When you think of Iceland what’s one of the first things that comes to mind? I know for me it was always the Blue Lagoon. In recent years the social media attention on this place has skyrocketed. I swear people want to go to Iceland just to visit the Blue Lagoon. Although some people rave about it, my highly anticipated trip to the steaming turquoise waters was not at all what I was expecting. It was overpriced, overrated and in my opinion, a complete letdown. The Blue Lagoon is subpar at best.
Cost
Let’s start with the outrageous cost of getting into the manmade springs. For a stiff summer price of €45 this is the ultimate tourist rip-off. I’m all for spending more money on certain must do things, high-end spa treatments, etc. I spend the money when it’s worth it, but this is not at all worth it. At first I thought the price was so high in order to keep the crowds down, however, it turns out that no matter how high the price, people come. They come in hoards.
In addition to the high entrance fee, you have to purchase your €45 ticket (summer price) at least a day in advance to secure a booking. You can buy your ticket at the door however, if you do that it’s €5 more and you’re not guaranteed entry. I believe they do this because space is limited. However, they also may be doing this to lure tourists into purchasing the ticket to enter the pools in advance verse just going to be a spectator. I believe if people saw the Blue Lagoon that would be enough, they wouldn’t want to buy a ticket to actually go in the pool. By tempting people and saying that you have to get a ticket to guarantee entrance, that makes people think they have to buy the ticket ahead of time. No one wants to miss out on this “must do” attraction in Iceland. That’s why I purchased my ticket ahead of time..
There is a €10 ticket you can buy just to see the Blue Lagoon but it’s not that easy to find this ticket on the website. You have to dig around and it’s not listed as an option on the “plan you visit” tab where all the other ticket options are listed. Look here to learn more about this ticket: Visit/10 Euros
Next comes the extra costs. If you need to rent a towel that’s an additional €5, if you want to use a robe that’s another €5, and the costs can just keep adding up. We chose the most basic package you could purchase. With a base fare of €45 plus €15 to €20 for transportation, we ended up spending over €60 each just for one visit to the Blue Lagoon. Outrageous amount of money just to visit a manmade hotsprings springs.
Facilities
Lockers
The locker room was a mess from the get go. Women were everywhere, people had no idea what lockers were available and which were taken, some lockers were broken, but most of them just full. For a facility that you’re paying a lot of money to use, they should have a larger locker room where you’re not sitting on top of your neighbor and where there are plenty of open lockers for everyone.
Once you get a locker it’s quite confusing what to do next. You have to go to the designated shower room, shower, then walk out the back to the entrance of the Blue Lagoon. This sounds pretty straight forward, right? Well, it’s not. I’m still not even sure the proper way you’re supposed to do it all. I started wandering around in my nearly entirely exposed bikini bottom, freezing, with no idea where to go. I finally asked the woman and she pointed back in the locker room. So I went back in and then finally found the shower room. Confused? Me too.
The Shower Process
They say it’s mandatory to wash your entire body before getting in the lagoon, but they don’t really enforce this, but how could they? Should the women sit there and watch you shower? I guess not, but it’s still kind of gross to think about. There’s just a bunch of showers then an exit to the lagoon. So I can’t help but ask myself, how many of these people aren’t actually showering? Probably a lot! Then you’re getting into a pool with all of these strangers who may or may not have showered.
Finding A Place For Your Towel
When you get down to the entrance of the Blue Lagoon you have to find a place for your towel and that’s not easy. Luckily for me I brought my own towel so it stood out of the crowd. For those hundreds of people who didn’t bring their own towel, well sucks for them. If it’s poor weather and you have to hang your towel inside, then there are going to be about ten spots to hang hundreds and hundreds of towels. I felt even worse for the people who rented robes. People were stealing robes and towels left and right. A fight between two women about their robes broke out right in front of my eyes!
