I’ve been obsessing over pictures of The Blue Lagoon on Pinterest for years. It topped my bucket list and was one of the only things I knew about Iceland…
So when we extended our hour layover in Iceland into two days, it was time to check it off the list!
I will tell you by trial and error, book your tickets in advance!!!
Especially if you have any time restrictions. We thought it would be perfect to step off our long flight from Los Angeles and head straight over to dip in the lagoon. Well, we waited till just a few days before arriving to inquire about tickets and ALL of the morning time slots were sold out for days!
Time of day doesn’t matter when it’s daylight till closing!
The only available time slots left were 7 pm and on. Much to my surprise, the lagoon doesn’t close till 11 pm. We were worried we wouldn’t be able to take full advantage at this time of day (well night actually), but then we realized it doesn’t even start to get dark in Iceland in the summer until midnight! As long as the photos look the same, who cares what time it is?! In travel, I’ve learned to take things as they come, nothing ever turns out as planned 😉
Stick with the cheaper packages…
Like most things in Iceland, the lagoon is pricey! But then again, it’s an attraction and has been commercialized. From lockers to restaurants, to wristbands that track your spending, to a swim up bar in the water- it’s got everything! Not to mention you’re in a lagoon in a lava field; puts the price tag into perspective a bit I’d say.
They offer many different packages at the lagoon, some including drinks, face masks, towels, VIP, yep, seriously, all the works. We opted for the Comfort package for 15 euros more than the standard, just for the towel and drink. All the extra’s beyond that didn’t seem necessary, especially the extra facemask. Everyone gets to use the silica face mask provided in the lagoon at any time so why pay extra for another?
It’s a great place to mingle
Within 5 minutes of entering the lagoon and getting our glass of champagne as we tried to sneak off to a corner to get our photo op out of the way, it became apparent that this wasn’t going to be a peaceful spa experience we expected.
The men started swarming, well, technically wading their way around us. First, it was the Russian, who we continuously tried to avoid after one awkward conversation. Later in the evening he seemed not to remember our names and started yelling across the lagoon in a thick Russian accent “Stephanie! Michelle!” Those must have been the most common American names he could come up with the time. It continued every time we came anywhere close to him. The icing on the cake was when we swam nearby with our silica face masks on…
Stephanie! Michelle! I give you natural face mask!
It was so outrageous; we couldn’t contain our laughter.
We also met a bunch of really awesome people, and we shared travel plans and stories thus far. While it wasn’t the relaxing spa day, it was a great place to meet other travelers.
The Blue Lagoon is in the middle of nowhere
It’s roughly an hour from Reykjavik and 20 minutes from Keflavik International Airport. Which is why it’s more convenient to stop by on your way from the airport (they have space to hold your luggage as well!) Planning transportation is vital; we purchased a roundtrip transfer from downtown Reykjavik for around 20 euros. Seemed easy enough…
However, after three glasses of bubbly (3 drinks is the max per person), we managed to have lost track of time. After closing they let you stay an extra 30 minutes in the lagoon before starting to clear it, so by the time we showered off, changed and paid we seemed to have just missed our 11 pm shuttle back to Reykjavik (Just our luck!)
The last and final transfer back wasn’t until 1 am! With everything now closing inside (including the bar), we were determined to get back sooner. We decided to split a taxi with a nice couple we met; 120 euros later we made it back to downtown Reykjavik. Yikes, lesson learned.
We still found The Blue Lagoon magical!
It’s hard not to be mesmerized by the unique and otherworldly setting. How often can you swim around a huge warm milky blue lagoon in the middle of a lava field, soaking in sulfur and silica minerals, while having a few cocktails and covered in a mist of steam? It takes your breathe away!
Is The Blue Lagoon on your Iceland bucket list?!
