ACTIVITIES
Family
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01 Photo: Jorge Fernandez 02 Photo: Visit North Iceland 03 Photo: Daladyrd 04 Photo: Pascal Mauerhofer
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Animal adventures 04
The colder months are a wonderful time of year to meet and learn about some of Iceland’s unique wildlife. Here are our top tips for animal lovers of all ages. TEXT: Sarah Dearne
Tiny tots and younger children
Older children and teens
The gentle joy of a petting zoo will delight even the smallest travellers.
School-age kids and teenagers will enjoy more adventurous animal-centric tours, and luckily there are plenty on offer.
If you’re in or around Akureyri, make the short drive to Daladyrd (open till mid-October), where kids can cuddle up to goats, horses, dogs, cats, rabbits and chickens, and then burn off steam in the play area. In Reykjavik, you can take a quick bus ride to the Family Park and Zoo (aka Husdyragardurinn, open year-round), which has both domestic animals and Icelandic wildlife such as seals, reindeer and Arctic foxes. The park also includes an adventure playground and a few rides that operate on weekends, weather allowing. Note: Animals speak Icelandic too. To ensure communication (and your own amusement), teach kids to greet dogs with voff voff, ducks with bra bra, and cows with a hearty muuu!
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Horse-riding tours are available all around the country, and the small and sturdy Icelandic horse is perfect for young and inexperienced riders. Whale-watching tours are another safe bet, with sightings all but guaranteed. Humpbacks and whitebeaked dolphins are the most common sightings during the colder months, and large seabirds such as gannets and fulmars also make cameo appearances. Try a tour from Husavik in North Iceland, which has remarkably plentiful waters and an excellent whale museum in town. Tweens and teens with a bit more stamina will also enjoy reindeer safaris in the East, the Icelandic Seal Center combined with seal-watching tours in Hvammstangi, or if you’re here in September, Arctic fox tours in the Westfjords.
