Blue Lagoon

My husband and I are going to Iceland for 4 days in the summer. We have been told to visit the Blue Lagoon, however we've also read mixed reviews about this place. Is it really worth the hype or should be go elsewhere? We'll be based in central Reykjavik and will not be hiring a car while out there. Any suggestions are welcome. Thanks.

IMHO - and that is MINE - there are so many interesting nature related things to see in Iceland that 4 full days is FAR too little, so visiting some spa resort that basically could have been anywhere is a waste of time ad money.
Finding a free hot pool in the nature or visiting a geothermal public pool in Reykjavik may be slightly interesting is you had some weeks.

Super helpful.

Without a car, finding other springs is challenging. The Blue Lagoon is pricey, and sometimes quite busy. But it's eaily accessible by public transport. In your case, while it's not the only possiblilty, it's the most logical option.

I enjoyed the Blue Lagoon, although if I were to return I'd probably hit other places first. It will take up your entire day, so that's a bit of a bummer. There are pools in Reykjavik that might be easy to get to (check http://www.whygoiceland.com/reykjavik-city-pools.html). Hope that helps!

We have been told to visit the Blue Lagoon, however we've also read mixed reviews about this place. Is it really worth the hype or should be go elsewhere?

Find out what it is. Find out what it costs. Consider the alternatives. Now, is that how you want to spend your money? I think if a few more tourists asked themselves these questions rather than blindly going there because something like 90% of tourists do, rather fewer of them would actually do it.

As for alternatives, you can also go to the public swimming pools in Reykjavik such as Laugardalslaug http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g189970-d2315601-Reviews-Laugardalslaug-Reykjavik_Capital_Region.html for a small fraction of the cost and there will be lots of hot water and hot pots and the like, but it will be in a park in the city, not a lavafield 50km away. You might also go to a small swimming pool in a village, because they nearly all have them, which will be small and quiet rather than large various and raucous like the one in R. Or you could go for a walk up a valley near Hveragerdi and bathe in a warm stream in the wild. Or if you do want a luxury spa resort, then you could also consider the new more exclusive one at Laugarvatn (between Thingvellir and Geysir). Though some of these options are tricky without a car. There are frequent buses to Hveragerdi, but walking from the village will add about an hour each way to the walk to the valley.

The Blue Lagoon is so busy these days that you now have to book in advance. At one point they had over 2200 visitors in one day.

If you can arrange a visit on your way to or from the airport (it is situated approximately halfway in between RVK and KEF airport) then I´d consider it, otherwise just go to a local pool in Reykjavik.

http://grapevine.is/news/2015/02/23/people-having-to-book-blue-lagoon-trip-ahead-of-time/

Thank you all for your responses. We arrive very early in the morning (06:30) when we fly into KEF, so I doubt we could get there on the way from the airport. We'll see what we do in terms of visiting this tourist attraction before we go out there.

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