Definitely visit some hot springs. The classic is the Blue Lagoon, which is probably best given you have the baby as there are changing and other facilities there. It's an easy drive from Reykjavik and on the way to/from the airport. You could also drive to a glacier or do a glacier tour. Not sure how practical the latter would be with a baby though. Cool place! Bring some eye shades to sleep in July!

We went last year around this time. Didn't spend much time in the city, just one night/day. Ate at a Spanish Tapas place downtown that was really good, had whale and puffin, which isn't something you can just get anywhere. Did the Blue Lagoon, which is very touristy if that isn't your cup of tea. We drove around and stayed in small towns and mostly did hikes, saw waterfalls, etc. We were about a half a days drive from the city most of the time. Tourism is clearly a huge part of the economy. I found it somewhat crowded even in the off season, can't imagine what it would be like in July. Book early for rooms and such.

What makes me want to go back was the natural beauty, from what I saw you largely miss that if you just stay in Reykjavik. I think the bus tours will give you a taste of it but not sure how far out they range.

It has been a few years since visiting but I cannot imagine much to have changed there. Rent a car from the airport as you will need it. Reykjavik is small so do not spend much time there and do not use it as a base because there are other great places to stay. In my opinion, the city is only worth staying at for booze and food. Alcohol sells are regulated and food in Iceland is horrible. The water falls and geysers are not far from one another so consider that a day. My friend and I went North West from the city for a few days visiting all of the towns/villages along the way to Kirkjufell or so then drove back down to Reykjavik. Know that the roads are very different. They go from asphalt to dirt to gravel to asphalt so the rental companies will offer a four wheel drive car. You won’t need one, just drive carefully. Very carefully.

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DISH is how we do it.

I know nothing about Iceland. However, I do have a 7 month old right now. He just cut his first tooth and is a miserable SOB. Make sure you have something for the critter to chomp on and we found that Camilia works well for teething.

http://www.camiliateething.com/

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How does Danny Hart sit down with balls that big?

If you want some specific recommendations just pm me.

I would suggest you rent a car and not stay in any one place for more than a night - tour the golden circle and find places along the way to stop and stay.

Also, skip the Blue Lagoon and go to instead Laugarvatn and use and buy Sole body wash - it's amazing.

I lived there for a while. I'd skip blue lagoon with a kid ( my kids didn't like it at all) Instead we went to some of the local pools in Reykyavik. All are heated and many have areas specifically designed for kids. All the locals went there instead ( and much cheaper than blue lagoon ) We often went to Laugardalslaug.[/url]

My wife and kids did pretty much everything in and around Reykjavic during the week and we'd travel the island on weekends.

Can’t help with Iceland, never been, but have travelled with small kids often. Bring the car seat, bring a kid carrier (ergo, bjorn, etc), and do whatever you want to do. Especially when they are that small they travel really well and sleep a lot! Bring a bugger sucker and Tylenol in case of snotty noses and colds/fevers. And have a blast!!

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Harry: "I expected the Rocky Mountains to be a little rockier than this."
Loyd: "I was thinking the same thing. That John Denver's full of shit, man."

Yes to stay in Reykjavik. There are some very cool organised day trips you can do from there which are well worth it. Not sure how the Northern Lights work at that time of year, but if there is no cloud cover, get yourself on a trip to see them. We ended up having an excellent lightshow at the Skogafoss waterfall.

A glacier tour complete with crampons, is excellent too. If your 7m old can still fit in a backpack/carrier, then you should be fine to do that.

I didn't have the courage to go near rotten shark. Good luck if you do.

And the whole place is pretty expensive. But it is unlike any other landscape I've seen, anywhere. Some of it looks proper other wordly.

Our boss is there now, on his way to the UK. Everyone in the department is enjoying the (temporary) quiet.

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king of the road says you move too slow
KING OF THE ROAD SAYS YOU MOVE TOO SLOW

Try the hotdog near the harbour in Rejkavik...cheap, good and possibly the best hotdog I've had.


Just had some really good hot dog in Denmark recently, but that one in Rejkavik remains at #1.


http://www.bbp.is/

Took my 'just turned 2yo' to Iceland last Sept and we had one of the greatest trips ever. So much natural beauty. Stayed a day or two in Rek and then rented a car and drove around the Southern Part of the country (the town of Vik was beautiful). Re: the blue lagoon - kids under 2 are not allowed into the water. The few parents I saw there who hadn't read the rules had to have one parent sit inside with the baby while the other parent went into the hot springs and then switch. It seemed like more stress than it was worth from the parents' standpoint.

I was there in August, we stayed in an AirBnB in Reykjavik outside of the downtown area and had a small grocery store around the corner, so that helped keep the meal costs down as we'd do breakfast and dinner where we were staying and grab lunch while we were out (the hot dogs were great!). If you do go to the Blue Lagoon, try to get there early before all the tour buses roll in. We also drove out to the Golden Circle, cool seeing the geysers and Golfoss waterfall. I wanted to get down to Vik but we didn't have time. I'd definitely go back to drive the full loop the next time.

We tacked on a side trip to Stockholm for a few days (~2.5 hr flight from Reykjavik). Such an awesome city.

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"You can never win or lose if you don't run the race." - Richard Butler

this is all great stuff everyone, thanks.

we've now been living for several years in zurich, so on some level the high prices just sort of wash over us at this point. we spend a lot of time in sweden, so hopefully we're a bit prepared for the climate/language/food/etc.

rotten shark all around!

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https://lshtm.academia.edu/MikeCallaghan

http://howtobeswiss.blogspot.ch/

Good advice in general for avoiding the crowds is to go early before the Tour Buses get there from Reykjavik. Vik was a great area. It must be crazy though at peak tourist season.

Iceland is a very popular place, for good reasons. If you are going in July, get hotel reservations soon or you may be staying in your car.

Try the hotdog near the harbour in Rejkavik...cheap, good and possibly the best hotdog I've had.


Just had some really good hot dog in Denmark recently, but that one in Rejkavik remains at #1.


http://www.bbp.is/

Been there. And definitely one of the best hot dogs I've ever had. Hot dogs are practically the national dish.

And as completely disgusting as it is, I still recommend trying hakarl.