Where to stay with kids in Iceland

Family hotel picks in Iceland

• 

  Miðborg (101)€€€Higher-end

  Apartment in the 101 centre

  A central apartment removes the two biggest costs of Reykjavík with a family — restaurant meals and a car — because the supermarkets, the harbour and the museums are all within a walk and a kitchen covers breakfast and dinner.

  • Kitchen and washing machine for a mid-trip laundry run
  • Walking distance to the harbour, museums and bakeries
  • Supermarkets in the centre rather than on the ring road
  • No need for a car or parking on city days

  Fitting a family in

  Two-bedroom units sleep four or five without a folding bed. Older converted buildings often have no lift, so the floor number matters with luggage and a pushchair.

  Watch out. The centre is also the bar district: Friday and Saturday nights are loud until the early hours, and a street-facing bedroom is the difference between a good night and a bad one. Street parking here is the most expensive paid zone in the country.

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• 

  Laugardalur€€Mid-range

  Family rooms and aparthotels in Laugardalur

  The valley puts the city's largest pool, the family park and zoo, a botanic garden and open green space inside a ten-minute walk, which is the difference between an afternoon that entertains children and one that has to be organised.

  • Largest public pool complex in the city on the doorstep
  • Free parking, unlike the centre
  • Green space and playgrounds for between-sights energy
  • Frequent buses and a 25-minute walk into town

  Fitting a family in

  Aparthotels in this area are built for longer stays and more often have genuine two-bedroom units or family rooms with a kitchenette than the small central hotels do.

  Watch out. It is residential — very little to walk to for dinner, so evenings mean cooking, a bus or a taxi. Bus frequency drops noticeably in the evening and on Sundays.

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• 

  Geysir / Laugarvatn / Flúðir€€Mid-range

  Farm guesthouse between Geysir and Flúðir

  A night inside the loop turns one long day into two short ones, and these farm properties usually have a hot tub or a small geothermal pool, which is the one thing that reliably resets tired children after a day of viewpoints.

  • Positioned mid-loop, so each driving half is under an hour
  • Hot tub or geothermal bathing at many properties
  • Breakfast included more often than in the city
  • Open sky for aurora watching outside the summer months

  Fitting a family in

  Family rooms sleeping four are common, and some farms let whole cottages with a kitchen — worth the extra for the ability to cook.

  Watch out. Dinner is often the only food for a long drive in either direction, and rural kitchens frequently stop serving early in the evening; confirm whether dinner is available before arriving hungry. Access is frequently by gravel track, which some rental insurance treats differently from sealed road.

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• 

  Selfoss€€Mid-range

  Self-catering apartments in Selfoss

  Selfoss is the practical base rather than the scenic one: a real supermarket, a large municipal pool, fuel and a choice of apartments, sitting exactly where the Golden Circle meets the road east to the South Coast.

  • Full-size supermarkets for restocking the cool box
  • Large public swimming pool with slides
  • Kitchens and laundry in most apartments
  • On the Ring Road for continuing to the South Coast

  Fitting a family in

  Two-bedroom apartments are the norm here and sleep four to six comfortably, usually with free parking outside.

  Watch out. It is a working town with no scenery of its own, and it sits at the southern end of the loop — basing here means driving 45 minutes north to start the circle. Rooms on the main road get through-traffic noise.

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• 

  Vík€€€Higher-end

  Guesthouse family rooms in Vík

  Vík sits between the two black beaches at the midpoint of the coast, so the busiest stops can be reached early in the morning or in the evening when the coach traffic from Reykjavík has gone, which is the main reason to stay out here rather than day-trip.

  • Walking distance to the beach and the village church viewpoint
  • Short drives to the waterfalls west and the glacier tongues east
  • A swimming pool in the village
  • Dark skies for aurora watching outside summer

  Fitting a family in

  Guesthouse family rooms sleeping four are the common format; many have shared bathrooms, so a private bathroom needs to be confirmed rather than assumed.

  Watch out. Vík is very small — one supermarket and a handful of restaurants that fill up and stop serving early, so arriving late means cooking or going without. Rooms are scarce and expensive, and they sell out months ahead for the summer. The wind off the headland is loud at night.

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• 

  Hella / Hvolsvöllur€€Mid-range

  Self-catering cottages around Hella and Hvolsvöllur

  Cottages in this stretch cost well below a hotel room in Vík, come with a kitchen and usually a hot tub, and sit 90 minutes from Reykjavík — close enough to be the first night out of the city and still reach the first waterfall before the coaches.

  • Kitchen, so the most expensive meal of the day is cooked
  • Private hot tub at many properties
  • Supermarkets and fuel in both towns
  • Under an hour to the first waterfalls

  Fitting a family in

  Two- and three-bedroom cottages sleep four to six, often with a sofa bed, and the sleeping arrangement is stated more clearly than in guesthouses.

  Watch out. Cottages stand alone on gravel tracks with no street lighting and nothing within walking distance, so every meal and every outing is a drive. It is also 40–50 minutes short of Vík, which adds a return leg to the black-beach days.

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