Wash Away Jet Lag In the Blue Lagoon
The flight from JFK to Iceland's main international airport, Keflavik, is an unfortunate five-and-a-half hour span too brief for a decent snooze but just long enough to give you a giant pain in the neck. This awkward period makes for a cranky first day--unless you spend it at the Blue Lagoon.
While planning our trip to Iceland, my mother and I discussed ideas for an ATV ride, an immediate drive to one of several sights, or a visit to the Blue Lagoon on our first day. The ultimate decision for the latter could not have worked out better. Instead of yawning through an "important" Icelandic activity, my parents and I drifted lazily in the blue-white waters of the lagoon all afternoon.
Be sure to pre-book your visit. Lagoon tickets provide entry times (once inside you may stay as long as you wish). We had also reserved a table at the Lava restaurant, and since our plane had been delayed two hours, my mom asked about the timing. A slender man with long hair, a neat beard, and noticeably white teeth smiled and told us not to worry about our reservation. "There's no stress here," he said.
After a bit of floating we ventured to the outskirts of the massive pool. A beautiful Icelandic woman stood in the water at the entrance to the farthest section of the lagoon handing out blue foam noodles on which to float. To confirm: a woman's job was to smile as she passed out and collected noodles. No stress, indeed.
The lagoon, though man-made and highly touristic, served its purpose. Visitors drift all day in the warm bath waters. The amenities include a sauna room, steam room, powerful waterfall (hydro-massage), in-water bar, and product samples such as face masks that visitors of a certain ticket price have included in the admission fee. Since we had purchased the premium package, the silica mud mask and accompanying algae mask both came included. This is also how our Lava reservations remained secure.
Continuing the no-stress theme, the Lava restaurant allows guests to enjoy fine dining dressed in nothing but bathrobes. Sipping champagne in a robe somehow makes the experience more grand!
Lava's food shocked me. I expect such touristy locations--especially those with a monopoly on food options--to serve substandard fare. At the Blue Lagoon (and elsewhere in Iceland as we came to realize), food is expensive but high quality.
The only downside to an otherwise lovely day involved the locker rooms. Firstly, the only way to enter/exit the pool area was through the locker rooms, which made meeting up with a mixed-gender group somewhat annoying--especially when certain entrances or exits of the men's locker room were closed. Secondly, there are not enough showers to accommodate large groups. At one point, a chatty group of Chinese came bursting through the door (neglecting to form a proper queue) and monopolized the shower zone. Raised voices and claustrophobia popped the zen bubble.
Nevertheless, the locker rooms are new and quite effective, and considering we'd blocked the whole day for the lagoon, we were hardly pressed for time. Eventually, I re-joined my clan and we drove off to our hotel--relaxed and ready to start our journey.
While planning our trip to Iceland, my mother and I discussed ideas for an ATV ride, an immediate drive to one of several sights, or a visit to the Blue Lagoon on our first day. The ultimate decision for the latter could not have worked out better. Instead of yawning through an "important" Icelandic activity, my parents and I drifted lazily in the blue-white waters of the lagoon all afternoon.
Be sure to pre-book your visit. Lagoon tickets provide entry times (once inside you may stay as long as you wish). We had also reserved a table at the Lava restaurant, and since our plane had been delayed two hours, my mom asked about the timing. A slender man with long hair, a neat beard, and noticeably white teeth smiled and told us not to worry about our reservation. "There's no stress here," he said.
After a bit of floating we ventured to the outskirts of the massive pool. A beautiful Icelandic woman stood in the water at the entrance to the farthest section of the lagoon handing out blue foam noodles on which to float. To confirm: a woman's job was to smile as she passed out and collected noodles. No stress, indeed.
The lagoon, though man-made and highly touristic, served its purpose. Visitors drift all day in the warm bath waters. The amenities include a sauna room, steam room, powerful waterfall (hydro-massage), in-water bar, and product samples such as face masks that visitors of a certain ticket price have included in the admission fee. Since we had purchased the premium package, the silica mud mask and accompanying algae mask both came included. This is also how our Lava reservations remained secure.
Continuing the no-stress theme, the Lava restaurant allows guests to enjoy fine dining dressed in nothing but bathrobes. Sipping champagne in a robe somehow makes the experience more grand!
Lava's food shocked me. I expect such touristy locations--especially those with a monopoly on food options--to serve substandard fare. At the Blue Lagoon (and elsewhere in Iceland as we came to realize), food is expensive but high quality.
The only downside to an otherwise lovely day involved the locker rooms. Firstly, the only way to enter/exit the pool area was through the locker rooms, which made meeting up with a mixed-gender group somewhat annoying--especially when certain entrances or exits of the men's locker room were closed. Secondly, there are not enough showers to accommodate large groups. At one point, a chatty group of Chinese came bursting through the door (neglecting to form a proper queue) and monopolized the shower zone. Raised voices and claustrophobia popped the zen bubble.
Nevertheless, the locker rooms are new and quite effective, and considering we'd blocked the whole day for the lagoon, we were hardly pressed for time. Eventually, I re-joined my clan and we drove off to our hotel--relaxed and ready to start our journey.
It was truly a wonderful relaxing day :) Love the photos!!
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