Nauthólsvík Geothermal Beach

Nauthólsvík sits in a cove below Öskjuhlíð hill, on the southern shore of Reykjavík. The sand was trucked in, and a curved sea wall closes off a lagoon where hot geothermal water is mixed into the tide. In summer the lagoon is mild enough to swim in, and a hot-pot and steam bath stand on the sand. This is a public beach rather than a spa: families in summer, cold-water swimmers all winter.