Traveling to Iceland is all the rage right now. In fact, it seems like I can’t go a day or two without hearing about someone’s recent trip to the land of the midnight sun! No matter what these travelers see and do while they’re in Iceland, however, they all share one identical stop on their itinerary: a visit to the Blue Lagoon.
Taking a dip in the Blue Lagoon has been on my bucket list since before Iceland was on anyone’s radar. (Seriously—I’m talking over ten years ago.) That’s why I was so excited to get up close and personal with this otherworldly spa in early October 2016.
Sure, I tried to prepare myself by reading blog posts and guide books, but nothing can quite prepare you for what it’s actually like. Here’s what what I learned to do—and not do—on my first visit to the Blue Lagoon.
What the @#$! is the Blue Lagoon, anyway?
For those of you who hear the words “Blue Lagoon” and immediately think of the 1980 Brooke Shields movie—and I know at least three of you—stop right now. (Still thinking about Brooke’s bushy eyebrows? Seriously. Stop. OK, moving on.)
This Blue Lagoon is a man-made geothermal spa in Iceland which is fed by the water output of a geothermal power plant called Svartsengi. The water is a toasty 99-102 degrees Fahrenheit (that’s 37-39 degrees Celsius for you smarter people who are on the metric system), and it recirculates every 40 hours. The water is also rich in minerals like silica and sulfur; more on this later.
So what do you need to know before you go?
Book your tickets in advance.
Because we were taking an overnight flight from New York City to Iceland—and our hotel didn’t allow us to check in until the afternoon—we figured that we would head straight from Keflavik airport to the Blue Lagoon. The lagoon is 20 minutes away from the airport versus 50 minutes from Reykjavik, so we’d be saving time. Tacking on a Blue Lagoon visit to or from the airport is actually a popular option for most travelers, especially because it’s possible to store your luggage at the lagoon.
Since we booked our trip to Iceland three weeks before our departure, though, the package we wanted to buy was sold out. Travel planner freak out travel planner freak out Instead, we revamped our itinerary and did a half day trip with Reykjavik Excursions. This turned out to be positive, as we had finally gotten over our jet lag and could thoroughly enjoy ourselves.
No matter what, however, make sure to buy your Blue Lagoon tickets well in advance to ensure it works with your plans—and make sure your package includes at least three hours’ worth of time at the lagoon. Trust me on this.
There are varying levels of admission packages.
There are four types of tickets for your Blue Lagoon experience. The most basic level is the Standard ticket; for 40 euro and up, you get entrance to the Blue Lagoon plus a Silica mud mask. Feeling super duper fancy and want the royal treatment? The Luxury ticket, which is 195 euro and up, comes with the works (including bathrobes, slippers, a reserved table and sparking wine at LAVA restaurant, and entrance to the Exclusive Lounge). Ooh la la!
We settled on the Comfort ticket (55 euro), which included a towel, one drink, and an algae mask on top of what the Standard ticket offered. If you’re on a budget, you can bring your own towel and opt for the Standard ticket. As a perennial overpacker, though, I couldn’t fit another item in my suitcase, so Comfort ticket it was!
Sometimes paying for the most expensive package isn’t worth it if your bathrobe gets soaked in the pouring rain!
No credit cards or purses needed in the water. Woo hoo!
One of my biggest questions about visiting the Blue Lagoon was how on Earth we were going to buy drinks at the swim up bar. #Priorities, am I right?
Of course, the clever folks at the Blue Lagoon were ahead of me on this one. Once you arrive, you’ll get a swanky little device that you wear around your wrist. All you have to do is tap this wristband on assorted machines if you want to make additional purchases while in the lagoon. You’ll also use this wristband to lock your storage locker (more on this below).
Yes, you CAN open and close your locker with your wristband.
So you’ve gotten your towel and your wristband, headed into the locker room, and taken off your shoes. You’ve started to change into your bathing suit and you’re ready to lock up your clothes and valuables in the locker. But it just. Won’t. Lock.
