Congratulations, you just booked a long-awaited trip to Iceland, and now it’s time to fill up your itinerary with once in a lifetime activities that can only be found in the land of fire and ice. One of the first things that comes to your mind when you think of Iceland is probably the Blue Lagoon, as it is arguably the most iconic and well-known site in this country. I had the pleasure of visiting Iceland in November 2022, and our very first stop after our red-eye flight from the US was to the Blue Lagoon (yes, before we even had a chance to go back to our hotel or get some breakfast!). While the Blue Lagoon is an incredible phenomena and a bucketlist destination for many, it is also highly touristy and if you’re anything like me, you tend to be wary of whether such well-known activities will truly live up to the hype. I’m here to give you my honest experience and review of the Blue Lagoon and whether or not you should invest in it or skip it on your trip to Iceland. Read on for Blue Lagoon Iceland experience and whether or not I think it was worth it!
Booking our tickets and checking in to the Blue Lagoon
I booked the Blue Lagoon as part of a package through Iceland Air which included airfare, hotel, and other activities, so I’m not sure exactly how much it cost for us, but I do know that a standard ticket to the Blue Lagoon typically starts at around $53. (If you’d like to find out how I booked this package, check out this post!) Because I booked the lagoon as part of a package, I didn’t have a say in my itinerary, which is why we had to go straight from the red-eye flight to the lagoon (I never would have chosen this myself!) Unfortunately and unsurprisingly, we were pretty exhausted from traveling all night, and sadly were not at our best for this activity, but we were still just so excited to be there that it gave us a pep in our steps and we had a good attitude despite our fatigue. We grabbed a quick bite and a coffee when we landed at the airport, and then a tour bus picked us up and off we went to the lagoon! It was about a 30 minute drive from the airport to the lagoon.
Upon our arrival to the Blue Lagoon, we encountered the only truly negative aspect of the activity. The bus dropped us off with our luggage, and we got stuck waiting in a long line outside to drop off our luggage and redeem our vouchers. Keep in mind, it was freezing out, rainy, and super windy, so this was a very unpleasant experience and not the best impression for us to kick off our trip to Iceland nor this famous landmark destination.
When we finally got through the treacherous line, it was luckily all uphill from there. We dropped off our luggage in lockers and were then escorted along a beautiful pathway to the blue lagoon lobby and cafe. We were given robes and slippers and then went to our respective locker rooms, where we were instructed to shower and change into our swimsuits. I did so as quickly as possible as I couldn’t wait to dive into the beautiful pool of warm water that I had been fantasizing about for years.
My Experience at Iceland’s Blue Lagoon
I rushed through my shower and dashed outside. There it was in the flesh– the iconic Blue Lagoon! I stripped off my warm robe and made a run for the water– remember, it was freezing out, and I was not about to linger outside wearing just a swimsuit! My husband, being a guy and much faster than me, was of course already in the water and had a big grin on his face as he welcomed me into the lagoon with him. I plunged into the water ungracefully– who could care about being graceful at a moment as exciting as this?!
I felt instant relief that the water was truly the perfect temperature. I refer to it as “bath tub” temperature– warm enough to be perfectly comfortable, but cool enough that you could stay in it for hours without overheating. Not only was the temperature incredible, but the depth was idyllic as well. The Blue Lagoon is deep enough that your whole body can stay submerged, but shallow enough to stand and to never have to swim or tread water, making it a family friendly activity suitable for all swimming levels. In fact, the deepest point in the blue lagoon is only 4.7 feet. I was also pleasantly surprised that the lagoon was much larger than I had expected it to be.
