I was in Iceland with one of my best girlfriends Mariah. We knew the Blue Lagoon was a MUST visit destination so we made sure to plan in advance for this one. If you are planning a trip to the Blue Lagoon, YOU MUST BOOK IN ADVANCE. Go to their website HERE and check out the different options they have available. We booked and purchased our tickets months before arriving and decided to go with the medium level package, the “Premium”. This package included some extras like slippers (which we later found were just flip flops lol), bathrobe, 2 mud masks (versus one mask with the basic package), a restaurant reservation (optional) and if you opted in to dine with them, you got a complimentary glass of sparkling wine as well! :)

Getting to the Blue Lagoon is completely separate from the actual admission and it is fairly out of the way from any other major towns or cities. So plan to make this a day trip, or pay to stay at the Blue Lagoon. Keep in mind, it is NOT cheap to stay there. The rates start at almost $600 per night so this was most definitely not even an option for us. We bought two way bus tickets from the KEF airport through Reykjavik Excursions and I would definitely recommend this company. We ended up using them for many other tours while in Iceland and were pleased with the service they provide. We met at the airport and went on our merry way at around 730am. I highly recommend getting an early start on the day. When you book your tickets, you are required to pick a time; pick the earliest time that you can and book your bus tickets accordingly. You want to be the first group there as the queue lines do tend to get pretty long later in the day, even with a pre-paid pass. Plus, you paid good money to get into the Blue Lagoon so you should definitely get your money’s worth and be there as long as possible! :p Make sure you bring flip flops (unless you pay for the Premium ticket), a bikini, a change of clothes, a waterproof camera, and lots of snacks, drinks, and food.

Once we arrived we walked down a long walkway which winded its way through volcanic rock walls and small streams of hot spring water. It was beautiful and we hadn’t even gotten inside yet! Once we walked into the building, we got to go through the pre-paid line and luckily, we were some of the first patrons to arrive! We checked in, gave them our ticket information and were handed our robe, towel and slippers as well as a wrist band that is linked to your debit/credit card. That means, no need to carry around your purse all day; SCORE!

Once we received our goodies, we were sent to the locker room. Everyone is required to fully shower from head to toe before entering the hot spring. We DID NOT know this. We were totally dolled up, hair and makeup done, ready for our blue lagoon photo shoots! A shower!? WHAT!? We kindly asked the staff if we could simply go stand next to the lagoon before showering to take photos and they said of course, that was no problem. We took some photos along the edge of the gorgeous blue waters in our swimmy suits and robes. I remember thinking it was much smaller than I anticipated, but just as beautiful as I was hoping it would be.

Once we got some photos out of the way we went back to the locker rooms to shower as instructed. I specifically avoided my face to keep my makeup on for a few extra glamour shots in the water. We went out to the lagoon and walked in. It was like walking into the most luxurious hot tub ever. The water is not harmful to your hair, but it will make it super stiff and crunchy. So we initially avoided getting our hair wet. The Blue Lagoon website recommends getting your hair wet in the showers beforehand, lathering on a ton of conditioner and leaving this on, don’t rinse! We opted to just avoid our hair getting wet for the first couple hours before going back into the locker room.

There are so many different little areas to explore at the lagoon. Most of the water is very shallow. Its maximum depth is not even 5 feet. We walked around in the water, swam, laid on a sloped “shore” area and visited the mud mask bar to get our silica mask. There is even a swim up bar serving beverages. We also stumbled across a cave in the lagoon with benches to sit on (in the water!). It was so cool! This cave is located directly to the left of the locker room exit. You will most definitely want to check it out. After a few hours we decided to get out and take a break. We were getting a little hungry so we went to the locker rooms and got out the food we brought. We found a nice lounge area outside with tables situated right along the edge of the lagoon. We brought sandwiches, chips, fruit and water and enjoyed a nice relaxing (and cheap!) lunch while people-watching the lagoon patrons.

Upstairs from the locker rooms is a super warm, sauna-like room with lounge chairs. All the walls are windows showcasing the beautiful lagoon outside. We ended up grabbing a lounge chair after lunch, and got so comfortable we took a nice little snooze for about an hour. It was so refreshing! This area is super popular and there are only about 15-20 chairs. It fills up fast! Be patient though; people come and go frequently. After that we went back in the lagoon for a couple hours and did another mud mask (we bought the Premium ticket so it came with two mud masks).

Next, we wanted to make sure we got our complimentary sparkling wine, so we went to our lunch reservation decked out in our plush robes. We were SO glad we brought our own lunch because the food prices were insane. We ordered a couple small plates, enjoyed our complimentary sparkling wine and relaxed some more. The whole day was just so spa like and dreamy.

Our day at the Blue Lagoon was coming to an end and it was almost time to load back up on the bus and head back to Keflavik. For a first timer visiting the Blue Lagoon, I felt as though we learned a lot but we also came super prepared. I am so glad I am able to write this post for others who plan to visit the lagoon so they can come prepared and have the best day! We were able to thoroughly enjoy our day, completely stress free.