Iceland Family Trip

Well, I can't speak for the Ring Road, as I have not driven that route along the north, but I have been to Snaefellsnes, Heimaey, Vik, the South Coast, and Jokulsarlon and that area.

If I were going to add an extra day in there, I would probably add it to your trip along the Ring Road. From everything I've read, you will need the most time there, and it would be nice not to have to rush through. I would suggest spending one night on Heimaey, as that will give you time to see a lot, especially the puffins, which should be there in July. That's when we were there, and it was wonderful.

With regards to Hofn or Jokulsarlon, you could spend a night in Hofn, and then spend the second night in Vik (making it 2 nights in Vik). We actually stayed in Vik for 2 nights and then made the drive up to Jokulsarlon in the morning. It was a bit of a drive, but the scenery is beautiful along that route, and it didn't seem long at all.

For a family of five, you could certainly use both Airbnb and Booking.com. I would probably use both just to see what's out there. With Booking.com, you might be able to find it there and then actually book direct with the owner. Sometimes you can get better deals that way.

On one of our trips there we took our 3 young adult kids. Traveling with 5 took a bit more planning, but we had so much fun.

The tweaks that I would make on this are as follows.

1--I would not stay a second night in Reykjavik. There is far too much to see and do along the ring road and that time could be better spent seeing/doing more. I would add a night to Snaefellsness as there is so much to see and do and one day is not enough unless you want to just scratch the surface.

2--I would opt for the Skagafjordur area vs Siglufjordur. That will still be a long driving day. The reason I would opt for this is that the Trollaskagi Peninsula has so much to see and that would give you the next day to devote entirely to that before arriving in Akureyri. You would still have time to see Godafoss and get to Myvatn.

3--Day 8 is fine, you don't need 2 nights there unless you want to do more activities.

4--Day 10, definitely stay overnight at Westmann. Book the ferry early. The reason I say to overnight here is that the puffins are best seen early in the morning or later at night so day trips don't work very well for that. There is a really fun safari rib boat ride you can do. We did the 2 hour one and it was a highlight!

5--See note about day 8. So if you only do one night up there and have this extra night, here are a few suggestions. Use that time for a day trip to Thorsmark if you like to hike or you could do a guided trip there on a super jeep. Or spend the day on the Reykjanes Peninsula.

As for lodging, we almost always use booking.com for Iceland and really like staying in cottages. The thing with Iceland is that the towns are very small, so when you look for lodging you need to look quite a ways outside of town as that is where most of these are located. Use booking but also Google Maps and put in a town, click on hotels and then scroll out and you can see how many more options there are that way.

Places we stayed on that trip that worked well for us were Akkeri Guesthouse in Stykkisholmur (2 rooms, a double and a triple), Vogafjoss Farm Resort in Myvatn (2 rooms again), Langhalid Cottage in Seydisfjordur (hot tub, looks right out over the fjord), Midsker Cottages, Grund Cabin, and Haholt Cozy House in the Golden Circle. I left off the places that were just so so, but I will say I will never stay at Efstidalur ever again. Worst hotel experience, even though they have a large family room. Just no, cross that off the list. Rudest owners, very poor room etc. We did not interact with the owners, it was what we witnessed several times. Anyway, so many great places so it doesn't matter.

Another option for up near Godafoss is Kidagill Guesthouse. That said, most of the rooms have shared baths, but we had a private. We did not stay there with the kids, but rather just the 2 of us. We loved the location though.

I will second mikliz97's recommendation for the Akkeri Guesthouse in Stykkishólmur (a good location to spend the night on Snaefellsnes). We stayed there in July of this year and really enjoyed our stay there. It's a real nice place in a colorful and charming building, very clean and comfy, and offers an excellent breakfast spread. It's also very near a Bonus store, which is great for getting low-cost groceries for your trip, and the guesthouse has a communal kitchen, with a small refrigerator where you can store items that you buy.

It's a quick walk to the harbor from there as well, and there's nothing like going out in the evening and watching the sunset over the water.

mardee & mikliz97-
Thank you so much for your suggestions! I will look to cancel one night in Reykjavich and add it to Snaefellnes. I will add the night to the Westman Islands. Thanks for the accomodation suggestions too! It is so overwhelming when you first start looking into these trips!