Best Things to Do in North Iceland with Kids

If clambering down into a lava cave in a fissure between two tectonic plates – the Eurasian and the North American – floats your and your kids’ geological boats, then you’ve come the right place. Northern Iceland, specifically the area around Akureyri (now served by flights from both London and Manchester), is packed with incredible and unique landscapes and features that’ll have all of you gaping in the force of raw nature.

The cave in question, Grjótagjá near Lake Mývatn, was used as a filmin location for a scene in Game of Thrones, but even if like us you weren’t particularly a fan of the show, the experience is utterly awe-inspiring and also quite humbling in a way that vast, ancient and, crucially, turbulent landscapes often are. The ‘Land of Fire and Ice’ is dramatic and, as we’ll all recall from that world-stopping ash cloud and also from recent eruptions, very active and very alive.

'Perhaps our favourite thing, though, was the otherworldly landscape of Dimmuborgir with its lava ‘sculptures’ twisting up from the ground to form a kind of spellbinding mini-city like something out of a dream or a fantasy movie.'

That makes it a thrill and a half to discover North Iceland with kids – to devote some time to it. Iceland’s capital and its the southern coast are both brilliant, as I’ve written in a feature on Reykjavik with Kids and A Family Holiday in Southern Iceland, but they are a whole holiday in themselves. And many people think Iceland is smaller than it actually is and that they can do its famous Ring Road in a week, taking in all the country’s major sights as they do so. But that’s a rush and you miss so much of the truly extraordinary detail.

My advice is to treat southern and northern Iceland separately – Akureyri is a five- to six-hour drive north-east of Reykjavik, so it’s really not a side trip. And there’s more than enough to fill your time here. It’s the whale-watching capital of Iceland, for one thing. Clad in huge snuggly snowsuits over our winter gear (the area had had a massive snow dump the day before we arrived, in mid November), we went out over the choppy waters of the Eyjaford with Whalewatching Hauganes and were rewarded with repeated close-up sightings of three humpbacks rising to the surface and flicking up their tails as they plunged back down. We didn’t see dolphins, but you very well may do so.

Sadly, the Northern Lights also failed to put in an appearance during our stay, because the unexpected snowfall was so heavy, but you do stand a 90% chance of seeing them around these parts if you take your Iceland family holiday in winter and stay here for more than three nights – which you should, given how much there is to do.

Tectonic plates aside, we also went to ooh and awe at the splendours of Goðafoss waterfall and at the sparkling frozen expanse of Lake Mývatn with its surrounding pseudo craters. Perhaps our favourite thing, though, was the otherworldly landscape of Dimmuborgir with its lava ‘sculptures’ twisting up from the ground to form a kind of spellbinding mini-city like something out of a dream or a fantasy movie.

Sulphuric mud pits abound here, as they do in much of Iceland, and a visit to a thermal baths is a must. We loved floating around in the therapeutic, geothermally heated waters of the pongy but beneficial Mývatn Nature Baths, a drink in hand (there’s  a swim-up – or should that be float-up? – bar) before retreating to the sauna and then throwing ourselves into the ice pool. The Forest Lagoon Spa back near Akureyri is a bit more chic and polished – and also has a bar!

Depending on the time of year/weather conditions/amount of time you have (everything has to be quite flexible in Iceland, especially in winter), north Iceland is also a good place for ice-fishing on a frozen lake, snowshoeing, and snowmobiling – ideal, if like me, you’re interested in Iceland with teens.

And, at least with older kids, even the food in Iceland is part of the fun – the smoked lamb had us all reeling with its ashy taste, but the local seafood (from herring to the freshest of sushi and sashimi) is fabulous, and there are also unique treats such as bread baked geothermally in the ground. Locals also go big on ice cream, even in winter, and a post-dinner mooch to an ice-cream parlour is a social ritual here, whatever the weather.

By Rhonda Carrier

Find out more about Iceland family holidays.