“Hellulaug is the anti Blue Lagoon: a free, undeveloped geothermal pool on the rocks, where you soak metres from the cold sea with no ticket, no crowds and no spa.”
About Hellulaug
Iceland is dotted with natural 'hot pots', simple geothermal pools that communities have bathed in for centuries, long before commercial spas existed. Hellulaug is one of the best loved on the Westfjords coast, a free pool by the Vatnsfjordur shore that has stayed deliberately undeveloped, kept warm by water seeping up through the rocks.
What Hellulaug actually is
Hellulaug is a small natural geothermal pool tucked into the rocks on the shore of Vatnsfjordur in the Westfjords, looking straight out over the sea. It has no buildings, no ticket office and no fee, just a warm stone-lined pool a few steps from the cold ocean, kept hot by the geothermal water that seeps up beneath it.
Hellulaug is a small natural geothermal pool tucked into the rocks on the shore of Vatnsfjordur in the Westfjords, looking straight out over the sea.
The Anti Blue Lagoon
Where the Blue Lagoon is a heavily managed luxury spa, Hellulaug is its opposite: free, undeveloped and easy to miss, marked by little more than a place to leave your clothes on the rocks. You soak in body-temperature water with the fjord lapping just below you and the mountains across the water, sharing it with a handful of travellers who know it is there. It is one of many such hidden 'hot pots' that locals have used for generations.
The Experience
You scramble down to a low stone pool right at the tide line and lower yourself into warm, clear water with an open view across the fjord. There are no facilities beyond somewhere to set your towel, which is the whole point. The contrast of the hot pool and the cold sea air, often with no one else around, is deeply Icelandic.
Why It Matters
Hellulaug represents the older, communal tradition of Icelandic bathing that predates the famous spas, a free and simple soak in the wild. For travellers tired of crowds and entry fees, these natural hot pots offer a more authentic and intimate version of the country's geothermal culture.
Hellulaug represents the older, communal tradition of Icelandic bathing that predates the famous spas, a free and simple soak in the wild.
Why Visit
Stop for a free, scenic, undeveloped geothermal soak right by the sea, a genuine alternative to the pricey, crowded commercial lagoons, on the Westfjords coast.
✦ Insider Tips
- 1
It is free and unmarked; look for it on the shore near the Flokalundur area of Vatnsfjordur.
- 2
There are no facilities, so bring your own towel and change on the rocks.
- 3
Respect the spot; pack out everything and keep it clean for the next bather.
- 4
Combine it with the drive toward Dynjandi and the southern Westfjords.
