Part one of a new series: I know a bit about Iceland and it’s time to turn that into something useful. I’m going to start with the Blue Lagoon, since it’s Iceland’s biggest tourist attraction.
First, whether you consider yourself a tourist, a traveller or something in between, and regardless of your feelings around “tourist attractions”, the Blue Lagoon is a must-do. After all, it grew from the Icelandic desire to bathe in any hot water they find. It’s the waste water from the geothermal power station next door. It’s perfectly clean. It’s been brought up from miles below the surface, where the pressure allowed it to remain liquid at temperature unimaginable at the surface. As it came up the borehole and the pressure dropped, it did what really hot water does and turned into steam. That steam turns the turbines to generate electricity and the steam cooled, turned back into water and was pumped outside to cool properly in pools by the side of the road.
Of course, it wasn’t long before the locals were bathing in the warm water and so they dug a big pool out of the lava and made it public. The water is rich in minerals like silica and various algaes and it began to show benefits to certain skin conditions. I’ll tell you right here and now that it has the opposite effect on hair.
So that’s the history, in a nutshell. Let’s get on to the practicalities.
The Blue Lagoon is fifteen or twenty minutes from Keflavík Airport so a lot of its visitors are on their way to or from the airport. It’s a great way to spend a day after a long early-morning flight. You can also just go from Reykjavik. Obviously you can drive yourself there if you have a car but all the big tour companies will do a transfer bus, and sometimes include entrance in one booking (Reykavik Excursions / Grayline / Guide to Iceland) . If your tour is transfer only, you’ll have to book with the Blue Lagoon directly. There’s no walk-up entrance anymore and if you turn up without a booking, you’ll be sent away.
At the moment, there are three packages available. Comfort runs to around £44 / $58 and includes entrance, a mud mask, use of towel and a drink. Premium is £60 / $80 and includes all that plus a second mask, slippers & robe, reservation at the restaurant and a glass of wine. And then there’s Retreat Spa which is £270 / $354 and if you’re prepared to spend that on a single day, you’re probably not reading my blog. That gives you private changing rooms and access to the more private bit of the lagoon. If the Blue Lagoon would like to gift me a Retreat Spa day so I can tell you exactly what it’s like, I won’t turn it down but I’m not paying for it.
The car park is a short walk along a lava-lined path to the main entrance. I haven’t been there since it went pre-booked only so I don’t know exactly how it works these days but when I was there, you’d be presented with an electronic wristband and you have the option to hire a robe and slippers for £8 / $11 each if they weren’t included in your package or even a swimsuit (£4 / $6).
I’ve already written a post about how the wristband works which you can read here. In short, it’s your key to enter the lagoon, it’s your locker key and it’s your credit card for buying drinks and masks at the various bars. When you leave, you present it at reception and pay off whatever you’ve spent on it and then only once it’s paid off can you use it as a key to exit the lagoon. Don’t lose it. They’ll charge you £27 / $36 for it.
Once you’ve got your bracelet, touch it to the pad on the turnstile to enter and follow the signs to the appropriate changing rooms. They want you to take your shoes off and there are places to leave them. If you’d rather have them locked safely in your locker, you still have to take them off and carry them there and please make sure you don’t leave any bottom-of-shoe-mess in the locker. Pick a locker, get your swimsuit and towel and put your clothes in the locker and then use your wristband to lock it. Notice I didn’t say “get changed” at this point, because this is where the Dreaded Naked Shower comes into play.
Icelandic pools don’t use chlorine. They rely on swimmers being clean when they get in and their method of achieving this is a naked shower and a good wash. The Blue Lagoon understands that a lot of their customers are not comfortable with public nudity and there are plenty of cubicles with doors. I admit they’re glass but they’re frosted and you can’t really see through them. Please shower and wash all the bits marked on the poster.
Take your towel with you. There are hooks inside where you can hang it or if the weather’s ok, you can hang it on the racks outside. Somehow, most people know which is their towel or robe, even though most of them are identical. You need to be dry before you can return to the changing area so the staff will not be amused if you drip your way back to your locker for your towel.
There are two ways of getting into the water. You can walk out through the main doors and walk the six steps to the lagoon. That’s not a joy in winter. If you look to your left, you’ll see a small dingy-looking indoor pool. That pool is connected to the outer pool by a very heavy door and it enables you to get outside while remaining in warm water all the time.
I’ll mostly leave you to discover the lagoon’s secrets for yourself. Over to your left is a kind of beach, saunas and steam rooms and a massage waterfall. Straight in front of you is the deepest water. Each of those weird wooden boxes is processing water from the power station so if you’re after some really hot water, that’s where to go.
Sometimes there might be staff wandering around wanting to have a chat and take a photo of you in the water. This is a free service (and one which, I suspect, is more for discreetly gathering your personal information for their mailing list) and one I recommend taking them up on. They’ll chat and this is your opportunity to ask a real Icelander for recommendations, and then they’ll take your photo and send it to you.
Let’s get to the bars. Scattered around are various glass boxes. Some of these serve drinks, some face masks and some both. Swim up, request whatever you want and hold out your wristband when they present the contactless payment machine. Please remember you’ll be paying this off when you leave. Last time I was there, this system only allowed two alcoholic drinks per bracelet: no one wants to be fishing out passed-out drunk swimmers. I can’t find any information about whether that’s still the case. I personally recommend a blue slushie for its blueness and because I like to be drinking crushed ice in hot water.
The other interesting thing the bars have taken to selling in recent years is waterproof phone cases. The Blue Lagoon is one of those rare places that encourages photos and as most phones aren’t waterproof in themselves yet, you can buy cases. I don’t know how much they cost. If, like me, you’d like to take a camera in, you’ll have to buy a waterproof case in advance or take a GoPro. A word of warning about waterproof cases – I find they tend to get condensation inside them so I would spend however long taking photos and then return the phone or camera to the locker, with the case open so it can dry properly. For one thing, condensation can cause water damage just as much as dropping it in the lagoon can. For another, it’ll make the case steam up and all your photos will be misty.
Inside, by the door to the lagoon, is a cafe which sells snacks and drinks – skyr, sushi, crisps, coffee etc. It has chairs and tables and an assortment of damp magazines and newspapers. Very handy if you’re there for the whole day.
When you’ve finished, you’ll need to wash and condition your hair really well. I’m dubious about the Blue Lagoon conditioner so I’ll either take my own or do it when I get home. Doing it at home maximises the time you get in the lagoon, if you’re travelling by bus. You generally have to be on a specific bus and you can’t just hop on whichever is there when you get out. I prefer to not get out early to wash my hair.
The last thing to mention is the shop. There are various Blue Lagoon mineral- and algae-based cosmetics and skincare stuff and it looks amazing but it’s really expensive. If you enjoyed your silica mud mask in the water, a 100ml tube of it costs £76 / $100 and the 30ml travel version is even worse, at £37 / $50. Alternatively, you can buy your very own Blue Lagoon towel or robe.
And I think that’s everything to know about the fabled Blue Lagoon. If you have any other questions, leave me a comment.