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Iceland Feb 2022 with kids

32 replies

DinosaurOfFire · 14/01/2022 11:32

Hi all, we are going on a group family holiday with kids to Iceland in February, and I have a couple of questions I was hoping people would have knowledge about!

  • What sort of activities are good for a wide age range? We have kids between the ages of 4 and 13 going. The 3 youngest kids have sensory issues, 1 is autistic and 2 are waiting assessment for possible autism/ adhd. We have Blue Lagoon booked (but am not sure if we will actually get the younger ones in yet, will play that by ear on the day!) We are also hoping to ski one of the days if there's enough snow.

  • What sort of clothing do we need? My youngest has skin allergies which make wearing wool and polyester next to his skin impossible, so I was thinking of cotton leggings, jogging bottoms, and then waterproof fleece lined trousers on top. I don't know if these are windproof though. I am also thinking cotton long sleeve top, followed by a jumper/ collarless fleece, and winter coat (We have proper waterproof/ windproof padded winter coats already for the kids). And waterproof ski-type mittens? I was planning to replicate these layers on all 3 of my kids but maybe merino base layers instead of cotton for the older 2, depending on their sensory needs. I'm wary of cotton though as years of skiing has drummed into me that cotton isn't suitable for very cold weather, is it likely to be ok?

  • Covid restrictions- currently, Iceland has restricted entry to places. I'm wondering how much this is likely to affect us, as a group of 11, will we all be allowed in the supermarket together? Will one of us have to shop alone etc? What about restaurants- I realise this is kind of a "how long is a piece of string" question at the mo with things changing.

  • Allergies and diet- we have various allergies across various members of our group, including dairy, gluten, mustard, egg, coconut, soya, as well as some minor ones that are less important. Is Iceland set up to cater for allergies in restaurants? Or are we safer just eating in our cabin for most meals (which I imagine might restrict what activities we can feasibly do).

Thanks!

OP posts:
TizerorFizz · 18/01/2022 10:22

That’s what we did. No change from September. And they DID check!

PuffinShop · 18/01/2022 11:15

Haha, in January the guy at the airport told me that the testing is over there but 'you don't have to if you don't want to'. Grin I think some of their hearts are not really in it.
But I'd always advise doing it according to the rules just in case you get a dedicated one.

KenAdams · 20/01/2022 15:34

Is anyone on the Heathrow BA flight on the 10th?

They don't accept self administered tests.

I'd advise you all to hold off booking your tests for now, they have a review due on the 2nd of Feb so things are subject to change.

DinosaurOfFire · 24/01/2022 17:19

Hello, I'm back again. 2 weeks till we go! And feeling a lot more organised thanks to the answers on this thread.

The Icelandic government website is now saying that travel rules will be in place till the 22nd Feb so I am booking our antigen tests this evening.

I'm looking at possibly skiing one of the days and noticed that their restrictions suggest wearing masks is compulsory for anyone born earlier than 2016, my 2 eldest are exempt from wearing masks as well thanks to sensory issues linked to 1 diagnosed asd and 1 waiting for assessment for asd/ adhd.

Do all children over the age of 5 have to wear masks or is that only the 2m distancing part? I remember reading something that implied it was only distancing for over 5s but I hadn't considered that children may have to wear masks.

To the pp asking about a scarf in place of a face covering- I will have a snood scarf thing but I can't tolerate wearing that over my face for more than a few seconds/ a minute or so- enough time to walk to a table in a restaurant, but not long enough to do a supermarket shop/ be on a ski lift. I'm going to email a couple of places in advance to find out their policies, so I can be prepared.

OP posts:
PuffinShop · 24/01/2022 17:58

The cut off for masks is 2006, not 2016! Children don't wear masks here.

PuffinShop · 24/01/2022 18:07

OK, I see why you think that, though! The English version does say 2016! Someone has made a mistake there, shoddy work translating the site.

The Icelandic version is the correct version: Grímuskylda á ekki við um börn fædd 2006 eða síðar. (Children born in 2006 or later are exempt from mask wearing).

DinosaurOfFire · 24/01/2022 18:21

Oh thank goodness for that. That makes life so much easier! Thanks again for your help.

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