Why Icelanders Love Hot Water: From Swimming Pools to Geothermal Lagoons

If you really want to understand Iceland's spectacular geothermal lagoons, there is something you should know first.

Icelanders love swimming pools.

Not just swimming. Sitting. Soaking. Talking. Meeting neighbours. Taking the children. Going before work. And, quite often, spending an hour at the swimming pool without doing very much swimming at all.

Almost every town and municipality in Iceland, however small, has a swimming pool. Most have outdoor hot tubs alongside them, and they are used all year round – through rain, wind, snow and those surprisingly beautiful Icelandic winter mornings.

To visitors, this may seem unusual.

To Icelanders, it is simply part of life.

It started with something more serious

For Icelanders, learning to swim was not always primarily about exercise or relaxation.

It was also about survival.

Iceland is an island nation whose history and livelihood have always been closely connected to the sea. For generations, fishing was not only one of Iceland's most important industries – it was also one of its most dangerous.

Dozens of fishermen could be lost at sea in a single year.

Swimming therefore became an important life skill, and generations of Icelandic children were taught to swim at school. That tradition remains very much alive today. Swimming is still a formal part of compulsory education, with the national curriculum placing particular emphasis on every child becoming able to swim. (Government of Iceland)

Thankfully, life at sea has changed enormously. Better vessels, communications, weather forecasting, safety equipment, training and many other improvements have transformed safety in Iceland's fishing industry.

But something else happened along the way.

Swimming became a habit.

And the habit became a culture.

The Icelandic swimming pool is more than a swimming pool

Walk into a local Icelandic pool on a weekday morning and you will quickly understand.

Some people are there to swim laps.

Others head almost directly for the hot tubs.

This is where neighbours meet, friends catch up and complete strangers discuss the weather, football, politics and whatever happens to be in the news that morning.

Children grow up going to the pool. Parents bring babies. Teenagers meet friends. Older Icelanders may visit almost every day.

And then there is the weather.

There is something wonderfully Icelandic about sitting outside in 39°C water while the air temperature is below freezing, steam rising around you and perhaps even snow falling on your head.

Long before geothermal lagoons became a reason to visit Iceland, hot water was simply part of how Icelanders lived.

From hot springs to swimming pools – and then to lagoons

Iceland's relationship with hot water goes back much further than the modern swimming pool.

Natural hot springs have been used for bathing for centuries. At Laugarvatn, for example, historical references to geothermal bathing reach back to around the time of Iceland's conversion to Christianity in the year 1000. In 1929, local residents built two small bathhouses directly over a hot spring – a tradition that today's Laugarvatn Fontana still draws upon. (Laugarvatn Fontana)

During the 20th century, geothermal heating and modern infrastructure helped swimming pools spread throughout Iceland's towns and villages.

Then came another development.

The Icelandic hot-water experience became something visitors wanted to experience too.

The Blue Lagoon became the international icon. Laugarvatn Fontana developed Iceland's older geothermal bathing tradition into a modern visitor experience.

And over the past decade, a new generation of geothermal lagoons has appeared around Iceland – each interpreting the country's relationship with hot water in a slightly different way.

For visitors staying on the Golden Circle, that has created an interesting problem:

Which one should you choose?

Our answer might be: why choose only one?

Four very different bathing experiences around the Golden Circle

One of the advantages of staying in Reykholt is that several excellent geothermal experiences are within easy reach – and they are surprisingly different from one another.

Reykjaböð – a new stop on the way from Reykjavík

The newest addition is Reykjaböð Hot Springs, at the foot of Reykjadalur in Hveragerði.

Its location makes it particularly interesting for Golden Circle travellers. Hveragerði is around 35 minutes from Reykjavík, so Reykjaböð can become part of the journey rather than requiring a separate excursion. (Reykjabod)

It could be a wonderful way to mark the transition from Reykjavík into the countryside: leave the city, soak in geothermal water in Hveragerði, and continue towards your Golden Circle base.

Laugarvatn Fontana – bathing with history

Laugarvatn Fontana is perhaps the clearest link between Iceland's old bathing culture and its modern geothermal experiences.

The natural steam baths are built directly over a geothermal hot spring, and the location beside Laugarvatn means you can alternate between heat and the cold lake.

Fontana has also just undergone substantial renovations. The new facilities opened on 1 August 2026, including a new sauna overlooking the lake, renovated changing rooms, new baths extending towards the water and a redesigned natural steam experience. (Laugarvatn Fontana)

This isn't simply a spa that happens to use geothermal water.

The geothermal activity is part of the experience.

Laugarás Lagoon – our new neighbour

Then there is Laugarás Lagoon, just 11 kilometres from Blue Hotel Fagrilundur and Blue View Cabins.

For guests staying with us, this may be the easiest lagoon experience of all to add to the day.

The lagoon uses naturally hot geothermal water from Laugarás, cooled with naturally filtered glacial water from the Hvítá river. (Laugarás Lagoon)

And it is worth allowing time for dinner as well.

Ylja, the lagoon's restaurant, is led by acclaimed Icelandic chef Gísli Matt and works with ingredients from local farms, fisheries and the area's geothermal greenhouses. (Laugarás Lagoon)

That makes Laugarás particularly easy to turn into an evening rather than simply another attraction: spend the day exploring the Golden Circle, return towards Reykholt, enjoy the lagoon and finish with dinner at Ylja.

No long drive back to Reykjavík required.

Secret Lagoon – where the story comes full circle

And finally there is Secret Lagoon at Flúðir.

This is where the modern Icelandic lagoon story reconnects beautifully with the swimming culture we started with.

The pool – known in Icelandic as Gamla Laugin, or "the old pool" – dates from 1891. Organised swimming lessons were held there from 1909, long before anyone imagined geothermal bathing as a luxury tourism experience.

It is less polished than some of Iceland's newest lagoons.

That is part of its charm.

You are bathing in warm geothermal water surrounded by an active geothermal landscape – in a place where Icelanders were learning to swim more than a century ago.

Stay in the middle of it all

And this brings us back to the Golden Circle.

A lot of visitors experience this part of Iceland as a day trip:

Reykjavík → Þingvellir → Geysir → Gullfoss → Reykjavík.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with that.

But stay for two or three nights and a different Golden Circle begins to appear.

From Blue Hotel Fagrilundur or your own Blue View Cabin in Reykholt, you are right in the middle of it.

Laugarás Lagoon is only 11 km away. Secret Lagoon is nearby at Flúðir. Fontana is an easy drive at Laugarvatn. And the new Reykjaböð in Hveragerði can become part of your journey from Reykjavík.

And hot water is only part of the story.

You have Gullfoss, Geysir and Þingvellir, of course. But there is also Brúarfoss, Skálholt, Friðheimar, Mika, Vínstofan and countless smaller stops and experiences throughout the area.

You don't have to squeeze them all into one day.

Do as the Icelanders do

So when you visit Iceland, by all means visit one of our beautiful geothermal lagoons.

But perhaps visit a local swimming pool as well.

Sit outside in a hot tub when the weather isn't quite behaving. Stay a little longer than you intended. Listen to the conversations around you.

You may begin to understand why Icelanders have such a special relationship with hot water.

And if you're exploring the Golden Circle, don't just drive through it.

Stay here. Take your time. And do what Icelanders have been doing for generations: get into the water.