Inside the Blue Lagoon
The first time I went to Iceland, 10 years ago now, I remember visiting the Blue Lagoon on the way back to the airport and falling in love with the place. Blue skies matched the minerally milky-blue spa water, clouds of steam from the adjoining geothermal plant occasionally revealed the surrounding lava fields and the people daubed with blue mud gave the whole place an other-worldly feel. I’ve often cited it as one of my favourites places on earth, so was excited to return.
Otherworldly view from the car park
After a long day driving and getting rain-soaked along Iceland’s Golden Circle we kept the hire car and drove out to relax in the hot spa waters.
Since my last visit everything seems much larger and less fun. Now just getting in requires pre-booking in a specific time slot, ticket collection, briefings and endless warnings about showering before entering the pool.
Amazing milky blue water
Admittedly the locker rooms are better, and the lockers are large enough to store a good sized bag. The lockers are controlled by a wrist tag, but make sure they’ve locked properly before you leave the area – it’s not that intuitive.
Despite the warnings about the water being corrosive to gold and silver plenty of people in the water were adorned with jewellery and carrying their DSLRs.
Water enters the Blue Lagoon at a warm 38 degrees C, so you can control your water temperature by standing as near or far from the vents as your prefer. There’s also a waterfall for a free massage, or you can pay for the real thing on the wooden decking surrounding the pool.
The mineral deposits are clearly visible
On my previous visit the floor of the pool was covered in silica mud and shells, which could be used to exfoliate the skin. This seems to have been excavated so is now in buckets around the edge, but still feels great and does seem to work well.
Lake alongside the spa area
Bathers enjoying the Blue Lagoon
Blue Lagoon Tips
- Can be visited as part of the FlyBus trip back to the airport.
- Book online for the best discounts.
- Massages and Spa sessions also need booking in advance.
- There’s a small café in the complex which has some quite interesting snack boxs, but they are expensive.
- There’s also a shop selling Blue Lagoon beauty products. These are very expensive but all have free testers.
