I just recently thought to invite my best friend to write some guest posts for Road and Table. I don’t know why I never thought of it before. Kate loves to travel with her three beautiful children and husband. If you love traveling with kids be sure to check out our FREE Travel Journal Printable! I hope you enjoy her adventures, and I hope that she will be sharing more often! Be sure to follow her adventures on Instagram! I mean, south Iceland with kids? Now that is an adventure!
Guest Post~Author: Kate Troxell
Before kids, Iceland had always been at the top of our bucket list, but before we got there, life got away with us. Before we knew it, we had three kids. When April break began to draw near we were throwing around ideas for a trip. South Iceland with kids, didn’t immediately come to mind, but the more we talked about other destinations it occurred to us: our kids are young, therefore energetic. A trip requiring an adventurous spirit is what we needed and TA-DA- South Iceland with kids it was.
In addition to booking our airfare, we also booked an all-wheel drive SUV (required if you drive on F roads in Iceland. April is the tail end of winter so you could definitely experience some harsh weather.) from Iceland 4×4. They picked us up at the airport and shuttled us to their office, where we loaded up into our SUV. We then drove 2 hours to our home rental.
With three young kids, cramming into a single hotel room isn’t the most appealing.
We opted for a home rental through Bungalo and stayed in this house located in South Iceland. This was the area we chose because it’s close to all of the Golden Circle attractions. Traveling through South Iceland with kids will mean some lengthy car rides. The home rental was central enough that no matter what the plans were that day, we could always make the drive back. It was very comfortable there and the kids loved the hot tub and trampoline.
There is so much to see in Iceland and your jaw will drop just from the car ride from the airport to whatever your destination is. We had 8 full days in Iceland, which was the perfect pace for us. Here’s how we spent our days:
Day One
We started our day at the Fontana Spa in Laugarvatn. This was booked online before going because we knew we wanted to avoid the crowds at the Blue Lagoon. We were so happy with this decision. This spa was such a beautiful way to spend our first, jet-lagged day. We also paid to eat at their cafeteria for lunch and it was nice to not feel like we needed to pack a lunch or leave to find a restaurant.
After the spa we headed to one of the Golden Circle attractions: Geysir. This town is quite appropriately named and likely you can guess what we saw here. Yes, you got it: the incredible, bubbly and erupting geysers! The active geyser, Strokkur, was so unbelievable and was erupting about every 15-20 minutes. We could not get enough of it.
Day Two
After a morning dip in our very hot, hot tub we threw on our rain-gear (necessary for very wet Iceland) and headed to our first stop of the day: Kerid Crater. We walked the entire perimeter of this massive crater, clutching the hands of our toddler and stopping to take many pictures. It was so cool and such a great science lesson for our older two. Can’t miss this Golden Circle attraction if you go to South Iceland with kids!
After the crater, we stopped (like we did every single day) at a gas station for coffees, where the coffee is surprisingly quite delicious. The kids also dropped off their post cards (post boxes can be found at most gas stations) to be sent to their teachers.
As you drive in Iceland, you will see tons of gorgeous Icelandic horses.
We stopped and spent some time petting these beautiful creatures and took plenty of pictures.
From there we ventured to our first (of many) waterfalls: Gullfoss. It was an impressive falls, but very crowded. Worth the visit, but not our favorite of the waterfalls we saw. We had lunch there and visited the souvenir shops and left with three happy kids and three new puffin stuffed animals.
Our next stop was unplanned, but one of our favorite South Iceland with kids experiences. In our planning and Pinteresting (that should be a word, right?) before our trip, we had read of a natural hot-spring pool that was very hard to find known as Hrunalaug. It was worth the effort to get there. With some research on our phone, we hoped we would actually get there! It led us to a parking lot. A woman sitting in her car happened to be the owner and showed us the way to the pool. We climbed over a hill and there was the sweetest turf roofed bathhouse in the distance. We went in, changed into suits. It was such an authentic Icelandic experience.
Heads up-not everyone in Iceland or visitors to Iceland opt to wear a suit, so make sure to have that conversation with your kids ahead of time.
Day Three
On this day we decided to drive into the city of Reykjavik. We started our day here off with a trip to the museum, Perlan. Our favorites here were the northern lights show (too cloudy our entire trip to see the real northern lights) and getting to go into an ice cave. After the museum we checked out the iconic Hallgrimskirkja church as we searched for parking in this darling city.
We shopped; we ate (hot dogs and fish and chips, which are two things Iceland is known for) and just soaked in all the charm of this village-like city. Before leaving the kids played at a playground and I got to meet a mom from Reykjavik and learn more about her incredible country. No matter where you are from, moms are moms and we found so much in common as we watched our kids play together.
