Laugardalur Swimming Pool Reviews (Reykjavik, Iceland)

Laugardalur Pool

Manchester, England, United Kingdom

August 20, 2013

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Best of IgoUgo If there is one thing that you absolutely must do with children in Iceland, it is to take them swimming outside. You can do this whatever the weather - even in a snowstorm, the outdoor pools are open and will be used by Icelandic families. Every ...Read more If there is one thing that you absolutely must do with children in Iceland, it is to take them swimming outside. You can do this whatever the weather - even in a snowstorm, the outdoor pools are open and will be used by Icelandic families. Every town and village has its own outdoor pool, there are several in Reykjavik.

We had visited the Blue Lagoon - this is luxurious and a wonderful experience, but Laugardalur will probably be a bigger hit with the younger members of the family.

Laugardalur actually means "hot spring valley." As well as an outdoor pool there are other things to do and this place is known as a major centre for recreation in Reykjavik. There is a youth hostel, a campsite, a botanical garden with woods, ponds and wildlife (entry is free) and a football stadium.

It is a little way out of the city centre, you can take a variety of buses to get here - the Number 14 bus lets you off right at the pool - however we decided to walk there. It was easy to find and not much more than a 20 minute brisk walk from the main shopping street in Reykjavik.

This is the largest outdoor thermal pool in Reykjavik and is open all year round. It opens between 8 am and 10 pm. The entrance fee to the pool is extremely cheap - ISK 130 for children and ISK 550 for adults. We visited on a Saturday morning, there were a few other Icelandic families using the pool, but no other tourists. It was by no means crowded and there was plenty of space to play and let off steam.

The water is lovely and warm - the place is nowhere near as luxurious as the Blue Lagoon but there are slides, lots of inflatable toys for children to play with and an assault course resembling Total Wipeout. It is perfect for children of all ages.

The changing rooms are outdoors, it is a bit bracing when you first emerge and run into the water, but when you get into the pool all is ok! The pool and changing areas are, as always in Iceland, immaculately clean and extremely family friendly. The other children in the pool were also really friendly and included our son in some of their games - the language barrier was no issue and he played really well with them.

As well as the pool, there is a family park and zoo in this area. The zoo has lots of Icelandic animals - wild and domesticated such as foxes, reindeer and horses. There are rides and play equipment in the park.

We spent a couple of hours in the pool, our son could have spent a couple more there, he loved it here and this was one of his holiday highlights - swimming in an outdoor pool on a freezing cold day, making some new Icelandic friends. Close

From journal Family Friendly Iceland

Laugardalur Swimming Pool

by n2dwoods

New York, New York

June 19, 2006

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Best of IgoUgo Going to the geothermal pools was the best part of my trip to Iceland. You can walk or take a bus to one of the seven municipal pools—this one is the largest. Admission is cheap (which is very nice considering the rest of Iceland is ...Read more

From journal Swimming & (Sun)bathing in Iceland

Laugardalur Swimming Pool

by isewell

Santa ROsa, California

October 28, 2002

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After a much-needed nap at the hotel, we headed to one of the public swimming pools: "Laugardalur" . This was no regular swimming pool. Yes, it was geothermally heated, like almost all of Iceland, but it was more of a 'spa experience' than a pool. ...Read more

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