4-Day Iceland Itinerary | Iceland With Kids
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Iceland was always on top of our “must travel to” list: where else can you find an active volcano, stunning waterfalls, spectacular rock formations, moss-covered landscapes, and the freshest seafood all in one place?
When the country opened to the vaccinated travelers, we booked the trip right away.
We traveled July 22-25, 2021.
Here is the recap of our itinerary and a custom Google Map of the places we visited (click the image below to open the map):
Table of Contents
Day 1 - Arrival Day/Reykjavik
When we originally booked the trip, the vaccinated travelers were required to get a COVID test at the Keflavik airport upon arrival and then quarantine till they get a negative result, which could have taken up to 24 hours. We did not plan much for the arrival day since we did not know how long the results would take.
A few weeks before our departure, the arrival rules changed, and we did not need to get tested at the airport and quarantine after (these rules changed again, and as of July 26th, the vaccinated travelers now need to present a negative test at check-in), but we did not revise our plans.
We arrived at 6 am, took the taxi to the apartment, and napped for a few hours – neither of us slept on the plane for more than an hour.
After the nap and stocking up on groceries to save some money on our meals, this is what we did:
- Laugavegur, one of the oldest streets in Reykjavik, lined with stores and restaurants and the nearby streets.
if you want to meet the friendliest and best-behaved dog in Reykjavik, stop by Vínstúkan Tíu sopar.
- Hallgrímskirkja – THE landmark of Reykjavik and the largest church in Iceland. You can go up the tower to see the city from 245 ft.
- For lunch, we had the famous Icelandic hot dogs from Baejarins Bestu Pylsur. Do try them with “the works”: ketchup, sweet mustard, remoulade, crispy onions, and raw onions. We skipped the raw onions though. Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur translates to “best hot dog in town” but I’d say it is the best hot in the world! So craving it right now…
- We wanted to stop by Harpa, a beautiful and unique concert hall, for a self-guided tour, but it was temporarily closed for renovations, so we had to enjoy its beauty from outside.
- Sun Voyager, a steel sculpture representing a dream boat. It is an ode to the sun, symbolizing light and hope
For dinner, we got Seafood Soup and Fish & Chips from 101 Reykjavik Street Food. Reasonably priced and delicious.
Day 2 - Reykjavik
Our day 2 stops:
- Settlement Exhibition. It is a pretty cool exhibition centered around Viking settlement ruins found during building work in 2001. The interactive elements will keep kids entertained for some time, but it is a small, one-room exhibition, so I wouldn’t plan on spending more than an hour here.
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- On the way to the next attraction, we stopped by Sægreifinn (Sea Barron) to try their highly recommended lobster soup and seafood skewers.
- Fly Over Iceland. Do you love Disney‘s Soarin’ ride in Epcot (Walt Disney World) and in California Adventure (Disneyland)? Do you wish it lasted longer than 5 minutes? Then you are going to love this attraction. Fly Over Iceland has literally the same ride system as Soarin’ but with different movie and it is about 10 minutes long. This was a big hit for everyone in our travel party.
- Just a short walk from Fly Over Iceland is Omnom Ice Cream and Chocolate Shop.
- Perlan. Perlan is an experience center where you can learn about Icelandic nature. You can’t miss its distinct building on top of the highest hill in Reykjavik.
Here you can:
- explore ice caves
- watch Northern Lights planetarium show
- enjoy 360° views of Reykjavik from the observation deck
- take part in interactive exhibitions
- and more
The guests are let into the ice caves every 15 minutes. If you want to get pictures without other visitors in them, just hang in the back. Most visitors make their way through the caves straight to the exit. Once they do, you get a free reign of the caves till the next group arrives.
For dinner, we stopped by Cafe Loki that is right across the street from Hallgrimskirkja. It is a great place to dine if you want to get acquainted with Icelandic cuisine as they offer several plates with samples of the traditional Icelandic dishes. You can even try the infamous fermented shark here. We are not brave enough to try it so we got a few “safer” dishes like Mashed Fish, skyr pancake, and must-try Rye Bread Ice Cream.
Day 3 - South Shore/Blue Lagoon/Volcano
For day #3 we rented a car so we could explore the South Shore at our own pace, visit the Blue Lagoon, and drive to the volcano if it was erupting.
We started with the furthest attraction on the list and made our way to Blue Lagoon:
Reynisfjara Black Sand Beach. This beach is famous for the black sand (obviously) and basalt stacks. According to Icelandic folklore, these stacks are trolls who got caught in the sunrise and turned into stone.
Beware of sneaker waves and never turn your back to the water.
Sólheimajökull. Sólheimajökull is a glacier that is a very easy hike from the parking lot.
Skógafoss. Skógafoss is one of the largest waterfalls in Iceland. You can walk up right to it!
Drangurinn in Drangshlíð. This was not a planned stop but we couldn’t drive by these magical-looking houses.
Seljalandsfoss. You probably heard about the waterfall that you can go behind. This is that waterfall.
Blue Lagoon. One of the most popular attractions in Iceland. We timed our reservation slot just right. We booked it for 5pm, and after leaving Reykjavik right at 8am, taking our time exploring the attractions above, we arrived at Blue Lagoon a little after 5pm.
I must say the Blue Lagoon experience was not as magical as I imagined. The craziness of the locker room ruined it for me. The lockers are so narrow, so if someone is using a locker next to yours, both of you will not have room to stand next to your lockers. We got there as a large tour group was leaving, so there was literally no room to move. And everyone was just so angry.
We had a Comfort package. I did not do much research on this, but, I think, Premium package guests have a separate locker room. I would totally pay more for not having to deal with the madhouse we walked into.
We were checking the volcano live cam since the arrival day hoping to see some activity, but it was quiet… until we got to the Blue Lagoon. About an hour into us floating in its warm water, we checked the camera to see the volcano erupting! We quickly got dressed and headed to Fagradalsfjall. It is only about a 15-minute drive from the Blue Lagoon.
Unfortunately, our volcano hike did not work out as we were hoping for: about a quarter way to the crater viewing point, very thick fog rolled in and completely covered the view of the volcano. We did see the eruption before the fog arrived, but we did not stop to take pictures thinking we will take them when we get closer.
We hiked all the way to the viewing point hoping either the fog would clear up or we would be able to see something, but that was not the case.
Day 4 - Golden Circle
For our last day in Iceland, we chose to do a Golden Circle Tour with Gray Line.
The tour bus was pretty comfortable: the legroom was not the best, but the bus was not full so we could spread out.
The first tour stop was Þingvellir (Thingvellir) National Park that sits in the rift valley between North American and Eurasian tectonic plates.
Iceland is the only place in the world where the Mid-Atlantic rift is above sea level, and Þingvellir is the best place to see it.
The second stop was Gullfoss Waterfall, a spectacular two-tiered waterfall.
According to our tour guide, Gulfoss Cafe has the best lamb stew in the country, so, naturally, we had to try it, and it did not disappoint!
The final stop of the tour was Geysir Hot Spring Area that is home to Strokkur, an active geyser that erupts every 5-8 minutes.
Here you can also find currently inactive Geysir.
Final Thoughts
This trip was so much more than we imagined. We were blown away by Iceland’s beauty. We are not outdoorsy, so I was convinced our trip was “once-and done” kind of deal, but now we cannot wait to go back!
See our other Iceland posts:
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