Iceland

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Planning to take my 3 children (technically 2 of them are now adults) to Iceland Easter 2017. Does anyone have any advice re: booking (agents or independent), places to stay, must do things etc. We haven't all been on holiday together out of the U.K. for 8 years and I think this is probably our last so really want it to be amazing.

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Planning a trip to Iceland? For a handy round-up of Mumsnetters’ advice on when to go, what to do, where to stay, and how to save a few pennies along the way, take a look at our guide to Iceland holidays. MNHQ.

Iceland is a truly amazing place.

Distances are quite big so decide where you want to visit whilst there. Reykjavik is a long way away from most things you would probably want to see.

We've hired a house from Airbnb and hired a car and stayed out in the countryside.

The roads are good - we were there in February and they were absolutely fine.

Don't go on a tour - your far better driving yourself.

Blue lagoon is massively overrated. You basically sit in a cloudy, rocky, silty pool for a bit.

You can scuba dive or snorkel between tectonic plates which looks really good. I've never done it but I would if I ever went back to Iceland. Second through horse riding too, Icelandic horses are love little beasts and the tour I went on had a mix of total beginners and experienced riders

We went in September, took my 18 year old twins for their birthday. 8 adults in total.
We rented a fabulous house in the heart of Reykjavik. Found it on TripAdvisor.
We flew with easyJet. Asked house owner to organise pick up and drop off from airport.
Bought champagne and wine in airport as it is hard to get in Iceland. Only sold in one shop in centre.
We were by supermarkets so stocked up on breakfast and packed lunch to save us money.
As we were a group of adults my sister downloaded a happy hour app that told us where to go to get cheap drinks in bars around town.
We did golden circle tour, looked for recommendations on trip advisor and booked blue lagoon on line and got the bus there.
We also did open top bus tour, this was good and not very expensive.
My eldest son and girlfriend did a volcano trip where they went down into the volcano.
We had a great time. Lovely place visit. Lots to do.

Me and dp always hire a car (been a few times). If you can handle rush hour in the uk then you've nothing to worry about. Remember the population of Iceland is about the same as Coventry. Airbnb in the centre means you can have a kitchen - essential for saving money. Buy alcohol duty free on the way in or take with you. Enjoy it! It's an amazing country. We drove down route one to the south, Vik is lovely, black sand beaches where they filmed parts of several films. There's lots of waterfalls everywhere. The Reykjanes peninsula (south west of Reykjavik) is fantastic for scenery too. Take lots of camera batteries as it's cold so they'll die quicker. Store them on you, under coats so that they don't lose power whilst not in use. Enjoy it - we can't wait to go again, and we've travelled pretty much around the world. It's one of our favourite places!

We saw the northern lights when we were in northern Finland in 2002 (with the older children) and again in 2013 (with the youngest) so although obviously it would be great to see them again we won't be disappointed if we don't and chances will be slimmer in April I believe.

I'm so pleased I asked for advice here. I am making lists and once all 3 of my children are home for Christmas we will start planning the itinerary. We lost my husband 3 years ago (sudden death) and so this is a very big deal for us all to go somewhere new together. Iceland has always been a dream for us and I can't believe we are going to manage it. Dh was the more adventurous of he and I but I am determined to keep that part of him alive for our children so am pushing myself more each day. He spent 5and a half years in and out of Antarctica for 6 months at a time and whilst I don't think we'll match that we hopefully will also have some amazing memories and photographs

You can scuba dive or snorkel between tectonic plates which looks really good. I've never done it but I would if I ever went back to Iceland.

My husband did it at new year (scuba). It was -7 ground temp but he loved it. It's glacial water so perfectly clear for about 100 metres. Cold when he got out though and bits of his kit started to freeze!

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How lovely OP! Am finding this thread very useful as we are also planning a trip to Iceland with DS who will be 16 ( we're going next Oct). Have a fabulous time and please report back after you've been.

Op i hope you and the kids have an absolutely wonderful time, it's like nowhere else on earth.

