With the water a balmy 88 degrees Fahrenheit, Icelanders swim all year. Of course, the air temperature is a bit different. Even in June, it often only reaches 53 degrees.
No matter. Up to my neck in a geothermal hot pot, I’m feeling toasty. Around me are local businessmen, teenagers, mums, kids and retirees. Reykjavik’s Laugardalslaug swimming complex is Iceland’s largest, but there’s not a tourist in sight. Lovely.
Every year, 70 million tons of thermal water flow from springs deep below Greater Reykjavik. Taking advantage of such abundance, the capital has seven geothermal public pools. Most Icelandic towns have similar facilities for outdoor swimming. (Whether you lose your toes to frostbite on the winter dash from hot pot to pool is another matter.)
Laugardalslaug has an indoor pool, but today everyone is in its two massive outdoor pools. One has a special section with a water slide and toddler pool for kiddies. Again, the water is blissfully warm. Spending all day here costs just 370 krona ($2.83). During weekdays, it opens from 6.30 a.m. to 10.30 p.m. (8.00 a.m. – 10.00 p.m. weekends.) With similar hours, all Reykjavik’s pools charge the same.
Yet most tourists dash lemming-like for the Blue Lagoon, in lava fields between Reykjavik and Keflavik airport. The milky aquamarine water is a magical color, but I think it’s over-priced and over-hyped. Indicating locals rarely visit, the $28 entrance fee is in euro, not krona.
Those brochure pictures of a goddess-like beauty or some couple romantically entwined in the mist? The reality is endless tour buses. If you can battle through the crowds, get hold of the free silica mud to use as a do-it-yourself face pack. It’s in wooden boxes around the lagoon.
Photos rarely show that the Blue Lagoon’s steamy mist comes from a monstrous geothermal power plant. I’m not kidding. When the mist parts, that’s what you see from your watery utopia.
It’s pointless me saying forget the Blue Lagoon–the "must do" marketing is impossible to resist. After all, I couldn’t resist it either, and the lavascapes really are otherworldly. So take swimming gear and a towel–you can hire them, but it’s additional $11.25. Renting a robe for another $10 is unnecessary.
For an authentic geothermal experience without spa souvenirs, "group meals" and a power plant lookout, Laugardalslag is more satisfying. It’s near Reykjavik’s Botanical Gardens at Sundlaugarvegur 30. It too has a cafe/restaurant–$10.27 for fish of the day. (It’s $24 for the same at the Blue Lagoon.) Another great "local" pool is at Hveragerdi, a small geothermal town of mud pools and fumaroles 30 miles east of Reykjavik.
Now, a warning for those scared witless about northern Europe’s penchant for nudity. For timid tourists, the Blue Lagoon has some private changing rooms and curtained showers. Elsewhere, you’re required to strip off in a communal locker room and take an open shower before donning a swimsuit. An attendant ensures everyone follows the rules.
Icelanders have incredibly clean, chlorine-free pools and that’s how they want to keep them. There are separate locker rooms/showers for men and women, so don’t be shy. And besides, everyone’s seen it all before.
