London or Iceland for trip with my 13 year old son?

Have you asked your son which is more interesting to him?

Of course :) He said that either was fine. Have you been to both?

" He really wanted to do Rome as his first choice, but Ive decided against that "

And this trip is about ? Why not help him create a lasting memory to be shared with his dad/mom ?

I was in London as part of my first trip to Europe as a 16 year-old a long time ago (stayed with a host family in Essex County, to the east of London) and really enjoyed it, and will be visiting Iceland for the first time on my next trip, this coming April.

There should be no language barrier, as many (well, basically all) of the locals in each place speak English.

Does your son like history, palaces, fantastic museums, exciting big cities? London! Over a week and a half, you could also take day trips to Cambridge, Bath, Greenwich, etc.

Does he like geothermal wonders, marine wildlife, and maybe an adventure outing? From what we're learning for our Iceland trip, that would fit the bill.

Rick Steves has the best guidebook out there for London, but you'll need to rely on other resources for Iceland.

Yes, if you fly Icelandair you can include a Reykjavik stopover coming or going with no additional airfare. I don't know where you live, but they fly to London from Anchorage, Boston, Denver, Edmonton, Halifax, Minneapolis, New York, Orlando, Portland, Seattle, Toronto, Vancouver, and Washington. All with a connection in Reykjavik, which means the flights take a few hours longer than nonstops. They are narrow-body jets (otherwise as comfortable as others) and the food isn't free. But you save considerably on airfare.

Unless you are real outdoors people, I'd think ten days is too long for Iceland, but two or three days would be great. Of course London and vicinity could occupy you for much longer than ten days, but you could still get a good week there with an Iceland stopover added.

So why not do both? Your son is lucky to have this trip at a good age!

Why not 5 days London + 5 days Paris. With an open-jaw flight, and a trip on a High Speed train in between.
Make sure you have one day trip outside of London (or Paris) to visit a real castle, and even better a real walled town.

Does it have to be August? Why not a cooler month for Rome?

I'd look into the IcelandAir connection to see if you can get there and continue on to London.

Your son would probably have much more fun in London than in Iceland, there's just so much more to do. There's a military museum on the South Bank that he might like, and you should have him read a guide book to pick out the things he'd like to do. Simple things like mudlarking on the Thames might be the highlight of the trip for him. There should be a lot of comedies available on stage that he might enjoy. There are also elements of the vacation that might allow him to display his increasing maturity, for example, being in charge of travel on the Tube.

Day trips are also a great way to pack a lot of variety into the trip. Paddington Station is a good place for that and there's a darling little hotel called the Darlington Hyde Park, which is close to Paddington. The Heathrow Express also drops you off there. From Paddington you can easily go to Windsor, Bath and Oxford.

Best wishes, you're going to have a great time.

Thanks for the comments so far! He loves history, in fact it's his favorite subject in school, he also loves his IPad! Lol wanting him off of that. I would like this trip to show him another culture. August is our best time due to the fact that my daughter will be away at camp. I think lots of activity will keep us from any complaining!
What area of London would you recommend and do any of you have any other thoughts?
I personally love food, history and photography!

Certainly the lack of language barrier in London and nearby makes EVERYTHING more accessible. He may already be familiar with some of British history and literature, or will study it soon. He can interpret all the signs, brochures, maps, museum captions, menus, theater performances, graffiti, etc, for himself. Consider a summer performance at [Shakespeare's Globe](www.shakespearesglobe.com). The town of Bath is an easy side trip, 1.5 hours by direct train, with historic sites from many periods - Roman, Gothic, Georgian, etc. Rick's London book includes a chapter on travel with kids, with suggestions such as the Cutty Sark exhibit at Greenwich.

If he loves history - I think London with a side trip or two is a no brainer. I would plan on spending 2 different 1/2 days at the British Museum also. Definitely take him to a "real" castle. Warrick is good. I personally loved Dover castle it has a good dose of midevil history along with WWII history. If he wants to see Roman ruins you could do a trip to Bath or up to Hadrian's wall.

I think I'm siding with the people who suggest a 'short break' in Iceland either going or coming back and the rest of the time in London. The obvious differences between them (outdoor activities vs. big city) alone could enhance your trip and he'd get to see both of his choices and get massive bragging rights - no doubt none, or very few, of his friends will have been to Iceland.

For someone who loves history, consider the Tower of London, Hampton Court, Churchill War Rooms, and Imperial War Museum. Also a short trip to Greenwich. Lucky kid. Time enough for the iPad later in life. ;-)

Hello msheiny. You asked "What area of London ... ?" Area of London for what ? Overnight accommodation ? I liked being at a hotel in the Kensington area, or Bayswater area. A quick ride in the London Underground trains (the London "Tube") from Paddington railway station to a "Tube" station near a hotel. Read about hotels located in the Kensington area and Bayswater area, in the book "Rick Steves' London". What amount of money do you want to pay for a hotel room in London, each night ?
I recommend : be at London a minimum of five nights. Your sightseeing plan in London could be organized something like this :
First whole day : Tower of London, ride in "Tube" to St. Paul's Cathedral, walk to Museum of London, walk to church of St. Bartholomew the Great.
Second day : Westminster Abbey (church), walk by Big Ben Bell tower and British Parliament, walk along Whitehall street to the Queen's Horse Guards Parade (it starts there at 11:00 A.M. every day), walk to underground War Rooms (World War 2) and Churchill museum, walk to British National Gallery (of Art) at Trafalgar Square (I like the big oil paintings of Landscapes at England by John Constable).
Third day : Day trip to Windsor Castle (a palace of the royal family) and walk through the town Windsor and talk to people there. Trains to Windsor and Eton station from Paddington station in London.
Fourth day : British Museum.
Fifth day : day trip to York via railway trains.
Sixth day : day trip to Portsmouth old Navy Harbor, there walk into the British Navy sailing ship the Victory (it was at the naval battle of Trafalgar in the year 1805), and see the British navy sailing ship the Mary Rose (it is in a building, that ship was made in the 1500s AD.) , and walk into the big ironclad ship there (it is a floating museum of British military items).

I think there is lot more for a 13 year old to do in London. As Dick said above, you could fly Icelandair and do a stopover in Iceland.