Top ten hot springs in Iceland to visit

An outdoor soak is an essential part of the Icelandic experience – a surreal way to spend a dark winter’s day, or to unkink those muscles after a long day’s hiking. In fact, the Icelandic tradition of bathing outdoors in volcanically heated pools dates right back to Viking times. A few of these old pools survive today – often sited in spectacular locations – whilst almost all settlements, however tiny, have installed geothermally heated swimming pools with accompanying hot tubs.

Landmannalaugar
Located on the gravel plains at the edge of a shockingly stark wasteland of vivid orange rhyolite mountains, Landmannalaugar – the “Farmer’s Hot Bathing Pool” – is one of the best hot springs in Iceland that seeps out from under the edge of a 15th-century lava flow, where it mingles with a separate cold spring.

Laugardalslaug, Reykjavík
Iceland pools have the convivial atmosphere of a ʙᴀʀ oʀ ᴘuʙ: many people enjoy a daily dip on their way to or from work, where they typically spend at least as much time gossiping with their friends as they do splashing about in the water.

This, the country’s largest and best-equipped swimming complex, makes a great place to join in, with indoor and outdoor pools, hot tubs, saunas and water slides for children.

Planning a summer trip? You won’t want to miss our guide to thebest places to visit in Iceland in the summer.

Snorralaug, Reykholt
ιcᴇʟᴀɴᴅs ᴇᴀʀʟʏ нιsтoʀʏ ιs ᴀ мιxтuʀᴇ oғ vικιɴԍ vιoʟᴇɴcᴇ ᴀɴᴅ cuʟтuʀᴇᴅ ʟιтᴇʀᴀʀʏ ouтᴘuт. In no way is this better illustrated than through the life of Snorri Sturluson, a wily 13th-century politician believed to have authored the Eddas – works containing much of what is known about Nordic mythology – and several Icelandic sagas.

Leirubakki, Hekla
Leirubakki is one of the few farms dotting the foothills of Hekla, a 1500m-high volcano whose regular eruptions have wʀᴇᴀκᴇᴅ ᴅᴇvᴀsтᴀтιoɴ sιɴcᴇ тнᴇ vικιɴԍs sᴇттʟᴇᴅ ιɴ ιcᴇʟᴀɴᴅ ᴅuʀιɴԍ тнᴇ ɴιɴтн cᴇɴтuʀʏ, and whose steaming slash of a crater was once believed to be the gateway to нᴇʟʟ.

Grjótagjá, Mývatn
Out in the countryside east of Lake Mývatn, Grjótagjá is a flooded subterranean volcanic fissure, which used to be a popular place for a swim until a nearby eruption in the 1970s heated the water up beyond tolerable levels.

Blue Lagoon, Reykjanes
Despite being very much on the beaten track, we couldn’t finish off this list without including the Blue Lagoon. Just off the highway linking Reykjavík to the International Airport at Keflavík, the glorious Blue Lagoon is Iceland’s foremost spa. Its vividly coloured water, the outflow from a nearby geothermal power station, pools amongst a desolate mass of rough, black lava rubble.