Theresa's Mixed Nuts: Blue Lagoon Take Me Away

Wednesday, April 15, 2020

Blue Lagoon Take Me Away

We initially didn't have plans to visit Iceland on our European vacation, but when we found out we had an 8 hour layover, we decided to extend our trip by a day so we could see a little of the country before returning home. We knew we were going to be tired and sore from 9 days of sightseeing Paris, London and Ireland, so what better way to end our travels than with a soak in Iceland's Blue Lagoon?

Blue Lagoon

You remember those old commercials talking about "Calgon, Take Me Away?" The same can be said for a dip in the Blue Lagoon. The geothermal spa is something that I've seen featured on travel channels and websites for years and it was something that I really wanted to experience for myself. It's one of Iceland's most popular tourist attractions, often visited by celebrities too. You can reach it in under an hour from the Reykjavik airport, so if you have a long layover, it's a nice spot to unwind while you're waiting for your connecting flight.

My girls were a bit nervous as you do have to shower before entering the water (there are attendants in the dressing room making sure you are showered before heading to the spa) and they were not wanting to strip down in front of a bunch of strangers to do so. Thankfully, there were individual stalls that offered privacy for bathing so their fears were quickly squashed.

Blue Lagoon Iceland

The water is very rich in salts, so it is recommended that you smother your hair in the conditioner provided in the shower before getting in the water. Even with the conditioner, I would not encourage dipping your head into the lagoon water because it will zap it of all of its moisture. My hair felt dry and brittle for a month after our visit and I regretted making that mistake every day until it got back to its normal healthy state.

Blue Lagoon Iceland

With your admission, you do get 1 mud mask for your face and 1 drink from the concession stand. They'll give you a wristband that you'll have scanned as you get your mask and drink, and anything extra you purchase will be tracked through the band. You'll settle your bill upon checkout, so you do not have to take cash/credit cards with you into the spa.


Be very careful washing the mask off because of the high salt content in the water. I can tell you, it burns like crazy when it gets in your eyes! And most likely you will have the saltwater on your hands, so rubbing them will only make the burn worse.

Us girls opted for a Skyr smoothie as our drink choice. Honestly, we thought they were horrible. Very bland and not sweet at all. We ended up tossing them in the trash before we were halfway through drinking them. However, Jason was pretty damn excited over his beer! (don't mind the water spots on the pic. I was still learning how to use the GoPro)


They say the water is around 99 to 102° F, but it didn't feel very warm to me. Jason thought it was the perfect temp as he tends to run hot, but I was a little chilly until we got out and headed for the sauna. The girls didn't seem to mind the water temp either way.


Blue Lagoon

Blue Lagoon


Before we even entered the Blue Lagoon, I saw a little stream outside with the beautiful milky blue water. While lovely to look at, don't dip your toes in because it is ice cold!


Admission was a little over $60 each, and you do have to schedule your check in time in advance. We ended up staying for 2 hours, but for me, I was growing bored after only 1 hour. The lagoon isn't huge, and there's only so many laps you can walk around it before you're dying to get out. My honest opinion is the Blue Lagoon does not live up to the hype. I felt a little let down with our experience with the chilly water, the icky smoothies, and dried out skin, hair and salty burning eyes. Don't let that deter you from planning a stop in though if you're going to be in Iceland. I still think it's an experience that everyone should have once in their life. Once being the key word. I won't go back on our next trip to Iceland, but I'm glad that I did have the opportunity to visit once to see for myself what the fuss is all about and I think you should too.

Blue Lagoon Iceland



Have you ever wanted to visit the Blue Lagoon in Iceland?




39 comments:

  1. Yeah, after an hour I'd probably be bored too. Plus, you have to shower where others have been, then get dried out, and then get burning eyes? I'll stick to leaving that to you and living vicariously through your photos haha

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  2. Why is Jason's head glowing, is he some kind of Icelandic ale deity now? :)

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    1. It's the sun shining off all that baldness LOL :P

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  3. I have never heard of it (besides the movie LOL) but I found it very interesting! I've only ever known a few people who've gone to Iceland (one is a blogger) so I will have to ask them if they visited. I'm not a fan of swimming or sitting in water (bathtubs gross me out) and I like my showers scalding hot, so I would have to pass, but the water sure is pretty.

