Blue Lagoon Iceland: Photos, Packages, Tips and Honest Review (2026)

Photos, tickets, hotels and a full day inside the steam.

The first thing you notice is the colour. Iceland spends most of the year in slate, moss and black basalt, and then a road bends through a lava field and there is a sheet of opaque, milky turquoise lying in the rock as if someone had spilled a piece of sky. Steam lifts off it in slow columns. The ground around it is jagged, dark and furred with pale green moss. Nothing about the scene looks natural, and yet every part of it is the Earth doing exactly what it does here.

This is the Blue Lagoon, the most photographed bath in the country and the first stop for a large share of the people who land at Keflavik. This guide follows a visit the way it actually unfolds, from the walk in through the lava at the start of the day to the last soak under a dark sky, with the practical details that decide whether the visit feels effortless or rushed.

Morning: the walk through the lava

You do not see the lagoon from the car park. A path of about 300 metres runs through the lava field, low walls of black rock on either side, the air carrying a faint mineral smell and a bite of cold in any season outside midsummer. The building comes first, a long low structure of concrete and glass that lies flat against the rock, and the lagoon stays hidden until you are inside, changed, showered and ready to step out. Marked walking paths wind over the lava near the entrance too, and they offer pale blue overflow pools and mossy ground to photograph before you ever reach the door.

Arriving early matters more than most guides admit. In the first hours the water is calm, the steam is thick and the light comes in low across the lava, turning the surface from milk white to pale aqua as the sun rises. By late morning the sound of the place changes. Groups arrive, the bar opens properly, and the quiet is gone.

Choosing your time slot

The lagoon is gentlest at the edges of the day. The first slots of the morning and the last slots of the evening are the quietest, with the water nearly still, the steam heavy and the pale light flattering to every photograph. Midday through mid afternoon is the busiest stretch, roughly eleven to three, when tour groups arrive in waves and the bar and the mask station fill up. In winter an evening slot rewards you with darkness, lamplight on the steam and the chance of aurora overhead. In summer a late evening slot gives you slanting gold light and a lagoon that has quietly emptied. Choose the slot first and build the rest of your day around it. Early and late slots are also the cheapest, since pricing is dynamic and climbs for midday and peak dates.

Inside the changing area

Everything runs on a wristband. It opens your locker, pays for drinks at the bar and tracks anything you add to the bill, so there is nothing to carry into the water. Lockers are large enough for clothing and a small bag. A separate luggage storage building stands beside the car park, which is the reason so many travellers do this on arrival or departure day: you can come straight from the airport, store your bags before the walk through the lava, soak for a few hours and move on without ever checking in anywhere. Using it also spares you from hauling a rolling suitcase over the uneven ground of the path.

Street shoes come off at the racks near the changing room entrance, as in every Icelandic pool, and visitors who march in with snow boots on are sent back by the attendants. Showering without a swimsuit is required before entering. The shower stalls are individual, and cubicles with doors and privacy curtains are tucked toward the corners of the washrooms for anyone who dislikes open showering, so look past the first row of stalls instead of walking out in distress. The changing cabins have doors, which makes the process easier than it sounds. This is also the moment to look after your hair. The water is rich in silica, which settles on hair and dries it out within an hour. Work a thick layer of conditioner through your hair, leave it in, and tie it up. The lagoon provides shampoo, conditioner and moisturiser in the changing area, and you will be glad of it.

Hundreds of near identical white towels hang on the hooks by the outdoor exit, and the walk back out of the water in cold air is the worst moment to hunt for yours. Tie a bright hair scrunchie, ribbon or the strap of your phone pouch around your towel hook before you step out and you will find it in seconds.

Leave silver and gold jewellery in the locker. The minerals tarnish them faster than you would expect. Contact lenses deserve the same caution. The silica in the water can scratch and damage lenses, and the lagoon recommends removing them before you enter, so bring glasses or prescription swim goggles instead. A waterproof phone pouch is worth carrying if you want pictures from inside the water, and a hand strap is safer than a neck cord near so much steam.