I really didn't find it that expensive. No worse than London - it's a bit like anywhere though - depends where you go/eat/drink etc. Be selective.

We hired a car - journey from
Airport to Reykjavik was easy. We then did the Springs and the Golden Circle Tour ourselves. They're all free so it cost us nothing (other than fuel.)

Northern Lights - you don't need to go too far to get away from light pollution. If they don't appear it's not such a disappointment / waste of money.

The water is amazing!

It's one of the most incredible places I have ever been. I cannot recommend highly enough.

Oh and the bottle shops are office hours so if you want to drink at your apartment, buy your booze in the day. Supermarkets can only sell booze up to about 2.5% in strength!

There are lots of nice pubs though.

I read a lovely book at a woman who spent a year living in Iceland, which you might want to read to get you in the mood: Names for the Sea by Sarah Moss

I really want to go to Iceland, so I'm loving all the tips on this thread. I hope you have an amazing trip OP.

Fantastic place. I recommend hiring a car (driving is fine, one road no traffic), and circling the island staying in different places. We did this in Nov and booked places via booking.com. Thoroughly recommend Myvatn up north for baths like blue lagoon used to be, now vile and full of hens and stags and ridiculously expensive, and Jokularsson (sp?) for truly stunning icebergs. I found it around the same price as London, it was a pleasant surprise.

Everyone is really nice and really helpful too.

There's a lagoon on the Gateway to Iceland tour that is an authentic one (as opposed to the blue lagoon).

If any of you ride, THE HORSES! They are fab, small, strong and responsive. Wonderful. There is a stables outside Rekjavik called Laxnes Horse Farm. I'm sure there are others.

The waterfalls are great, well worth long drives to see them, and it's also worth getting up onto a glacier.

Bloody expensive, and not what you would call hot in July, but I'd go again.

They also have a laid-back attitude to 'Elf and Safety: boiling hot spring bursting out of the ground and flowing away, with a low wooden fence (low as in, about 12 inches) and a small sign at knee height saying whatever 'hot' is in Icelandic.

The Harwich-Esbjerg ferry no longer runs.

With the horses - there's plenty of stables that do it for complete beginners well worth it!

We went in November and used travel supermarket and paid £209 each for 4 nights in a hotel and flights. We hired a car for £120 for the 5 days. We stayed in Keflavik which is literally minutes from the airport and cheaper than Reykjavik. The roads are quieter than English roads, there's only one main road round the island and it's easy to navigate. We did lots of waterfalls, the geysers, the blue lagoon and had an amazing time. Food is unbelievably expensive. £50 for KFC for 3, £12 for a subway meal!! We ended up making sandwiches from our continental breakfast and taking them and fruit for our lunch! Didn't see the northern lights sadly but did find some amazing places that aren't touristy. There's an abandoned airplane on a black beach that was interesting, but quite a trek from the road. Would recommend hiring a car as the organised trips are expensive and you also get to see more with your own transport.

Some really good ideas on this thread, which I've found by chance. I'm flying out on the 29th with my wife and kids for 7nights. Can't wait to escape from this heatwave and see somewhere a bit different 😀

For adults only the Brewery tour in Reykjavik is unmissable, it’s based on the story of alcohol in Iceland, which is interesting and involves a lot of beer. Don’t drive to it and don’t do it if you don’t drink.
Also excellent was a foodie Golden Circle tour from Grey Line, again probably best for adults. Loads of samples of different traditional and modern Icelandic food, mostly very nice, plus a three course lunch and you see all the standard golden circle sites.

We went at easter 2016. One of my favourite places in the world. I would try and self cater and it saves cost of eating out and the houses are of great quality. We rented an amazing place in a forest near gulfoss with a hot tub for £600 a week. Spend your cash on the adventure sports - riding, ice tubing, volcano trips, skidu safaris on the glaciers.
Pick one region, distances are vast - SE is a good starting point. Driving is very easy, the roads are empty and you can only go a max 50MPH anyway.

Beware Zombies!