What was the best place I swam in Iceland?

Posted on by Julie

That was the question my boss asked as I signed off the day before I headed to London. “I want you to do me a favour. Tell me where you swim and tell me which is the best pool”. I already knew that was far too big a question to be answered with a single name but when I got back, having sampled sixteen very different pools during the thirteen days and one evening I’d been away, I realised just how big it was. Big enough for an entire blog post, anyway. Because they were all so different, I’m going to do the pros & cons of each and award it the title of “best for…” rather than attempt to crown any one pool.

Kualaug

Kualaug, a natural pool in a field. A line of rocks separates the weedy bit from the clean bit and a plank serves as both changing room and steps down.

Pros: very quiet and private. Almost no one knows it exists. You feel like a local with your own secret pool away from the tourists.

Cons: silty and not overly warm.

Best for… enjoying a silent dip in absolute privacy.

Hvammsvík

Me sitting in a pool made of rocks with a ridge of green mountain behind me. The water is absolutely translucent and very slightly green.

Pros: proximity to Reykjavík, beautiful setting, variety of pools of different temperatures, free paddleboards to borrow in good weather in the summer.

Cons: expensive, has been discovered by hordes of tourists.

Best for… quiet winter mornings when no one else is there to disturb the serenity.

Canyon Baths

Two roundish pools set in the rocky, gravelly bottom of a canyon. The walls are sedimentary, made of visible layers of compressed ash and not quite as sheer as some canyons but quite steep enough to keep the direct sun off the water in the morning.

Pros: only accessible by private tour so pretty quiet. Amazing setting in a narrow canyon.

Cons: only accessible by private tour, so quite expensive and dependent on someone else’s timetable. Lots of steps down from and back up to the minibus. No plumbing, so no toilets or soap in the showers.

Best for… a quiet semi-private bath in an amazing setting

Krauma

A selfie hanging over the edge of the pool that sticks out the front of Krauma, showing the black pools and the black angular buildings housing the relax room, sauna and steam room.

Pros: not really known by tourists, variety of pools of different temperatures, view of Europe’s biggest hot spring from the front viewing pool, has a relax room with a log fire.

Cons: expensive, feels like it’s missing a space to swim in.

Best for… feeling like you’ve discovered something the other tourists haven’t spotted yet

Grettislaug

Me in Grettislaug, back to the camera looking at the mountains. It's quite a big pool, ringed by rocks and with a set of pool steps going down into it although everything else has come directly from the shoreline.

Pros: bathing in a bit of history (it appears in 13th century Saga of Grettir the Strong), mountain views, authentic natural hot pool.

Cons: it’s a long way off the main road and only accessible in summer

Best for… feeling like a saga hero

Hauganes hot tubs

A row of hot tubs in wooden surrounds, right on the seashore. A few sheds function as showers and changing rooms.

Pros: too small for big tour groups, pretty cheap, great fjord views

Cons: too many children climbing over you, very shallow

Best for… sharing sea views with the locals

Akureyri pool

Pros: cheap, lots of swimming pools, hot pots and slides

Cons: very busy. Not allowed to take photos.

Best for… family fun with every kind of pool you could possibly want

Forest Lagoon

A pool surrounded by birch and pine trees. The water is translucent, as usual, but it's a darker green than usual and has a haze floating just above it.

Pros: Set among the trees, conveniently located for Akureyri, free shuttle bus during the day

Cons: had to take out a lot of those trees to get the pool in, very busy, mostly used by people who want to sit along the edges drinking, shuttle bus finishes at 5pm

Best for… drinking in hot water while feeling like you’re forest bathing

Myvatn Nature Baths

A lagoon filled with milky blue-white opaque water. On one side, the view drops away to the lake just out of frame; on the other, the slope of a mountain is cut off by the low service building. It's probably 10pm by now and then sun is setting, so everything's a bit darker and more silhouetted than would be ideal.

Pros: everything you like about the Blue Lagoon but better – cheaper, quieter, wilder, better views

Cons: no electronic wristbands, changing rooms are a bit rustic, a little bit small

Best for… enjoying everything you like about the Blue Lagoon at the other end of the country

Höfn pool

Pros: lively local swimming pool with slides and hot tubs.

Cons: a long way from anywhere else. As with every normal pool, no photos.

Best for… unwinding after a long driving day

Hoffell hot tubs

Water in a grey plastic hot tub shimmering under the sun. Beyond it is a second hot tub and behind that, a glacial tongue snakes its way down the mountain, with a glimpse of the ice cap behind that.

Pros: amazing glacier views, very quiet because hardly anyone knows about it

Cons: shallow, hot tubs are a bit too hot, dependent on the opening hours of the attached hotel

Best for… soaking in hot water while enjoying the view of the glacier

Kirkjubæjarklaustur pool

Pros: the only pool within at least an hour in each direction, waterfall views, children’s pool is deeper than average with a bit of roof to protect you if you’re there in the pouring rain

Cons: not very exciting. No photos.

Best for… enjoying a very quiet, peaceful authentic pool experience

Vík pool

Pros: hot hot tub, set almost on the beach at Vik

Cons: pools are all a bit small, no photos.

Best for… mingling with the locals in the hot tub

Seljavallalaug

A slightly murky dark green pool with a shabby off-white building at the end. From this angle, the lush green mountains rise directly out of the pool.

Pros: authentic and characterful, amazing setting among the mountains

Cons: the changing rooms need to be razed to the ground, no toilets or showers, bit hard to find, water not as warm as it could be and a bit grubby because the mountain forms one wall of the pool

Best for… Instagram pictures and experiencing genuine authentic olde-stylee Icelandic pool culture

Hveragerði pool

A long blue swimming pool set in something that looks like lawn. At the far end, a two-storey curved building hugs the small pool and hot tub, neither of which you can see from this angle.

Pros: large 50m heated outdoor pool, meeting locals in the children’s bathing pool, pretty quiet

Cons: 50m can feel a long way to swim after a busy day

Best for… swimming proper lengths

Laugarvatn Fontana

Laugarvatn Fontana, a pool complex on the side of the lake. The photo is taken from the raised hot tub, showing the long shallow pool, the natural pool semi-camouflaged in rock, a hint of the small swimming pool and a good view of the lake and the mountains that surround it.

Pros: likely to be reasonably quiet, direct access to the lake, pools of varying temperature, steam room fed by vent in the earth directly underneath

Cons: steam room smells appalling, everything we know about it is about to be destroyed and rebuilt (although the new pool is probably going to be even better)

Best for… experiencing hot springs up close

Having said that they were all so different, I do have some favourites. In no particular order, I especially like Hvammsvik (in winter only; it’s too busy in summer), the Canyon Baths, Myvatn Nature Baths, Seljavallalaug, Hveragerði pool and Laugarvatn Fontana – and ones that I didn’t go to this summer: Laugardalslaug and Sundhollin in Reykjavik, Viti at Askja (when pH, temperature and tectonic activity allow) and the pools at Eskifjörður and Egilsstaðir.

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