Midday: in the water

You have two ways into the lagoon. You can walk straight outside and drop into the water down a ramp, or you can ease in indoors and glide out through a heavy wooden door, which spares your wet skin from the first rush of cold air. The outdoor entry is the sharpest cold you will feel all day, a few seconds of bare skin in wind, then you are in and the temperature disappears. The water comes up to your chest, warm and slightly heavy, with the faint softness of silica on your skin. The bottom is a mix of fine silt and smooth rock, and in some alcoves it is coated with a soft, squishy white sediment of mineral silica that feels strange underfoot the first time. It is harmless, natural mineral build up and not dirt. Wander and you find warm pockets and cooler channels, each with its own steam rising from it, and the whole lagoon feels like a map of small climates.

The lagoon is not a uniform heated pool. The warmest water sits near the wooden conduits and inflows where fresh geothermal water is pumped in, and wind pushes cooler surface water toward the outer edges. Drift toward the inflow when you want heat, and toward the edges when you want to cool down.

The colour is not a trick of light. Dissolved silica and the algae that grow in the water scatter sunlight, which is why the lagoon stays milky blue even under heavy cloud and why it looks almost white at certain angles. Scoop the water into a clear glass and it is cloudy and white. On overcast days and at twilight the surface turns a pearl grey rather than electric blue. The water itself is geothermal seawater drawn from deep beneath the lava field and renewed every couple of days, so it is constantly fresh even though the lagoon looks permanent.

The source is the Svartsengi geothermal power plant next door. Superheated water drawn from deep underground drives the turbines, and the mineral rich outflow, a mixture of seawater and fresh water, runs into the lava field and forms the lagoon. It is not a natural spring, and that is part of why the temperature stays steady and the water stays so clean.

What the first ten minutes feel like

The first minute is the cold dash from the doorway. The second is warmth closing around your shoulders. By the fifth you have stopped noticing the wind, your skin feels oddly smooth, and you notice that there is none of the rotten egg smell you might expect from a geothermal pool. The water carries a mild, salty mineral scent and very little sulphur. It is soft and slightly silky, almost like bathing in thin milk, and the silica leaves a faint film on your skin that feels velvety when you run a hand along your arm. By the tenth minute you have found your corner, drifted away from the entrance, and the sound of the place has softened into distant voices, running water and the slow hiss of steam.

The mud mask station, the bar and the hidden corners

Along one edge sits a station where you scoop thick white silica mud into your hand and spread it over your face. It dries to a pale mask in a few minutes and rinses away in the water. People photograph each other covered in it, floating, eyes closed, and the results are among the most shared images from the whole visit.

The swim-up bar is a low counter set directly in the water. You wade to it, show your wristband and carry your drink back out into the steam. A cold drink in a warm lagoon is one of those combinations that sounds like a gimmick until you try it. Your first drink is included with your ticket, and anything after that goes onto the band. Alcohol and hot mineral water dehydrate you faster than a normal hot bath, so alternate with water. Drinking water is available inside the building near the indoor entrance, and carrying your own bottle saves money.

Most visitors cluster around the bar and the mask station, which means the quiet is elsewhere. A sauna, a steam room and a steam cave are cut into the lava rock, with a wooden door that many people walk straight past. A massage waterfall pounds the shoulders in a way that feels like a firm massage. In the far corners, where the porous black lava absorbs sound, the lagoon is hushed enough that you hear only water and wind. If you want solitude, drift to the edges and the outer alcoves.

The water is milky, and anything you drop below a few inches vanishes at once. A ring, a room key or a waterproof case that slips from your hand sinks into the soft sediment and is almost impossible to find, so loop your phone strap around your wrist and keep valuables in the locker. The lagoon does not accept responsibility for lost valuables.

