What to do in Snaefellsnes peninsula with a toddler

If you’re planning a family trip to Iceland with a toddler or a baby, look beyond Reykjavik: the Snaefellsnes peninsula is a great area to spend a day or two.

Thanks to the great scenery, short distances and easy roads, it’s the perfect place to feel what Icelandic nature is really about. There are waterfalls, volcanoes, lava fields, farms, cliffs overlooking the seas… basically all of it!

Keep reading to find out how to visit Snaefellsnes peninsula with a toddler, where to stay and where to eat, and lots of tips so that all of you can enjoy it without drama or tantrums 🙂

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Tips and tricks for travelling to Iceland with a toddler

First of all, let me reassure you that when we went to Iceland for a week, our son Alexander had just turned 2. We planned well, but we still made some mistakes, so here I am helping you avoid them. Looking back, I think most of these tips would apply also to a younger child or a baby.

• Is Iceland a good destination with a toddler? Yes, we think so. It’s very easy to explore by car; drivers are polite and careful, in the city and also in the countryside; the landscape is gorgeous and nature is safe; you could say that Iceland itself is a playground, where everything can be climbed and explored and inspected. Except for the moss! Don’t touch the precious moss that takes years and years to grow on the rocks.
• Is Iceland a safe destination with a toddler? Yes, as long as you are as careful as you are at home: hold them away from cliffs and roadsides, make sure there aren’t any bones in the fish they are eating, and keep them nice and warm in the cold weather.
• Is Iceland an expensive destination with a toddler? Well, that depends on you. Yes, in general Iceland is an expensive destination. But you can still save some money by staying at apartments, cooking instead of eating out (make sure you stop at the large “Bonus” supermarkets and similar), bringing diapers from your own country, and drinking the tasty, safe and FREE tap water everywhere. Also, using the Multi-Currency Wise Card helps save on exchange fees and bank transactions – we use it on every trip and every purchase in a different currency! Get yours now or read more of our experiences.
• Apartments or hotels with a toddler in Iceland? We stayed in 3 apartments and at one hotel, and we enjoyed both accommodation styles. On average, apartments were cheaper than hotels, BUT the breakfast we had at the Reykjavik hotel was amazing. We did not cook any meals at home (we never know what Alex wants anyway, and we want to treat ourselves to the local food when we travel), but we enjoyed having a slow breakfast with coffee, cookies and “skyr” yogurt. The one BIG difference I noticed was that after helping Alex fall asleep, in an apartment we had a living room to hang out, while in the hotel room we didn’t have anywhere else to go: dark room, no tv, hushed voices and early night in. So, just for this reason, I think apartments are the better choice for travelling to Iceland with a toddler.
• Self-drive or guided tours? Without a doubt, renting a car was the best option for us. With Alex napping 1,5 hours after lunch, we knew we wanted to be free to drive wherever we wanted, whenever we wanted. We found our driving routine very quickly and loved our road trip in Iceland.

I hope I answered some of your doubts! More questions? Here’s what we did with our energetic toddler – and hopefully it can help you out:

• Routines: we tried to respect our daily routine from home: wake up at 7ish, breakfast, busy morning, lunch at 12ish, nap (usually in the car), some more activities, dinner at 7ish, sleep at 9ish latest. Even though in May it was (almost) dark just from 11 pm to 4-5ish am, following our routine helped us give structure to the days and avoided tiredness tantrums.
• Food: we gave food to him whenever he wanted it. We brought his favourite cookies from home, we kept crackers, a banana and an apple in his backpack in the car, we bought milk and chocolate milk for the evenings. When eating out, fish and chips were almost always accepted, and for breakfast the local yogurt “skyr” was a massive success.
• Driving: from our experience with 9-hour drives to go visit my parents, we knew we had to stop every 2 hours maximum. We found that even shorter periods are better: it’s great to stretch our own legs, let him run around a bit, and have a snack. Inside the car, he couldn’t really see outside and count the houses or the horses or the sheep: a tablet with his favourite cartoons already downloaded was THE BEST choice we ever made.
• Moving around: stroller, of course! We were NOT going to carry his lovely 14 kg of cuteness on our backs. We packed our GB Pockit+ All-City (it was loaded in the hold on the way there, allowed as hand luggage on the way back) and used it often.
• Planning: we knew our child: activities were supposed to last approximately 1 hour and require limited walking, because he gets bored/tired/hungry after that, and guess whose mood is affected too? Ours. So, no point in planning horse-riding or volcano-climbing or concert-going or 8-hour-driving, if we were all going to suffer.
• Packing: after a couple of attempts, we managed to pack just 2 hand-luggage-sized backpacks: mine with my clothes and most of Alex’s stuff, and Darek’s with his clothes, a couple more things for Alex, and his nappies!

