When someone mentions a European hot spring, one picture, and one name usually comes to mind first…the blue lagoon in Iceland. Its milky blue water contrasting with the black lava surrounding the water is a striking scene.
Just a couple miles from the blue lagoon, is the volcano that has been on and off erupting over the past year or so. It’s said that lava could reach the lagoon in 3 minutes. Just 4 days after our visit to the blue lagoon, it erupted again and covered the road to the lagoon, closing it… for now.
The blue lagoon is about 13 miles from Keflavik, which is where the international airport is, and about 25 miles from Reykjavik, the nation’s capital and largest city
Reservations are a must, and we were stopped on the road to the lagoon to make sure we had them. Once you park, you are taken by shuttle to the path you walk to the lagoon. The path goes through lava fields that look like your walking on the moon, except that most of the lava is covered in thick moss. Along the path you’ll pass their hotel, the silica hotel. Its looks very minimalistic and Scandinavian from the path. After several twists and turns in the trail, you finally arrive at the lagoons main building, which is admission, locker room, café and gift shop. Out the large glass windows you’ll see the light blue waters. The admission package we did, which includes one drink at their swim up bar, and one silica mud mask, is about $90 American dollars.
A couple things surprised me about the blue lagoon. One is that the water is salt water. It turns out that the water is sea water that is pumped from deep underground where it is heated by the earth and where it picks up its minerals, especially silica, which is what gives it its milky blue color. The water also has algae, this combination of minerals and algae give the water its healing properties. The other thing that surprised me is that the blue lagoon is not natural. The waters come from the nearby Svartsengi geothermal power plant.
Besides the lagoon, there is also a sauna, steam room, and steam cave. One bay of the pools is a quiet zone, and another is for spa treatments. Also, the blue lagoon has a spa with a large array of services like massage and facial masks. We did not try the food, but the facility has 3 restaurants and a café, with food from snacks to Michelin star entrees. Once done soaking and changing, on your way out is the gift shop which has its own line of high-end skin care products made from the waters of the lagoon. The day we were there it was cold, about 47 degrees, and very windy, like a 40mph constant wind, which seems to happen a lot, so dress warm. After the lagoon, we went to Reykjavik to eat and stay before exploring some of Iceland’s waterfalls and scenic coastline.
You can learn more and book at https://www.bluelagoon.com/