Why the water is milky blue, and where it comes from

Nobody designed the Blue Lagoon. In 1976 the Svartsengi power plant began releasing its used geothermal fluid onto the surrounding lava field, expecting it to drain away through the rock. Instead the silica in the cooling water settled out as a soft white mud, sealed the lava, and the water pooled into a lagoon. In 1981 a plant worker named Valur Margeirsson, who suffered from psoriasis, asked permission to bathe in the warm runoff and found that his skin improved. Word spread among people with psoriasis, the lagoon opened to bathers in the late 1980s, and a larger spa with a sauna and steam room followed in 1999. What began as an industrial by-product became the most visited place in the country, and its psoriasis treatment tradition remains part of the story.

The lagoon holds about six million litres of geothermal seawater, drawn from deep underground and renewed completely roughly every 40 to 48 hours. The mineral and salt content creates conditions where ordinary pool bacteria struggle to survive, so no chlorine is added, and the constant renewal keeps the water fresh however many bathers enter. The temperature stays between 37 and 39 degrees Celsius year round, which is why a soak feels as good in a snowstorm as in summer.

Afternoon: choosing a ticket

The lagoon sells entry in tiers, and the right one depends on how you plan to spend the day. Starting prices on the official booking page are shown below. Pricing is dynamic, so the figure you pay rises for peak dates and midday slots and falls for early morning and late evening. Confirm the current list at checkout before you commit.

If you only want the water and the photographs, Comfort is enough. If the visit is one of the main events of your trip, Premium adds the small comforts that make a long stay easier, from the robe for the cold walk back to the extra masks. The Retreat Spa is a different experience entirely, quieter and more private, with its own lagoon and a spa carved into the lava, and it suits people who care more about stillness than about the famous main pool. Extras such as an in-water massage, which starts around ISK 20,900, can be added when you book.

Eating, with steam on your skin

Dining sits above the water in glass-fronted rooms that look straight out over the lagoon. Lava is the larger restaurant, built into the rock with long windows over the water, serving Icelandic ingredients such as fish, lamb and root vegetables in a relaxed setting. Moss, the fine dining restaurant attached to the Retreat Hotel, takes tasting menus and pairs them with Icelandic produce, and it books out far in advance. There is also a casual cafe for soup, sandwiches and coffee between soaks. A hot bowl of fish soup eaten wrapped in a robe, with the lagoon glowing beyond the glass, is one of the quieter pleasures of the day.

On the menu you find the best of the island: Arctic char with brown butter, langoustine, lamb that tastes of the heath, skyr desserts and warm bread with whipped butter. Moss leans toward tasting menus where each course carries a single ingredient, a sliver of cod, a spoon of birch, a leaf of dill, plated to look like a piece of the lava field itself. Lava feels more relaxed, with a view of the water at most tables and a wine list that rewards a slow lunch. Coffee and a light bite at the cafe suit anyone who wants to stay light before or after a soak.

Dusk and night: where the lagoon changes character

As the light drops the colour deepens. The turquoise turns slate blue, then inky, and the steam takes on the glow of the lamps along the water. The best thirty minutes of the day are the blue hour, when the black basalt turns to silhouette, soft lights catch the steam, and your phone or camera finds contrast without the glare that daylight throws off the white water. In autumn and winter the sky above the lava field can fill with moving green light on clear nights, and floating in warm water while the aurora drifts overhead is the image most visitors carry home. It cannot be guaranteed, since it depends on solar activity and clear sky, but a night booking in the dark months gives you the best chance of it. If you are planning a longer aurora trip, our guide to northern lights tours and dates in Scandinavia covers the best months and places to stay.

Midsummer is the opposite. Between late May and July the sun barely sets, the lagoon stays open until late in the evening, and a late booking brings golden light across the lava, long shadows and warm tones on the steam. The water feels the same, but the whole place looks different, softer and wider and warmer.

Autumn on the lava

September and October bring a third version of the place. The moss on the lava turns from bright green to rust, ochre and deep olive, the air smells of cold rock and damp earth, and the crowds thin out as summer visitors leave. The light is long and low, the first frosts dust the edges, and clear nights begin to bring the first aurora of the season over the lagoon. For many photographers this is the best balance of colour, calm and darkness.

