Iceland?

[Bob Mehew]

You won't regret it (apart from the state of your wallet).  I would recommend Jokulsarlon as you can visit some other spectacular locations by the ring road on your way.  Though presumably you will be restricted on how far you can walk. 

Raufarholsh?llir is right by the metaled road side at lat=63.9401733 lon=-21.397015.  The sign at the entrance does say it is 'quite difficult to explore'.  As I recall you will be able to get a feel for a lava tube without going too far into it by just following the tourist path.  My photos show a blocky floor and I recall having to clamber down small drops (few feet) for the short distance I went into the tube beyond the path.  Several companies such as Extreme Iceland offer caving trips. 

The Shepton Mallet Caving Club have done a fair amount of exploration since 1970 which is written up in their Journal.  Their library also contains a lot of information. 

PM me if you want more detail. 

Bob 

 

[complex]

Although Raufarholshellir would be a good trip for younger children (close to the road, less than an hour from Reykjavik), it has recently been turned into a semi-showcave along with an admission charge - see http://www.thelavatunnel.is/

Going in April will mean that most of the roads in the interior will be closed (either officially closed or completely impassable, depending on the conditions). Getting to a number of other lava caves fairly close to roads - such as Surtshellir and Stefanshellir - will unfortunately be difficult. There are a number of fairly accessible lava caves (and another show cave) on the Snaefelsnes peninsular (although I would agree with Bob that Jokulsarlon is worth the driving effort and more 'unmissable').

The SMCC journals are a good source of information - there should be a copy in the British Caving Library, and they have exchanges with a number of caving clubs, so you should be able to find copies without travelling to Mendip (assuming that you aren't local to Mendip!)

Also happy to help out with some more information if I can.

 

[bazdog]

Thanks for the info Complex and Bob. I'll keep looking for other lava tubes if they are charging ?45 each for an hours tour, I haven't got any money left after booking a hostel and a car anyway.
might be able to visit the cave library and possibly the mendips before we go. Actually flying from Bristol but that might be leaving the planning a bit late.
Cheers

 

[Amy]

I went in April (1-10th) last year it is perfect timing, green in the southwest, snow up by Myvtan, mountain passes on the ring road were "fun" But fine the 4 wheel drive. Super recommending Icelandic 4x4. Their communication can be poor but despite that we had a pickup at the airport no problem and really nice folk and a great vehicle.

Vatnshellir was 2500 (about USD $20) a person and a very nice lava tube "show" cave. I mean, it is guided and the local lore and legend is fun and the guide knew some good bit about lava geology / flow so I was impressed. It is right off the road on Snaefellsnes. They have spiral stairs down the lava falls (about 60ft down) but otherwise...nothing. You get a helmet and light it's not a show cave by UK/US standards. If you are going to Snaefellsness, PM me if you want to know a contact who has a working sheep farm and a guest house they let folk stay in Best. Place. Ever. It's in Grundarfj?r?ur.

Songhellir is also off the road but it was still snowed in when we were there, also on Snaefellsness. It is a *tiny* cave but it has bindrunes so it's pretty cool, and as the name suggests, it does have amazing acoustics. If the road is snowed in so you have to walk to it, may be a little much for kids depending on their age and outdoorsyness. We had to park down by the main road so it was a 2-3km hike up in shin/knee deep snow.

So i would really say Snaefellsness if you choice is that or Jokulsarlon. There is a LOT more "kid friendly" options there and you can do glacier walks there as well so you can hit lava fields, lava caves, and glaciers that are all kidfriendly as well as I can tell you that awesome farm to stay at which has perfect Aurora viewing if solar weather cooperates. Oh and the glacier tours there - you don't have to hike out to them like you do on the south side by Jokulsarlon. Instead, they drive you up to them in those big snow cats, i would think kids would *love* that!

Jokulsarlon the ice beach is pretty neat, but the other stuff in that area you are hiking out to pretty majorly, as in at least 1km one-way for most stuff, if not 3-4km. Also, that side of Iceland is rather barren in comparison (no shops, towns, etc). There is basically...the hostel. And there are not many, so they are SUPER busy. I'm thinking those things make Jokulsarlon and that area less kid-friendly.  I *personally* would pick it over Snaefells if I went back and had to only pick one, but I like hiking out miles to the middle of nowhere even in shit weather (it seems weather is more often worse that side of Iceland too). I can't see younger children enjoying that.

We did the whole ring road and golden circle in the (basically) 8 days we had there, but we went-went-went. I don't think you could keep the pace with kids like how we did it, so if you are only there a week and you have kids, I would recommend doing golden circle (one day), driving around Reykjanes for a day, spend a day driving up to Snaefells you can stop off and see viking huts and do a bit of easy hiking to Glymur for the start of it, you won't get past the river but it is lovely scenic and up to the river it would be fine for kids and takes you through two "caves". Then spend 2-3 days on Snaeffels then head back.

Take buffs/face masks. There is a lot of wind wherever you go.

 

[mrodoc]

I would agree that it is a fairly long drive out to Jokulsarlon whereas the Snaefells peninsula offers a variety of sites. Apart from the locations mentioned by Amy there is a nice lava tube at Budhellir near the coast with a good walk across a lava field, and further along the coast there is another tube (cannot remember the name off hand) with some fine sea cliffs and bird watching.  There is also a curious info board celebrating Jules Verne who clearly hadn't been to Snaefells as I don't think he would have started his novel Journey to the Centre of the Earth if he had seen the glacier covering the summit! I went in summer by the way.

 

[Amy]

Facebook page for where to stay on working sheep farm. You will NOT regret it!!
https://www.facebook.com/myrar.nonsteinn/

 

[cooleycr]

Thanks to all for the info, Iceland has long been on my bucket list..
Some great photos Amy and now I can tell my wife about the wild (?) ponies, she is bound to agree to a trip 

 

[complex]

Vatnshellir has a website as well http://www.summitguides.is/vatnshellir-cave-op1r6

There are several other caves on the Snaefelsnes peninsula which havent been converted into a showcave, along with some caves at Gullborgarhraun which is on the way to Snaefelsnes which have some fantastic lava formations in them.

 

[Amy]

You can ride the ponies but not in April. Sorry. But if you do the golden circle and snaeffels you will see them they are not strictly wild but thats what farms look like

Ps sorry if i reported a post. Was accident click and i hit back so dunno if it went through

 

[mrodoc]

If anybody is interested in the riding side when visiting Iceland, my wife has done two trekking trips out there in two different areas and thoroughly enjoyed them. They both lasted about a week.

 

[bazdog]

Cheers Amy and Mrodoc, useful stuff and the pictures are great. Maybe I should have booked a longer holiday and then I could have done it all. Maybe the answer is to wet their appetite with a little lava tube and go back in the summer in a few years.

 

[Amy]

finally got around to putting together a little video from my trip. i didn't take much video, but here is a small taste. You can see why we were happy for 4x4 even on the ring road itself... https://youtu.be/37ZgAcpGRkg