Luckily, the weather had improved since our dismal arrival– the rain subsided and we got to witness a truly epic sunrise over the water. God was really blessing us that morning, because we were even fortunate enough to see a beautiful rainbow come out. My husband and I swam around the entire lagoon, taking it all in and pinching ourselves in disbelief that we were really there. As I mentioned in this blogpost, our trip to Iceland was fairly spontaneous, which made it even more surreal when we essentially found ourselves floating along the iconic Blue Lagoon! I felt overwhelmed with gratitude and even had a moment where I asked my husband why we were so lucky to be able to experience these luxuries at such a young age. I felt humbled and undeserving, and realized that I was living out a dream that I hadn’t ever really thought was possible for myself. I’ll never forget that moment of complete awe and appreciation for the world around me and the blessed life I’ve been given. Even though we were sleep-deprived, the relaxing nature of the Blue Lagoon provided a great outlet for us to decompress from the long travel day. I found myself floating and silently taking it all in with my eyes closed and thinking that I had never felt so relaxed and content in my entire life! It was a really special and romantic outing and I was so grateful to be able to create such a magical memory with my wonderful husband.
We spent around 3 hours totally floating around the lagoon, and for the first hour or so we did not bring our phones with us as I wanted to be fully present for this once in a lifetime experience. I remember being disappointed looking around and seeing 9 out of 10 people carrying their phones and gopros and documenting the entire thing. While I understand the desire to capture such an activity– I eventually got my phone out and did the same thing– I couldn’t help but feel like they were robbing themselves of the full experience. I think there can and should be a great balance between being fully present and getting pics for the gram, but it really seemed like most of the visitors spent the whole time holding their phones above the water and posing. I was so glad I spent that full first hour completely device free so that I could swim about freely and just focus on taking it all in with my husband.
What’s included with a Blue Lagoon ticket
Also included with a standard Blue Lagoon ticket is a free mud mask and a drink. We swam to the bar in the middle of the lagoon, where we had mud masks applied. It was a silly and fun touch that added to the uniqueness of the experience. Admittedly, I wished I had had my phone for this moment, but this occurred during my phone-free hour, so I never got photos of this! We then floated over to the bar, but since it was still morning and we felt like we were doing such a holistic activity, we weren’t in the mood for alcohol, so we opted for some fresh juice which was the perfect healthy pick-me-up after our long travel day.
After about three hours of exploring the lagoon, we noticed that the facilities included a sauna and a steam room. We had been so preoccupied with the lagoon that we had overlooked these features. But of course upon making this discovery, we were eager to mix things up so we spent some time sweating out our travel exhaustion in the sauna, which was honestly such a great way to decompress from traveling and is a travel hack I would definitely like to do again!
Wrapping up our time at Iceland’s Blue Lagoon
Despite all the fun we were having, our exhaustion and hunger really started kicking in at this point and the thought of a warm, cozy bed waiting for us was sounding more and more appealing, so we decided to call it a day. We would have loved to have spent a bit more time at the lagoon, but like I said, our itinerary wasn’t ideal so we had to just work with what we were given. We felt like we had experienced all of what the lagoon had to offer, so we didn’t feel too bad about leaving early. We returned to the locker rooms and got dressed, and were relieved when we came out and saw that there was a shuttle already there waiting to take us to our hotel.
We checked into our hotel, made our way to our room in an exhausted daze, and proceeded to take the deepest, most satisfying nap of our lives. We woke up ready for dinner, recharged and excited to kick off the rest of our epic trip in Iceland.
Back at our hotel- nice and cozy!
Warning about your hair and Iceland’s Blue Lagoon
*One important thing to note that I WISH someone had told me– do NOT put your hair in the lagoon! The lagoon contains high levels of silica, which truly does a number on your hair, transforming it to a stiff, dry, difficult to manage mess! I was horrified when I woke up from my nap and saw the state of my mane, and I of course did a quick internet search to figure out what the heck was going on. I was relieved to learn that silica does not damage your hair but it does change it temporarily, and my hair didn’t go back to normal for at least a week. This is why my hair looked so bizarre in all of our Iceland pictures, but it also added some nice volume and texture so there were times where I actually kind of enjoyed this unexpected effect! But please, learn from my mistake and resist the temptation to put your head under the water in the Blue Lagoon!