You may think I’m a fool, but I know I’m not alone on this one. I definitely saw four or five women struggle to lock their lockers with the wristbands, and I know of a few travel bloggers who fiddled around with the lockers to no avail. After watching me struggle for a few minutes, a chuckling Brit took pity on me and asked an attendant for help.
Turns out the secret is to slam your locker door really, really hard. Then the machine will beep ominously at you quite loudly. Don’t let that devious little machine stress you out: you’ll have a few seconds to tap your wristband to it to ensure it locks your specific locker.
Look, Ma, no credit cards! (But blurry photos due to foggy weather!)
What’s the deal with this nude showering business?
OK. One of my biggest fears (besides not being able to buy beer while in the lagoon, obvs) was having to shower naked next to other lagoon-goers. Call it American prudishness—a fellow travel writer wrote a great piece about different cultural attitudes surrounding nude bathing here—but I definitely wasn’t thrilled about the prospect of being in my birthday suit next to dozens of strangers.
Fact: you’re told that you’ve gotta shower sans clothing before entering the Blue Lagoon. But fact: there’s nobody really monitoring super closely if you can’t bring yourself to part with your bathing suit.
As far as I could tell, most women put their bathing suits over the side of their shower doors, so it appeared that everyone abided by the rules. You do get your own shower stall, and the walls are frosted glass, so you can’t really see anything that you can’t unsee. (Although if people like to stick close to the walls of the shower for whatever reason, you never know. A butt may have announced its presence during my three-minute session.)
Ladies: slather that conditioner in your hair as if your life depends on it.
Because ain’t nobody got time to look like the Bride of Frankenstein, unless that’s your Halloween costume. If you don’t want your hair to be damaged and frizzy for days after your dip in the lagoon, tie it up and use the conditioner provided in the locker room showers. There’s a reason they have so dang much of it in there.
I’m a weather wimp. Do I have to walk outside to get into the Blue Lagoon in the freezing cold?
Some people are really brave. They’ll skydive. They’ll bungee jump. And they’ll run (well, walk briskly) from the locker room to the steps of the Blue Lagoon.
But for all of the people out there who really, really hate the cold: rejoice! You can gradually ease yourself into the relaxing waters of the Blue Lagoon indoors first. This is a particularly attractive option for people like me who wrap four blankets around themselves when it’s 55 degrees Fahrenheit. It’s also a welcome refuge from the elements, like pelting hail or torrential rain. Simply enter into the lagoon indoors, and when you’re ready, open the door to the outside. Trust me, it’s relaxing to get used to the water first before reckoning with morning showers.
It’s totally OK to enter the Blue Lagoon indoors.
So you said there was a swim up bar…
Yes, yes, I did. Once you’re in the lagoon, you can make a beeline for the hut where they’re selling drinks. There’s all manner of drinks, from beer and wine to non-alcoholic options like water and juice. (Pro tip: remember to stay hydrated!) The folks at the Blue Lagoon are smart about this, though: there’s a limit of three alcoholic drinks per person due to safety reasons. While we all know it’s five o’clock somewhere, I was definitely content with only one beer at 11 AM on that chilly, gray October morning.
Beer? Wine? You can get up to three alcoholic drinks during your time at the lagoon.
Do try those mud masks.
And not just because they are included in your admission package. We kept hearing frequent shouts of “Oh my God, my skin is as smooth as a baboon’s baby’s bottom,” so we headed over to see what all the fuss was about. After ten minutes, we washed off our silica masks, and found that our skin was a bit smoother. Later on, after we had exited the lagoon, we found that this same product—which had been liberally doled out to swimming patrons—was being sold in the Blue Lagoon’s store for what seemed like exorbitant prices.
Verdict? Try the mud masks out, at least for the cringeworthy photos. Whether you want to bring some of it home and incorporate it into your beauty routine, however, is completely up to you.
Silica mud masks do a body good
Above all, have fun and relax.
