What To Wear In Iceland In March: A Quick Guide (2026)

Are you coming to our little island in March and wondering what to wear in Iceland?

The weather in Iceland in March is all over the place. It’s very much a ‘wild card’ month.

Will it be windy and rainy? Is there still some snow? Maybe it’s everything?

In this quick post I’ll go over;

What to expect from the weather
What to wear in Iceland in March

Make sure to read until the end so you can get the most out of your time in Iceland!

You can also watch the video we made on the subject! It’s only 3 and a half minutes!

Let’s jump into it!

What to wear – a brief summary

Base layers – Thermal underwear, merino wool socks.

Mid layers – Fleece or a hiking sweater

Outer layers – Winter parka

Boots – Leather and Gore-tex. Mid or high top.

Other – Beanie, thick gloves and crampons

What’s the weather like in March?

March is one of the colder months of the year.

With an average temperature of -2.2°C (28°F) on the low end and 3.3°C (38°F) on the high end.

You can expect a lot of wind and rain during this month.

And there’s also a good chance of weather warnings.

Yellow – Be mindful, but don’t cancel your day trip.

Orange – I don’t recommend driving. Best to take a city day.

Red – Just stay inside. Find a nice bar or café. Everything will be cancelled.

Combine the wind with low temperatures, and you can expect a very cold month.

But!

There’s no way to predict how it’ll go. Will it be cold and snowy? Or will it be warm, windy, and rainy? Or maybe it’ll just be warm! We have no clue!

This month is a total wild card.

Which is why you have to be prepared for anything!

But how much daylight can you expect?

How long are the days in March?

In March the days are getting noticeably longer (thank god).

Sunrise on the 1st of march is around 8:30 am and sunset is around 6:40 pm.

Giving us around 10 hours of daylight!

This is a very welcome change especially when you compare it to January, where we get a little over 4 hours of daylight at the beginning of the month!

And by the end of the month, we’ll have about 13 hours and 30 minutes!

Amazing…kind of!

It’s good to be aware of how much daylight you’ll have during your visit.

But you shouldn’t worry, 10-13 hours is plenty of time!

Now that you know what to expect, let’s dive into how you should prepare for adventure in Iceland!

What to wear in Iceland in March

Recommending what to wear in March is a bit difficult.

But I’ll do my best to explain my reasoning for each one!

Let’s start with the main garment.

The parka

A parka is still a great option for March.

Since it’ll be windy and cold (probably) you’ll definitely appreciate it.

The parka should be windproof, highly water-resistant, and very warm.

Most of the time I’ll start with just base layers and see how it feels.

Once you start walking you’ll get warmer.

Thermals

You’ll want thin layers underneath the outer layers.

You most likely won’t need a lot more than that in March, especially if you’re doing a lot of walking.

Remember, you want thermals that dry fast. So if they get wet, you don’t have to wait an entire day until you can use them again.

I recommend merino wool. But synthetic is just fine!

And make sure to wear good socks!

Mid layer

I am a huge fan of fleece sweaters, or thin breathable hiking sweaters.

But a nice hoodie is a good choice as well if you don’t want to buy a fleece.

You want the hoodie to be made by a sports brand since they tend to breathe better.

So if you’re wearing, base layers, mid layers and a parka, you’ll be just fine!

I recommend carrying a mid-layer in your daypack. So if you need it, you can put it on.

Outdoor pants

Your outdoor pants should be water-resistant and windproof.

You don’t want to have wet legs when you’re traveling; it’s the worst!

I also recommend wearing thermals or sweatpants underneath.

Jeans will do fine if you have nothing else, but they’re just not as comfortable.

I don’t recommend ski pants since they can be a bit too much once you start walking.

Boots

A good pair of hiking boots is always the way to go when traveling in Iceland.

It’s very important that the boots you choose are water-resistant and breathable.

You don’t want wet feet and if the boots aren’t breathable, you’ll be sweating quite a bit and that will leave you with cold feet!

They should be mid or high top, provide ankle support and good grip.

though goo grip won’t save you on the ice, for that you’ll need crampons.

I like my boots to be made out of leather and have the gore-tex system as well.

Other items

Beaine – A regular beanie is fine

Gloves – They should be thick. Ski gloves are fine

Hand and feet warmers – I don’t use these a lot, but they can be a good choice for people who are prone to cold

Things to be aware of

You can expect a lot of rain and wind.

But it can also be very cold. You never know which one really, which is why it’s hard to plan exactly what you need.

But a good rule of thumb is to wear lots of waterproof clothing!

No umbrellas

Umbrellas don’t work because of the wind.

Too many pants!

I see a lot of people wear just jeans or three layers of pants.

But what if they get wet? And just because you’ve got three pants on doesn’t mean that they are windproof.

I would focus on good layers instead of quantity.

Bomber jackets are not ideal

A lot of men rely heavily on their bomber jackets.

Sure, some of them might be made for extreme conditions, but let’s be real, most of them are made for the look and should not be relied upon to protect you from the weather in Iceland