So, is the Blue Lagoon Iceland experience worth it?
While the Blue Lagoon is in fact a touristy, crowded, and somewhat costly activity, I think it is a rite of passage in Iceland and is such a bucket list destination that I couldn’t have imagined missing out on this experience. That being said, Iceland is full of natural hot springs that are not only free but also completely uncrowded if you are willing to go off the beaten path, so this is most likely what I will opt for if I am lucky enough to visit Iceland again. So overall, the Blue Lagoon was definitely a highlight of our Iceland vacation that I am very grateful for, but I’m content with letting this activity be a one-and-done.
I hope this provides valuable insight into the Blue Lagoon experience and helps you decide whether to add it to your Iceland itinerary! Whether or not you opt to visit the Blue Lagoon on your Iceland travels, you should definitely include soaking in geothermal pools or visiting a geothermal spa on your Iceland itinerary. Let me know in the comments if you have ever been and what your opinion on it was. As always, thanks for reading and I will see you guys in the next post! If you’d like to read more about our trip to Iceland, check out this post!
Xoxo,
Jensen
My husband and I took an epic trip to Iceland in November. We both fell madly in love with the country, and we feel like we really left a piece of our hearts there. Between the incredible and unique nature, the overall feeling of peace and safety, delicious food, and friendly locals, Iceland truly impressed us, and we are already dreaming of when we can go back. In this blog, I will share the details behind how we booked this luxurious bucket-list trip without breaking the bank, so that you, too, can travel to Iceland on a budget!
Even though we booked our trip two and a half months in advance, it was still fairly spontaneous. We didn’t really have a reason for going, other than the fact that it had been a longstanding dream of ours, and we had a brief window of opportunity to get a really good deal on it. In the following paragraphs, I will walk you through the exact steps I took to book this trip and how much it cost.
How I found this deal: the importance of flexibility of and doing your research
One of the best pieces of advice I can give people with a limited budget who are looking to travel more often is to be flexible and do your research! One of the ways I am always “doing research” is by following travel influencers on Instagram who actually provide useful information and inform their followers when hot deals are going on. I have to give a shoutout to my favorite travel influencer @zacharyburrabel who is the reason we got to take this trip. He posted about this incredible deal Icelandair was doing back in August, and I recognized what a rare find this was, and literally booked our trip two hours later.
So, what was the deal exactly? In August, Icelandair had a major sale on a package trip to Iceland that included roundtrip fare, four nights in a four-star hotel, and three tours for just $749! Iceland is notoriously one of the most expensive countries in the world. When you combine that fact with the inflation and record-high travel costs we’ve all been facing, it doesn’t take a travel expert to recognize that this deal was truly unbelievable. Icelandair was only selling this deal for a few days in August, and the caveat was that you had to travel between mid-October and mid-March. This makes sense because Iceland is a cold place with very intense and unpredictable weather, especially in the winter, and most travelers would prefer to visit in the summer months. This wasn’t a deal breaker for me, though, because after doing some research, I came to the conclusion that Iceland is a wonderful place to visit at any time of the year, just don’t expect clear skies and comfortable conditions! If you’re willing to travel to Iceland in the winter too, check back next August because this may be a deal that they promote annually.
The hardest part was convincing my husband!
I quickly brought this deal up to my husband, who admittedly was skeptical at first. He is the more financially cautious and deliberate of the two of us, whereas I tend to be more spontaneous and risk-taking. I realized the value in this deal and that it would quickly sell out, whereas his perspective was that we shouldn’t rush into such a big purchase simply because the clock was ticking. We discussed the opportunity and listened to each other’s perspectives in a respectful manner. I shared with him that even though this was spontaneous, and we didn’t have a particular reason for going to Iceland right now (like a birthday or an anniversary), this was something we both had wanted to do for a long time and it would be hard to do it at such a reasonable cost at a later date. I also pointed out that this is the perfect time in our lives to be taking these spur-of-the-moment trips—we are married, young, don’t have the responsibilities of children or a mortgage yet, and have some disposable income. He finally agreed and allowed me to book the flight, although he was still a bit hesitant. (Spoiler alert: he came around and ended up having a fabulous time. He may love Iceland even more than I do, if that’s even possible!)