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    1. Iceland is like no place I've ever visited. It's incredible. I also love scalding hot water, so maybe that's why it felt so chilly to me.

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  4. That water looks inviting. How fun.

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  5. I have so many places on my list right now. I cannot wait to start traveling again. This is a place I plan to go to NOW, since you showed me such gorgeous pictures of it.

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    1. I am itching to start traveling again! I hope this virus passes soon and we can get on with our travels once again!

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  6. That looks so pretty! But I can see how an hour would be enough time for me, too. I am seriously dying to make vacation plans!!!

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    1. I can't wait to make vacation plans once again too!

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  7. I've never been, this looks like such a fun experience. Would love to visit with my family.

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  8. YES I HAVE! Iceland is #1 on my places to travel to list!!!!!! Ugh! I am so sad that I can't go say... TOMORROW!

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    1. It's an incredible place to explore! I hope you make it there soon :)

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  9. Oh my gosh, I'd love to relax here. The water looks incredible! I hope to make it here one day.

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    1. The water is really pretty, but very drying to the skin.

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  10. These pictures are memorizing! I had a few friends go to Iceland and they told me it was incredible. I have always wanted to go! I think I would live in those waters!

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    1. Icleand is a place that everyone should travel to at least once. It really is an incredible place to explore!

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  11. This place looks incredible! I would love to visit Iceland someday!

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  12. My daughter went to Iceland this summer, but I'm not sure if she went to the Blue Lagoon or not. It is too bad that you didn't enjoy the experience more. After reading about it, it doesn't seem like something that I would really like either.

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    1. It was a let down, but not so much that I wouldn't tell people to skip it altogether. Just don't go into it with high hopes like I did.

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  13. Remind me to include this in my travel bucket list after the pandemic is over. This place is more than beautiful! Reading from what you shared, I like that it's well-managed. Attendants making sure that everyone's showered before dipping, that attention-to-detail is really good.

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    1. Good attention to detail was a definite plus! I hope you are able to go once the pandemic is over!

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  14. Wow! This place is beyond awesome! I will definitely be visiting this place with my wife once COVID 19 is gone. She will love it!

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  15. Wow,amazing place, I love all of those pretty pictures!

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  16. It looks like an amazing place. I'd love to go visit that place someday and explore other parts of Iceland too. -LYNNDEE

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  17. I never heard of this place, but now that I know, yes I want to go! Ugh to the hair. How did you get it back to it's normal state? Now it makes sense why shampoo companies advertise no salts. Even with the bad hair days, this seems like a really cool trip. I had to giggle at the calgon, take me away reference. A coworker of mine always says that line. Finally I asked who the hell was Calgon and was embarrassed when she started laughing. In my defense, Calgon does sound that some sort of superhero name.

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  18. wow! What a beautiful an peaceful place! The Blue Lagoon is now on my next to visit places!

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  19. That place sure looks amazing. I would love to go there someday. It is so beautiful and looks so relaxing.

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  20. How cool that you were able to visit Iceland! I was looking at flights there and it is 11 hrs from New York! Makes sense to add it to your trip if you can.

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  21. I want to go there. That looks like an amazing time!

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  22. I can't wait to explore Iceland! it looks wonderful indeed , Theresa...and I always love playing in the water

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  23. Thank you for such an honest review. I've only read dreamy descriptions of the Blue Lagoon, and no mention of things like dry hair, bad drinks, etc. Nevertheless, it sounds like an experience worth having.

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  24. Sorry to read that you felt let didn't by the experience. Here's to your next adventure and it being more fun.

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  25. Super cool that you got to go. It was a once in a lifetime experience for sure. Glad your hair is back in good condition. That would be a down side...and yet, I would still go. :)

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