Opinions of Iceland’s Blue Lagoon

[cat shepard]

I thought it would be easy to find opinions using the search feature, but I was wrong.... so I need your help.

 

If you have visited the Blue Lagoon in Iceland, I am interested in knowing the following:

 

What month did you visit?

What time of day did you visit?

Did you stay in the Retreat hotel, or just visit during the day?

How crowded was it? Did you have to wait to use anything?
How clean was the changing/shower area?

Was there a lot of trash around? 
Was the water warm?
Did you encounter any problems? If so, how responsive was the staff in helping you resolve the problem?

Did you enjoy your visit?

Did you believe it was worth the price you paid?

 

Thank you in advance for any info you are willing to share!

[Sunburg1]

23 minutes ago, cat shepard said:

If you have visited the Blue Lagoon in Iceland, I am interested in knowing the following:

Yes, but a few years ago

What month did you visit? March

What time of day did you visit? Mid morning

Did you stay in the Retreat hotel, or just visit during the day? Don't remember any retreat hotel then

How crowded was it? Did you have to wait to use anything? no very crowded
How clean was the changing/shower area? Average

Was there a lot of trash around? Not taht I remember
Was the water warm? PLENTY warm
Did you encounter any problems? If so, how responsive was the staff in helping you resolve the problem? None

Did you enjoy your visit? Great

Did you believe it was worth the price you paid? yes (This was part of atour for us.

 

[cat shepard]

23 minutes ago, Sunburg1 said:

 

Thank you for responding so quickly! I appreciate your info. 

[hallasm]

Time of visit is not important, I have been there in February and September can be visited all year round.  I stayed at a hotel in Reykjavik and had rented a car.

 Pre-booking is required - so there is control over how many guests.  Visits are evenly distributed during opening hours.
 In Iceland, everything is clean - there are very nice conditions in the Blue Lagoon.  No problems.

The ponds get the water from a geothermal power plant. In the fenced area the temperature is kept at a constant 37-39 ° Celsius ( 99 - 102° F). They keep the temperature constant by pouring cold pour into the ponds ..

 I have enjoyed my trips to the Blue Lagoon.

 

[Nitemare]

Been there in summer (twice) and in winter (once).  Always with a reservation.  In winter we stayed at the onsite hotel so had access to the "private lagoon", which (at least at the time) was about 20% the size (give or take) but with maybe 5% as many people.

 

Had a 5 minute wait in line to check in on one of our visits, walked right up the other time

 

Very clean.  Shower area was a bit crowded but easy to find a locker.  Water is very warm, there are also "hot spots" if you want warmer.  Lots of staff around inside and at the "pool" .  Plenty of supply of "mud" to pack on your face and body to take advantage of the healing properties.

 

Worth it?  We thought so which is why we returned, but if you can go to Myvatn instead, I'd go there.  Less expensive and it's a much more natural experience, as opposed to the BL that is manmade.  Much less crowded as well.

[cat shepard]

On 4/9/2021 at 3:22 AM, hallasm said:

Time of visit is not important, I have been there in February and September can be visited all year round.  I stayed at a hotel in Reykjavik and had rented a car.

 Pre-booking is required - so there is control over how many guests.  Visits are evenly distributed during opening hours.
 In Iceland, everything is clean - there are very nice conditions in the Blue Lagoon.  No problems.

The ponds get the water from a geothermal power plant. In the fenced area the temperature is kept at a constant 37-39 ° Celsius ( 99 - 102° F). They keep the temperature constant by pouring cold pour into the ponds ..

 I have enjoyed my trips to the Blue Lagoon.

 

 

Thank you for your response. And the video is very helpful!

[cat shepard]

On 4/9/2021 at 7:18 AM, Nitemare said:

Been there in summer (twice) and in winter (once).  Always with a reservation.  In winter we stayed at the onsite hotel so had access to the "private lagoon", which (at least at the time) was about 20% the size (give or take) but with maybe 5% as many people.

 

Had a 5 minute wait in line to check in on one of our visits, walked right up the other time

 

Very clean.  Shower area was a bit crowded but easy to find a locker.  Water is very warm, there are also "hot spots" if you want warmer.  Lots of staff around inside and at the "pool" .  Plenty of supply of "mud" to pack on your face and body to take advantage of the healing properties.

 

Worth it?  We thought so which is why we returned, but if you can go to Myvatn instead, I'd go there.  Less expensive and it's a much more natural experience, as opposed to the BL that is manmade.  Much less crowded as well.

Thank you for your response and info. We are also considering Myvatn because it is a more natural experience. One of the reasons I asked so many questions. 
 

And we have also seen ads for a new hot springs spa close to Reykjavik 

opening this Spring.  We hope more info will be available as we get closer to making our decision. 

[Turtles06]

On 4/9/2021 at 7:18 AM, Nitemare said:

Worth it?  We thought so which is why we returned, but if you can go to Myvatn instead, I'd go there.  Less expensive and it's a much more natural experience, as opposed to the BL that is manmade.  Much less crowded as well.

 

We picked Myvatn rather than the BL because we'd read it was less touristy, and we loved it, but I do believe it's also humanmade.

 

https://icelandmag.is/article/icelands-two-blue-water-pools-blue-lagoon-vs-myvatn-nature-baths

 

https://www.anothericeland.com/guides/myvatn-nature-baths#:~:text=This nature baths consist of,the Old Icelandic bathing tradition.