Winter against summer

In winter the edges of the lagoon freeze, the moss turns brown, the sky is dark by mid-afternoon and the air outside the water is sharp enough to sting. You move between the entrance and the water at a half run, and standing up to cross a bridge or reach the bar exposes soaking skin to wind that can feel like an Arctic gale. In summer the same walk takes minutes of unhurried drifting, the lava is vivid green, and the steam is thin and bright. Both seasons are worth seeing, and photographers often prefer winter for drama and summer for colour.

Staying on site: Retreat Hotel and Silica Hotel

Two hotels sit beside the lagoon. The Retreat Hotel is the more luxurious, with suites that look out over the lava, each with access to its own private lagoon or a balcony over the volcanic landscape. The Silica Hotel is more modest in scale, and its guests receive a complimentary Blue Lagoon ticket and use of their own Silica Lagoon, so you can walk from your room to the water without queuing at the main building.

Staying on site makes sense if you want to enter the water before the day visitors arrive or after they leave, when the lagoon is at its quietest. The alternative is a guesthouse in Grindavik or a hotel near Keflavik, which costs less and works well for an arrival-day or departure-day soak. The Reykjanes Peninsula is volcanically active, and the lagoon has closed temporarily during eruptions, so check opening status on the official site before you travel and keep your plans flexible.

A night at either hotel changes the rhythm of the visit. You wake with the lagoon already outside your window, steam lifting off the water in the blue hour before sunrise, and you can step into the warm water before breakfast while the day visitors are still on the road. The Retreat Hotel adds a spa with treatment rooms, a quiet lounge and a private lagoon fed from the same source. The Silica Hotel is set up for guests who want direct lagoon access without the full luxury price. Compared with a bed in Grindavik or near Keflavik, you pay more but save the drive and gain the quietest hours of the day.

Children, pregnancy and accessibility

The minimum age is two years, and every child must be accompanied by a parent or guardian at all times. The water is shallow in most places, warm rather than hot, and young children often enjoy the mud masks more than their parents. Children's tickets exist, so look for them when you book instead of buying an adult ticket.

There is no official guidance against bathing in pregnancy, and many pregnant visitors do so comfortably, but the water sits near 38 degrees Celsius, so speak to your doctor before booking, keep your time in the water short and stay away from the hottest spots near the inflow. If you feel dizzy or overheated, step out and rest.

The building has accessible changing rooms and a route down to the water for wheelchair users. Confirm the current arrangements with the lagoon when you book so that staff can prepare for your visit.

Practical details that decide the day

• Booking: Tickets must be bought online and slots sell out in busy months. Book as soon as your flights are fixed. Booking directly on the official site lets you change or cancel online, and standard tickets are refundable with more than 24 hours of notice, though terms differ by ticket, so read them at checkout.
• Your arrival window: Arrive within one hour of your booked time. The lagoon cannot promise entry to guests who turn up outside that window, so a flight delay or a long passport queue can cost you your slot. If you know you will miss it, contact the lagoon at once to ask for another time.
• Hours: The lagoon opens every day of the year, and hours change by season. The last bookable slot is two hours before closing, and guests leave the water thirty minutes before closing.
• Arrival day: If your flight lands in the morning, a lagoon visit before checking in is one of the best ways to recover from the journey. Luggage storage is available on site for a small fee.
• Departure day: Soaking before a flight works if you leave a comfortable gap. Allow time for showering, drying and the drive back.
• From Reykjavik: A rental car gives you freedom. Scheduled buses and organised transfers run from the capital and from Keflavik if you would rather not drive.
• What to bring: A swimsuit, flip flops, a hair tie, a water bottle, glasses instead of contact lenses, and a waterproof pouch for your phone. A towel, shampoo and conditioner are provided with every ticket.
• What to leave behind: Silver and gold jewellery, contact lenses, and anything delicate that cannot get wet.