The Actual Blue Lagoon
The famous Blue Lagoon does have a stunning turquoise color that I truly haven’t seen at any other thermal bath in the world. I will give the Blue Lagoon that but what I saw on the sides of the lagoon was simply gross. Bundles of hair, floating shoes and even old and used Band-Aids. The Band-Aids were enough to make me gag. The worst part about it all is that you can’t see the bottom. Some parts of the bath are mushy to walk on, that’s the famous healing mineral, the silica mud. Well if you pick up that silica mud and actually look at it, it’s clumped with particles of hair and god knows what else.
Another downer to the Blue Lagoon is that it’s not even really that warm. I visited in August, one of the warmest months in Iceland, and it was still too cold. It was pouring outside with a violent wind causing waves in the pool. I was dying to get warmed up in the Blue Lagoon even if that meant haven’t hail the size of golf balls hit me in the head along the way. I jumped in so excited to finally be warmed up and suddenly realized the ultimate let down, it wasn’t hot. Now like I said, I came to the Blue Lagoon in August, and although it was warmer everyday I was in Iceland other than this particular day, can you even imagine in the winter? Temperatures dropping below freezing and then getting into a lukewarm body of water just doesn’t sound fun. If it was torture for me in August then I don’t even want to know what it’s like in December.
There are several hot spots around the thermal bath where it warms up but the heat comes and goes. Unless you want to sit in that warm spot where everyone’s cramming in together to fight the shivers, then you’re going to get cold at one point or another.
Your Hair
If you have long hair they suggest you keep it up as the minerals in the water can cause your hair to get sticky and harden. If you have any type of hair, long, short, or whatever, make sure you tie it up. It took me about a week to get my hair back to feeling normal and I didn’t even get my head wet. I got splashed here and there but I never dunked under. The mineral damage was irreversible. Some girls were wearing a shower-cap, I should’ve done that. If you do go to the Blue Lagoon make sure to bring deep conditioner. They have some in the showers, but it doesn’t work very well. If you have thick hair like mine then forget about it, bring a shower cap and do not take that bad boy off until you are completely out of the Blue Lagoon.
Is the Blue Lagoon actually a natural wonder of the world?
Technically NO, the Blue Lagoon is not natural, the Lagoon itself is manmade. That turquoise color pool you’re swimming in hasn’t been there forever. When they built the geothermal power plant in the 1970s, the Blue Lagoon became a by-product of the warm vented water coming from the volcano flow nearby. The power plant next door coupled with the modern building surrounding the lagoon made it feel very superficial. I still can’t understand why the Blue Lagoon is listed a natural wonder of the world, it’s not natural. The water is natural but the lagoon itself is not.
Final Thoughts
Some people won’t agree with this post and I understand that. Maybe people don’t have a problem with the outrageously overpriced ticket, or the fact that the water is dirty and not very warm, but I had high hopes and was extremely disappointed. I had read posts before my own personal experience that pinned the Blue Lagoon exactly as I am but I was optimistic. I can see maybe paying €10 for this attraction, but certainly not €45! At best I suggest buying the €10 ticket to see it and not go in. Like I’ve said all along, overpriced, overrated and an overall let down.
Let me end with this, the Blue Lagoon is raising their summer prices starting March of 2016, so be prepared then to shell out €50 for the basic entrance fee. You can and should go to Iceland without visiting the Blue Lagoon, you’re going to be ok! You’re not missing out on anything. There are numerous other hot springs you can visit in Iceland that are completely natural and most of them are free. Go to these and ditch this tourist trap once and for all.
Love your honesty and I agree. I thought it was a great way to relax before my flight but definitely overpriced and not as magical as the photos and promotions make it seem.
Thanks for keeping it real and honest!
Hey Dave! Thanks for taking the time to read this…I’ll continue to keep it real 🙂
I’m so sorry I didn’t see this review before my trip to Iceland. Against my better judgement, I pre-booked my Blue Lagoon visit for the evening before my return flight home. This proved expensive as I had to pay for a more expensive hotel room near the lagoon, a ticket to the lagoon and then a taxi to the airport. Every guide, website and article I read said it was very touristy but a must see for anyone visiting Iceland. I couldn’t disagree more.
