Iceland- ideas please.

[davyatsea]

Hi there, I think my family and I have decided on Iceland for our summer holiday. It is my wife's 40th Birthday in May and when I suggested Iceland, she was over the moon.

Both kids are keen too, which is especially important as my eldest, aged 13 is diagnosed High Functioning ASD and he was unsure about holidays following an incident in Tenerife last year.

Question is about ideas... I've emailed a couple of companies that specialise in Iceland, but they focus on tours. As a family, we want a decent hotel base, with the ability to go out some days, but not everyday. Truth is, I could easily adventure every day, but I need to think of family needs, especially DS, who suffers high anxiety. Any ideas or tips for Iceland would be greatly appreciated. Many thanks.

I'm really jealous! I went to Iceland 10 years ago when pregnant with baby number 1. It was amazing I was quite anxious while pregnant but totally relaxed while away. It's very empty and beautiful. Lots of water. I'd love to take my two one day (oldest has ASD and loves big outdoor spaces).

We toured the whole Island ring road in a week but I guess you would prefer a base to retreat to, we would be the same. If you are based in Reykjavik or just outside you have lots of options. We hired a car and driving was easy. We just used the Lonely Planet guide for ideas.

Highlights for us:

The Blue Lagoon

Seltun geothermal area - not far from Reykjavik but was free with very few visitors when we went. Bubbling mud pools and very eggy smelling. Could stop here on the way to Blue Lagoon.

'Golden Circle' tour. Usually done in a day but if you had your own transport you could do these three sites at your own pace.

Reykjavik is lovely and chilled for a wander. Stop at a lovely cafe for hot choc and cake. Local pools are good, a chance to swim proper lengths outdoors in hot, hot water. Be prepared to shower nude though due to hygiene rules.

A drive along route 1 to the Skogar museum which will teach you a lot about life in Iceland over the years. It's about 2 hours drive but you can stop at one of the stunning waterfalls on the way. If you want to press on a little further you will get to the black volcanic beach at Vik.

You could easily bumble about near Reykavik with a guidebook for a week.

Whale watching is another option. We missed out on that due to bad weather.

Good luck. Take warm clothes. We went in May and had unseasonably bad weather (blizzards) was utterly amazing though.

Whatever you do, do not go to Elf school!!! The bloke who runs it is a con artist and basically rants about his political and religious beliefs for the 4 hour session!!!

Second blue lagoon - don't put your hair under the water though as ruins it

You can do a whale watching tour which is good

The church in Reykjavik is also fab, geothermal spa and gulffoss worth a visit too

Many thanks both. I haven't booked it yet as one of the tour companies I approached have pulled out of Iceland for the summer seasons. I'm not beaten yet and am still looking 👍

Try Disover The World

We went last year for our ten year anniversary and it was amazing. We booked the flights on our own and booked an absolutely gorgeous air bnb log cabin with its own hot tub. Car hire was cheap too and it worked perfectly for us as we had total flexibility, lots of isolation and could pick our own things to do. Our cabin had a TV, netflix and wifi aswell as a kitchen. That was great as food is INCREDIBLY expensive. We stayed outside Selfoss.

The Gulfoss falls are well worth a trip, it is just breath taking and very surreal feeling the rock shake underneath your feet. The Geysir is close by too and another worthwhile visit. stand on the far side of the hole and you can actually see inside the earth. it feels almost pre-historic. We drove up to Reyjkavik for a days exploring and that was nice too. Whale watching is a fabulous trip and you can see puffins too.

I really cant explain just how pricey food is. At Gullfoss falls went to the visitor centre and got a bowl of stew each. It came with a bread roll. If memory serves me it was £38 for 2 bowls and was perfectly average. It is mega money and we ate at our log cabin with food bought from the supermarket and ate outin cheap cafes 3 times. Even so food cost us over £400 for 4 days!

I really do recommend it though. It feels other worldly and like North Wales on Steroids. I can not wait to go back.

Here at the minute although fly home later. It is stunningly beautiful. Completely breathtaking. We self catered and packed a case full of food and spent the money on trips instead. Did the Golden Circle (amazing), afternoon in the city, Blue Lagoon and quad biking in the mountains earlier today. Struck lucky with the weather and had clear blue skies almost all the time. Highly recommend.

Many thanks all. I've booked a two bed apartment in Reykjavik and Just need to book flights. I'll probably book a hire car at the same time as booking flights. Thinking about trips out, should I be booking things in advance or leave it till we're out there? We plan to fly out 29th July for one week.

placemarking. We're going for 5 days in april and really looking forward to it! planning blue lagoon from airport. booked golden circle and south iceland trips and a northern lights cruise (although very late in season so probably wont see anything)

We are going to Iceland in November! I can’t wait 😂😂 It’s just me and DH and I am looking forward to it way more than Turkey with the kids in the summer haha. Can’t wait for the Northern Lights, Golden Circles, Ice caves etc.

I go on Sunday, am very excited 😀😀😀