Iceland – Keflavik and Blue Lagoon

Our last day in Iceland, in addition to exploring the Keflavik area, we decided to spend at the Blue Lagoon, a geothermal spa that is one of Iceland’s biggest tourist attractions.

A day full of relaxation, rest, hot tubs, facials, saunas…. can there be a better way to say goodbye to this country?

Blue Lagoon – the most famous thermal pools

The Blue Lagoon (Isl. Bláa Lónið) is almost a tourist symbol of Iceland and was listed as one of the 25 wonders of the world by National Geographic, which described the place as “the smoky, turquoise pools of Iceland’s Blue Lagoon, trapped in volcanic rock present a different vision of the world.” A different vision of the world? How could we possibly get past this! Despite the daunting price and last available seats, we decided to buy tickets online and planned to spend the last day like kings :)

It’s not far from Keflavik, so it’s best to plan your visit to Blue Lagoon for the beginning or end of your trip. As we mentioned, it’s worth buying tickets online (it’s a little cheaper and you miss the long line to get in). There are several packages on offer, from the basic (entrance only) to the most exclusive with massages, drinks, bathrobes and whatever else the soul desires.

The road to the site is very straightforward, there are plenty of signs, but all you really have to do is drive in a line of cars that are going in the same direction. There is parking and, importantly, luggage storage on site (our caution has dropped a lot over the past few days, so we left everything in the car, locked in the trunk, of course). After entering the building, we stood in a shorter line, where we showed our ticket on our phones and went inside.

The locker rooms are not coeducational as, indeed, they are throughout Iceland. They are sizable, well-equipped and clean, although tourists still do their thing and there is considerable chaos.

Once we made it to the exit, our eyes were met by a huge pool of steaming blue water, and the only thing that kept us from jumping in was the low temperature outside (about 7 degrees C, and we stood shivering in our costumes). Somehow we pulled ourselves together and covered the stretch of 20 meters separating us from the wonderful hot water, where there was nothing left to do but enjoy the moment and soak endlessly :)

We also recommend you our other texts about pools we have seen and described:
– SUNTAGO Park of Poland
– Uniejów Thermal Baths
– Tropikana Water Park in Mikolajki

This is quite an area where you can both enjoy the healing properties of the water, have drinks, spend time in the sauna, enjoy massages as well as use “silica mud” as a mask. And it would certainly be an interesting place if it weren’t so commercialized…. What’s more, there are plenty of people around in the pool with phones, tablets and go pro cameras to capture this moment from the perspective of the water. And it’s scary to turn around because you can immediately push someone and tragedy is ready – iPad plunging into the abyss of blue water….

Although we planned to spend the whole day here, after about an hour and a half we headed toward the locker room and left the place.

Keflavik and surroundings

Keflavik itself does not have much to offer. A few cross streets, a few tiny restaurants (we didn’t manage to find any with typical Icelandic food), a small but nice waterfront.

Nevertheless, it is a good base for accommodation and outing even to Reykjavik. Of course, it’s a great place to stay as well when exploring this part of the island, among other things. The aforementioned Blue Lagoon. Here you can find cheaper accommodation than in the capital, very close to the airport (which you can even walk to) and to a very good standard.

The surroundings of Keflavik are very beautiful and already here, taking your first steps upon arrival, you can feel the real Iceland and enjoy the sights for which this place is famous.

Taking advantage of the fact that we still had some day to spare we drove even further west, towards the“bridge connecting the continents.” It was a symbolic site, but far less grand than the one we saw in Þingvellir National Park, which we wrote about here. In addition, the wind, which suddenly broke, made it impossible for us to stay on this makeshift bridge, so we returned to the car with the wind.

The only thing that puzzled us the most at the time (instead of admiring this unique place) was whether our plane would take off in such strong winds, but it turned out that this was not even a reason for any delays and everything went according to schedule.

This is how we spent our last day in Iceland. The last one during this trip, because we hope to return here again, there is so much left to see!

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See also our practical summary of a trip to Iceland.