Billed as one of the “Earth’s Most Awesome Places,” The Blue Lagoon, a UNESCO park located on the Reykjanes Peninsula in Iceland, is a great place to visit for people of any age. We arrived in Reykjavik via Iceland Air just in time for an 5 am breakfast. We had planned to go to the Viking museum for Viking things and breakfast; however, we realized that transportation in the city of Reykjavik may be easy but getting to and from the airport was not. (Make sure to pre-book the transfer bus to and from the Blue Lagoon to save yourself a lot of headaches.) We had to skip the Viking museum and instead headed to the Blue Lagoon at 8:45 am directly from the airport. (Note: The airport has very little to offer for food at that time of morning!)
Thankfully, we managed to get last minute bus transportation to the Blue Lagoon. After the bus ride through lush green, moss covered countryside the volcanic expanse of the Blue Lagoon was in sight. The natural aspect of it alone is enough to take the trip even though putting on a bathing suit in 40° weather made us question our sanity. After choosing the package we wanted, “Comfort: Blue Lagoon,” which included a towel, first drink of your choice, and a silica mud mask, we headed towards the changing rooms. There were plenty of lockers and areas to store luggage. If you haven’t spent time at a natural bath, it can be jarring to know you need to wash off sans bathing suit and then with a bathing suit on before getting into the lagoon. This is all for the protection of the environment. A huge plus was that they have life jackets readily available for anyone under a certain age or without a comfort level in swimming.
It all is worth it when you dip your first toe into the geothermal bath that is a wonderful 98-104°F. We spent the afternoon lounging in the beautiful geothermal bath. We took a break for a sushi lunch at the Lava restaurant (overpriced…. but that goes without saying in Iceland) then got back in the water to do our beautiful face masks which were included in the price of admission. This is no normal face mask. You swim up to a mask bar where they dump handfuls of amazing silica mud into your hands and you cover as much of your body in this as you would like. While we let our masks dry, we explored the furthest areas of the lagoon along with grottos and saunas. As you rinse off the mask you feel the effects of the silica and minerals that make this an unforgettable spa adventure. With plenty to do for everyone, we spent well over five hours enjoying our drinks at the swim up bar to relaxing in the warm waters of the spa. (Our group had family members from 6-60)
As we drove away, we realized that no trip to Iceland would be complete without a day at the Blue Lagoon.
