Solo parent trip to Iceland
Visiting Iceland with children
So we’ve just came back from Iceland. How did we end up there?
I’ve heard it’s a beautiful island but it wasn’t on my bucket list of places to visit with a child. Volcanos, geysers and northern lights – I wasn’t impressed by these words. I booked the tickets only because these were cheaper than flights to other destinations during upcoming school holidays. I didn’t know anyone travelling with children to Iceland and wasn’t sure what to expect really.
Having couchsurfing accommodation arranged, we boarded Easyjet flight and 2 hrs later landed in Keflavik. My first stop was duty free store where I needed to buy some alcohol on my host’s request. Airport is the only place where you can buy alcohol in reasonable prices unless you don’t mind spending thousands of coronas more in state owned Vínbúðin. Carrying a bottle of martini and 2 six packs of beer we entered arrivals area where our host, Malgorzata, was waiting to pick us up. The ride to Reykjavik wasn’t long but it was late when we arrived and M’s daughter was sleeping already. I put Vama to bed and had a can of Viking beer before going to bed myself.
What to do in Reykjavik
Malgorzata not only she provided us with warm bed and gave us plenty of tips about Iceland but our daughters became friends. They both lived in a tiny house in the centre of Reykjavik.
Our very first day in Iceland was spent on wandering around the town and gathering ideas about trips ( apart from booking the flight I haven’t planned anything else ). We were walking around the streets looking at shops and beautiful Icelandic homes. We had only hot dogs for lunch – eating out in Iceland is really expensive, and made our grocery shopping at cheap supermarket store Bonus.
That day we’ve met Eduardo, Brazilian guy travelling from Barcelona, who was looking for travel buddies via couchsurfing website. We met in the KEX hostel, really trendy place where local young people meet on weekends to have a drink before going out to parties. I really liked the decor of the hostel although Eduardo mentioned it was lacking typical backpacking atmosphere.
We made a deal and decided to rent a car together. Car hire and petrol are quite expensive in Iceland and this was the only way we could afford to go on a road trip. You have to get really creative when it comes to travelling on the budget, especially in Iceland. But if I had had more money back then, I would never have met such fantastic people as Malgorzata and Edu.
