We headed east from the Westfjords to Akureyri in the north on a mammoth 10 hour drive ending in a lovely airbnb, the only one of the trip.

Given our time again, I’d book more of these as it just gives you that little bit more space as a family.

The fjord that Akureyri sits upon is the largest in iceland and has a resident family of three humpback whales.Although expensive, you are almost guaranteed to see whales and on the flattest calmest water possible.

We headed out on the midnight boat, which is obviously daylight in mid-summer but it would have been more sensible to ask where the whales were being seen before booking.

Whether they’re moving in or out of the fjord impacts where you will meet them and how much extra time you might have to go find some other creatures.

Having enjoyed the whales we decided on a mini-road trip to the trollskagi peninsula.

And despite the mist, we had a great time pooling through tunnels and avoiding the sheep.

It was the first time during the holiday where lunch fell into place: most parts of the world have a standard lunch that people on the move will buy. In Iceland on the road, clearly that was hotdogs which are useless for vegetarians but the other option at lunch in Iceland is soup which came with a tureen on the side of the cafe/restaurant with a loaf of (good) bread to cut and come agin until you were totally full.

Our lunch in the north also came with a piece of cake and free coffee from the dispenser. Decent coffee because people in iceland don’t drink instant.