The Other Lagoons
- Vefstjóri Þórsgarður
- Mar 4, 2015
- 3 min read
It´s been a crazy busy winter so far in Iceland with a huge growth in tourism happening across the board. The insane idea of limiting access to the popular Blue Lagoon sounded somewhat plausible in the middle of summer but we never saw it coming in the middle of February, a traditionally low-season period in Icelandic tourism. But here we are. More demand than the good people at the Blue Lagoon feel it is safe to supply to. So what are the other options when it comes to enjoying our plentiful geothermal water supply?
The most similar experience to the Blue one, Fontana is located next to Laugarvatn lake only 77km from Reykjavik and within 30km of any stop on the Golden Circle if you would like to include that into your journey. Not a bad idea at all. Fontana is much smaller than the Blue Lagoon and does not include the silica mud. It´s an altogether more sanitary affair in beautiful surroundings. The pricing is also very favorable. Individual prices are less than half the price of access to the Blue Lagoon and if you are a family, get a family ticket and the kids basically go free, as long as you don´t have more than 4 of them. Patriotic snacks are available at the café so you can spend a considerable amount of time there if you like before heading back home to Kvosin or finishing your Golden Circle adventure.
This is the oldest pool in Iceland. It´s natural but the locals stacked stones to make it into a "proper" pool back in the early 20th century so people could learn how to swim etc. This is much more basic than the Blue Lagoon or even Fontana. Located some 100km outside Reykjavik, you have showers and a small kiosk selling lollipops etc but no real luxury or upgrades to be had here during the day. You pay 2.500isk per person and get into the rectangle pool, with huge rocks to encounter underwater included. The surroundings are lovely and there is even a mini-Geysir fenced off right next to the lagoon that spouts every few minutes. There are floating devices for you to use to feel like you are floating on a cloud and it really does work. Of course, if you want to upgrade to the bizarre and amazing, you will save this trip for the evening and do the now world famous Aurora Floating Tour which includes a SuperJeep ride over there, floating helmet and bracelets with Sigur Rós playing through an underwater speaker. Hopefully you see the Northern Lights as well but either way, it´s a truly unique Iceland experience to be had there.
Maybe you don´t want to drive all this way or pay all this money. You just want to wet your toes and see why geothermal water is far superior to gas-heating. Add a dash of senior citizens complaining about politics and the weather and you have another unique Icelandic experience right in front of your nose. At 500isk a pop, you can enjoy one of Reykjavik´s many outdoor pools with hot tubs to fit any temperature preference. These do include chlorine and tiles so by no means are these naturally occuring but you get to experience naturally occuring grumpiness from the locals as well as laughing children in the slides etc. We´ve found that most people have found the Reykjavik swimming pools to be a pleasant surprise, some would even say "hidden gem". So why not check it out?
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