Geocaching Adventures Iceland - The Blue Lagoon

This is the second article to accompany S1E1 of Geocaching Adventures; "Iceland, Reykjavik to the Blue Lagoon."

Haven't seen the video yet? Oh no! Here's your chance right now!

 

Here's some great news; I heard that you wanted to know more about the Blue Lagoon Spa so I'm providing some personal insights on that visit.

Where Is It?

First off, where is it? The Blue Lagoon Spa is located a short drive from Keflavik, or just under an hour from Reykjavik, on the Southern Peninsula.

How Do I Get In?

There are two types of "standard" entry, and then the more luxurious "Retreat Spa" option.  You should really book ahead via their website; they have a schedule/ticket system that's quite easy to use.

The two types of standard entry are called comfort or premium.  Staff in the pool know which entry you've paid for by the coloured RFID wristband you'll be wearing. 

Once through the front doors, there will be two lineups - one for tour groups, and the other for non-tour guests. The staff is highly efficient at getting you signed in, giving you your wristband and towel, and directing you to the change rooms.

What Should I Expect When I Get There?

Both entries get you access to the lagoon, a silica mud mask, use of a towel, locker for your stuff, and one free drink. The premium upgrade gets you use of a bathrobe and slippers, a second mud mask, and reservations to their on-site restaurant. 

Honestly, you get the full experience with the comfort entry which costs about 79EU, and the upgrade to premium is around 102EU. We didn't even consider the 280EU "retreat spa" option. We really enjoyed the comfort entry for the 3 or so hours we were there.

Off you get to the change rooms. You must shower before lagoon entry, and the free lockers work off of the RFID wristbands. A very cool system and all instructions are in English and several other languages. It's really hard to mess up!

Once you're showered and ready for the lagoon you make your way out and into the WARM water. It looks murky/cloudy, and the temperature ranges from spot to spot - as you get closer or nearer to the water inflows. 

Generally the bottom is flat and a bit gritty, and the water is super-buoyant. Most of the pool is at an average depth of just over a metre, but it does range slightly.

What Do I Do There?

Now that you are enjoying the warm waters, explore around and head to the mud-mask bar! They will ladel out (literally) a big handful of warm silica mud to apply to your face, and give you instructions such as "not in your eyes, nose or mouth" which is maybe obvious but important. 

The mud really feels like wet drywall mudding, and once applied to your face beings to dry quickly. You are expected to wear it for no more than 10 minutes, then you dip underwater to wash it off. Now you see one of the reasons the water is so cloudy!

After rejuvenating your face, head over to the opposite side of the lagoon and queue up for the in-water bar. They have a wide selection of pop and juice, you can also get red or white "house" wine, or a local beer. They even have a couple flavours of the Icelandic equivalent of a slurpee/slushie style iced drink. 

Amusingly, it's called Krap.

You can enjoy your drink anywhere in the pool, but they prefer you don't roam too far with it, and that you use the provided receptacles for your empty plastic cup.

You are expected to keep your visit in the Lagoon to about 2 hours, after which you head back to the change room for another shower.

The change rooms are very well appointed with hair-dryers, mirrors, and all the basic amenities so you can dry off and clean up nicely for the rest of your day.


I hope this info has been interesting, and maybe even helpful! 

If there is something else that would be helpful or interesting to you, please make sure to leave a comment. If you enjoyed it, please make sure to share it on social media and use @LANMonkeyGC so I can thank you.




LANMonkey's Geocaching Adventures are written by Jay Kennedy, outdoor adventurer and photo-journalist. All content is affiliated with the Wander Network. Experience his adventures on Twitter and Instagram by following @LANMonkeyGC, and subscribing to LANMonkey on YouTube. He is also a regular co-host of the Caching in the Northwest geocaching podcast.