffee from the espresso machine may seem to be tempting elements of every trip, yet I think that a better option than those conveniences, when it comes to Iceland, would be just going camping. It’s not just about the fact that the prices in this country go beyond an average budget of the majority of students, but the thing is that sleeping in a tent in places which offer us waking up and falling asleep with the view for the picturesque and full of wildness landscapes is a wonderful experience. But before we get on a plane and come to this special place, it’s worth packing our bag advisedly and take only necessary things. A hair straightener and mascara won’t be useful here.
1. Tent
It sounds in a quite obvious way. It’s like someone would say that a bread is needed to make toasts. I would like just to point out that many people were telling me that the preparation to the trip would demand more costs than the trip itself. In my case it wasn’t like this since not having a tent, I didn’t buy it but shared with a person who joined the trip and who already had it. For sure thre are many types of tents and i think that if someone cares to have their own tent (and not borrowed), it is surely worth providing oneself with a high quality tent which will not leak, will not fall down with the smallest gust of wind and will be able to be used in adverse weather conditions. It should be short (low) after being set, has a long flysheet and heightenable floor’s partition. For sure it will do also in the future during other trips. Yet our tent belonged to those ‘universal’ ones, and with no bigger effort I got how to set it (before i didn’t have a brush with it). It is enough to find some flat and stable ground and setting our construction will take us 15 minutes.
2. Sleeping pad
Let’s remember that the ground is quite hard and taking a sleeping pad which will be resistant to low temperatures and dampness is a duty.
3. Sleeping bag
The only sleeping bag I had was suitable rather for sleeping on a beach in the Maldives in the middle of the season, so I had to borrow much warmer one from my friend. That one whose temperature of comfort amounts to -5/-6 ℃ will be an optimal solution, let’s not take those sleeping bags in which we know we will be waking up out of cold in the middle of the night. For sure thre are colder places than Iceland but especially those persons who find cold hard to bear for a longer time, should prepare themselves for the trip sensibly. I, personally, belong to those people who like warmth. It means that going to Iceland in May, when the temprature during the night fluctuates around 0/2 ℃, for the night I was wearing tights, warm thick leggins, tracksuit pants, two blouses and a fleece sweatshirt, on my hands obligatorily was going a pair of gloves and a cap on head. I had to put a scarf on my eyes – it was so light that it made it hard to sleep.
4. Cap
No matter when we go to Iceland, a cap is an obligatory thing which we have to take with us. It will protect us not only from the low tempratures, but also from the strong winds which for sure we will experience. Only for the first time I didn’t wear a cap, leaving it on a car seat. It didn’t belong to the nicest feelings, so I had a lesson to have it always with me.
5. Waterproof jacket
The people who would consider packing an umbrella, had better drop this idea unless it’s going to be made of metal instead of cloth material. The perfect and much more comfortable idea will be a waterproof jacket. The wather on Iceland is very variable – now it can be a sunny weather, and in a moment it may be raining heavily.
6. Comfortable shoes
The shoes a la combat boots which go above your ankle will be the best option if we want to walk a lot on the ruggedness of Iceland. For sure they have to be moisture-proof, have a thick sole, goes beyond the ankle so it would decrease the risk of putting it out and they have to be comfortable. It is worth at a pinch taking an additional pair of a bit lighter shoes (normal snickers) just in case if our feet would get tired in the heavier boots.
7. Food
In my case the situation was that I took virtually all food that I needed for the trip from Poland. On Iceland not on every corner we will find a shop where we will provide ourselves with supplies, that is why it would be sensibly to take a part of it from home. I took a bag of sweet rolls, preserves, snack stick sausages, candy bars and some packets of instant noodles, although being in a Icelandic supermarket, I had to try the local delicacy which skyr is – a product similar to a yoghurt. When it comes to water, it can be drank freely from the streams or ‘prepared’ by just melting snow and boiling it.
8. Ring and gas + metal mug
It is well known that our organism will need something warm to eat during the days of low temperature. It’s worth providing ourselves with a ring (burner) and a gas bottle which we will get at a petrol station. Thanks to them we will be able to prepare something warm to eat and drink a cup of hot tea.
9. Power bank
If you are going to use your mobile phone, in order to make your battery live longer, take a power bank with you.