Details of the trip: how much it cost, flying first class, booking a positioning flight, and managing a red-eye
Because the trip was such a good deal, we decided to upgrade to first class for the first time ever! The cost of the entire trip with first-class flights was $1500 each. Even with the upgrade, this was still a fantastic deal. The main reason I decided to splurge on first-class this time was because we were traveling such a long way for such a short trip. Our flight to Reykjavik was a red-eye and upon landing, we would immediately be going to the blue lagoon. (If you’d like to read about our experience at Iceland’s Blue Lagoon, check out this post!) I didn’t want us to waste our very limited time in Iceland having to recover from the exhaustion of the flight, so I thought it was a good use of our money to make our travel as pleasant and relaxing as possible. The first-class upgrade was more than worth it, and the service was exceptional. Now that we’ve flown first-class, we see what we’ve been missing all these years, and it will be difficult to have to go back to coach! Check out my review of the Icelandair first class lounge here.
Unfortunately, Icelandair does not do direct flights out of Atlanta, so I had to book us a positioning flight to Baltimore where we had a four-hour layover. Our flight to Baltimore was quick and easy (about an hour and a half), however positioning flights are not without risk, so this definitely made me nervous. Thankfully, however, all went smoothly, and we did not experience any delays or mishaps. We were able to hang out at the Priority Pass Lounge in Baltimore thanks to our credit cards giving us access, and this was a great way to pass the time. We got to enjoy free food and alcohol, comfortable chairs, and charging stations. It was the perfect way to unwind before our long flight. We then embarked on our flight to Reykjavik, which was only about five and a half hours.
Why it was all worth it
Although it was an incredibly long travel day for just a four-and-a-half day-long trip, it was what we could afford to do at the time with PTO and budget constraints. Some neigh-sayers may think it’s crazy to travel so far for such a short amount of time, but it was totally worth it to us, and though we would have loved to stay longer, it was infinitely better than not getting to go at all!
I hope you enjoyed this blog on how I booked our wonderful Iceland trip on a budget by utilizing certain strategies and being flexible. We both loved Iceland so much, and I’m confident that the next time we go will be for much longer so we can explore so much more of what this beautiful country has to offer. Stay tuned for upcoming posts about our itinerary, our Iceland tips and advice, and what we would do differently next time. Love ya and thanks for reading!
Xoxo,
Jeni
Congratulations- you’re engaged! Now it’s time to dive into one of the most exciting parts of your engagement- planning your honeymoon!
Deciding where you want to go on your honeymoon can be incredibly fun, but it can also feel stressful if you aren’t sure where to go, feel overwhelmed with options, or are constrained by a tight budget. My husband and I went back and forth with our options for a few months before ultimately deciding to go to Punta Cana for our honeymoon. If Punta Cana has come across your radar, you may be wondering, “is Punta Cana a good place for a honeymoon?” After spending a blissful and romantic two weeks basking in Punta Cana, I can confidently say that Punta Cana is an excellent place to go for a honeymoon! However, it might not be for everyone. Read on to learn why I think Punta Cana is a good place for a honeymoon, as well as the reasons why it might not be the right honeymoon destination for you. And make sure to check out my post on my best tips for having an amazing honeymoon, regardless of where you go!
Why Punta Cana is a good place for a honeymoon
1. It’s a short flight if you’re in the United States
If you live in the US, especially in the southeast, Punta Cana is a great place for a honeymoon because it’s not far away at all. It was a direct 3.5-hour flight for us from Atlanta, which was a shorter flight than going to the west coast! The flight was a total breeze. In my opinion, Punta Cana is such a great vacation destination because it is beautiful and tropical and feels like a far-away land, but you don’t have to spend two days traveling to get there.
