The first question you need to ask yourself before booking Blue Lagoon is if you like going to well organized spas. Because the Blue Lagoon is not a classic Icelandic bathhouse. Rather, this is an incredibly well-ordered, but unique, spa. But in the same way that you can't miss the Eiffel Tower when you're in Paris for the first time, the Blue Lagoon = Iceland's Eiffel Tower. Love it or hate it - if there is any place that is a "must see" in Iceland - it is the Blue Lagoon.
Blue Lagoon is 45 minutes by car southwest of Reykjavik, close to the airport. Many people book the Blue Lagoon as the last thing they do before going to the airport, but we had booked a Saturday night at 19pm. You can NOT just turn up and think you can buy entry on the spot, all tickets are sold online only. If you think that you book an appointment because you "just want to go in and swim", then you are wrong. Here you book a swimming package. We booked the smallest package, which included bath, towel, silicon face mask and a free drink. Everything for the fashionable the price of 800 Swedish kronor per adult. However, children under 13 were free, so the total for the three of us wasn't too bad.
When you book entry, you also book an entry time. The time only applies when you need to check in, then you can stay as long as you want. We got there in "reasonably good time", slipped into the parking lot 10 minutes before the reservation and walked briskly to the check-in so as not to miss our time. The line was long and a guy was standing and shouting that those with premium packages should go one way, while the rest of us regular "cheap" packages would stand in the long line. Despite the long queue, we moved forward at a brisk pace. A big advantage that we all had pre-purchased tickets!
At checkout, we were all given "all-inclusive" style wristbands, which would be our wallets for the duration of the stay. The wristband was filled with the free drink and anything else you wanted we just had to flash the wristband to pay with. The payment is then made when you return the wristband, just before you leave the place.
Bracelets on, towel in hand - now it was time to divide us between ladies and gentlemen. A smart system displays a board with available lockers right at the entrance to the changing rooms, this proved to be a very useful feature. It is not easy to find a free locker among all the hundreds of lockers otherwise!
Showered, changed and done! Now it was time to crawl into the hot, geothermal bath! The milky turquoise water steams in front of us. We are far from alone, but the pool is very large and it is enough to move a bit from the main house, so it is less crowded between the guests.
The temperature in the pool is controlled around 42 degrees, but it fluctuates a lot between the different areas. Some areas are really hot, so you need to move around to not feel easily scalded.
In one part of the pool, the silicon face mask is handed out with big ladles from a pot, you just have to put your face in it for 10 minutes and then walk around among all the other white, sticky faces in the pool. It could be imagination, but the skin actually felt a little smoother after the face mask.
In the other part of the pool was the bar, where the free drink was distributed. Both non-alcoholic drinks and beer are available here, so it was just a matter of choosing what suited you best. All served in practical plastic cups that can't break in the pools. You just had to flick your wristband to pay if you wanted something in addition to the free drink.
After about an hour, the skin on the hands and feet begins to shrivel up completely. Sure, I love long hot showers, but this place takes the raisin fingers phenomenon to a new level. It almost felt like the skin was going to fall off! It was simply time to leave the pool.
What was the best?
The Blue Lagoon in Iceland is a luxurious and unique bathing experience that you won't find anywhere else. And I promise, the skin felt incredibly soft and nice after the bath!
What could be better?
The price for the cheapest package is really in the sweetest range, especially since it is physically hardly possible to swim for more than an hour. Although I really enjoyed the visit, I'm not sure I would go back the next time I'm in Iceland. There are plenty of other hot springs and bathhouses in Iceland – which are much more affordable!
To consider
It is good to know that Blue lagoons are NOT natural pools, but are created from waste water from the geothermal power plant next door.
You can find more information about traveling to the Blue Lagoon on their website official site.
