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Iceland Family Vacation Ideas for a Long Layover near KEF

Maria DiCicco
Sep 21, 2024
6 min read

Updated: 6 days ago

Ideally an Iceland Family Vacation should be at least a week long, but fortunately, the areas near Keflavik airport and Rekjavik offer some great options for tourists just passing through.

If you and your family have at least 24 hours in Iceland, I've rounded up some enjoyable things to do with kids that take little time and effort.

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Top Tips for Visiting Iceland with Kids

1) For starters, I highly suggest renting a car.

It's the best way to see Iceland, especially if you are short on time.

Browse Iceland Rental Cars Here

For an example driving itinerary near KEF airport including stop times, distances, and details, visit my separate post here.

2) Book a Hotel Near KEF Airport

Don't spend your first few hours in Iceland on a bus. Instead, take a taxi (or your rental car) just two miles to your humble and lovely overnight stay in Keflavik. I highly recommend where we stayed at Ray of Sunshine Hafnargata.

3) Bring layers for the unpredictable weather.

Expect wind, perhaps rain, and a chill in the air no matter what time of year. Even if you are coming from a Mediterranean vacation, you'll need that cool weather gear to be comfortable.

Being a layover, you'll need to consider outerwear for the weather that may be quite different from outerwear in your other destination. (You don't want the kids complaining they are cold!)

I was traveling from Madrid and cleverly remembered all of our winter coats, but completely neglected to pack myself some pants. Seriously, I had a spaghetti strap slip dress and a one piece jumper with two tank tops to come home. What was I thinking!?

woman showing legs with tights under a dress

In a panic, I bought some unisize thermal tights in a Chueca neighborhood Chinese shop moments before we went for our flight. That helped tremendously but I was not the most stylish person in Iceland.

4) Consider Expenses

Everything is expensive. Seek out discount grocery stores like "Bonus" grocery store to stock up on any needed supplies while you are there.

You can find a large Bonus and Kronan supermarket near the airport in Keflavik.

Note: you may think food in Iceland will be weird, but it is totally approachable and there are plenty of options for children. Kid's menus feature fish and chips, pizza, even chicken nuggets and burgers. Don't stress about this too much!

5) Don't Plan Too Much.

You don't have a lot of time. Consider sticking to 1-2 activities max, and cut out time spent in transportation as much as possible.

With limited time, it's important to prioritize what is best for your family. For mine, we prefer to take it slow and easy versus trying to cram in all the top sights in a span of 24 hours or less. You'll find that traveling to Rekjyavik and back to the airport can easily eat into your adventure time (the trip is about an hour by car, a little more by bus) so plan accordingly.

The good part of this, is my driving itinerary (shared separately here) only took us three hours, and we saw so much!

To maximize fun time, we loved staying near the airport area at Keflavik, so I'll share an ideal day in Iceland's Keflavik area below:

Keflavík is a good choice if you want to maximize time 'doing' instead of time 'traveling'.

I've rounded up a lot of the same information from above in a separate guide, which I recommend opening up in a new tab to consult for later. My layover guide for one night in Iceland helps to fill the gaps on car rentals, where to stay near the Iceland airport, and more helpful cues from first hand experiences.

Keflavik Things to Do with Kids

To get there: take bus line 55, a taxi, or rent a car. It is less than 2 miles from the airport.

Keflavík is somewhat walkable, but with kids walking can always be a toss up, especially depending on the weather. There is a good bus system there that can take you to the local museums like Viking World Museum, but if you want to keep things simple, I recommend having a leisurely breakfast at Kökulist bakery or Sigurjónsbakarí, followed by a stroll by the waterfront.

Along the waterfront you will find the "Giantess Cave", an adorable display of a giant's home, perfect for photo ops and a bit of cuteness.

It's free and it's open from 10am-5pm to go inside. Google Maps may take you up and over the top of a hill, which isn't the best way to access it, so just follow the waterfront to get there.

If lunchtime is coming close, consider Kaffi Duus, a hotel restaurant also situated along the Keflavik waterfront. It is self-service with a relaxing dining room and free soup of the day included (which on our day was a delicious lamb goulash). Try the fish and chips while you are at it!

After your stroll, pop into the Bonus grocery store to see what kind of goods are on offer. It's always interesting to see the groceries in another country. At least it is to me! It's a great place to pick up snacks or food souvenirs like lava salt, which is local salt and activated charcoal making it black.

Then, consider visiting the Stekkjarkot turf houses by bus or taxi, or head out to the peninsula's point where the Röstin Restaurant (or old lighthouse cafe) awaits. Whether by day or night, they offer Icelandic cuisine at reasonable prices, and lovely coastline views.

The day we went they were only offering coffee and cakes, so maybe call ahead if you are short on time and expecting a full service meals.

Certain times of year, especially if you stay at their neighboring hotel (The Lighthouse Inn), you'll have perfect conditions for witnessing the Northern Lights.

If sit down dining is not on the menu for you and your family, Keflavik has their very own famous Icelandic hot dog stand at Pulsuvagninn.

If you don't make it for hot dogs there, you can also have a last minute hot dog at the airport.

We enjoyed our evening meal at Antons Mamma Mia Restaurant, which was just downstairs from our rental for the night. You can't beat the price of the apartment where we stayed at Ray of Sunshine Hafnargata, which includes parking if we had rented a car. Centrally located to the main drag in Keflavik, it was cozy and welcoming and overall quite perfect for an overnight stay.

If you have a car, be sure to pair all of the above with stops on this driving itinerary of the peninsula around Keflavik.

Reykjavik Things to Do with Kids

Reykjavik, on the other hand, has more going on and may be worth the extra round trip drive from the airport if you are itching to see more and do more. Just be sure to leave enough time for transport.

Because my itineraries most notably revolve around food and shopping, I studied up on the best affordable eats and such for downtown Reykjavik, which include:

Kaffivagninn, which is the oldest Iceland restaurant, up along the Northern end of the city on the water. Great for breakfast, they open at 7:30 or lunch is a good take too. They have many typical (simple) Icelandic food offerings, and the prices are very reasonable. It's an order at the bar type of place, but the views are worth it.

You may also want to consider Grandi Mathöll, which is a more trendy food hall by the harbour.

Lastly, Laugavegur Shopping Street is where the haps is happening, so start there for boutique shops and colorful street scenes.

Bonus Ideas: Geothermal Areas in Iceland Near Reykjavik Airport

Blue Lagoon

This is only a 20-25 minute drive from the airport. Swim, soak, or simply drive there and look around, having a coffee or a snack in their cafe. It could definitely be worth the stop for photos and to say you've been there.