Iceland - The land of fire & ice

Iceland has become so popular in recent years. It is stunningly beautiful with volcanoes, geysers, glaciers etc. & is so accessible to us with regular direct flights from Dublin.

Many people visit in winter, to see the Northern Lights. I decided to visit in May for a week, when the weather is milder, there is more daylight & it is easier to travel as a family.

Our flight with Icelandair took just 2 hours 45 mins. Our airfare included a generous 20kg bag per person. There were individual screens to squeeze in a movie or learn more about Iceland. A complimentary kid’s pack included games, a small stuffed animal, a drink & snack. A big thumbs up! The airport is approximately 45 mins from the city. You can travel by bus or pick up your hire car at the airport. We hired a car for the duration of our holiday.

Reykjavik:

Reykjavik is a compact city & easy to explore on foot. Our first stop was the famous Baejarins Beztu Pylsur hot dog stand. Next, we visited rainbow street, the quaint shops & Hallgrimskirkja church, which has food trucks & a playground next to it. We found a lovely restaurant & bar called Rok. The cocktails were fab! Laugardalslaug swimming pool has kids’ pools & slides, mini golf & a playground. I had this planned on our itinerary, however we had to give it a miss as one of the children had a high temperature, but there are plenty of opportunities for swimming in Iceland.

After a delicious breakfast at the old harbour, we took a 3-hour morning whale watching boat trip. Summer is the best time to see whales in Iceland. The water was very calm, the sun was shining & we were lucky to see lots of minke whales. We all really enjoyed this. Even though we went in May, it was still chilly. We wore our winter coats, hats & gloves. There are warm overalls onboard if needed. Afterwards we visited the nearby Whales of Iceland museum with its life-sized models & interactive exhibits. I would highly recommend this for families with children. Next, we visited flyover Iceland (simulated flight ride) & treated ourselves to Omnom ice-cream & chocolate.

We visited the Perlan museum, which is approximately 10 minutes by car from downtown Reykjavik. It has a real ice cave inside which you can walk through, as well as a Northern Lights show & a volcano show. It has a revolving restaurant & bar with views of the city & surrounding area. A great experience for all ages.

The Golden Circle route:

The Golden Circle Route is one of the most famous day tours from Reykjavik, however it is very easy to drive this route at your own pace during the summer months. Thingvellir National Park was our first stop of the day, an easy 45-minute drive from Reykjavik. Here you can walk between the European & North American continental plates. We continued to Efstidalur farm for ice-cream, followed by Gullfoss waterfall & the Geyser geothermal area, to see the Strokkur hot spring erupt. (The word Geyser comes from Iceland.) We had lunch at Fridheimar geothermal greenhouse & our next stop was the Secret Lagoon, an outdoor pool naturally heated to a lovely 38-40 degrees Celsius all year round. A further 1-hour drive took us to the amazing Seljalandsfoss waterfall.

The South Coast:

Instead of returning to Reykjavik, we continued on & spent the night at Hotel Skogafoss located right next to the Skogafoss waterfall. We were able to visit the waterfall the following morning & climb the 500 or so steps before any of the tour buses arrived. Afterwards, we drove to Skaftafell National Park, where we had lunch & walked along a path to see the glacier.

We then stayed at Fosshotel Glacier Lagoon, my favourite hotel of our trip to Iceland! The staff are so friendly, the food is excellent & there is a spa area with sauna plus outdoor hot tubs with endless views of the land & sea. Our room was very spacious & comfortable. We all had the best sleep.

The next morning we drove just 30 mins to the absolute highlight of our trip, Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon! We booked a family friendly amphibian boat tour, where we sailed amongst the icebergs! A definite pinch-me moment. My daughter got to hold a large chunk of ice from the lagoon. (There are also small group zodiac boat trips, but the minimum age is 10 years). Diamond Beach is beside the glacier lagoon, so called because of the icebergs on the black sand beach. Seals swam in the water right beside us! What an experience!!

We drove back along the coast & spent 2 nights in the lovely town of Vik, known for its volcanic black sand beaches, cliffs & adventure activities. Vik church is a prominent landmark overlooking the town. We took it easy here, going to the playground, horse-riding on the beach & we went to the lava show. Unfortunately, we did not see any puffins on our cliff walk. They do usually arrive by May time. (There are optional tours to the Katla ice cave & nearby glaciers by super jeep from Vik.)

The Blue Lagoon:

On our way back along the coast to Keflavik, we stopped at Solheimajokull glacier & kerid crater. We did a lava tunnel tour & our last stop was the world-famous Blue Lagoon Geothermal Spa.

The Blue Lagoon is located approximately 45 mins from Reykjavik city & 20 mins from Keflavik international airport. As we approached, the road & landscape were not what we were expecting! Due to a very recent volcanic eruption in this area, we were driving on a new 'road', over a lava field! The eruption officially stopped 2 days previous & we were advised that another eruption could occur at any time!

It was raining that day & visibility in the Blue Lagoon wasn't great, but the warmth of the geothermal water was lovely. There are a couple of different packages available. We chose the basic ‘comfort’ entrance ticket, which included a drink of choice plus a face mask. The bar is located in the water. I had a sparkling wine; my husband had a beer & the kids were delighted with their blue slushies. We applied our silica mud masks & waited a few minutes to reveal our beautifully cleansed skin. We enjoyed dinner afterwards in the Lava restaurant, which was superb. A lovely end to our time in Iceland.

Overall, Iceland did not disappoint. It was a fantastic holiday where we experienced great food, magical scenery, plenty of adventure, fun & quality time together. I would highly recommend that you add Iceland to your bucket list, if it is not already on it!