The Blue Lagoon in Iceland

Photo by Jonathanpercy

Usually when you mention the words blue and lagoon in one breath, what springs to mind is the sultry movie from the 80s with Brooke Shields and Christopher Atkins. Or at least a body of warm Caribbean water in some hot, exotic country. My Blue Lagoon experience was a bit less tropical. My travel buddy and I took a day trip to the Blue Lagoon, the famous Icelandic thermal pool with the same name last week, in the dead of winter.

The Blue Lagoon in Iceland near Reykjavik is a giant spa complex built around a natural thermal pool. Its posh changing rooms have showers equipped with luxury shampoo and conditioner, downy towels and comfy bath robes. There are also numerous indulgent massage treatments to choose from.

The lagoon is accessible from an indoor wading pool, from where you can swim outside through a swinging door. This was especially convenient as the temperature outside wasn't exactly balmy, more like sub-zero. The water has a milky appearance and is rich in silica and sulphur. The temperature is around 37-39 degrees Celsius. A good reason to stay submerged.

We swam through a grotto where after a push of a button a sultry voice explained the origins of the Blue Lagoon. We lathered ourselves with purifying mud, (at least that's what the signage said what it was), while admiring the snowy/icy surroundings.

However; the best bit of our thermal experience was the swim up bar; floating in soothing warm mineral water with a glass of wine in your hand. What could be more blissful than that? Until  we noticed that our hair had started to turn into ice. Which was our queue to get out.

Overall it was a very relaxing experience, however I do have one tip for the ladies (and other people with long hair): Do make excessive use of the conditioner provided! I mean excessively drown your hair in the stuff. If you don't your hair will end up looking like a bird's nest. But don't let that spoil the fun!