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- Heading off on the hot pools trail, in Drangsnes
Iceland’s Western Fjords is a swimmers’ paradise, with a pool of some description in just about every village. And you don’t need to be an Olympic Gold Medallist to enjoy them. In fact many are too small, too hot and too mossy to do anything but soak up the atmosphere. When we found there was a hot pool trail of the coast, we couldn’t resist giving over a couple of days to it. So which pools really are ‘hot’ and which are not? Here’s our verdict…
8 Unique Hot Pools in Iceland’s Western Fjords
“Does this one smell of horse pee to you?” asks Stuart, wrinkling his nose.
It does. Despite the fact we are in a greenhouse. Yes, an actual greenhouse, with raspberries and conference pears flourishing on the bushes and trees. The smell of horse pee might be coming from the saddles lining the walls of the greenhouse. Or maybe a horse just peed in the pool. There is no sign up anywhere prohibiting that. In fact there are very few signs about anything around hot pools; you bathe at your own risk.
Warning Hot Pool!
Anyone for a dip?
The hot pool trail in Iceland is an interesting proposition for a themed tour. There are so many of them and they are vastly different; from the really pongy rocky wild ones, to the sculpted blue lagoon spas and the unpretentious geormally heated swimming pools that most villages take for granted. They are also possibly one of the cheapest things you can do in Iceland. Heat is free for the most part in this country, so if you like swimming, why wouldn’t you have a pool?
We set out, by bike and car, across the Western Fjords, to try out eight hot pools of different shapes and sizes, and give them marks out of ten.
1 Myvatn -the unnatural natural one
The Nature Baths at Myvatn, nature commercialised?
This one is technically not in the Western Fjords, but it’s where we start our family hotpool trail. Myvatn is a popular spot; the place is swarming with tourists. The Myvatn Nature Baths are like a cheaper version of the famous Blue Lagoon; (a man made spa with the sole purpose of providing a ‘natural’ bath tub for tourists.) But while the Blue Lagoon is an extraordinary ring of blue set in miles of barren lavaland, here in Myvatn nature has already created geothermal heaven; just down the road. Ten minutes walk from the spa complex there are boiling kettles and bubbling mud pools galore. So our kids give it the thumbs down for nature and for fun and head off in search of the real thing. They also mark it down for having no slides, and too many people from Sheffield bathing in its milky depths.
2 Drangsnes- the hidden one
The hot tubs at Drangsnes are hidden in the sea wall
The village of Drangsnes has a secret hidden in its harbour wall. Three little hot tubs overlooking the sea. If you didn’t know they were there you’d drive straight past them. The only clue is the changing rooms on the other side of the road. These white plastic tubs are more romantic than they look. There’s one cool, one hot and one medium to suit whichever little bear you are. We give this one a nine out of ten for the view; only the gulls get in the way of the blue, blue sea. And the best thing about them? They’re free.
*Voted the top pool on the trail by Hannah and Kirstie
3 Laugarholl -the magic one
The natural hot pool at Laugarholl, near the Sorcerer’s Cottage
At Laugarholl you can have a swim and visit a sorcerer’s cottage and there aren’t many places in the world you can do this eclectic mix of things. After the darkness of the tiny turf home of the poor tenant farmer who dabbled in dark mischief in the hope of making life more comfortable, it’s great to throw yourself into the large heated swimming pool that overlooks the hillside. Then, it’s just a stroll down a stone path to the natural pools beneath it. The first is hot hot hot, but a bit murky too and it’s hard to balance on the slimy rock. But if you stick it out, you’ll notice it’s a natural jacuzzi, with bubbles floating up from the hole in the earth below you. If you like your hot pool on the cooler side, just a hop step or jump away, you’ll find what you were looking for in a second all-natural tub. These get top marks for view, fun and black magic. (The witchy stuff not the chocolates.)