Arrival day and departure day plans

The lagoon sits between the airport and the capital, which makes it the best first or last stop of a trip. On arrival, drive straight from the terminal, leave your bags in the luggage storage, soak for two to three hours and continue to Reykjavik refreshed, about 50 minutes further on. On departure, plan to leave the lagoon at least three to four hours before your flight, which allows time to dry, dress and drive the 20 minutes to Keflavik. From Reykjavik you can reach the lagoon by rental car, a scheduled bus, or an organised transfer that includes entry. On a tight connection, choose the Premium tier so a towel and robe are waiting and you do not have to pack wet gear.

Volcanic activity and access

The lagoon stands a few kilometres from the Sundhnúkur crater row, which began erupting repeatedly in December 2023. Several eruptions forced the lagoon to evacuate or close for periods, and the most recent ran from 16 July to 5 August 2025, when the lagoon was evacuated as a precaution and reopened later the same day. In October 2026 no eruption is underway, and monitoring shows magma still slowly collecting beneath Svartsengi, with the volcanic alert level for the area at orange. Scientists cannot say when the next eruption will come, and the lagoon has been open the vast majority of the time throughout this period.

Engineered earth barriers now stand around the Svartsengi power plant and the lagoon to divert lava, and gas sensors and a weather station at the site track air quality. The road has changed as well. The usual drive follows Reykjanesbraut, route 41, then Grindavíkurvegur, route 43, and finally Norðurljósavegur to the entrance, and part of the route runs over new lava on a gravel surface where the speed limit is lower and stopping is not allowed. Keep your booking confirmation ready, since guests may be asked to show it on the way in.

Book directly through the official website, so that if a closure or road restriction arises you can change or cancel a ticket yourself and receive any rebooking or refund options. Third party tickets can be rigid. Check the lagoon's own status page and the national road and safety information the morning you travel, and keep your plans flexible.

Photography and gear

The contrast between 38 degree water and freezing air fogs lenses and phone cases within seconds in winter. Carry two or three microfibre cloths in a dry pocket, wipe the lens before every frame, and test your touch screen before you step into the water, since wet screens register false touches and droplets can freeze on glass. Batteries drain quickly in sub-zero air, so keep your phone against your chest inside a dry pocket or robe until you are ready to shoot, then put it back.

The best frames are wide shots of the pale water against black lava, steam at low angles at sunrise and the blue hour, close details of the mask station and the swim-up bar, and the lava corridor on the walk in. You are free to take photos in the lagoon, but respect the privacy of other guests and leave other bathers out of focus. Shoot early or late in the day for fewer people in the frame, and use the path outside the building for images that need no one in the water at all.

A winter solstice in Iceland: field notes

I just returned after a stay of several days in the Blue Lagoon Resort in Iceland during the winter solstice. In December low temperatures are already well established on the land which is also a country geographically half Europe and America. What is winter in Iceland, other than cold, freezing wind and ice? There are some primeval landscapes, a magical and fleeting light, and almost no tourists. And with a lot of patience and some luck, perhaps some aurora borealis. In fact, it was the main motivation for the trip. It was all very tempting for a photographer.

Winter travel in Iceland has its charm. They are auroras Borealis or northern lights. You can enjoy the snowy landscapes and the best-known traditions of Icelanders since summer lasts only three months. For me, the best days are after a heavy snowfall, as the sky shines like opening the contours of the fading city. Children enjoy it very much.

If you visit Iceland in winter, chances are that you can see the white Christmas like in Christmas movies. The houses are colorful with maximum two floors. Outside of Reykjavik, in rural areas, there is snow in abundance. Every morning snowplows pass through the streets and bike lanes. I do not know who would we be without them.

I find it very romantic to drink coffee and look out the window or sit on the couch and read, listen to jazz and drink a glass of wine or beer. We love bathing in very hot water. All pools have jacuzzis, mostly outdoors. The good winter in Iceland is also surrounded by snow and we watch northern lights in the sky.

When does winter begin in Iceland?

The winter in Iceland according to the Old Norse calendar begins in October between 21 and 27. This day traders in the downtown street of Skolavordustigur invite everyone for beef soup. This month is called Gormánuður. The Viking calendar distinguishes only two seasons: summer and winter.