 

(Myvatn Nature Baths, by turtles06)

[cat shepard]

1 hour ago, Turtles06 said:

 

We picked Myvatn rather than the BL because we'd read it was less touristy, and we loved it, but I do believe it's also humanmade.

 

https://icelandmag.is/article/icelands-two-blue-water-pools-blue-lagoon-vs-myvatn-nature-baths

 

https://www.anothericeland.com/guides/myvatn-nature-baths#:~:text=This nature baths consist of,the Old Icelandic bathing tradition.

 

(Myvatn Nature Baths, by turtles06)

 

Thank you for the links.  Very interesting comparison of the two sites in the first link.  Maybe we will have an opportunity to try both.  That picture is beautiful. 
 

[kaisatsu]

We went to both Myvatn and Blue Lagoon in August a few years ago. Yes, both are manmade in the same way (geothermal run-off). I actually think I enjoyed Blue Lagoon more. Myvatn is more variable in crowd size. It can be a day when it’s fairly empty or a day when it’s quite crowded. Blue Lagoon rarely has quiet days, but the reservation system keeps it from getting too packed. I’d say the biggest difference is that Blue Lagoon is aiming for a spa atmosphere, and Myvatn has a more public pool environment.

 

What month did you visit?

August

 

What time of day did you visit?

afternoon

 

Did you stay in the Retreat hotel, or just visit during the day?

daytime visit. Took the bus out from Reykjavik and then spent the night in an area nearby before an early flight out the next day.

 

How crowded was it? Did you have to wait to use anything?

no wait. Crowded but not uncomfortable

How clean was the changing/shower area?

very clean

 

Was there a lot of trash around? 

not at all

Was the water warm?

yes

Did you encounter any problems? If so, how responsive was the staff in helping you resolve the problem?

Someone accidentally took my partner’s robe off the rack, and we were worried because there’s a deposit. No problem, and the staff just gave him a new one to use.

 

Did you enjoy your visit?

yes. For a relaxing half-day it was great. Especially at the end of a very active trip.

 

Did you believe it was worth the price you paid?

I think so. We added an in-water massage, and that was a highlight for me. It wasn’t the greatest massage ever, and even though it’s on a separate area, there was still a lot of noise. But the technique is to float semi-submerged and the massage is done by pushing up from below rather than pushing down against a table. I thought it was a pretty innovative idea and a nice little extra.

[cat shepard]

5 minutes ago, kaisatsu said:

We went to both Myvatn and Blue Lagoon in August a few years ago. Yes, both are manmade in the same way (geothermal run-off). I actually think I enjoyed Blue Lagoon more. Myvatn is more variable in crowd size. It can be a day when it’s fairly empty or a day when it’s quite crowded. Blue Lagoon rarely has quiet days, but the reservation system keeps it from getting too packed. I’d say the biggest difference is that Blue Lagoon is aiming for a spa atmosphere, and Myvatn has a more public pool environment.

 

 

What month did you visit?

August

 

What time of day did you visit?

afternoon

 

Did you stay in the Retreat hotel, or just visit during the day?

daytime visit. Took the bus out from Reykjavik and then spent the night in an area nearby before an early flight out the next day.

 

How crowded was it? Did you have to wait to use anything?

no wait. Crowded but not uncomfortable

How clean was the changing/shower area?

very clean

 

Was there a lot of trash around? 

not at all

Was the water warm?

yes

Did you encounter any problems? If so, how responsive was the staff in helping you resolve the problem?

Someone accidentally took my partner’s robe off the rack, and we were worried because there’s a deposit. No problem, and the staff just gave him a new one to use.

 

Did you enjoy your visit?

yes. For a relaxing half-day it was great. Especially at the end of a very active trip.

 

Did you believe it was worth the price you paid?

I think so. We added an in-water massage, and that was a highlight for me. It wasn’t the greatest massage ever, and even though it’s on a separate area, there was still a lot of noise. But the technique is to float semi-submerged and the massage is done by pushing up from below rather than pushing down against a table. I thought it was a pretty innovative idea and a nice little extra.

Thank you so much for your very detailed response! I appreciate all the great information you provided. 

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

Just a comment:  If you don't have enough time, interest, money, or can't get a reservation, you can at least walk around outside the area and see a bit of the lagoon - unless, of course, they've changed that since we visited in (I think) June 2017.  My pictures are here: www.pbase.com/roothy123.  You'll have to look for the Iceland gallery, however.  

[gogogirl55]

We loved the Blue Lagoon. We were staying in Reykjavik and had a rental car, but they have bus trips from there all the time. We were there in late September. We made a timed reservation. It all went very smoothly. The locker rooms were very clean and we had no trouble finding lockers. There are plenty of private showers. They provide towels. There is some stuff in the shower they tell you to put in your hair before you go in the lagoon which keeps it from feeling like straw after you wash it when you get finished. It was wonderful, I thought. They have a little hut where you go to get the silica to put on your face which feels so great. There's a little swim up bar hut and you get one free drink with your admission. You can have anything from juices and soft drinks, to beer, wine, or cocktails.  You can stay as long as you want once you are in. We stayed a couple hours and it flew by. It was so relaxing. After we showered and changed, we had a bite to eat in the little cafe there. We bought some products at the gift shop and were on our way. I will do this again, any opportunity I have.