*voted Cameron’s favourite
4 Reykjanes -the bath tub one
The world’s largest hot tub? At Reykjanes
This is a very strange place indeed. An old school, converted with every expense spared, into a hotel in the middle of nowhere. But it has two things going for it. Its own petrol pump (always a nice surprise in countryside as remote as this.) and a 50 metre swimming pool. No, no, no, not a swimming pool. A hot tub. It’s a very weird experience, jumping into a giant hot tub and trying to take a swim. It’s like crawling through your bathtub at home. I can’t really see it catching on, but it’s a novel and very pleasant way to spend a morning. We mark it down for the amount of sweating it makes us do, but give it high marks for the view of the mountains, the fact we have it to ourselves, and because it’s included in the campsite fee.
*Voted Matthew’s favourite
5 Horgshildar – the sluggy one
Hot Pool at Horgslid on Mjóifjördur
We leave the car behind and jump on the bikes for this loop that goes around Mjóifjördur. The hotpools on the way are by permission of the local houses or farms. And they’re very natural to the point of being almost derelict, mould-covered pans of cloudy sulphur infused, sea slug and moss filled lagoon. Still, they’re healthy right? It’s fun anyway to strip down and skinny dip in one for a few minutes before nipping out to get your clothes back on pronto in the nippy air. This one gets top marks for wildness and scenery. No slides, but then that’s probably a good thing as they’d all be covered in slime.
6 Heydalur – the horsey one
Hot Pool at Heydalur
Heydalur looks very inviting in the brochures. The restaurant is a beautifully converted cattle shed, with a huge chandelier made from old glass sea buoys, and the food is fantastic. The hot pools are a little more ‘naturel’; they’re the ones I mentioned up front that whiff of horse pee. But then the greenhouse that hosts the large ‘indoor pool’ used to be a sheep shed so perhaps it’s a throwback. The changing rooms are basic to say the least and Hannah is annoyed when she comes out of the pool with green slime on her costume but the boys enjoy throwing the wet moss around and stirring up the silt. I retire to the restaurant for a coffee, while Stuart and Hannah head off to a tiny pool set into the mountain. They give it top marks for being heart shaped, wonderfully natural and smelling of nothing but fresh air. And my coffee is perfect.
Natural pool Galtarhryggslaug in Heydalur Valley
7 Sudereryi – the party one
The locals in Sudereyri are very proud of their outdoor swimming pool. Just about everyone you meet asks you if you have visited. And they should be proud; it’s the only geothermally heated one in surrounding villages and towns, and it’s a welcome blast of heat on a rainy day in this tiny fishing village of just 300 people. The day we arrived it was celebrating it’s 20th birthday with free cakes, coffee and ice cream. Top marks for that.
8 On the road to Bildudalur – the rainy one
Hot Pool en route to Bildudalur
We stumble across this one, on a cold, wet Sunday morning. We had no intention of swimming in the rain, but the steam drew us in. It’s old and chipped and not as hot as some of the others, but there’s something life affirming about the rain pelting onto your head while you paddle about in a naturally heated pool. And if you want something a bit warmer, then a few hundred yards way there’s the wild version; two little rock pools filled with the kind of water that makes a good cup of tea (hot and vaguely brown). While Stuart gives this one ten out of ten, and votes it his top choice, Hannah can’t even be convinced to come out of the car and try it. Proof that this family can’t even agree on what makes a decent swim.
After all those hot pools, how about installing a bath like this?
This post is part of our 2012 Adventure Islands Season. We’re spending summer 2012 crossing Northern Europe by car and ferry to visit Iceland and The Faroes. We’re exploring the wilder parts of these adventure islands on mini biking expeditions, and researching and reporting on other attractions and activities on offer to adventure seeking families as we tour other parts of the islands by car. We’re grateful to DFDS Seaways and Smyril Line for their support in getting us and our vehicle to Europe and onto Iceland and The Faroes, enabling us to bring you this season of posts. And to Berghaus and Thule who have helped equip us for the journey.
You can follow our progress LIVE on The Family Adventure Project Punkt and get some exclusive behind the scenes photos and video of our journey.
Wow the color of Myvatn is incredible! The setting of “Rainy One” looks idyllic.