The Blue Lagoon Experience

The Blue Lagoon is truly a magical place – once you get to the water of course. But, it wasn’t the easiest place to navigate. Here’s what we learned.

When you see a shiny sign saying Blue Lagoon ahead and your tour bus finally stops, you may be so excited that you don’t realize the building you were dropped off at is for luggage storage only. We always pack light (my husband says checked bags aren’t allowed) so there was no need for us to make this stop. After a few minutes were wasted, we realized that the actual entrance was through a walkway to the right of the luggage storage facility. Once you enter, you’ll get in the line corresponding to the ticket you purchased.

We decided to purchase Premium admission tickets directly from the Blue Lagoon website which included our Reykjavik Excursion shuttle to the Lagoon from the airport as well as transportation on to our hotel in Reykjavik.

The premium admission ticket includes:

• Bathrobe
• Slippers (which really means flip-flops)
• Towel
• Drink from the swim up bar (which can be a smoothie, beer or wine)
• Glass of sparkling wine (at Lava Restaurant)

This is a huge pick-up if you are a light packer but if you have the room this is an easy way to save money. Two premium entry tickets cost us $249.69 (versus $82 for the standard entry for two). Tickets are cheaper the further in advance you purchase them (we booked ours about a month before our visit). Another pick-up you get with the premium entry is the line that’s separated from the general entry line. We arrived as soon as the Lagoon opened so the length of the line made a huge difference.

We cruised through the entry, grabbed a shower (this is a requirement but you don’t have to wash your hair as long as you put it up) and met outside of the dressing rooms. We were able to squeeze our luggage into the lockers provided but it was tight! If you have anything other than a book-sack, you’ll need to store your stuff at the luggage check.

Okay, so now on to the good stuff. The lagoon begins just outside of the locker rooms. There are two ways to enter the lagoon – one that leads to a concrete walkway and the other you get to through the water.  We were there in November so we opted for the water entry. The water gets much warmer the further you venture out. Next to the lava rocks is hot! We dove face first in the experience. Well not literally. We did partake in the obligatory algae mask.

Overall, we had a great experience but here are the things we wish we would have known before our visit.

• Booking the Blue Lagoon tour when you arrive is a great way to relax after a long plane ride or wind down before your departure. It’s 45 minutes from Reykjavik and 15 minutes from Keflavik – a big time saver!
• Eat at the restaurant! It was fantastic. Plus, if you book the premier entry you get a free glass of sparkling wine. Several people dined in their bathrobe so if you’re into that sort of thing, by all means go for it.
• A waterproof camera or phone case is a must. We didn’t bring one so we were only able to snap a few photos.
• Drink a ton of water! I am not sure if it was a combination of the flight, empty stomachs and the hot water, but we both felt a little queasy after spending 45 minutes in the lagoon. After some soup and water, we were back to a 100%.
• Make sure you get a departure schedule if you opt for the transportation booked through the Lagoon. We saw different transportation times online before the trip and ended up missing our return bus by 10 minutes with another not coming for over an hour.

Bottom line:

Visiting the Lagoon is a great way to kick-off or end your Iceland trip.