In August, I traveled to Iceland and went on a nine-day adventure. It was my second time to Iceland, with many years passed between the two visits. On this trip, I chose to fly to Keflavik International Airport, revisit the Blue Lagoon, Reykjavik (Iceland’s capital) and explore the South Coast and West Coast before flying home from Keflavik.
I hope to write three posts and include pictures to record my adventure in Iceland. Today’s post is the first in the series.
Getting There
I booked my return flights with Icelandair. My direct flight from Toronto to Keflavik International Airport took about five hours. Keflavik is about forty-five minute drive to Reykjavik City Centre. Flybus operates frequent service from Keflavik to Reykjavik and from Keflavik to Blue Lagoon. I bought my bus tickets upon arrival at the airport.
Blue Lagoon
My Iceland adventure started with a visit to the famous Blue Lagoon. It is a unique natural pool of mineral-rich geothermal water located in the middle of a lava field. The 38C (or 100F) geothermal seawater is channeled into the lagoon from 2000 meters within the earth. Since the Blue Lagoon is located near Keflavik International Airport, visitors can easily plan a visit to the Blue Lagoon upon arrival and/ or before a late flight departure.
My Blue Lagoon ticket was a plastic bracelet to be returned at exit. The ticket price included the use of a bathrobe, locker, towel, shampoo, shower gel, face and body lotion, hair dryer, a healthy smoothie, a silica face mask, and unlimited time in the geothermal lagoon which also has a small waterfall and a sauna cave. The bracelet is used to scan, lock and unlock the individual locker, as well as record any extra purchases such as drinks, snacks, spa products, or souvenirs in the Blue Lagoon complex.
Aside from my bathing suit and wallet, I also brought water shoes and a waterproof case for my cellphone (to take pictures while in the lagoon). Although the bottom of the Blue Lagoon is smooth and most bathers walk in bare feet, I prefer to walk with my water shoes.
After the relaxing bath, I walked the paths around the Blue Lagoon and was in awe of the gorgeous blue colour and the vast lava plain surrounding the lagoon.
Reykjavik
Reykjavik, the world’s most northerly capital, is a small city and easy to navigate. I walked to explore the Old Town centre, City Hall, the Alpingi Parliament, the Dómkirkjan Cathedral, Hallgrimskirkja church (the tallest church in Iceland), the harbour and Perlan, located on the Öskjuhlíd hill, for spectacular views over the capital area. I also visited Bessastaðir, the official residence of the President of Iceland.
Here’s my Reykjavik Gallery. Click on any image in the gallery to see its bigger version.
Public Art
My favourite public art in Reykjavik is the Sun Voyager, a sculpture by Jón Gunnar Ánarson. What the artist intended to convey resonates with me. I took this picture on my last evening in Reykjavik.
Sun Voyager is described as a dreamboat, or an ode to the Sun. The artist intended it to convey the promise of undisclosed territory, a dream of hope, progress and freedom.
Wikipedia
Weekend Coffee Share
My visit to Iceland was off to a wonderful start at the Blue Lagoon and Reykjavik. Coming up next is my adventure along Iceland’s stunning South Coast.
I’d love for you to share your week’s highlights and/ or photos of public art around the world in the Comments or InLinkz #133 below.
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Natalie the Explorer 
Simply stunning photos of the blue lagoon. I look forward to the next chapter.
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Thank you, Suzanne. Iceland’s South Coast is full of natural wonders. I hope to share some pics next Friday.
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The Blue Lagoon looks amazing in every photo I’ve ever seen of it – but your photos and info are so interesting – I didn’t realize how big it was or that you could get so much with a bracelet to help you enjoy the experience. I think it looks and sounds absolutely amazing.
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Hi Leanne, The Blue Lagoon where people bathe or have spa treatments is a big building complex. Most people go for the pools and miss the walking paths where the blue colour is most striking. It’s an amazing experience to see it IRL.
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Oh, my gosh! I sometimes dream of visiting Iceland–why Iceland, exactly, I could not begin to tell you–and these pictures have me thinking I may need to convert “dreaming” to “visiting” in the near future. Stunning!!!
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Thank you Deborah for your visit and comment. I hope you get to visit Iceland sooner rather than later. With climate change, some of the glaciers have receded.
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These pictures are absolutely incredible, Natalie. I’ve seen pictures of the Blue Lagoon but I thought it was a Photoshop trick. What an amazing place! I love how organized it is, too. How was the water? It’s hard to believe that even with lava heating it that it freezes in the winter. Fabulous trip. I like your public art display as well. I guessed that it might have something to do with elk or deer, so I was surprised at the meaning. Thanks for sharing.
