A Family Adventure in Iceland!
We just returned from a fabulous family vacation in Iceland and cannot say enough good things about it! While admittedly, Iceland is definitely not a trip for everyone, if you are a little adventurous and don’t mind cold, rainy weather in the middle of summer, a trip to Iceland will not disappoint! Perhaps the best way to describe a trip to Iceland is as an adventure full of bucket list items you never realized were on your bucket list!
Imagine:
Drinking glacial water directly from a glacial stream
Experiencing a live eruption
Snorkeling between two tectonic plates
Seeing puffins up close
Climbing on a lava field (perhaps illegally)
Getting soaked behind a waterfall
Walking along a black sand beach
Soaking in the blue lagoon
Our trip consisted of a combination of guided tours and independent adventures. In our experience, a day tour was a terrific way to see a lot of sights in a short amount of time. It was great to learn about the area and to listen to stories and tidbits from our guide - and to be driven around from point to point. We also liked doing this towards the beginning of the trip because the guide was able to tell us stories and provide some context for our trip, and we were able to glean some tips for the rest of our trip from our fellow tourists.
We were happy we spent only one day on a tour, though. We much preferred having the flexibility to go where we wanted, when we wanted. Our kids preferred to sleep late, so as long as they got up in time to eat the breakfast provided by the hotel, we let them sleep late on the days we didn’t have planned tours. Truth be told, they all would have preferred a vacation with less “doing,” but you can’t head to Iceland and not “do” stuff.
In the end, we had a nice balance of planned activities and open time to explore. For example, we spent several hours at the community center in Vik playing soccer and using the pool, which was a great way to learn more about Icelandic culture, yet something we wouldn’t have known to schedule in advance. And, who knew Iceland would be experiencing a fissure eruption during our visit?! Since we had a rental car, and had not scheduled activities every day, we were able to literally stumble upon the parking lot, ask a few people some questions, and follow the trail to the eruption viewing site. Totally incredible experience!
These are some observations about some of our experiences:
Harpa, Reykjavik: Beautiful building, exhibits, performances, shopping, restaurant, bathrooms. Nice stop as you walk along the water or head to main shopping area.
Sandholt Bakery, Reykjavik: Fabulous pastries! The adjoining Sand Hotel looks pretty fancy as well.
Laugarvatn Fontana Spa: Beautiful location on the lake and you can alternate jumping in the lake and the heated pools. Sauna and steam rooms also.
Freidemar Greenhouse: Worth a stop. Nice place to eat lunch, but need reservations. Can walk around on your own and get soup and bread to go, which is totally worth it.
Hotel Geysir: Very, very nice hotel. Great retreat after an active day in the cold rain. Literally across the street from the geysers and 5 minutes from Gulfoss waterfall. Easy trip to greenhouse and other waterfalls. Food and shopping right next to hotel.
Hotel Kria, Vik: Perhaps the friendliest and most helpful hotel staff we’ve ever encountered. So much more to see in Vik than we had realized. Very fun town. Black sand beach is stunning. Several yummy food options (Black Crust Pizza, The Soup Place, and the hotel restaurant). Access to glacier, puffins, black sand beach, more waterfalls, and can venture further east from Vik to see icebergs, etc.
Glacier hike: A highlight - educational and adventurous. Disturbing to see how much the glacier has retreated in recent years.
Lava show: Surprisingly educational and informative. Host was very knowledgeable and willingly answered many questions. Live lava flow and demonstration was cool.
Vik Community Center: Such a great place to visit. Most towns have one close by. Pool, hot tub, sauna, track, soccer field, playground. Can rent towels and even bathing suits.
Stracta Hotel, Hella: Only stopped here for lunch, but looked like a very nice hotel with lots of hot tub amenities.
Selfoss: Large town with grocery store, shops and restaurants. Bobby Fischer museum for chess fanatics. (only open in afternoon)
Shopping: More shopping than you would think. Most tourists end up buying warm clothing and rain gear in addition to souvenirs because we underestimate how cold and wet Iceland is in the summer.
Silica Hotel: Private lagoon at hotel, with walking access to the famous Blue Lagoon. Serene retreat. Perfect way to end the trip.
We couldn’t take enough pictures to accurately show how majestic the Icelandic landscape is. We ended up buying a coffee table book of photographs to remind us of our trip.
We are already looking forward to a future trip to Iceland and plan to do the following:
Horseback ride
Snowmobile glacier tour
Caving experience
And, of course, end with Hotel Silica
Other tips:
Would be good to bring your own towels, but you can rent them nearly everywhere
Would skip boats - unless maybe a ferry to the West Man islands
Only do the snorkeling if you are prepared to get very, very cold. It is beautiful and a once in a lifetime experience, but beyond chilly.
Though we love kayaking, can’t imagine kayaking in the cold rain would have been fun.
If you don’t want to pay for glacier tour, it is still worth stopping off and doing the short hike to see the glacier. You just won’t be permitted to climb onto the actual glacier.
Apple pay/credit cards accepted everywhere. Only needed cash for tipping guides.
Get planning!
