Top 5 family tours

An endless number of tours is available in Iceland and it may be overwhelming to find the best ones. We’ve done it for you and handpicked the list of best tours from various providers around Iceland.

Category “family tours” is meant to be for families, couples, or individuals looking for an unforgettable organized Icelandic experience which, at the same time, is not too demanding. Carefully picked from thousands of options based on experience, content and reviews.

Looking for more action? We also covered the best Icelandic action tours. Rafting, glacier hikes, quad bikes and more!

1. Husavik whale watching

You’ve probably already heard about Husavik whale watching. This is one of the most popular Icelandic tours. And there is a reason why. Watching whales, dolphins, seals and puffins in their natural habitat is once in a lifetime experience.

Whale watching is also the activity you simply have to book the tour for. Unless you have your own boat in Husavik :). There are tens, if not hundreds, of different whale watching tours. We reviewed all of them and picked the best 2 for you.

Option 1:  speedboat; probably the best tour out there
– chance to see whales, dolphins, puffins, seals
– you reach more places with a speedboat = higher chance
– free voucher if no whales or dolphins were seen
– 2.5 hours, 170$ adult, 113$ 7-12years old, min 7y.o.
– cancel for free up to 24 hours before the trip

Option 2:  wooden boat; slower, cheaper, traditional, but good 
– free voucher if no whales or dolphins were seen
– 3 hours, 94$ adult, 32$ 7-15years old, FREE under 7y.o.
– cancel for free up to 24 hours before the trip

TIP: There are other whale watching tours at different places. The best chances for whales are in Husavik area, though.

2. Icelandic horse riding

The Icelandic horse is one of it’s kind. It is a unique breed of horse, exclusive solely to Iceland. Icelandic horses are smaller compared to “regular horses”, so it’s a bit easier to ride them. There’s even a law that states that it’s not allowed to breed any other type of horses in here. And once the Icelandic horse leaves the island, he’s even not allowed to come back. So – it’s some kind of a secluded, exclusive VIP horse club, here in Iceland.

Even though we are not much into organized tours, we took a horse riding tour. And we don’t regret it. Again, there are tens, if not hundreds, of different horse riding tours in Iceland. We reviewed most of them and picked the best ones for you. 

Horse riding in Reykjavik:

Option 1:  Hafnarfjordur, 2 hours; 79/105USD, near Reykjavik

Option 2:  red lava tour, 2 hours; 108USD, pickup from Reykjavik

Horse riding around Iceland:

Option 3:  Snaefellsnes, beach, 1 hour; 65USD, various options / lengths

Option 4:  Vik, beautiful black sand beach, 1 hour; 109USD

Option 5:  Akureyri, countryside, 2 hours; 124USD, hotel pickup

Option 6:  Varmahlid, countryside, 1 hour; 73USD

Option 7:  Isafjordur, fjord valley, 2.5 hours; 150USD, hotel pickup

TIP: All options have a minimum recommended age ranging from 6 to 13 years old. Please check this individually.

3. Snowmobile ride

Wanna take a ride? I meant, a snowmobile ride? Well, Iceland is not that bad for that 🙂 Thanks to its outstanding glaciers, you can do it all-year-round! We sifted through most of the snowmobile tours and picked the best ones for you:

Option 1:  snowmobile only; probably the best tour; great reviews; 
– single or shared ride on a snowmobile – your choice 
– from Vik, hotel pickup possible from elsewhere
– 1-hour superjeep ride + 1-hour snowmobile ride, 298$
– cancel for free up to 24 hours before the trip
– driving license needed to drive + min. 6 years old as a passenger

Option 2:  Golden circle + snowmobile; the cheapest option
– Thingvellir, Geysir, Gullfoss, Langjokull snowmobile
– shared ride on a snowmobile
– Reykjavik pickup
– 9:00-19:00, 236$ adult,  114$ 13-15years old, FREE under 13y.o.
– cancel for free up to 24 hours before the trip
– driving license needed to drive

Option 3: South coast + snowmobile; reasonable mid-option
– Seljalandsfoss, Skogafoss, Myrdalsjokull snowmobile
– shared ride on a snowmobile
– Reykjavik pickup possible
– 9:00-20:00, 322$ adult, 227$ 8-11years old, min. 8y.o.
– cancel for free up to 24 hours before the trip
– driving license needed to drive

TIP: There are many other snowmobile tours at different places. We aimed for picking two best ones.

4. Ice cave visit

What’s more Ice-landic than an ice cave? It’s usually not so easy to get into one and in most of the cases, it’s best to rely on an experienced guide to get you there. However, once you get into an ice cave, you will be rewarded with out-of-this-world gigantic ice formations. Once in a lifetime experience? Definitely.

We went through countless different ice cave tours and picked for you the best ice cave tours in terms of reviews, price and contents. Order is from the easiest alternative to the slightly more exhaustive ones:

Option 1:  superjeep ride + blue ice cave + GoT locations
– from Jökulsárlón (contact Troll.is if you need a pickup)
– October to March, max 12 travellers, equipment included
– 3 hours, 145$ adult, 108$ 6-11years old, min 6y.o.
– cancel for free up to 24 hours before the trip
– 10% discount code: here

Option 2:  superjeep ride + GoT dragon ice cave
– from Vik (contact Troll.is if you need a pickup)
– All year round!  max 12 travellers, equipment included
– 3 hours, 132$ adult, 100$ 8-11years old, min 8y.o.
– cancel for free up to 24 hours before the trip
– 10% discount code: here

Option 3:  glacier hike + ice cave
– from Skaftafell (contact Troll.is if you need a pickup)
– October to March, max 12 travellers, equipment included
– 4 hours, 117$, min 8 years old
– cancel for free up to 24 hours before the trip
– 10% discount code: here

Option 4:  superjeep ride + glacier hike + blue ice cave + beach
– from Jökulsárlón (contact Troll.is if you need a pickup)
– November to March, max 10 travellers, equipment included
– 5 hours, 234$, min 12 years old
– cancel for free up to 24 hours before the trip
– 10% discount code: here

TIP: There are other ice cave tours at different places. Check them out, if you wish :).

5. Kayaking in Fjords or by Glacier

Sailing right next to Mt. Kirkjufell under the midnight Sun? Kayaking in the glacier lagoon full of icebergs by the magnificent glacier? Perfectly possible!

One of the best ways to escape the crowds and enjoy the peaceful beauty of Icelandic nature is to get on the water. How? Well, one of the most eco-friendly options is kayaking 🙂 And not just ordinary kayaking! You can kayak right next to legendary Kirkjufell mountain. And even by the midnight Sun. 

Alternatively, to stick to the word “Ice-land” you may even kayak in the glacier lagoon full of icebergs! We tried our best to pick for you the best kayaking experiences in Iceland:

Kayak during the day by magnificent Kirkjufell in our Option 1. Prefer midnight sun? Take a look at our midnight sun Option 2:

Kayaking in the beautiful glacier lagoon? That’s our Option 3, now with a 5% discount for you. Want to combine kayaking in the glacier lagoon with hiking the majestic glacier itself? That’s our Option 4, with a 5% discount for you.

Do you want to take an affordable south coast tour – see Seljalandsfoss, Skógafoss, Plane wreck + kayak in the glacier lagoon in 1 day? That’s our Option 5, with a 5% discount for you:

TIP: There are several different kayaking tours in Iceland at different places. We aimed for picking the best ones.

Note: all prices and information were valid as of the time of writing this article, please always check if anything hasn’t changed after clicking on the links.