Blue Lagoon

Travel tips you can trust

Why the
Blue Lagoon
is special

The large, outdoor Blue Lagoon with its rising steamy clouds and lava-rock walls creates a bizarre aura.

Blue Lagoon
tips and insights

Why people come

Visitors fall into two categories:

The vast majority of visitors bathe in the water to relax and unwind - or to satisfy their curiosity - or for conversation-piece value.

Others come for health, wellness, and spa beauty treatments from the water's reputed curative powers. The site's best-known treatment is for the skin disease psoriasis.

Be aware

Though the Blue Lagoon is an entertaining communal bathing activity, there is a side effect that the promotional brochures don't tell you

Your unprotected hair can remain undesirably straw-like for days if you submerge your head in the mineral-rich water. Tips:

Before you enter the water

Conditioner is available free in the showers. Use it generously when taking the mandatory pre-pool shower.

While in the water

Don't swim or otherwise wet your head unless you have a water tight swimming cap.

After you leave the water

Free shampoo is also provided in the showers. Use it aggressively during your post-pool shower to rid your hair of the lagoon minerals. And don't forget to generously apply the conditioner.

Hand wash your bathing suit well while you are in the shower. Otherwise, the
lagoon water minerals could possibly stiffen and stain your sui

Lagoon is artificial

It didn't exist until the nearby geothermal power plant was constructed.

Blue Lagoon geographical stats

The Blue Lagoon lies 39 kilometers (24 miles) from Reykjavik and only 13 kilometers (8 miles) from the international airport.

Location in Iceland