Day Four
Day four was a big one for Golden Circle highlights, because we saw two breath-taking, highly photographed waterfalls, likely seen before if you’ve ever googled “Iceland”. Our first stop was Seljalandsfoss. No picture will ever do it justice in showing the actual size. I don’t think I ever felt so small in my life. We stood from afar in awe for quite some time before joining the other tourists in the trek around and under the falls. You will definitely get a bit wet from it’s mist as you walk behind it, but if you’re really brave (like we unknowingly were) there is a spot where you can get an incredible picture, but will also consequentially get soaked. We weren’t expecting it, but we all took it in stride with a lot of laughs and cheers from the crowds around us.
As we drove from Seljalandsfoss (with every piece of our clothing drying on a vent in the car) we made our way to our next falls: Skogafoss.
Standing in front of these impressive falls was a true “pinch me” moment.
As I watched my three kids splashing in the water with the falls just in front of them I knew it was an image that would be imprinted in my memory forever. I am certain they’ll never forget it either.
We left the Golden Circle and headed toward coastal Vik. Before arriving there we took a pit stop to walk the cliffs of Dyrholaey. The wind was so intense we hung onto our kids like their lives depended on it, but was worth it for the most breathtaking views. Though we were too early in the season, this location is known for puffin watching. Just a couple minutes from here, we made it to Reynisfjara Black Sand Beach. This was quite a distance from our home rental (about 4 hours), but was absolutely worth it. We broke up the ride there with the two waterfall stops and the kids slept on the ride home, so it was actually quite nice. Also, driving in South Iceland with kids never feels daunting, because every single sight along the way is so impressive.
At Black Sand Beach, especially if you’re traveling with children, you need to be mindful to not be too close to the water as the waves are enormous and powerful.
There is an employee there just to walk around warning tourists. It was hard for me as a mom to relax, but regardless, I am so happy we went. Living in New England we get to spend lots of time ocean-side but this was so unlike any coast we’ve ever seen.
Toward the back of the beach we were able to climb and sit on the basalt columns. Again, as if anyone thought travel wasn’t as educational as a classroom, go to Iceland!
Day Five
Our fifth day was Easter and our kids woke up to find special gifts, including the traditional Icelandic chocolate egg, filled with lots of little candies. They still talk about this. Celebrating Easter in another country was such a thrill to them (and we’ll be doing it again, this year, in Costa Rica). We spent our holiday at Thingvellir National Park, which was only about twenty minutes from our house. This park is set right between two continental tectonic plates, so one of us had to grab at a once in a lifetime opportunity: swim the Silfra. My husband met up with Troll Expeditions, suited up and dropped right into the cold, crystal clear (in fact, the Silfra is known to have some of the clearest water in the world) water. He snorkeled right in between the tectonic plates of Eurasia and North America. It was such a special experience.
Day Six
With no plans for this day we decided to take the advice of the mom I met in Reykjavik, who mentioned that every town has a public pool and they’re definitely worth checking out. We went into the town of Sellfoss and paid for all five of us to have use of their facility for the day. It only cost $18.00. There was an indoor pool and an outdoor pool. Yes, Iceland is cold, but also Iceland’s geothermal activity means warm water. There were a variety of outdoor pools, but we stayed in the shallow pool with lots of slides for the kids. This is a real local thing to do, so were definitely the only ones with dark hair or speaking English and therefore, got a lot of stares, but everyone was very friendly.
On this day we also ended up going to Skogar Museum, because I truly could not get enough of the turf roofs in Iceland and this was a way to get up close. We all learned a lot that day about the resilience of the Icelandic people from the past all the way to the present.
Because this day was not planned out, we were able to make a lot of roadside stops to explore all of South Iceland’s non-stop beauty and to soak up whatever sun we would get that day.
We ended the day with another visit to the geyser, Strokkur, because we honestly, could not get enough of it.
Day Seven
On this dreary wet day, we brought the kids somewhere they were dying to go. We booked them a tour at Solvangur Icelandic Horse Center. Here, we all learned about what makes these horses completely unique to other horses around the world. The older two kids got to groom and ride them. The owner was such a delight! She sure loves those horses and we loved our time with her.
Day Eight
Our last day was spent going into the town of Selfoss for a delicious bakery breakfast. We stared at the pastries wishing customs would let us take them all home with us! The remainder of the day was spent in our cozy house rental, eating all the food we still had left over from our groceries, sitting in the hot tub, packing and cleaning. It was another rainy day, but we still sat and stared out the window soaking up every image surrounding us. I still remember every detail almost a year later.
I am so happy to have had some slow days like that one during our trip. Could we have seen all of those things in 4-5 days? Sure! But with kids it is important to take your time and do things at a reasonable pace. It’s also important to be flexible, and keeping some days unplanned creates so much opportunity. The only issue we had with our Iceland trip is that we thought we were finally crossing it off our bucket list, but now we can’t stop talking about when we’ll go back! Kids or no kids, get to Iceland!
