The Blue Lagoon was a Dream
The Blue Lagoon was surreal, unearthly. Being Iceland's most popular attraction, I had heard about the Blue Lagoon years ago—long before we planned our trip. It has often seemed impossible for attractions to live up to high levels of hype, so I set my expectations at a mediocre level thinking it would probably be cool, but not truly amazing. I was wrong. It lived up to every single piece of hype I had heard, read and seen. It was a dream.
First, let me recommend if you ever get the chance to go to go ahead and pay a few dollars more for the Premium Package. You get a robe for wearing around the facilities and flip flops to keep, as well as a few other perks. We didn't get the Premium Package thinking we'd save a few bucks, but I would have much preferred to have the robe for the changing area to showers to Blue Lagoon entrance transitions. It can be chilly without one, and they don't hand out towels until you're getting out of the Blue Lagoon whereas you get the robe before you even enter the changing facilities. In Iceland they do ask that you shower naked before putting your suit on and entering any pool, so just be prepared for that. The showers have separate stalls, so that's one bonus about the Blue Lagoon. We didn't get a chance to go to any other pools while we were there, but from the sounds of it separate shower stalls must not typically be the case.
After showering and changing into our suits, Brandon and I met up in the common area. He had already grabbed himself a beer at the inside bar while waiting on me. Once we spotted each other we headed to the entrance of the lagoon which felt so luxurious. You literally walk into the water from the inside and at about waist deep there's a door to use to enter the lagoon. You get to warm up in the water (which is geothermally heated) before walking out into the cold Iceland air (so no scurrying from the cold to the warm water).
We were both smiling with awe and gratitude as we walked into the lagoon. It was beautiful. Fog dangled on the milky blue water and in the air. The perimeter of the lagoon was surrounded by rock formed by lava. Green moss grew on some of the black rock adding another gorgeous hue to the majestic yet unearthly surroundings. After we took it all in, we headed to the swim-up bar. We both grabbed a Gull (Icelandic beer), paying with a swipe of the bracelets all guests get upon entry. We perched up at one of the ledges with room for setting drinks down, and chatted with the friendliest man who had just moved his flight from Sunday to Monday for an extra day in Iceland. We decided he would be best friends with half the pool before he left the Blue Lagoon.
Swim up bar at the Blue Lagoon.
We indulged in one more drink before heading for the face mask bar. This time I opted for champagne feeling celebratory, and Brandon got another Gull. At the mask bar we each got a handful of the silica mask which comes complimentary with the Comfort Pass. We slathered it on and took a couple of photos before swimming around more. Later Brandon asked to go for a second mask (give the man his first face mask, and he'll ask for more apparently haha!). This time we both tried the mineral mask. It felt very moisturizing and we were told it could stay on as long as we liked whereas the first mask came with a suggested time limit.
As we took our time soaking up every minute of our time in the Blue Lagoon I noticed that everyone there was so present and seemed genuinely grateful to be exactly where they were at that moment. It was a beautiful feeling. As the sun got lower in the sky we both agreed it would be lovely to have dinner at the restaurant that overlooked the lagoon if we could get a reservation. We got out for a few minutes and Brandon walked over to the restaurant and came back with a reservation for two at 6:00. We were in!
We walked back in and enjoyed the Blue Lagoon for another half hour before heading to the changing rooms to get ready for dinner. As I was changing, water from my hair splashed all over another traveler (who was just arriving). As I apologized she giggled, thanking me for the sample. She was in high spirts, and I could tell this was her first trip to the lagoon, too. She asked how it was, and I shared my experience. Another woman chimed in as if singing harmony in a choir, "You haven't been to Iceland if you haven't been to the Blue Lagoon."
