14 LIFESAVING Blue Lagoon Tips: Avoid These Common Mistakes!

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With it’s milky turquoise waters against the dark grey landscape of the land, it’s no wonder that it attracts over 2.3 million visitors a year. However, as with any attraction, confusion about the basics can lead to a bad experience. So, here are my simple Blue Lagoon tips to make your first visit as smooth as a sulfuric clay mask!

Also, if you don’t have any desire to visit the Blue Lagoon, then that’s okay too! We all have different travel interests and priorities. However, I’ve heard a lot of people don’t want to visit because it is “too touristy.” I’ve personally…never really understood that logic. But if you don’t want to visit because it’s too busy – that I understand. Many people opt to visit “The Secret Lagoon” instead, though that one is not a “secret” by any means; it’s still popular, just less busy. I personally haven’t been to The Secret Lagoon, so I don’t have any tips for you there haha.

And on that note, let’s jump into it!

Blue Lagoon Tips: What NOT to Do

The following 9 Blue Lagoon tips revolve around the most common mistakes and mishaps people make that may lead to an unsatisfactory trip.

1. DONT Just show up and hope for the best

Out of all the mistakes people make when visiting the Blue Lagoon, THIS IS THE MOST COMMON. And understandable – I mean, it’s a hot spring spa. How complicated could it be? This is the worst thing you could do for your trip. Make sure to book your reservation in advance. If you wait until the day of (or try or a walk-in), you run the very high risk of reservations being sold out, especially before 3pm.

There MIGHT be a chance to squeeze in if you go in the very early morning or before they close, but it’s not guaranteed. I highly highly HIGHLY recommend you making reservations at least a week in advance if possible, though I booked 2 months in advance during the high season (August) and my dates were already filling up!

**Also, if you’re traveling during COVID, pre-booking is REQUIRED!

2. DONT Eat Breakfast there

This Blue Lagoon tip may come as a surprise but…I don’t recommend eating breakfast there. It’s INCREDIBLY expensive. If I remember correctly, it was somewhere along the line of $90 USD for two paninis, two smoothies, and an orange juice. LIKE.

ICELAND WHY????

It was good, like most of the restaurants in Iceland, but it wasn’t revolutionary by any means. Save your coins and grab something before heading in.

3. DONT Go at Lunchtime

Here is a picture in the lagoon around 9am. It only gets busier from therre. So another big Blue Lagoon tip is to avoid going at lunchtime. 11am-3pm is BY FAR the busiest time, and the crowds can take away some of the relaxing nature of the spa. My reservation was at 7am (with a private massage at 9:30am), and those two hours in the morning with less crowds was amazing! By the time lunch rolled around, the capacity in the water had doubled, and the locker rooms were packed!

Annnd on that note:

4. DONT Be weird in the locker room

If you don’t come from a country where it is completely normal and natural to get buck naked in front of other people, even in a locker room, then you need to prepare yourself a bit. You WILL see nudity on full display at the Blue Lagoon. Don’t be weird about it.

Before going into the lagoon, you will need to shower NAKED. Yes, without your swimsuit. There are locker stalls with frosted glass so no one will see you, as well as communal open showers. Some people might strip naked at their locker and walk to the shower. Others may use a towel and take things off in the stall. And you’re going to have to change out of your wet swimsuit when you come out.

You’re going to see some butt-cracks. It’ll be okay.

Side note: there is free shampoo, conditioner, and body wash in the shower for you to use.

5. DONT Only go for the gram

Honestly, if you are ONLY going for the gram, it probably won’t be worth it. It’s pricey and out of the way (if you’re doing Iceland’s Ring Road). Do you REALLYYY want to do all that to only be in the water for 15 seconds before running off to your next destination?

And that’s no shade to all my IG influencers – I’m honestly trying to help y’all out and give you a heads up. If you just want some pictures of turquoise water, then there is a little section outside that you can walk around – for free.

Here’s a picture of the outside of the lagoon. You can walk around FO FREE! Throw your swimsuit on and work them angles if you just want a picture. Or just go to another hot spring and photoshop the water.

But I know the pressures of that #blogger life all too well and sometimes you just gotta go somewhere. In that case, at leasttt budget for spending 2 hours there minimum.