It doesn’t matter how touristy this place is; the lagoon is inherently a place to just sit back and relax. Soak it all in: you’re in the freakin’ Blue Lagoon!
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Any tips you want to share about your experience in the Blue Lagoon? Sound off in the comments below!
Marissa
This guide is so helpful! I’ll be going there in December and had so many questions about how it worked. It looks like you guys had a great time!
Julianne
Thanks, Marissa! Glad you found the tips helpful. 😆 It was definitely an awesome experience – let me know how you like it!
Ashley Smith
I freaking loved the Blue Lagoon. I want to go again so bad. It’s so funny about how misconstrued all the information about this place is–just relax, people! And I love the bracelets, when can we get those in real life?? I’m one of those crazy people who walked briskly outside in the freezing temps to get into the lagoon haha. Can’t wait for next time!
Julianne
Your guide was so helpful when I was looking up resources initially! I send people over to your site for it 🙂 Good on ya for being brave — me, not so much! Haha.
Cayla
Tbh, you had me at “face mask.” Iceland is definitely somewhere I’d like to go in the near future, and this looks divine. Thanks for this helpful guide!
Julianne
Hey Cayla, glad you liked it! The flight from NYC to Iceland is only 5.5 hours, so it’s a great option for East Coasters. Let me know when you go! 🙂
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Kelly
Wow. So glad I read this. And love the Brooke Shields reference. But I love the details and now I feel like I know what to expect when I go. So helpful. Like I think the comfort ticket option is a great idea. You wanna be pampered but I don’t know if I need the luxury treatment. And I wanna go to Iceland but everyone seems to be going there. I hope it goes out of vogue soon so its not super crowded. Lol
Julianne
I know what you mean — we met more Americans while in Reykjavik than Icelanders! I definitely recommend going, though. If you rent a car and get out into the countryside, it seems less crowded. Hope you make it to Iceland! 🙂
Raymond
I’ve heard of the Blue Lagoon in Iceland but I didn’t know it was a man-made geothermal spa fed by the water output of a geothermal power plant. I thought the Blue Lagoon was a natural hot spring. I know of a place in Jersey (in the Channel Islands) that’s a tiny version of this – it’s a desalination plant that pumps out hot, salty water; the hot water runs down into rocks where it gathers in pools before it runs down into the sea. you can bathe in the hot water pools like you can in the Blue Lagoon – the only drawback is… there’s no bar!
Julianne
That’s so interesting — thanks for the info about the place in Jersey! I’ve actually only recently heard of Jersey. Is it technically part of the UK? And yes, that’s too bad that it doesn’t have a bar 🙂
Claire
Love the insider tips on what to expect! I travel from the US to the UK a lot and I really want to do a stop of in Iceland next time. This place is top of my list. ps love the standard mask shot 🙂
Julianne
Thanks, Claire! I hope you make it to Iceland, and especially the Blue Lagoon. Definitely try the masks — they are silly-looking, but really made my skin feel better!
ADAM
A few years ago I bought a Lonely Planet guide to Iceland. I was set on going. It had to happen. We had planned to go but then were let go from our jobs. Needless to say, we’ve yet to be yet but we’re going to one day. I hope to spend a month in a van driving around that beautiful country.
The Blue Lagoon is definitely the one spot that continually comes up when you hear of Iceland but for good reason – it looks and sounds incredible. I’m with you on the nude bathing thing though, but you’re definitely right about how it’s a North American attitude thing but I’m sure the whole experience is well worth seeing a butt or two haha.
Julianne
Hey Adam, I’m sorry to hear about your missed connection with Iceland! I checked out your blog, and love the concept. I think my mistake in visiting Iceland was that we did day tours to the countryside, and didn’t rent a car and drive around ourselves. Your plan to spend a month driving around the country is the best possible way to see the “real” Iceland!
