Iceland with kids: what works at every age

Iceland is safe, clean, English-speaking and built for families: every town has a geothermal swimming pool with a children’s area, restaurants have high chairs and children’s menus, supermarkets are everywhere on the main routes, and the headline sights are mostly short walks from a car park. The things that make a family trip hard are the same things that make any Iceland trip hard: too much driving, the weather, and booking an activity the youngest child is not allowed on.

The trip is about the pace. Keep driving to two or three hours a day in one or two legs, choose two-night bases so you unpack once, and plan around naps in the car. Rental companies supply car seats (book them, they are required by law for children under 150 cm) and most hotels have cots. Pools are the daily win: the children’s pools are warm and shallow, and the Secret Lagoon, Hvammsvík and Mývatn Nature Baths all take small children, while the Blue Lagoon and Sky Lagoon have minimum ages of 2 and 12 respectively.

Skip anything with a long walk on uneven ground or wind-exposed cliffs. Waterfalls with paved paths (Skógafoss, Gullfoss’s upper viewpoint, Seljalandsfoss from the front) and the Reykjavík city attractions are the easy days.

This is the age for waterfalls, black beaches, lava, horses and pools. The short rides at farms near Reykjavík, Vík and Hella take children from about 6 (some from 4 on a led pony), the Lava Show in Vík and Reykjavík is a reliable hit, the Perlan museum in Reykjavík has an ice tunnel and a planetarium for the wet day, and Fjaðrárgljúfur canyon and the Dyrhólaey puffin cliffs are easy walks with a rail. The Glacier Lagoon amphibious boat takes children of all ages.

Two warnings for this age: Reynisfjara beach has sneaker waves that have killed adults, so keep children well above the waterline and never let them run toward the sea; and hot springs and geothermal areas have scalding water a metre from the path, so hold hands at Geysir and Hverir.

The big activities open up. Introductory glacier hikes on Sólheimajökull and at Skaftafell take children from 8 to 10 depending on the operator; the Katla and Vatnajökull ice cave tours from about 6 to 8; whale watching has no minimum age but is better from 6 or 7 when they can last three hours on deck; the Jökulsárlón Zodiac tour starts at 10; and the Langjökull snowmobile tours take passengers from about 6 to 8 with a parent driving. Hikes of a few kilometres (Reykjadalur hot river, the Skaftafell waterfall trail to Svartifoss) are realistic.

Teenagers can do almost everything adults can: full glacier hikes, snorkelling between the tectonic plates at Silfra (minimum 12, some operators 14, and a swim test), ATV and buggy tours (passengers from about 8, drivers from 17 with a licence), Superjeep days into Þórsmörk, and the longer hikes. The planning problem flips from minimum ages to pace and boredom: give them one adventure every day or two, a say in the plan, and the late-evening light in summer.

The rules that make the difference between a good family trip and a grim one.

• Under three hours of driving a day, in legs of no more than 90 minutes, with a stop that is for the children (a pool, a playground, a beach) and not only a viewpoint.
• Two-night stays everywhere; the families who enjoyed Iceland most on this site stayed in Vík, the Skaftafell area and Mývatn for two nights each.
• One booked activity a day at most, started after 10am, and a pool or an early night after it.
• Supermarket runs in Selfoss, Vík and Höfn on the South Coast, and Egilsstaðir and Akureyri on the Ring Road; the gap between shops can be two hours.
• A plan B for every outdoor day: a museum, a lava cave, a pool. Rain is normal and wind is the real enemy of a day out with small children.

Guesthouses and farm stays with family rooms are the backbone of a family trip outside Reykjavík, and many have animals, a kitchen and a hot tub, which solves dinner and the evening. In the capital, apartments beat hotels for a family of four. Cabins with a hot pot (hot tub) near Hella and Hvolsvöllur are a popular South Coast base; the Skaftafell area and Höfn work for the Glacier Lagoon; Mývatn has a nature bath and short walks for the north.