5 reasons why Iceland is at the top of our Bucket list

Iceland is one of those countries I have been very eager to visit for the past few years, it has everything you want in a destination with dramatic landscapes, a vibrant music scene, a fascinating history, local delicacies and who can forget the Aurora borealis aka Northern Lights? 

Did. you know Iceland has been voted the safest country in the world ten times over and I have been very inspired by family travel blogger My Travel Monkey who encourages people to visit this Nordic country with kids.

My kids and I love getting outdoors and being active and Iceland captures this lifestyle to the full with pursuits such as hiking, skiing and whale watching being very popular. With so much to see and do I thought I would share my top 5 things to do in Iceland that are on my bucket list

1. The Northern Lights

Not only is this at the top of my list of things to do in Iceland but it's also has a firm place on my list of 40 things to do before I'm forty as I can only imagine how magical and breathtaking it must be to see in real life. Unfortunately when John visited he did take a tour to see the Aurora twice but due to cloud cover it just didn't happen so this natural phenomenon is something we hope to experience together and Iceland is meant to be one of the best places to view this natural light show.

2. Explore an Ice Cave

Over the past year myself and my two young boys have started to do a little bit of gentle caving, exploring Dan Y Ogof and Wookey Hole caves, both great for those who want to dip their toe into the  under world so to speak. Of course you can take it to a new level in Iceland and explore inside the largest glacier in Europe, Vatnajokull with it's stunning blue crystal colours. The ice cave is naturally made and really looks otherworldly.

3. Walk on a black sand lava beach

Yes a lava beach! The Black sand beach of Reynisfjara is somewhere that really fascinates me and is a place that is truly unique with it's famous black sand created by lava flowing into the ocean and being cooled down by the water. It's here that you can also find the huge natural pyramid like basalt columns named Gardar which rise out of the water like a giants staircase.

4. Take a Roadtrip to the Golden Circle

If you are a regular reader of my blog you will already know I love a good roadtrip and apparently Iceland is one of the best places to hit the road. You may have heard of the Golden Circle already but if not it's a popular 190 mile circular route in Southern Iceland looping from the capital Reykjavik taking in some key sights such as Gullfoss waterfall, the regularly erupting Strokkur geyser, the Kerio volcanic crater and the Skalholt cathedral to name a few. The thing is if you don't fancy hiring a car which can be expensive or you rather have a guide to show you around than the Golden Circle contains the most travel related tours (for good reasons of course) in Iceland and I have come across various Golden Circle activities and excursions on Guide to Iceland which is a fantastic resource with input from some fantastic travel bloggers

5. Take it easy at the Blue Lagoon

I know it's probably on every single list of things to do when visiting Iceland but it's there for a good reason and even though John has already had a dip in the Blue Lagoon I certainly want to have a go as well. I love the idea of being able to swim outside in the cold air but the natural hot water, it's a really unique experience that you can also share with your kids as children under 13 go free and it doesn't matter what time of the year you go at the water temperature stays 37-40°C all year round.

I know I could easily share tons more reasons on why Iceland is such a fantastic place to visit and I already have a general Itinerary planned for when we do finally get to go, hopefully next year. Also if you have visited please do comment with any tips, hints or must see spots.