Iceland Vacation with Toddler and Travel Photography

I’m sure Iceland is every photographer’s dream. It has been on my bucket list for the longest time. But between the world shutdown, having a baby, and husband who wasn’t super enthusiastic about this kind of vacation, it took a while for the cards to play out right.

I am not gonna lie, it was quite intimidating to take a toddler across the ocean to such a northern country, when I knew for a fact he would have preferred to swim in the warm ocean. But now that we’re back,  he keeps talking about our Icelandic adventure, so I am sure we made the right call.

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I highly recommend getting an RV (Motorhome). We were able to freely travel around the island, without having to switch hotels and Airbnbs and packing/unpacking all of the stuff. Our little one keeps asking to go back to the “Car-House”, so I guess that means he liked it.

It was our first taste of “van life” and honestly it went great! We figured all the logistics (electricity, gas, water, waste) pretty quickly, and were able to travel quite comfortably. Some of the campsites we stayed at were breathtakingly beautiful. And some were in town, so we could walk around.

My other tip is to have a good plan, but be flexible. I had a long laundry list of activities I wanted to do, but I knew we’d have to modify our plans. We did end up moving way slower than I anticipated, in part because we had to adjust to Everett’s mood and schedule.

But also, Iceland is special, and you have to pay much higher regard to its weather, probably more than anywhere else in the world. We ended up missing quite a few of my “bucket list” things because of the unsafe wind conditions.

I will share our itinerary below, but you probably will do it at your own pace/order when you visit.

Swimming is probably not the first activity that comes to mind when you think about Iceland vacation. But it should be!

Do the hot springs! Like seriously, look up as many as you can along your route. Our little one absolutely loved swimming in the hot water. Its nice to warm after being in the cold, and let your muscles relax after intense hiking

Most of the sights are right off the parking lot, so bringing a stroller would suffice. Our favorite stroller fits under an airplane seat and does amazingly well on gravel. But a baby carrier will give much more freedom and open up many more beautiful hikes. We love our Ergo, and it’s small enough to just fold up and store in your suitcase.

I hope this summarized itinerary is helpful, but if you want more details and some video snippets, check out my Instagram stories Highlights

We had a wonderful vacation in Iceland. It had its challenges due to weather, traveling with a toddler, and our pace, but it didn’t take away from our joy at the slightest. The nature is truly unearthly, and my photographer’s heart was truly happy.

Have you been to Iceland? Would you like to visit?