Snaefellsnes peninsula: basic information

Here are a few useful things to know.

• Snaefellsnes peninsula is located 130 km north of Reykjavik, the capital, in the middle of the Western coast of Iceland.
• Snaefellsnes peninsula is known for its dramatic natural landscapes and small villages.
• The most famous sights are the Snæfellsjökull volcano, topped by a glacier, in Snæfellsjökull National Park; the cliffs at Arnarstapi; the Kirkjufell mountain; the Djúpalónssandur black beach. There are also plenty of lava fields and a few beautiful waterfalls.
• The towns we visited are Arnarstapi on the southern side and Grundarfjördur on the northern side. There you can find restaurants and supermarkets (check the opening hours in advance). Of course there are plenty of smaller villages, but they were too remote for our trip, so I didn’t even do any research on them.
• However, if you choose to spend a night in Snaefellsnes peninsula, it might be more memorable to sleep in a cabin in the middle of nowhere and experience nature. The towns are nothing special, there isn’t a nice main street for a walk after dinner, you don’t really gain anything from a settlement. Choose instead a lovely landscape, a farm with animals, or an outdoor hot tub 🙂

How to visit Snaefellsnes peninsula with a toddler

While there are many cool places to visit in Snaefellsnes peninsula as independent adults, as a family with a toddler we had one main objective: that we would all have a good time seeing the amazing Icelandic landscapes.

This forced a few choices:

• Because we would depart from Reykjavik and it takes at least 2 hours by car, this meant we had approximately one hour to spend at a destination in the morning
• Then, we would need to have lunch
• Then, Alex would need to nap in the car, which meant driving for at least 45-60 minutes just to make sure he would fall asleep
• Then, we would have a couple of hours to spend at a destination in the afternoon
• Because we were headed to Husavik the following day, a 6-hours drive away, we had to choose a strategic place to spend the night.

These are the reasons why we chose to visit Arnarstapi in the morning (2,5 hours from Reyjkavik), and then Kirkjufell Mountain in the afternoon (45 minutes from Arnarstapi), and to spend the night at Grundarfjordur (next to Kirkjufell Mountain). We added last-minute the Bjarnarfoss waterfall on the way to Kirkjufell Mountain, a great stop. All these places had attractions really close to the parking lot, and the visiting time seemed less than 1 hour from my research online. I did my research quite well, and we had a great day!

However, I think that it would also be possible to visit Snaefellsnes peninsula as a day trip from Reykjavik: you could finish at Kirkjufell Mountain at 5 p.m. or even earlier, and be back in Reykjavik by 7 or 8 p.m.

Detailed itinerary of Snaefellsnes peninsula with a toddler

So, here we are on day 2 of our week in Iceland: after spending a great day in Reykjavik, we headed to Snaefellsnes peninsula, to see the cliffs of Arnarstapi and the Kirkjufell mountain.

In short, in 1 day in Snaefellsnes peninsula we visited:

• Arnarstapi: the Bardur Troll Statue, the Cliff Viewpoint, the Gatklettur stone arch
• Bjarnarfoss waterfall
• Kirkjufellfoss waterfall by the Kirkjufell mountain
• The town of Grundarfjordur

Darek bought local sweet bread for breakfast; after coffee and yogurt, we checked out from our apartment and left Reykjavik by car at approximately 9 am.

The scenery was captivating from the start. Black mountains of volcanic rocks, streams of water flowing down, sheep and horses, the sea on the other side… in mid-May, we were almost alone on the road!