If you’re like most of us, you can only take so much time off work and probably have limited days for your honeymoon. It was important to us to not spend too much of our limited vacation days traveling to and from our destination. Some of the places we wanted to go to would have taken a full day to get to, and we just weren’t keen on sacrificing our precious vacation days. Not to mention, when you’re traveling for that long, it can take a few days to unwind and recover from the long journey. With this simple 3.5-hour flight, we were able to immediately settle into relaxation mode when we arrived.
2. It’s a beach lover’s paradise
It is very common to want a relaxing, beach-centric honeymoon in a beautiful place, and Punta Cana is just that. The beaches are stunning, the waves are small, the water is warm, and the sand is white and soft. The weather is perfect all year round. Punta Cana is a great place for swimming, snorkeling, boating, and laying out. The one thing that we didn’t like about the beaches is that they accumulated a lot of seaweed, but if you’re staying at a nice resort, your hotel will actively be working to clear that out for its guests.
3. It’s not the most expensive place on earth
I’m going to be honest, Punta Cana isn’t cheap, but it’s far from the most expensive location you could go to either. I would say Punta Cana is in the middle in terms of pricing for luxury vacation destinations. It’s cheaper than places like Hawaii or Greece, but more expensive than Mexico or Bali. You can stay in a five-star all-inclusive resort starting at $450 a night, which you would be hard-pressed to find in the United States.
4. The culture and the people are wonderful
My husband and I were blown away by how incredible the Dominican people are! They are some of the friendliest and most genuine people we have ever met, and we had so much fun getting to know them. We made lifelong Dominican friends and had several people calling us family and inviting us into their homes. That just doesn’t happen very often in the US, so that was special and eye-opening to experience. Dominican culture is rich and inviting, the food is fantastic, and don’t even get me started on the coffee! If experiencing new cultures is important to you when you travel, then you will absolutely love the Dominican Republic.
5. It’s SO relaxing
This is probably true of all-inclusive resorts in general, and Punta Cana is known for its incredible accommodations. This was our first time staying in an all-inclusive resort, and we absolutely loved it. Once you’re there, you truly don’t have to think about a thing. You could theoretically not even bring your wallet and live like royalty the whole time while you’re there (of course, it’s always nice to have cash for tipping!) Because our accommodations were so wonderful, we were able to just unwind and enjoy each other. We spent most days swimming, tanning on the beach, eating great food, drinking cocktails, playing tennis, and socializing with the workers and other guests. Everything was taken care of for us, which felt unbelievably luxurious. Just imagine how nice it will feel to simply relax after months of chaotic wedding planning!
Of course, it’s important to note that when you’re staying at an all-inclusive resort, you’re spending the majority of your vacation there. This makes it even more imperative that you do a LOT of research to make sure you’re choosing excellent accommodations. If your hotel ends up being subpar, you’re probably not going to have a very good time. You don’t want to take this decision lightly.
Who might not enjoy a honeymoon to Punta Cana?
Like I said, I thought Punta Cana was an absolute dream, but I recognize that not everyone will feel that way. Punta Cana is absolutely marketed as a place for a tranquil and slow-paced vacation. If you’re craving adventure, excitement, and the ability to go out and explore a lot, then Punta Cana might not be for you. I personally love an action-packed vacation, but after the hectic wedding-planning season, a peaceful two-week stay in Punta Cana was just what the doctor ordered.
Punta Cana is not a big city with exciting nightlife whatsoever. It consists primarily of all-inclusive resorts, and the resort you stay at will be the center of your vacation. If you’re the type of person who gets bored laying on the beach, you should consider a different type of honeymoon destination. But if five-star service, incredible swimming pools, and unlimited cocktails on the beach sound like heaven on earth to you, then Punta Cana may be just the place to make all of your honeymoon dreams come true!
Still have doubts or more questions? Regardless of whether you end up choosing Punta Cana, make sure to check out my post on my six tips on how to have an amazing honeymoon!