Blue Lagoon

Bláa Lónið, the Blue Lagoon, is a geothermal spa in a moss-covered lava field on Iceland's Reykjanes Peninsula, roughly 20 minutes from Keflavík International Airport and about 50 minutes from Reykjavík. It opened in 1992 as a bathing spot beside the Svartsengi geothermal plant and has since grown into a resort with hotels and restaurants.

The water

The lagoon holds a mix of roughly two-thirds seawater and one-third fresh water, drawn from deep underground and heated by the volcanic ground. It is cooled to about 37–40 °C for bathing. The milky-blue colour comes from silica, together with algae and minerals in suspension; the silica settles on the bottom as a soft white mud.

The lagoon

The main lagoon is a large open-air pool surrounded by lava and warm all year. Inside it are two bars: a mask bar, where bathers pick up silica mud masks, algae masks and lava scrubs, and a drinks bar reached by swimming. A sauna, steam rooms and a rest area are on the shore.

Retreat Spa and hotels

The Retreat Spa is a separate part of the complex with its own private lagoon cut into the lava, in-water treatments and an underground spa circuit. It connects to the Retreat Hotel, which is built into the lava. The Silica Hotel stands a short distance from the main lagoon and has a bathing lagoon of its own. Of the restaurants, Moss serves Icelandic cooking, Lava is built into an 800-year-old lava cliff on the lagoon shore, and the Spa Restaurant serves breakfast and casual meals without reservation. The peninsula is a UNESCO Global Geopark.