If you’ve been following us on Instagram, you’ll know about my most recent travel find: The Stopover. Thanks to this “hack,” we spent an incredible 36 hours in Iceland – and it was cheaper than a direct flight!
The stopover is magical. Instead of a 9-13 hour overnight flight, we now cross the Atlantic in two easily manageable 5-hour stretches.
As my husband said, we can keep our baby entertained for an infinite number of 5-hour stretches, but 12-hour flights get old fast.
Here’s everything we did, ate, and where we stayed during our 36 hours in Iceland.
Day 1
After landing in the evening, we picked up our rental car and headed to the hotel.
We stayed at Ocean Break Cabins in Sandgerði. It was a 15 minute drive from the airport and came fully stocked with tea, coffee, creamer, and sugar. We had spaghetti and pesto and were in bed by 10.
We chose to stay in one location for both nights—even though this meant seeing less of Iceland, it meant seeing more of the bed, which we all desperately needed.
Our cabin had a well-equipped kitchenette with a dining room, lounge, and private hot tub. In the winter, this hot tub comes with a glimpse of the northern lights, but in summer, it’s a great way to relax and unwind after a long day hiking around Iceland. Of course, I hopped in the tub before going to bed!
The cabin’s location was quiet, peaceful, and absolutely adorable. Perfect for a stopover!
Our Rental Car
We decided to self-drive and rented a car from Discovercars.com. We’ve never had any problems renting with Discover, and self-driving is the best way to see Iceland with a toddler.
Day 2
Our second day started bright and early, thanks to the midnight sun! Summers in Iceland are beautiful – the sun stays up until 2 am and starts rising at 3.
Normally, I’d force my family to take advantage of these extended daylight hours to see the sights at night, but a teething baby means we’re prioritizing sleep at the moment.
After waking up at 5 am, we had a quick breakfast of leftover plane snacks and some Skyr thoughtfully provided by Iceland Air for our baby before heading to Reykjavik.
Reykjavik
We had to go to Reykjavik for a very specific reason: shopping.
We spent a short two hours in Reykjavik, wandering the streets and checking out second hand stores for cool sweaters. Icelandic knit sweaters are an incredible vibe, and I was hard-pressed not to purchase this adorable puffin sweater.
We stopped at this Kronan grocery store to stock up on snacks, sandwiches, and drinks for the day. The tap water in Iceland is absolutely divine, so we filled up our water bottles in bathrooms around town. Fruit prices were incredibly high, so we decided forgo our vitamins for three days.
Iceland Cover
Instead of purchasing an expensive winter coat in Germany for our three-day jaunt in the Arctic Circle, we arranged for a coat rental through Iceland Cover.
This coat costs us $40 for two days and was amazingly high quality.
Iceland Cover has coats for infants and adults (and everything in between), hiking boots, poles, insulating layers, raincoats, and more.
It’s perfect for those of us unused to cold weather. Their high-quality, weatherproof clothing will keep you warm, dry, and happy exploring.
Southern Waterfalls
We had initially planned on driving the Golden Circle, but our friends at Iceland Cover recommended we drive down the Southern Coastline instead.
This worked out great for us – our baby needed a solid two hour nap before exploring and we were able to drive straight down Ring Road until he woke up. Then, we slowly made our way back up the road to our hotel.
We chose to self-drive. This worked well for our family, because it allowed us to spontaneously decide what to do based on baby’s nap. If you want to stare out the window, concentrate on taking care of your kid, or just don’t feel like driving, check out these tours on Viator:
Gamla fjósið
Our first stop was at an adorable cafe for a light lunch.
A bike path goes down the coast next to the cafe, and a jaw-dropping waterfall is across the road. A thermal swimming pool is nearby, but thermal pools are recommended for people in the 2+ age range.
The cakes were tasty, but the baby was more interested in climbing on and off the furniture than eating!
The parking lot was filled with camper vans and motorcycles – our little “vrrm” enthusiast spent fifteen minutes running around and staring at the various forms of transportation.
Our baby hates driving, so once he woke up, we stopped heading south. If I could go back and do this drive again, I’d drive a little further down the road to Skógafoss and go for a hike.
Íráfoss
After lunch (and a lot of staring at people in cars), we headed to Irafoss, the first waterfall of the day.
We spent forty minutes hanging out in the meadows beside the road, feeding Icelandic horses, petting sheep, and staring open-mouthed at the impressive falls.
Seljalandsfoss
Our next stop was the iconic Seljalands Waterfall, made famous by Game of Thrones.
We parked our car in the paid lot instead of trying to cheat the system. You simply park your car and pay at the kiosk, then enjoy the stunning falls.
This waterfall is privately owned, and maintaining this natural wonder costs a lot.
There was a path behind the waterfall, but our lack of raincoats meant we had to skip it. We rented a waterproof jacket for our baby from Iceland Cover, but had decided against adult weatherproof clothing since the weather was so good.
Although it was a sunny, warm day by Icelandic standards, we regretted our lack of a windbreaker quickly.
Gljufrabui
After enjoying the views at Seljalandsfoss, we headed down the clearly marked path to give baby a chance to stretch his legs, climb, and play.
