Swimming outdoors in winter in Iceland never felt so good
Planning for a first trip out of the country since the pandemic shutdown began in 2020, it’s nice that my most pressing problem involves a choice: Sky Lagoon vs. Blue Lagoon. Each of them are geothermal pools in Iceland, both are absolutely worth visiting, and here’s hoping that memories of excursions to either of them never fade.
Journeying to Iceland in the winter months requires a certain steadfastness in travelers—it’s going to be cold and dark, and, more likely than not, there will be snow and plenty of it. What better time to take an outdoor swim?
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Why Choose Blue Lagoon?
The Blue Lagoon, which opened in 1992, is the grand dame of geothermal pools and a national treasure of sorts. Unless you grew up in a really cold climate that handily had a volcano in the neighborhood, you probably have not experienced anything like that Blue Lagoon with 100-degree pools. The water is milky blue and the substances in it tend to change the chemistry of both your bathing suit and your hair. But, no matter! You will emerge with baby-smooth skin and you will be calm and all will be well. Those with psoriasis may well feel soothed. I did. My skin looked infinitely better after a lengthy soak.
Blue Lagoon Pros
Of course, with success comes crowds. I’d first experienced the Blue Lagoon almost a decade ago and had an absolutely wonderful day—a dunk in the big pool, a cocktail or two, a face mask or two, lunch in my bathrobe at Lava Restaurant where our table had a view of the lagoon. All of this was followed by a blissful floating massage in the water.
I’d been thinking about that day for almost 10 years.
But I’d been to the Blue Lagoon before the pandemic, at a moment when I didn’t even think to hesitate to walk boldly into a vast pot of warm water with hundreds, if not thousands, of humans from around the world.
Yet the world has changed in the last 10 years, and my first trip outside of the country since Covid-19 took over the world, yielded expectations—and a degree of cautiousness—that were high.
Fortunately, the Blue Lagoon offers options, from, essentially, general admission into the big pool, to a spa experience with more private pools, to hotel options that seem out-of-this-world good.
Blue Lagoon Cons
Cost and crowdedness were my two main concerns about the Blue Lagoon. It tends to be pricey, even more so if you want an experience that will involve more privacy and fewer people. The place is, perhaps, not as tightly run as it could be. Having paid for a spa day, my travel companion and I had to wait by a sign for 10 minutes or so for someone to come and escort us to our destination. The private shower and sink we rented for those precious hours seemed a long, long way from the private pools into which we were seeking to plunge. The Retreat Spa staff seemed to emphasize a tour a bit too much when what we were there for was the blue water. I had a negative experience with a masseuse which triggered some pushback from the masseuse and a cancelled appointment and then a bit of a runaround about whether I wanted to talk to a manager. I mostly wanted the money I’d paid for a massage back. I got most of it, in the end, but it was a hassle the sort of which one isn’t planning on at a spa day.
Our experience at Lava Restaurant was good, except for the part where the maitre d’ told us to go back upstairs because the staff was eating its own lunch. It’s never good when someone is telling the customers to wait. We sat at a table instead and waited those minutes out until finally someone brought us water.
But the pool was blissful and blissfully empty, with maybe four or six others, at most, traipsing around whenever we were in it, and we were alone much of the time.
That almost made me overlook the fact that there wasn’t a plastic bag available in our shower/private changing room for us to put our wet bathing suits in.
Why Choose Sky Lagoon?
Sky Lagoon is the shiny, new, pretty young thing of geothermal pools. Just a 15-minute cab ride from Reyjkavik, it’s an attractive and far less pricey choice. Not needing to be in anything resembling a communal locker room, here, too, we opted for a private shower/changing room and a locker. Although the changing room was not ours for the day, it, helpfully, did include plastic bags into which we could place our wet suits.
Although the water is not blue (attributable, I presume, to the absence of silica and algae), Sky Lagoon does look over Kársnes Harbour and features both a waterfall and an in-water bar, something missing from the Blue Lagoon private spa area (although, truthfully, one didn’t have to leave the water to procure a drink at the Retreat Spa at the Blue Lagoon; drinks could be ordered by summoning a server through a small door in the pool area).
We emerged from our time at the Sky Lagoon with a bit of a sense of accomplishment, having survived the Seven-Step Ritual. It gave us a goal, of sorts. We felt like rugged adventurers after jumping into an ice pool and sitting on an icy bench beneath freezing rain. There were nothing but smiles on our faces after we warmed up in the sauna and the steam room and moisturized with, I think, coconut oil and sea salt, a dish of which was handed to us by an attendant.
The service here is far more attentive and accommodating. Although there is not a high-end restaurant on the premises, we did enjoy a charcuterie board of sorts, which included a bit of brown wedding cake and a story explaining this Icelandic tradition, and the place is a lot easier on the hair.
The Verdict – Sky Lagoon vs. Blue Lagoon
Ideally, a traveler to Iceland will get to experience both the Sky Lagoon and the Blue Lagoon. The Blue Lagoon, despite its faults, does offer a unique and broad experience. Yes, its crowded and the service isn’t quite what I would like it to be, but few experiences in this lifetime have been better. The Sky Lagoon is a good choice for the convenience. Being smaller, in some measure, makes a visit there more intimate, and the servers all had chipper attitudes. Really, if you can, visit both. But if you must pick one, no matter which you choose, chances are you’ll like it.
—Lori Tripoli
Lori Tripoli is the editor and publisher of Bashful Adventurer. Based in the New York City vicinity, she writes about travel for a variety of publications. Contact Lori at loritripoli @ bashfuladventurer.com.