Geosea Geothermal Sea Baths

The pools are built on the rock at the edge of the water, with the Húsavík lighthouse alongside. There are two of them, held at different temperatures, and you move between them as you like. The view runs along the coast and out across the bay to the mountains.

Drinks are ordered from the water and charged to a wristband, so nobody has to climb out and find a wallet.

How the place feels depends on the coaches. Between arrivals there can be almost nobody in the water, and the staff are unhurried. When a tour is in, the changing rooms fill before the pools do.

• Bring a towel and slippers. Shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, body lotion and hair dryers are provided in the changing rooms.
• Changing rooms and lockers are tight. They were not built for a group arriving all at once.
• Coach tours fill the place. Walk out towards the lighthouse first: from there you can see the pools and judge how busy they are.
• There are a lot of children here. The baths are family-oriented, not an adults-only spa.

Geosea stands on the coast at Húsavík, next to the lighthouse. Drivers park at the baths: the car park lies about 40 metres from the entrance and is asphalt-surfaced, with a second one roughly 60 metres out. From there it is a level walk to the door. Without a car, the nearest bus stops are in the town about 950 metres away, at the Whale Museum and at Húsavík itself. Before going in, walk on towards the lighthouse — from there you can see the pools and how many people are in them.

Better: the end of the day, and any gap between coach arrivals.

Avoid: the stretch when tour buses are parked outside. Check from the lighthouse and come back later.

The pools face west across the bay, so the sun goes down in front of them. Later the lighthouse comes on. The baths stay open into the night, and that is when the view is worth the wait.