Iceland: the land of fire and ice – and a fortuitous offshoot: hot springs. Whilst every village will have a swimming pool with hot tubs, there is something immensely satisfying about finding your own, preferably free, and in the wild. Here are some of my favourites.
LANDBROTALAUG
Snaefellsnes Peninsula
64°49′56.77″N 22°19′00.82″W
A hot pot made for two! Blink and you will miss it and end up in the muddy wallowing version 200 metres away. Keep your head down and no one will ever know you are there.
A stone circle really only big enough for two, the water is about 4 foot deep or perfect chin height when perched on one of the stone ledges around the edges.
Sparkling water and beautifully hot – I would say this one is getting on for 40°. All around undulating scrub and distant mountains.
It is only an easy kilometre off the 54 as you enter the Snaefell peninsula from the south. Turn off after the distinctive Elborg crater. There are no facilities of any sort.
REYKJADALUR
Hveragerði
64°01′16.15″N 21°12′39.58″W
Make it a day for this one: it is a stiff 3 km uphill hike with a 220 m elevation gain in order to reach the main hot springs at Klambragil.
It is worth the pain though: the path leads through a lively geothermal area of steaming fumaroles, bubbling mud pots and colourful sulfurous slopes.
At Klambragil let your cares slip away as a hot river slides gently downhill over your body in a gentle massaging action.
The higher you go the hotter it gets. There are changing shelters near the popular spots, a wooden boardwalk and steps to get into the rather gravely stream. The water is only about knee deep so some wallowing is required.
It is worth walking up to the end of the valley where the people drop away and there are more mud pots, and, at the very end, a beautifully delicate waterfall amidst a lost world landscape of jagged outcrops. I was all ready to dive in but sadly it wasn’t hot!.
Even better, if you have the energy, add a 4 km loop around the mountain at the top of the valley, to make a 10 km walk in total. The views are fantastic and that hot river is a just reward.
NOTE: It is a paying car park at the base, but this can be avoided by parking at one of the pull outs on the approach road. There is a smart cafe and toilets.
KROSSNESLAUG
Norðurfjördur
66.055632, -21.508082.
The Strandir Peninsula is a remote corner of the West Fjords, worth visiting for its unspoilt beauty, wild hiking and quite possibly these wonderful baths.
Norðurfjördur is the main village near the end of the road with a cafe, petrol and various lodging options. It started life trading in shark liver oil and salted cod.
A little further around the headland, the nearby Krossneslaug hot pool is getting a bit of a name for itself. It sits on the edge of the ocean with lovely views out to sea and was built in the 1950’s so the local farmers could teach their children to swim.
It has recently been refurbished and now has smart changing rooms although their honesty payment system was rather scary: simply put in the amount (1000 kr. per person) and scan the credit card – I could see us putting an extra nought on by mistake. It is open 24 hours a day.
GUÐRÚNARLAUG HOT POT
Laugar
Acting on my dictum of never going past a free hot pot, we checked one out at Laugar early one morning. Only 3 km off Route 60, the Hotel Edda also has a pleasant campsite, but more importantly, lying just above it, the Guðrúnarlaug hot pot.
Guðrun was a notable beauty from the Laxdoela Saga who was lucky enough to marry four times. She would have certainly have enjoyed bathing in this pool.
It is also quite a hot one but whilst in it enjoy the natural surrounds with only a little waterfall in the gully above to disturb the silence.
There is a charming hobbit hut for changing and a box for donations.
THE GOLDILOCKS TUBS
Dranganes
65.688188, -21.448157.
If you are heading to Strandir, the little village of Dranganes is virtually en route and a hot tub awaits – or rather 3, which is why they are called the Goldilocks tubs.
They are neatly lined up beside the seafront with great fjord views. The only drawback is the streak across the road to the changing room (1000 kr donation requested) and you might have to fight the locals for the limited space.
They are in an enchanting spot though where the great expanse of ocean and sky seem to meld together.
LANDMANNALAUGAR
Highland
63.99113, -19.0587
This is an enchanting area, whether visiting on a day trip or heading off on the famous 5 day Laugavegur Trail hike. A volcanic area, the hills are a riot of colour and there are active fumeroles and spikey lava to explore.
However, whatever you do, don’t miss the natural hot pools, or river in this case, where boiling hot water emerges from under the edge of the lava.
It is an idyllic spot and delightfully natural (and free). Paddle around to find your ideal temperature: it is hottest the nearer one gets to the waterfalls.
REYKJARFJARÐARLAUG
Reykjafjörður
65.622813, -23.467903
There is some beautiful countryside in the West Fjords, including the Dynjandi Waterfall, but they hold their own when it comes to hot springs too. In the little Reykjarfjörður, we found the super Reykjarfjarðarlaug thermal pools. These were surprisingly quiet considering that a) they were free and b) they were right beside the road.
There was a wooden changing room and loo and a box for donations but that was it: a gloriously big pool split into 2 sections (one seemed to have to slither over the wall between the two but you might be lucky and find a chair), the seaward one a touch cooler with a glorious fjord view, the one to the rear a lovely hot temperature for wallowing. High mountains loomed in the valley behind and all in all it was an idyllic spot.
LAUGARVELLI
Nr. Snaefell Mountain
65.005962, -15.761317
About 8 km beyond the Kárahnjúkar Dam, you find the turn off for the Laugarvelli hotpot, one of our favourites in Iceland.
Older blogs say to park at the turnoff but there is actually a good 3 km gravel track in, with one small river crossing near the end. The pools can be spotted on the way down where a river valley cuts through the grey hills.
There is a loo and a small hut which I presume is designed for walkers, and then an open changing shelter. I would recommend crocs although you can just change on the grassy banks by the pools.
A short walk down a hill leads to the main pool nestling under a small cliff where a hot waterfall cascades down. It is a nice temperature, I would think about 38°, with a slightly cooler one just below. One can look down the valley over the river; there were a few distant pink footed geese on our visit and it was all rather idyllic.
POLLURIN
Tálknafjörður
65.64908, -23.89486
Pollurinn lies 3.5 km west of Tálknafjörður signposted off a gravel road in the ever scenic West Fjords.
A series of hot pots on the hillside give a panoramic view over the wide mouth of a fjord where farmed fish jump in their corrals. There is a box for donations, as well as changing rooms and a shower.
One note of caution: the tubs are quite slippery – I ended up doing an undignified slither into the lap of an American!