We kept our 2-year-old son entertained with his toy cars, some biscuits and fruit, and cartoons on an old phone. Unfortunately he was sitting too low to see the horses and swans that we were so excited about 🙁

The cliffs at Arnarstapi

We reached Arnarstapi after 2,5 hours (200 km), just as Alex was starting to freak out. It’s a tiny tiny town with a few streets and houses, a few picturesque cabins, and a large parking lot from where you can go see the views. Park there and set out to explore (with your stroller).

We spent approx. 40 minutes seeing the closest sights: the Bardur Saga Snæfellsas Troll Statue, the viewing platform and the Gatklettur stone arch. It was absolutely breathtaking!

Without a doubt, the good weather helped, but still: there is a special charm about Arnarstapi.

From the parking lot, you will see the large statue of the Troll. The path continues behind it towards the cliffs and the sea. It is wide, clean and easy to walk on with the stroller.

The Bardur Troll Statue is a large and sturdy construction of rock slabs, like you would expect a good troll to be. And yet, Alex walked straight through the opening in the center, which made it immediately funny 🙂

We continued straight ahead along the path, until the viewing platform overlooking the cliffs and the sea. It’s just magical to admire the masterpieces that Mother Nature made with the waves and the lava rock solidified into shiny, geometrical pillars. We were all transfixed, staring down on both sides, at the caves opening next to the platform. We held Alex by hand, but the railings were high and safe anyway.

Instead of going straight back to the parking lot, if you walk to the right, you will reach quickly the famous stone arch Gatklettur. Pictures don’t make justice to the incredible rock formations surrounded by crashing waves.

I think there is a stone bridge further along the path, that you can walk on top of or climb on, but we decided to skip it – this was enough for us and Alex. We were hungry!

We strongly recommend the restaurant Samkomuhusid Arnarstapa: delicious lamb soup, excellent mashed fish, a very kind and knowledgeable lady as manager, and a charming interior. It’s right opposite the parking lot. That day it was actually sunny and warm enough to eat outside!

Is Arnarstapi toddler-friendly? Yes: the pathwalks between the parking lot and the viewpoints on the coast are wide, well-kept, and made of small gravel suitable for strollers. There are ropes to prevent little ones (and big ones) from stepping onto the delicate Icelandic grass. At the viewpoints there are railings to protect from falling, but it is still advisable to hold children by the hand. We spent just 45 minutes with our 2-year-old, walking between the parking lot, the Troll Statue, the Cliff viewpoint platform and the stone arch.

Bjarnarfoss waterfall

After lunch, we knew it was time for Alex to nap, so we got in the car and made our way to Kirkjufell mountain, on the northern side of the peninsula. However… I spotted a waterfall in the morning, and decided to stop there quickly, very very quickly, because it looked beautiful but I was scared of making Alex overtired and cranky.

So, we stopped at Bjarnarfoss waterfall. From the parking lot, it’s a short and easy walk to the stream and the towering waterfall. Alex was able to walk up the slight incline and we were all fascinated with the waterfall (it would have been possible also with the stroller). We spent 40 minutes there.

A little bit up the path there is a wooden table that would make for a great spot for a snack.

More adventurous people could climb up the rocks towards the waterfall.

This was our first waterfall in Iceland, we were thrilled and looking forward to more!

Kirkjufell Mountain

On the way to Kirkjufell mountain, Alex fell asleep in the car (after putting up a fight: the waterfall delayed his usual nap time by too much, so he was overtired). Consequently, by the time he arrived at Kirkjufell 30 minutes later, he was still fast asleep and we had to take turns walking to Kirkjufell waterfall.

The view of Kirkjufellsfoss waterfall and Kirkjufell Mountain was gorgeous – and it’s so easy to reach! (map here)

From the parking lot (which you can pay on the local website or with the EasyPark App, it costs 700 ISK as of May 2022), keep the mountain behind you and walk straight along the path. You’ll cross a small bridge over a stream coming from the right side, with the waterfall going down on your left.

The path goes down towards the left, after the bridge. Walk down the path, and on your left, you’ll find the waterfalls in front of you, and the mountain in the background. Just gorgeous!