There are small caves, pristine creeks, and fields begging to be frolicked in throughout this park.
Towards the end of the path, we came across a hidden waterfall.
Although the path here is not baby-friendly (it involves hopping from rock to rock), we had our trusty Deuter Carrier and took the baby into the cave.
The waterfall was stunning.
We spent about an hour and a half playing, climbing, and exploring before loading ourselves back up in our car and heading to the next waterfall on our list. By now, it was 5 pm, so we decided to skip the Lava Center, and head straight to our next waterfall.
Wool Market
We couldn’t skip the wool market though! I have a weakness for wool, so obviously, Dennis kept the wallet with him throughout our time in Iceland. We had to stop at this adorable wool market on our way to waterfall #3. This store was amazing – it had kid toys, wool, handknitted sweaters, hats, and gloves. The cashier was actively knitting when I came in.
Ægissíðufoss
Ægissíðufoss was my favorite stop on our journey. Although the waterfall wasn’t as stunning as the others, we were alone here, and I felt remarkably relaxed.
Dennis, however, did not feel relaxed at all. This waterfall was stunning, but the viewpoint was a grassy field directly next to a cliff.
He spent forty minutes here biting his tongue while baby and I frolicked in the field.
Urriðafoss
Our last waterfall was Urriðafoss, a massive waterfall on the Golden Circle. This waterfall was more crowded than the previous waterfalls, but we were able to watch a group of fisherman catch salmon in the rushing falls.
Baby spent his time here roaming around the grassy fields, picking flowers, and causing general mayhem. When it was time to get back in our car, he was not pleased!
Home
The drive to our hotel was beautiful – there’s no sunset in Iceland during summer, but after 7 pm, the sky turns a gorgeous salmon color. It’s almost like an all-night sunset! We drove slowly back to our home and settled in for the night.
Of course we had another soak in our private, outdoor hot tub!
Day 3
Day 3 was bittersweet, as it was our last day in Iceland. Our flight was at 4 pm, so we had the entire morning to explore. After packing up our stuff, we had a last-minute soak in the jacuzzi and were out of our cabin by 11 am and on the road to Reykjavik.
Brú Milli Heimsálfa
We took the scenic route to Reykjavik to give baby a chance to nap in the car. This route took us along the southern Airport peninsula towards the Bridge Between Continents and past the Blue Lagoon.
Unfortunately, we weren’t able to leave the car today, as baby was sound asleep. Babies can’t swim in the Blue Lagoon anyways, so this wasn’t a big deal, but I would have loved to explore the lava fields surrounding the lagoon and cross the bridge between continents!
If you want to bathe in the mineral waters of the Blue Lagoon, book your guide with Viator here. It’s best to book in advance, as slots fill up quickly.
Back to Reykjavik
Eventually, we reached a roadblock along Reykjanes – there was an active volcano eruption along the route. So, we turned around and headed back to Reykjavik to return baby’s coat.
We got caught in a little bit of traffic along our way, and had to refill our car, grab lunch, and get baby’s wiggles out, so we ended up hectically driving to the airport at around 1 pm.
Airport
All good things must come to an end. At 1:30 pm, we returned our car and headed over to the airport.
The staff at Keflavik Airport are the nicest people I’ve encountered over the past two and a half years of travel. They went out of their way to help us, had baby-friendly lines, and were kind and understanding throughout every step of our trip.
Which was good. After two days exploring the amazing natural wonders of Iceland, we were utterly exhausted.
General Tips For An Iceland Stopover
I am convinced the stopover is the ultimate family travel hack. Our flight to Iceland was an absolute disaster. The baby cried almost the entire time, and Dennis and I bickered nonstop. It was, by far, our worst travel experience yet. Stopping in Iceland allowed us to regroup, calm down, and relax. Our next flight went super smoothly.
Rent Clothes
If you’re like us, you don’t own a lot of winter gear. Or, you don’t own winter gear that’s geared towards Icelandic summer (or winter) extremes. Use a rental company, like Iceland Cover, to save space in your luggage and access high-quality gear during your travels.
Download Maps
As always, when traveling to a new location, download an offline map before you leave Wi-Fi. Even if you have a local SIM card or access to the internet on your phone. You never know when the signal may be cut off.
Research Weather Conditions
The weather in Iceland is finnicky and can change unbelievably quickly. Vedur is the best app for Icelandic weather. This app uses GPS technology to give you the most accurate weather forecast, as well as the current conditions.
It’s vital you check this app before setting out on a hike. There may be an unexpected storm system, thick fog, or icy weather expected during your planned hiking time.
Don’t Do Too Much
We made a couple of major errors during our stopover in Iceland. One of these was being overly ambitious. I drove my husband mad on our full day in Iceland. He wanted to go on a short walk, relax, and spend an afternoon in the hot tub instead of going on an all-day driving excursion.
Unfortunately, he forgot who he married. We spent our day adventuring instead of relaxing, but I paid the price the next morning. We woke up sore, sleepy, and unmotivated to get outside! It took us four hours to pack our suitcase and get out the door.
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