6. DONT Get your hair wet

This is pretty self-explanatory. The water will royally duck your hair up. Although it is NOT DAMAGING OR HARMFUL at all to your hair, the high concentration of silica will make your hair stiff, dry, and a mess to manage after. ESPECIALLY IF YOU ARE BLACK or have curly hair. If you have short hair (like, 1-3inches), you will probablyyy be okay because they do provide you with a lot of leave-in conditioners.

Some people wet it just for the photo and just live with the consequences, but honestly, avoid it if you can. It aint worth it fam. I had my hair ALL THE WAY up, buuut then I had an in-water massage where it got wet anyway. My hair was crusty for the rest of the trip.

7. DONT Forget things in the car

This was the worst mistake I ever made in my life. If you take away any of these Blue Lagoon tips, please remember that Iceland is cold and windy. If you already go through the process of getting through the line, undressing, showering, shoving everything into your locker, and hurrying into the water…only to realize you forgot your waterproof phone case in the car…

That is exactly what happened to me. And it sucked. I had to get out of the water, shower off, squeeze my warm damp legs back into my JEANS, and take the LONG walk back to the parking lot in the cold wind. It was miserable.

Avoid that scenario if you can. Make sure to save a Blue Lagoon packing list on your phone and run through the checklist BEFORE you head in to make sure you aren’t forgetting anything!

8. DONT Lose your bracelet

In short – because it is an unnecessary expense. As of 2020, the fee for losing a bracelet is ISK 5,000. That’s about $36 USD. You need the bracelet for basically everything, from opening your locker to paying for smoothies. When you check in, make sure the bracelet is tight enough so that it doesn’t come off!

9. DONT Not get enough sleep the night before

You want some real Blue Lagoon tips? Actually BE IN THE MOOD for a nice relaxing day at the spa. That starts with getting enough sleep.

By no fault of my own (seriously this time!!), I got about 2 hours of sleep before I needed to drive over the The Blue Lagoon to make my reservation. Plus, I spent the whole night before stressed, irritated, and frankly disgusted by one of the worst hostel experiences in my life. Safe to say, my mood was still a bit on the rocks the day of my reservation.

If you CAN prepare for it, I’d highly suggest getting enough sleep. Especially since you might be dealing with crowds and other frustrations. Although it is a relaxing time where you don’t really need to do anything, being drowsy and cranky really takes away from the

*~* a e s t h e t i c *~*

So rest up gorgeous!

TLDR ; Top Blue Lagoon Tips

Now that you know how to avoid some of the most common mistakes by following these Blue Lagoon tips, I can share some extra advice to give your experience that perfect cherry on top!

• Give yourself enough time: If you like to stick to a schedule while on vacation, be sure to allot for enough time. If you are really just interested in getting a picture and splish-splashing for a bit, at minimum I would suggest staying for 2 hours. If you want to grab lunch at the restaurant or add an in-water massage, plan to stay at least 4 hours.

• Make a checklist: This goes back to one of the Blue Lagoon tips about not forgetting things in the car. Having a checklist or Blue Lagoon packing list will make your reservation less stressful and more organized.

• Bring a snack: Food is expensive at the Blue Lagoon. Definitely eat something before you head in and keep a protein bar (or two) in your backpack if you start getting peck-ish. Depending on what’s next on your itinerary, it might be a bit of a drive.  

• You can buy products online! (or in Reykiyvik/airport): If you’re stressed about which Blue Lagoon spa product to buy – or simply don’t have space in your luggage – don’t worry. There’s an online site! You can also pick up products at the airport duty-free shopping area after you check-in!

• Buy your ticket in advance: And the last, and probably most important, of these Blue Lagoon tips is to buy your ticket in advance. For you spontaneous travelers out there, I know it might be hard, but trust me on this. You’ll save yourself a lot of headache when you get there. If you’re traveling during COVID, pre-booking is REQUIRED!

Blue Lagoon Tips: Conclusion

Eyyyy and there you have it! My 14 top Blue Lagoon tips! Hopefully, you found these Blue Lagoon tips helpful! I’m personally not the biggest spa person, but the Blue Lagoon was definitely one of the highlights from my 10-day Iceland road trip!

Have you ever been to the Blue Lagoon? Do you have any Blue Lagoon tips to add? Share them in the comments below!

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