My issue is not so much with the Blue Lagoon itself, which does have a unique surreal beauty, but with the hordes of misbehaving visitors to the lagoon. I witnessed people spitting, screaming in the showers, not showering properly, filming everything and everybody in sight to post on Facebook; in short there was a Felinni-esque carnival atmosphere. And the Lagoon is very dirty as you correctly pointed out with long hairs floating everywhere among other assorted unidentified debris and scum.
Visiting the Blue lagoon is like participating in a cattle call, long lines, confusing check-in and out procedures, not enough attendants and just generally not what a thermal bath experience should be about.
Perhaps it’s better very first thing in the morning, or in the dead of winter, but I can still see those long black hairs floating towards me in the tepid, murky waters of the not so blue lagoon.
Spot on Hannah, I couldn’t agree with you more! Thank you so much for your candid and honest write up on the blue lagoon. Hannah’s grasp on reality helps me to understand the exploitations in the tourism world, and this is one warning I will definitely remember during my next visit to Iceland!! Thanks you heels to hiking boots so much for outlining the dirty truths about this not-so-natural beauty!!
Thanks for your positive feedback Michael!
I agree with some of this. On my four trips to Iceland I have found so many better hot springs. I do think the Blue Lagoon is overpriced and touristy, but I am still glad I went once (on my first trip to Iceland). However I went early in the day (right when it opened) in winter, so my experience was very different.
However, I want to clarify one thing regarding the advance purchase ticket. You say: “I do believe they do this because if people saw the Blue Lagoon then that would be enough, they wouldn’t want to buy a ticket to actually go in the pool.”>> That’s not why they do this. 1) They only do it in summer and 2) they do it because otherwise they run out of room or people get turned away and can’t get in. Iceland tourism is exploding and they can’t keep up. 8-10 years ago, 300,000 people visited Iceland each year. Now it’s nearly a million and almost all of them go to the Blue Lagoon. It isn’t equipped for 1,000 people to go every day.
The other issues –dirty water, chaotic locker room – also stem from the same thing. Iceland is becoming a victim of its own popularity, which is heartbreaking to me because it’s my favorite place in the world. Thankfully there are still lots of ways to see it without the crowds, like avoiding the Blue Lagoon (and not visiting in summer).
Hey Katie, thanks for your feedback!
What I meant from my comments about the advanced ticket purchases and the viewing tickets is that the Blue Lagoon doesn’t even really make that option visible-to just see the Lagoon. You have to dig around the site. I totally understand why they sell advanced tickets but what I’m saying is I spent a ton of money to go into the Blue Lagoon, when in reality I wish I would’ve only spent ten Euros just to see it. I booked a day in advance so I felt the pressure to book right then and there or else tickets would sell out, so that’s what I did. A few minutes later after researching the site for about thirty minutes, just making sure I had all the information for my visit, I came across the “Can you just visit the Blue Lagoon without going in?” question in a forum…it wasn’t even an option listed on the “Plan your visit tab,” that is what I think is deceiving.
I agree tourism in Iceland is getting crazy and I hope everyone who visits respects the country, including the Blue Lagoon, and tries to keep it clean for many years to come 🙂
Thanks again for your feedback Katie!
I am at the moment in Iceland and the Blue Lagoon seemed a huge draw for me. But after reading your review of the place and so many people supporting it, the idea for visiting it seems futile. However, I will be going to one of the secret lagoons in Iceland.Hope it is also not a letdown. Thanks for saving me the hassle.
Of course! I hope you enjoy the natural springs 🙂
Went to the blue lagoon the other day. Some of what you said we didn’t experience. Saw nothing floating and people enforcing the shower rule. Also we went at 8am so it wasn’t super crowded. Also going May 31st meant we were there on the last day of winter pricing. Saved us €15 each.
