Would 5 days in Reykjavík and day trips out be enough time - and good for 13 year old?

[Coldwater12]

Thinking about a trip to Reykjavík and also a chance to see outside the city into countryside next year.

We'd be with our 13 year old son. Would 5 day be enough? Would it be an interesting trip for him?

Wondered what people with teens thought.

Thanks

We took at 10 year old and 12 year old to Iceland last Easter. They loved it. We hired a lodge near the Geysir and had a hire car. We drove out every day and did the sights on the Golden Circle. If you stay in Reykjavik it's a lot of driving out each day and also there's not much there. We preferred having a car to doing the coach tours. Everything is very easy to book online before and most of it you just turn up and see. Our boys really liked it.

Is it a good time to go there??!

There are lots of posts about Iceland holidays. My recommendation would be horse riding. They are unique horses and you will see the countryside in a different way. Some places will take beginners. Have a great time.

The horses! They are gorgeous! I hadn't heard of them before, total fuzzy darlings.

I went for 3 nights with husband in November. Firstly, don’t underestimate how cold it is. R may have a weather forecast of 1 celcius for example, then when you venture further out (eg golden circle) it’s -10 celcius, so bring thermals etc. The bus tour to try and find northern lights was also freezing. Blue lagoon is nice.

Just to keep mind as well that it’s incredibly expensive there, especially to eat, as everything has to be imported.

Plus they'll get to see a real volcanic eruption ...

Thanks all - I was thinking of May half term? Good time of year?

I love some of the suggestions

We did 3 nights outside Reykjavík near Selfoss and then 2 nights in Reykjavík itself. I wasn't that impressed with it as a city and the most interesting things are out of the city. We still quite a bit of driving but got out Vestmannaeyjabær island to see the puffins, went to the big Geyser park and Gulfoss waterfall, and a whole load of other craters, thermal springs and huge waterfalls along the way. Then on the day we left for Reykjavik we drove up through Thingvellir National Park. Driving is really easy once you're out of Reykjavik. We went in August and it was still chilly - long trousers and fleece or lightweight jacket when the sun was out.

I think May is a good time to go. The weather should be less bad/cold, so the outdoors more pleasant. You probably won't see the northern lights in May, but you really need to go at different times of year to fully appreciate everything. The northern lights are best in winter, when it's cold and very limited daylight, then sightseeing is best between about Easter and October, but you probably won't see the northern lights then.

As for whether it's enough time, you won't run out of things to see/do but you're unlikely to have 'done' Iceland or even Reykjavik, there's so much of interest if you're interested in the outdoors, history, geology/geography and nature. If your teen likes those things, then he'll probably like Iceland and want to return again and again.

As well as the museums and the Golden Circle tour, which is a good introduction to the uniqueness of Iceland, there's loads of outdoor swimming pools with slides and hot tubs, parks, whale watching trips etc.

We went on holiday there for 5 days one (late April) Easter and that seemed like a good period of time. It was cold if windy, but we swam outside (and caught the sun) in the outdoor 25m(?) pool.

There was still a bit of snow on the ground outside the city, yet it didn't get dark until gone 9pm. Whale-watching trips were running at that point.

There had been a volcanic eruption a few months before, so we had some great photos of mountains that were white snow on one side and black on the other!

Just make sure that you have watertight travel insurance in case there is an eruption. It is quite close to the airport.

Yeah, I was wondering today if we'll get insurance cover

Outside of the city, where would be a good place to look for an air bnb to drive to some of the Golden Circle stuff?

They're not expecting any eruptions due to the current situation to disrupt air traffic, the 'ash cloud' volcano was a fairly unique situation (I've read this on a reliable website, can't find it right now).

But there's nothing in the link below that suggests disruption

Iceland travel advice - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

If you book, you just need to get your insurance straight away, so that it's valid if the situation changes.

Although I wouldn't set your heart on going to the Blue Lagoon, if there's an eruption in the area, who knows how it might be affected - but there's endless public pools with spas and slides, and also many other spas. The Blue Lagoon is a bit of a tourist trap.