It was worth going through the whole awkward shower/butt experience to get into the lagoon, haha. Even though the Blue Lagoon is touristy, there’s something just really cool about it. I’d go again despite the hordes of tourists! 🙂
Clare
I really enjoyed the blue lagoon. It is such a beautiful setting and place. I tried the face mask and also used the walk up bar. I would love to visit again 🙂
Julianne
Glad you made it to the Blue Lagoon, Clare! Hope you get to go again soon 🙂
Diana - MVMT Blog
Hey Julianne, it was great meeting you at the NYT Travel Show! I did not get a chance to go to the Blue Lagoon the last time I was there unfortunately because – rookie mistake – I didn’t book a ticket online in advance, and when I got there they were completely booked for the day. I am going back to Iceland in early March but not sure if I’ll be checking out the Blue Lagoon. It seems like kind of an ordeal and a lot of money on top of that. It kind of seems like you’ve got to spend at least a few hours there, if not longer, to make it worth your while. With all the smaller, naturally occurring lagoons all over Iceland that you can go to for free, I’m not sure I want to pay so much money to soak with a bunch of other tourists. What do you think? I know it was on your bucket list for ever, but would you say it’s worth it vs just going to a smaller lagoon? Would love to hear your thoughts! Thanks!! 🙂
Julianne
Hi Diana, it was really great meeting you at the NY Times Travel Show too! I read your post on your time in Iceland, and I totally sympathize. My original plan (to go directly from the airport to the Blue Lagoon while we waited to check into our hotel) was also scrapped because we booked our ticket to the lagoon too late. It was on my bucket list, though, so I was determined to go & we rearranged our schedule to fit it in another day. I think we spent 3 hours there in total.
The Blue Lagoon is definitely worth checking out, in my opinion, BUT it is much harder to go out of your way to do it. It was essentially half of one of our days. Combining it with a trip to or from the airport is worthwhile. I can’t speak to the smaller lagoons as I didn’t see them, but I’m sure they are equally wonderful. I will say, though, that everyone in the Blue Lagoon was having a great time, and the lagoon is large enough that it didn’t feel too crowded. (Then again, we went when it opened at 8 AM; I’d suggest going toward opening or closing to see less people.)
Bottom line, I still recommend going — though in your case, maybe better if it’s connected to an airport transfer. Hope that helps!
Diana - MVMT Blog
Thanks for that, Julianne. We will only have 2 days in Iceland when we go next month, so we might just check out some of the smaller lagoons due to time constraints. But great tip about going early in the morning to avoid the crowds. I know I’ll be back to Iceland again because it’s such an easy trip from the US and I’m obsessed, so next time will take your advice and check it out at 8AM 🙂
Bhushavali
I don’t think I’ll visit Iceland anytime soon. But somehow in future if I do, thanks for these tips!!! 🙂
Btw, that wrist band idea is a super cool idea!
Julianne
No problem! Yes, the wrist band was helpful so we didn’t have to worry about cash or credit cards in the lagoon. 🙂
Only By Land
This is just what I needed to read as I visit there next month. I do arrive early morning so you’ve persuaded me to go straight to the blue lagoon. You’ve persuaded me to try a mud mask too and I’m a guy! I also see I will need my underwater camera. I’m going to lock my locker first time too!
Julianne
Awesome! I’m so excited for you — you’re going to love Iceland. Will this be your first time going?
Yup, underwater camera is definitely a necessity for the lagoon. And I’m glad you’re going to try the mud mask — I have pictures with my husband trying it too, and lots of men seemed to like trying it (if only for the funny photo opps, haha!).
Swati
I would love to visit Blue Lagoon and ya one more crazy traveler dying to visit Iceland you may say. Had no idea that there was something nude bathing in blue lagoon 😛 well I guess frosted glasses are okay. Thanks for such informative post and all the tips and tricks 🙂 will help a lot to plan our trip
Leah Sullivan
Auch a good read – bookmarked this for when I go this year <3
Julianne
Thanks, Leah! Enjoy your trip — Iceland is AMAZING! 🙂
Jenn and Ed Coleman
We did a hot springs trip in Pagosa Springs Colorado and stayed at the resort. This got us entrance to the pools and 24 hour access. The late night access made all the difference. I hear the Silica Hotel is at the Blue Lagoon. Is that a way to get time slots on sold out tours or maybe after hours soaking?