We spent 45 minutes at Kirkjufellfoss Waterfalls, admiring the Kirkjufell mountain, the other peaks around us, and the bay of Grundarfjordur. It was a really magical place. Besides simply admiring the landscape around us, we also copied the professional photographers and got some nice shots with our simple phones 🙂

Is Kirkjufellfoss waterfall suitable for a toddler? Yes, more or less. The path is short, wide, delimited with ropes on the sides, it’s not very steep but there are a few steps made of wood. If you can, leave the stroller in the car, or just after crossing the bridge, and walk down the path with your toddler in your arms or holding their hand.

The town of Grundarfjordur

Finally, it was time to get to Grundarfjordur and to our accommodation. It’s a very small town with not much to do except admire the landscape and Kirkjufell, at least in May!

We bought some groceries at the Samkaup supermarket (which unexpectedly closed at 6pm), walked to 59 bistro for dinner (nice play area for kids, good fish, not very tasty lamb), and finished our evening with a stroll to the local church. The locals gathering outside invited us in, and we listened to their choir performance: it was great! It was fascinating to listen to popular tunes with unexpected Icelandic lyrics, including Italian opera! What a surprise – one that we all enjoyed, including our 2-year-old.

We stayed at Grundarfjordur Bed and Breakfast, which was fine for one night: very simple but with a full kitchen, clean, and they provided a travel baby cot for Alex. The view of Kirkjufell from the bedroom didn’t hurt 🙂

If you don’t want to spend the night in Grundarfjordur, before you go on, pass by the harbour viewpoint and snap a picture with Kirkjufell Mountain 🙂

Where to stay in Snaefellsnes peninsula with a toddler

Looking back, there was no good reason to stay in the center of Grundarfjordur: a cabin surrounded by the stunning landscape and a cheap home-cooked dinner would have been a better choice. Or, alternatively, drive back to Reykjavik or continue on to another destination.

Where we stayed: Grundarfjordur Bed and Breakfast, great location near the supermarket and the harbour with the viewpoint (map here), clean, simple, full kitchen.

Possibly better: the guesthouses Grund í Grundarfirdi and Kirkjufell Guesthouse and Apartments are just a little outside of the town, so you’d have the comforts of civilization, but the peace of nature.

Like farm animals? Check out this place, Skjólsteinar!

Looking for a special view? The Dis Cottages look amazing! Modern and sleek, away from people, deep in the nature

Spend the night elsewhere: find here family hotels in Arnarstapi or in Borgarnes, a town halfway to Reykjavik that could be a good base to head to the Golden Circle the day after.

More useful things

We rented our car from Iceland Car Rental at Reykjavik airport. We had a great experience: easy booking, good customer service, nice car. We also rented out a pocket Wifi that worked perfectly and we could keep in our pocket when out and about.

We used our Wise Multicurrency card to save money on bank commissions and currency exchange! Even though they don’t hold the Icelandic currency ISK (as of May 2022), paying with the Wise card was still cheaper than with any other debit or credit card we own. Get your Wise card here now or read more in my post.

We used Google Maps all the time. Download the app, save all the places you want to visit, and plan the itinerary between them! Super easy and convenient.

The website Vedur seems to be reliable for the weather forecast.

More places to visit in Snaefellsnes peninsula

This day was great for our standards: quite full of beautiful places and not too tiring.

However, if you have more energy than us, or a toddler that is wide awake at 6 am, there are more cool places to visit:

• A small wooden black church called Búðakirkja (Budakirkja, map here)
• The Hellnar View Point near Arnarstapi (map here)
• Djúpalónssandur, the black sand beach near Arnarstapi where I think you can see the puffin birds too (map here)
• The Grundarfoss waterfall after Grundarfjordur (map here)
• The Settlement Center in Borgarnes, an exhibition about Icelandic history and legends, and restaurant

Final thoughts on travelling to Snaefellsnes peninsula with a toddler

I hope you will include Snaeffellsnes peninsula in your Iceland itinerary as a family. Now you know about a few beautiful places to experience the incredible Icelandic nature, that both you and your toddler will enjoy. It’s a great area to spend a couple of days, but it can also be a day trip from Reykjavik.

Feel free to leave your stories or questions in the comments! Cheers!