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Hi Marsha, The average temperature in the Blue Lagoon is 38C or 100F. Seeing that blue colour is an unforgettable experience. The whole trip was amazing and it exceeded my expectations. I’m glad you like the Sun Voyager, too.
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Indeed, that had to be a memorable trip. Gorgeous! the temperature is just right!
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Iceland doesn’t get hot even in the summer so 38C or 100F feels great.
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It would be a great place to visit if a person lived in Phoenix right now. They have had 53 days at more than 110. 🙂
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One of the reasons I chose Iceland was its cool summer. July was record-breaking hot in many places and the high temperatures are not good for outdoor activities.
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And you are such an outdoor person. Chicago is not the best summer vacation destination, though! LOL
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I enjoyed the Chicago river cruise and time with family. I go to visit when they are available 🙂
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That’s the time to do it!
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What an experience! The colours look so vibrant. Thanks for sharing this with us.
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Thank you Margaret for stopping by. The Blue Lagoon is amazing to experience IRL.
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What an amazing experience. Thanks for sharing. xo
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You’re welcome Darlene. Thank you for stopping by.
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Must have been amazing to go there😊
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The whole trip was delightful and wonderful 🙂
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That’s great 👍
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Beautiful Natalie, good you got to swim in The Blue Lagoon something we missed. We loved our five day trip there, but mega expensive!
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Iceland is known to be expensive. Thankfully I saved on airfares as Icelandair had a promotion when I booked my tickets. Were you able to visit the south and west coasts during your stay?
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No we just did the Golden Circle with an organised Icelandic Air your, we stayed in some lovely hotels
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The Golden Circle is a popular tour. There will be a few new-to-you attractions in my next two posts 🙂
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What a fabulous way to start your trip, Natalie.
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Jo, It got better and better 🙂
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I’ll look forward to that!
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It has been many years since we went to Iceland (easy to do from Denmark – not so easy from here!) so great to see your wonderful pictures. The Blue Lagoon is a great place to visit.
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My first visit to Iceland was when I was on my way to Denmark 🙂
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The Blue Lagoon looks amazing. I showed the pictures to my husband and followed up with a question. “Why haven’t we gone here?” Thanks for sharing, Natalie.
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Excellent question, Shari. I’m glad you liked my photos of the Blue Lagoon.
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I can not get over the color of the Blue Lagoon! What an amazing feature.
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The blue colour of the Blue Lagoon is mesmerizing and unforgettable.
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Beautiful pictures Natalie. I hope the smoothie that you got tasted good. 😊
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Yes, it was really good. I forgot to take picture of the vegetable and spice ingredients in it. There were two smoothie choices, one was green and the other was orange.
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Oh a healthy drink! Maybe next time.😊
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I guess I didn’t realize that such a warm area of water would be in Iceland. Beautiful blue!
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Iceland has many volcanoes, geysers, geothermal lagoons and hot springs (as well as glaciers).
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Thank you for introducing Iceland to me – I have never been nor have I viewed many photos from the country, so I enjoyed viewing Part 1 of your trip. Looking forward to the other parts.
The lava & blue lagoon captures are truly surreal, as you mentioned. They almost look like fantasy paintings as opposed to real life captures. The light, the light!
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You’re welcome, Ju-Lyn. It’s my pleasure to introduce Iceland to you. I hope to share more pictures in the next post.
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Amazing pictures, I need to put Iceland on my bucket list
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I hope you get to visit Iceland. Iceland is not far from Scotland.
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Our trouble is we have so many great travel opportunities in the grand scheme of things. Would really take the boss some persuading 😉 One day though, maybe on route to Boston/New York.
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I get it. Too many interesting places to visit, too little time. Icelandair has free stopovers in Iceland for flights to Europe.
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Hey Natalie, Those are some beautiful shots, I love your pictures! They really capture the beauty of Iceland’s Blue Lagoon
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Thank you FoF. I’m glad you love my pictures. I hope to share more about Iceland this coming weekend.
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Looks like a great start to your trip. The Blue Lagoon looks wonderful – I know a lot of people who have been to Iceland yet have never seen pictures of it.
Hope you are havign a great weekend 🙂
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Thank you, Trent. I had a wonderful time in Iceland. Hope to share more pics this coming weekend.
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Nice photos, Natalie. Blue Lagoon looks beautiful!
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Thank you Pam. Blue Lagoon is stunning to see IRL.
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Natalie,
Another great adventure! I would love to see the Blue Lagoon, but I’d have to pass on the Green Smoothie, LOL! Looking forward to what comes next. Have a great week! Joe
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Joe, I tried the green smoothie as I’m interested in trying something new when I travel 🙂 It actually tasted good. Have a wonderful week!