Cat
I thought this place is a natural lagoon, guess I was wrong! We tried a mud mask in Palau and it didn’t last either – I guess you gotta put it on consistently to really tell if it is effective 😛
Juliann
Iceland has been top of my list for way too long and now I’m finally going next year. YAY!! These tips are super helpful! I had no idea that I’d need to buy tickets well in advance. VERY good to know. And that it might be a good stop on the way from the airport. I love the swim-up bar. Three drinks sounds about perfect. In fact, I’ll probably duplicate everything you did with one exception: I’ll brave the cold to step into the lagoon from outside. I’m a glutton for punishment like that. 🙂
Ashley
Haha this is super cute and helpful! I’m always cold so the easing in part is attractive to me. Of course, they found a way for you to still purchase these in the lagoon haha. I’ve heard the Blue Lagoon is worth it once but once you’ve done it, it’s not necessarily worth the price again.
Ann
Julianne, perfect article! You answered ALL the pesky questions that I have — privacy issues, what I do with my stuff, and most importantly — how can I buy that drink! The water looks wonderful — no wonder so many people make this a priority when the go to Iceland. And it sounds like the perfect antidote to being jet-lagged.
Allison Wong
I just booked our year end holiday tickets to Iceland! Also booked a night stay at the Blue Lagoon Hotel so I can’t wait to experience this myself soon!
Andi
I’ve seen so many friends go there and it never appealed to me, but you answered all my questions about them – awkward and all, so maybe it would be something I’d do. I just don’t see the appeal, but maybe I got to try it and see!
Jen
Haha I felt the same way about bathing here! And my robe and things got completely tossed, now I know moving forward to go for the further rack even if it’s freezing cold. It’s a must either way though!
Meredith
The wristband system sounds great. However, my question is do they check your ID when you get your wristband? I look pretty young but I am a few months over legal age. I don’t want to risk not being served at the swim up bar because I look to young, and I don’t want to bring my passport in the water, obviously.
Julianne
Hi Meredith, sorry for the late reply — we’ve been traveling for the holidays. We definitely did not have to present any form of ID while in the lagoon; also, the electronic wristband automatically stops working for alcohol purchases once you’ve purchased 3 alcoholic drinks.
I did some research and found that the Blue Lagoon website collects information including your name and birth date when you purchase a ticket (see http://www.bluelagoon.com/terms–conditions/). I do believe that they checked our passports when we checked in at the beginning (which we then stored in our secure lockers before going into the lagoon). But people didn’t have to show their ID in the water, so any age check is almost definitely taken care of before you get into the lagoon 🙂
Kelly
Just came back from a trip to Iceland and Scotland 2wks ago. I hadn’t read this before I went to the Blue Lagoon, (wish I had then I would have had a better time with my locker, lol). I loved it and enjoyed the mask/towel & free drink special as well. We actually ended up renting robes while we ate at the café, it made us feel even more relaxed. It started snowing when we went which made it look so beautiful. Thanks for this blog about it. I definitely would go back, Iceland is beautiful and so many people were there in February (I thought I was the only one who was nuts enough to go there in February lol).
Julianne
Hi Kelly, I’m so glad you enjoyed the Blue Lagoon (and my post)! I bet the snow was beautiful. And you’re not crazy – I’ve had several friends visit in February 😂
Magua
Great review. I went to the Blue Lagoon with my wife in the evening, it was September. It was fabulous. I’m not the typical person to be all touristy and I loved it. Also…I was like, great…I gotta shower naked…but no offense. You get in there and see dozens are huge beer belly russian dudes scrambling about and you have nothing to fear, at all…puff out that chest and strut on. Enjoy it! It’s awesome to feel the cold air biting on your face when you’re encompassed by the warmth.