Thinking of an Iceland
layover? DO IT. Both Icelandair and Wow Air offer really cheap trans-Atlantic
flights and the latter even gives you a few days of stopover in Reykjavik for
free. Of course, booking earlier means getting cheaper tickets! What I like
about the country is that the tours are very organized and even if you only have
a day or two to spare, you are sure to find something that will easily fit in
your schedule. I think the best one is a trip to the Blue Lagoon. Why? It’s
so close to Keflavik International Airport!
Okay, this is the part where I engage in some geeky Geography verbal diarrhea. When you see KEF written on your itinerary, it means Keflavik International Airport, which is located at a region of the country called Southern Peninsula. The capital lies in the region to the north, unimaginatively called the Capital Region. In any case, a Flybus can shuttle you either way in under an hour. The Blue Lagoon is also located at the Southern Peninsula, a mere 20 kilometers from the airport itself.
What does that mean? It means
that even a few hours of layover at the airport can be maximized with a trip to
the thermal baths. Reykjavik Excursions offers transfers from the airport to
the Blue Lagoon to Reykjavik. This is usually a two-way ticket: Keflavik – Blue
Lagoon – Keflavik; Keflavik – Blue Lagoon – Reykjavik; Reykjavik – Blue Lagoon –
Keflavik; or Reykjavik – Blue Lagoon – Reykjavik. Just make sure to check the
official time table of the buses because the schedule changes depending on the
season.
The entrance fee to the lagoon
can also be booked via Reykjavik Excursions or via the official website itself. It
is always cheaper to book package tours including transfers or other tours than
buying them separately. For the Blue Lagoon, they have three different
packages with rates dependent on what’s included. The cheapest one, Standard,
includes no more than the admission fee and unlimited silica mud gel. At
ISK8,000 (~PHP4,000), it’s the cheapest one that you can get.
Add a thousand krona or two and you
get a free towel, bath robe, and flip-flops. The most expensive one includes
food or a spa treatment, if I’m not mistaken. You don’t really need flip-flops.
The floor boards you step on outside are mostly made of wood, and they weren’t
really dirty. The bath robe might come in handy during winter, but then again
all you have to do is jump into the pool to get warm. I advise AGAINST renting
a towel. Why? They are all identically white and swapping is not as rare as you
think.
But why would you steal
another person’s towel? I don’t think people do it intentionally. When all of
them look the same, it’s bound to happen. I guess this is where my bright
yellow towel came in handy. The only caveat is that I stood out walking around like a human-sized banana. Photography is allowed in the
pool, but at your own risk. Most people buy a water-proof case available for
sale onsite. Some just YOLO it, like me. What? My Galaxy S4 is a daredevil.
Besides, all I needed was a selfie.
The pool temperature ranges
from normal body 37C to high 40’s. The farther away you go, the hotter it gets,
as you get closer and closer to the natural mud/lava area surrounding the
place. Some areas are off-limits to visitors, and given Iceland’s reputation
for being an island of fire and ice, I’d suggest that you curb your adventurous
side unless you want to burn alive or freeze to death. Stick to the rules if
you want to live longer. There’s just no winning against Mother Nature, you know.
As for the crowd, it’s a wide
mix of people. You have model types that make you feel bad about yourself. Men
in their last trimester of pregnancy. Asian tourists with selfie sticks. You
also see people from different age groups: children, adults, dinosaurs. I didn’t
see anyone in their birthday suit, though, so better save the skinny dipping for
when you visit a Korean or Japanese sauna. You receive a waterproof bracelet
to access your locker and to save all the drinks you order for payment at the
cashier later upon exit.
Lockers are available at the
parking lot for a fee of ISK550 (~PHP275) PER ITEM which you pay upon retrieval of your
baggage. I suggest a day trip from Reykjavik and back if you want to save up on locker
fees. If not, then just squeeze the trip into your itinerary on the way to or
from Keflavik Airport. The one-hour time window indicated on your ticket is
strictly implemented. That’s how they make sure that the pools are not crowded.
Once you get in, you can stay as long as you like within the day.
[GRINDAVIK] Sulphuric Skinny Dipping
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