Iceland
Iceland's natural hot springs & geothermal pools
In Iceland a hot soak isn't a luxury — it's how the whole country stays warm and social. This collection gathers eleven of our place pages across two very different worlds. On one side are the wild pools: a stone tub with a turf-roofed hut at Hrunalaug, a warm waterfall pouring into a pool in the eastern highlands, a two-person hot pot hidden in a lava field with no signpost. On the other are the developed lagoons — Blue Lagoon, Sky Lagoon, Forest Lagoon — where you pre-book a slot, get a cold plunge and a swim-up bar. Two practical things carry across all of them: the water usually sits at a bath-warm 37–40°C, and at any Icelandic pool you shower naked and thoroughly before you get in. That last part isn't optional — it's the local rule, and it's why these waters stay clean.
Water temperature barely changes with the season, but almost everything around it does — daylight hours, road access, and whether the northern lights show up while you're soaking. Our season-by-season breakdown of when to visit Iceland covers those trade-offs before you pick a date.
South Iceland · IcelandReykjadalur Hot Spring Thermal River
Hot SpringHikingA wild river you bathe in, not a pool. It's a 3–3.5 km hike (about an hour) up from Hveragerði, and the reward is a stretch of warm river where hot springs mix with cold snowmelt to sit around 36–40°C — walk further upstream and it gets hotter. Bring a swimsuit, water shoes and a towel; there's a boardwalk but no changing rooms.
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South Iceland · IcelandHrunalaug Hot Spring
Hot SpringThe postcard wild spring near Flúðir: a small rock-walled pool that stays around 40°C year-round, next to a tiny turf-roofed hut that doubles as your changing room. It sits on private land — pay the honour-system fee (about 3,000 ISK) in the box by the hut, and go early, since the pool barely fits a handful of people.
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West Iceland · IcelandLandbrotalaug Hot Spring
SPAHot SpringAbout as intimate as a wild soak gets: a natural hot pot on the eastern edge of Snæfellsnes that fits maybe two people at a constant ~38°C. There's no sign at the road, so you'll need GPS coordinates to find it, and no facilities once you do — it's free, though owners of nearby land appreciate a small donation.
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East Iceland · IcelandLaugarvellir Hot Natural Pot
Hot SpringWaterfallOne of the few places where a warm waterfall pours straight over you into a natural pool, at a comfortable 38–40°C. It's deep in the East Iceland highlands past the Kárahnjúkar dam, so you need a proper 4WD for the rough F910 and it's summer-only (roughly June–September). Rarely crowded — you may well have it to yourself.
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Capital Region · IcelandHvammsvik Hot Springs
SPAHot SpringEight geothermal pools built into the rock right at the shoreline of Hvalfjörður, about 45 minutes north of Reykjavík. Because they sit at the ocean's edge, the tide changes their temperature and even submerges some pools — expect roughly 35–42°C depending on the pool and the hour. There's a sauna, cold plunge and swim-up bar; pre-booking is required.
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Westfjords · IcelandKrossneslaug Hot Pool
SPAA 1954 pool and hot tub on a black pebble beach at the far end of the Strandir coast in the Westfjords, with the Atlantic breaking a few metres away. The water holds around 38–40°C, but getting there is the real story: it's a five-hour drive from Reykjavík over long gravel roads, open only from roughly mid-May to the end of August. Bring a 4WD and patience.
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South Iceland · IcelandSecret Lagoon
SPAHot SpringIceland's oldest pool (Gamla Laugin, built in 1891), on the Golden Circle near Flúðir — the easiest step from wild to developed. It's a large natural pool held at 38–40°C year-round, ringed by a short path past steaming vents and Litli Geysir, a little geyser that erupts every few minutes. Simpler and more low-key than the big lagoons.
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Reykjanes Peninsula · IcelandBlue Lagoon
SPALakeHot SpringIceland's most famous soak: a vast milky-blue lagoon in a black lava field, its colour from silica and other minerals, kept at 37–40°C. Slots are timed and sell out days or weeks ahead, so book well in advance. Tip: leave conditioner in your hair while you bathe — the silica leaves it stiff otherwise — and, as everywhere, shower naked before entering.
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Capital Region · IcelandSky Lagoon
SPAAn oceanfront lagoon in Kópavogur, ten minutes from central Reykjavík, built around a 70-metre infinity edge that melts into the North Atlantic. The water sits at 38–40°C, and its signature is the seven-step Skjól ritual: warm lagoon, cold plunge, sauna, mist, scrub, steam and shower, in sequence. Book ahead — weekends and summer evenings fill up.
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Northeast Iceland · IcelandForest Lagoon
SPAThe one big lagoon set inside a forest — in Vaðlaskógur woods, minutes from Akureyri in the north, and the water comes from a hot spring struck during tunnel construction. Two pools sit at a gentle 37°C with swim-up bars, and there's a dry sauna plus an 11°C cold plunge for the brave. A softer, greener alternative to the lava-field lagoons.
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Northeast Iceland · IcelandMyvatn Nature Baths
SPAThe north's answer to the Blue Lagoon, near Lake Mývatn in an active volcanic zone. Its milky-blue lagoon runs 36–40°C, coloured by silica and alkaline minerals drawn from a borehole nearby, with the steaming slopes of Námafjall next door. Note: the site has been closed for renovation and is due to reopen (as Earth Lagoon) in early summer 2026 — check before you go.
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Mix one wild pool with one developed lagoon and you get the full picture: the effort of a gravel road or a 3 km hike, then the ease of a heated pool and a towel waiting. If you're going in summer, chase the highland and Westfjords pools while the F-roads and gravel tracks are open — many close from roughly September to June. And whatever you book, book Blue Lagoon, Sky Lagoon and Hvammsvík ahead: their timed slots sell out, sometimes weeks in advance.
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