We visited the Blue Lagoon yesterday..the place is I agree a victim of its own popularity. If you were the only one there you would love it I am sure..the vast hordes of stressed lagoonists is etched on most faces. As for me I took it for what it was..a pseudo-natural spa resort..On balance feel better for the experience..the mineral rich waters soothing my queue battered ribs
Hey, I just wanted to say I totally agree with your comments! I found it baffling how you weren’t allowed to store your towel and bathrobe in your locker, and instead had to hang them up next to hundreds of other identical towels and robes. I mean, if you go and spend an hour or two in the lagoon, you’re obviously not going to remember exactly which one is yours. Who came up with that process!? You’re also right about the damn thing being lukewarm!
Overall, I’m at least glad that I went and tried it out for myself, but I wasn’t impressed at all. Especially given how much hype there is surrounding this place.
Iceland is a rip off…….period
expensive ……. rude service people
bad food ….except hot dogs
and extremely high priced……
rip off tours……whale watching…..no whales
Northern lights ……with no hope of seeing them…..
Transportation costs …..outrageous
and hotel …apt rates more than outrageous
No phones no clocks no hot water
Only go if: you rent a car with several people
you camp……you bring your own food and drinks…..Alcohol.
And if you want to hike and find your own
beautiful spots.
Thanks Hannah! I had told my husband that we had to go to the Blue Lagoon, based on a number of other reviews. The clincher was their website; the pictures really got me – hook, line and sinker. So even though we were also planning on visiting the thermal springs in some place up north (can neither pronounce or spell where it is), I wanted to go to the Blue Lagoon. As we are heading over in July, my hubby thought to take a look at the website himself and that’s when he saw the prices were FROM $70 (Australian)! Eeek, given the time of year, the price was well over $100 each!! Then I stumbled across your review, and it’s completely changed my mind. I had already suspected it was a bit of a tourist trap (from reading a few other reviews), but now I’m totally convinced. Thank you so much – I will be saving us hundreds of dollars (also taking our daughter) in an already expensive holiday!!!
Thanks for your comment Carolin and sorry for the late reply! I would definitely advise against going to the Blue Lagoon, thanks for taking my advice, it’s completely overrated as you read in my review. There are plenty of other natural hot springs in Iceland that are much more scenic, secluded and actually natural. I hope your trip in July turns out to be a good one 🙂
Thank you for your review. I will be in Iceland for the wedding in January, and I definitely didn’t want to swim in barely warm water when it’s freezing outside. So I was happy you posted the link to how to see it without paying full price. Well, you know what? I guess they decided to take that policy away… this is what that link takes you to now:
‘No, it’s not possible without purchasing one of the admission tickets.
However, if you are e.g. travelling with other people (family or group) that are bathing, and you can’t for whatever reason follow them, you are certainly welcome to enter the facilities with them and wait for them at the cafe’.
?
After reading this…what a let down,makes me wonder if other attractions are a let down too. Maybe a vacation somewhere else now. Thanks for the info 🙂
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
We couldn’t book a spot at this infamous attraction and were gutted. Then we came across your review and felt sooooo much better. We did visit because I wanted to see the water and the area itself. We had a coffee in the little restaurant sitting smugly having visited a natural hot spring in the mountains the previous day. I do hope they sort things out. It’s a lovely area to visit.
So Hannah we going soon and blue lagoon booked up. What other lagoon/ springs would you recommend? Thanks
Entire country is a big RIP OFF– George the American just back from Iceland
What a shame… we had such a different experience of the lagoon! Going there in winter, some time ago, was obviously a good idea!
I do hope if I’m there again, I won’t be disappointed! Thank you for sharing x
Bloody hell! I am just planning our Iceland trip (April) and I was a bit sceptical whether we should visit the Blue Lagoon (not knowing the costs and all – I just hate crowds)
Thank you for such an honest review. I would be probably even more disappointed than you.
Thank you!! xo
When I’m traveling, I look for beautiful places that I cannot find much, if any, information on. The strategy rarely lets me down. I prefer solitude – away from the crowds. I see enough pictures of the tourist destinations on social media. I don’t feel compelled to add mine to the millions that came before me or will be there at the same time I am.
Iceland is on my bucket list. If I ever make it there, you will not likely see me as I’ll be mostly hiking where the fewest people are.