Fleeting and cold wind

But shooting at this time of the year on a destination bordering the Arctic presents its difficulties. First, the few hours of light. After a long night and a long morning sun peeked over the horizon at about 11:30 AM in the morning and hid back by 3 PM. Then, every night we went out to the field several hours in a stubborn attempt to observe auroras. The lived excitement and jumping for joy at the first sight of the northern lights remain among our fondest memories.

The second problem for the photographer is some pretty severe weather, although they were expected given the latitudes where we were. Both during the day and night temperature range between -1 and -3 °C, down to -11 sometimes. Although we are accustomed to such temperatures, the fact is that the combination with the constant winds between 35 and 90 Km/h subjected to thermal sensations equivalent to -15 to -30 °C, which was quite harder.

It was also impressive driving both day and night on roads and tracks in full blizzard or sandstorm. But to me personally these extreme conditions motivate me even more and I have always enjoyed them. I demonstrate the strength of wild nature and sometimes are the way to get images out of the ordinary. So I had to use shutter speeds and higher ISO than usual. Fortunately, my camera allows shooting at high sensitivities with low noise and an image stabilizer.

Clothing to photograph Iceland in winter

One of the most troublesome things to work under intense cold is clothing. Outside we had one or even two thermal tights, plus a high mountain pants and other waterproof up to stop the wind. In the upper two thermal shirts under a fleece jersey, and a thick jacket fleece and down anorak or wind jackets (even at times both at once). A thin thermal gloves under mittens fleece for hands and cap with fleece insulate us. The 4x4 car we rented was, besides our means of transport, our shelter from blizzards and low temperatures in Iceland.

With the cold and wind, everything is more difficult and, as we work frequently at dusk and night. Sitting on a comfortable sofa with a cup of chocolate, wrapped in a warm flannel blanket and a house of solid walls. And you are near a window receiving the light passing through the glass, you will feel even more comfortable.

I had long wanted to live it, not another destination, but to experience the freezing cold and the polar night. With only 5 hours of dim light of the sun, near the sinuous profile of the horizon of snowy mountains around us.

Since the December 21 winter solstice began, temperatures are negative and at this time, will fall further, reaching approximate minimum limits of -40º C or even less. Each year at this time, the inhabitants of the northern lands of the northern hemisphere or Boreal enthusiastically celebrate the return of the sun.

How it compares with other geothermal baths

No other bath is as close to the airport or as photogenic from the first step, which is why it works so well for short stopovers. If you have more time and want a quieter experience, add one of the others later in your trip.

Which one is right for you

Choose the Blue Lagoon if you are on a stopover or want the famous milky blue water and the lava field around it. Choose Sky Lagoon for a sunset over the ocean and a guided sequence of heat and cold. Choose the Secret Lagoon if you prefer a small, old, rustic pool in the countryside. Choose Myvatn if you are driving the north and want space, silence and a wide view. Choose a Reykjavik pool if you want a cheap, local evening among Icelanders and a taste of ordinary life.

The honest downsides

The Blue Lagoon is expensive, and the cost rises quickly once you add food, drinks and extras. It is busy, especially from late morning, and the main pool can feel crowded in peak season. The experience is polished and commercial, a very long way from a wild hot spring, and the lagoon has been shaped to suit visitors. Silica leaves hair dry and stiff, and the smell of minerals can cling to a swimsuit. Slots must be booked, so spontaneous visits are rarely possible, and eruptions on the peninsula can close the site at short notice. None of this spoils a well planned visit, but it helps to arrive with realistic expectations.

Is the Blue Lagoon worth it?

It is expensive, it is busy, and it is shaped around visitors. It is also one of the few places in Iceland where the landscape and the experience become one thing. If you go early or late, choose the right tier, protect your hair and book in advance, the visit stays calm and the pictures are as good as any you will take on the trip. If your main aim is solitude, the Retreat Spa or a quieter bath further out is a better fit.