Last summer we spent 8 days in Iceland without driving the full Ring Road and we all really loved the trip. We visited Snaefellsness, stayed central to the golden circle (which is a good entry point to the Highlands), then drove the south coast to the glacier. At this pace we had time to do a lot of cool things, like horseback riding on the beach, glacier hiking, visiting puffins, snorkeling the Silfra fissure, and also visit a different hot spring every afternoon. Spent a full day in charming Reykjavik at the end. Sometime I'd love to drive the whole island but this pace was so nice for our first visit.

I think Norway would require like a week on its own to get to the fjords.

My DS just came back from two days in Iceland and then went to Ireland and Scotland. He loved it. He’s a 21 year old college student.

OP back, and thanks pps for all these helpful comments! I honestly hadn't considered only visiting Iceland, but I admit I know very little about the country, which I guess is obvious. We have friends who've loved it and I have a kid who is desperate to see volcanoes (loved the story about pp's kid who wound up studying that after their trip). I don't know if we would want such a driving-centered vacation though, but really need to do more research.

I am curious how much you see with, say, 4-5 days in Iceland before going on to Norway or another destination. 10-12 days does not need to include travel, though from experience my kids' stamina tends to flag after about that much travel.

When you say 10-12 days total, does that include travel days? If so, I agree with doing the ring road and staying in Iceland. If you still really want a second location, you can focus on the Golden circle and South Coast in Iceland for at least 4 days, add on two days for Snæfellsnes Peninsula if you want more.

You can definitely spend the time in Iceland. We went when our kid was a sophomore in high school. When we left for the trip, they didn’t have a clear direction academically (as it typical at that point in high school). Fast forward. They will graduate from college next month. Major: geology. Senior thesis on a volcanic phenomena in Iceland. It’s that impressive.

I really liked Iceland outside of Reykjavik, and 10-12 days is great for seeing some of the beauty of the country there. Waterfalls, volcanoes, lava rock fields, black sand beaches, fjords, glaciers, gas pits (I forgot the formal name), hot springs, heated outdoor pools (even when it's cold out), whale watching, and probably a ton more that I'm forgetting. It's like a natural science bonanza with kids.

We did 9 days in Iceland and wished it was 10 to cut down on one day of long driving (we added Snaefellsnes to the Ring Road trip) . I really enjoyed everywhere BUT the Golden Circle which was the last two days (too many crowds). This was a nature vacation for sure. We used tour.is to help plan our trip if you want ideas/help.
(teens age 15 and 18 at the time.

You need 8 days minimum for the Ring Road. So I agree it’s either a stopover for the Golden Circle for a few days or stay all/most of your time in Iceland. I think Iceland is great - maybe do 8-10 days there and then a city break somewhere like Stockholm. But it depends if you want more nature or city for your trip.

I loved Ireland with kids

If you like Scandinavia, then, go to there! Choose one or two of the countries and go with a stopover in Iceland going or returning.

Anonymous wrote:You only have 10-12 days...why are you adding more countries?? There's enough to see in Iceland for all that time.

That's too long in Iceland. I spent 10 days and I would have been happier with 5-7.

Anonymous wrote:You only have 10-12 days...why are you adding more countries?? There's enough to see in Iceland for all that time.

I think for Iceland you either do a 2-3 day visit and stick fairly close to Reykjavik or you do a much longer visit and drive around the country. Sure you could spend all that time in Iceland but there’s plenty of reasons to decide to do something else.

You only have 10-12 days...why are you adding more countries?? There's enough to see in Iceland for all that time.

Edinburgh, Copenhagen, Norway

We are considering a trip in June 2025 to Europe, and thinking of starting in Iceland and then traveling elsewhere. Maybe 10-12 days total so not all that long... I would love suggestions!

Kids will be teens and we've been to parts of the UK, France, Germany and the Netherlands. Really wide open to other options, though I'm kind of intrigued by Scandinavia (in part because I don't like the heat).