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The Blue Lagoon looks otherworldly, like a set from a Star Trek movie. Just amazing. Excited to see the next installments!
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The Blue Lagoon colour is an unforgettable sight. I’ll start drafting the next post soon.
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The Blue lagoon is a place on my bucket list. Thank you so much for sharing the experience!
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You’re welcome, Maria. Iceland is not far from Sweden so I hope you get to visit the Blue Lagoon in the future.
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wonderful review of what must have been a great visit.
Thanks Natalie
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Thanks Gary. I had a wonderful time in Iceland.
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Wow, now that is one of the most sites I have ever seen. So very lovely. Words can’t not describe your pics. So very stunning. Thanks for sharing this with us. Amazing.
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Thank you Patrick for your comment. The Blue Lagoon is definitely special and beautiful.
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I am happy to see the photos and descriptions of your trip to Iceland. One of my sisters, in the early ’70s, was stationed (US Navy) at a post there. In addition to the base and the country, she traveled a number of times to Europe during her tour of duty.
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Lizl, Thank you for sharing your family connection with Iceland. I read that the US maintained a military presence in Keflavik throughout the Cold War. I passed by Höfdi House, the site of the 1986 Iceland Summit where Reagan and Gorbachev met. Icelandair has frequent flights to other European cities.
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How exciting for you to visit, Natalie! The blue lagoon and the city of Reykjavik look amazing! Iceland seems to have a lot to offer.
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Hi Terri, Iceland has many amazing natural wonders. I had a wonderful time exploring some of them.
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These are all so wonderful! I’m sooo jealous. It’s just stunning!
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I hope you’ll also like my next post 🙂
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What an amazing place to visit, the landscape is truly otherworldly 😃 Here’s mine for this week: https://jezbraithwaite.blog/2023/09/11/elephant-sculpture-monday-portrait-sep-11/
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Thank you Jez for your comment and PPAC contribution. I hope to visit Scotland next year.
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Amazing article! But the Sun Voyager is the cherry on top of the cake. Wonderful.
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Thank you NH. I’m glad you like the Sun Voyager sculpture.
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What an amazing time. Iceland is in my list.
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Thank you Lisa for stopping by. Iceland has many natural wonders.
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Beautiful photos. Wow! I enjoyed reading about how you travelled where you did. You make it sound so simple. I also learned that moss was flammable which seems like a delightfully obscure piece of trivia to know.
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Thank you Ally for your compliments. Iceland is built on layers of lava. Its landscape is fascinating. I thought the flammable moss information was unique and interesting, too.
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It looks amazing, Natalie and your photos are stunning.
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Thank you Sofia. I’m happy with how my photos in Iceland turned out. The beautiful landscape and good weather helped 🙂
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Hi Natalie,
Wow! I really enjoyed reading your Iceland posts tonight with a cup of tea and a delectable ice cream. My cousin has been to Iceland a few times and I thought it was very random when I first found out but found out more abdout it and after seeing your photos, it all makes perfect sense. I studied geology at school and have always had a thing for basalt’s columnar jointing, which can make for some spectacular scenery. We went to New Zealand on our honeymoon 22 years ago and went to Rotorua. Amazing. We are hoping to go away for a few months next year and will be needing to factor in my health currently quite keen on Ireland, Italy and Malta but as others have said so many places that it’s hard to decide.
Best wishes,
Rowena
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Hi Rowena, Iceland, Ireland, Italy and Malta are all beautiful countries to visit and revisit. I’d love to return to any or all of them 🙂 I understand your dilemma which place to go first. I hope to visit New Zealand and Australia one day. Best wishes.
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Hope you make it Down Under one day, Natalie. I could show you around.
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Thank you Rowena. I hope to visit Australia and will contact you when I do.
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There’s blue and then the Blue Lagoon which takes blue on to a whole new level! I LOVE your photos from your visit there, it looks incredibly inviting and surreal. I hope the Icelandic Tourist board are reading your posts as you have us all longing to visit in person! xx
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Iceland is wonderful for nature lovers and people who dislike summer heat and humidity, Annika. The Blue Lagoon is stunning IRL, especially the colour and volcanic landscape around the geothermal spa complex.
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I loved reading your post Natalie as it brought back so many great memories for me of our trip to Iceland. We all enjoyed our visit to the Blue Lagoon and it was a great start to our trip. I agree the Sun Voyager is a brilliant sculpture. The capital is a lovely city and much smaller than I imagined.
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Debbie, A soak in the Blue Lagoon’s warm geothermal water would reduce or remove any jetlag or relax tired muscles after a long flight. I enjoyed Iceland’s capital and the country’s small population of about 330,000. I live in a big city and it’s a nice change to go to places with lots of open space and nature.
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