Iceland (Blue Lagoon & Reykjavik)

kimberlyongsuwen
Feb 9, 2016
6 min read

So after a one month delay our trip to Iceland was finally realized.

It was pretty hectic even before it started as we pretty much finalized all the bookings for the flights, accomodations and activities 2 weeks before the trip.

Oh and did I mention the planning was done during our semester 1 exams?

So much for being hard working students.

Note the eye bags and dark circles after one month of exams.

Also note to self:

Always leave for a trip at least one day after your exams, at the very least the next day after you gain your freedom. Not recommended to start packing and leave for the airport just hours after a 9am exam.
If possible, avoid at all cost staying overnight in the airport. We arrived at the airport at midnight and had to wait till 7.45am for our flight. This is what happens when you booked the earliest possible flight but failed to check if there are trains that could get you to the airport on time.

Had a pretty smooth flight with Easyjet though it could be due to the fact that all of us pretty much slept through the flight.

This gave me a preview of how cold Iceland could be.

Outside the airport.

Was totally thrilled by the thick snow everywhere. Never experienced it in the UK before.

Our apartment.

We were suppose to catch the northern lights on the first day but decided not to as the northern lights forecast indicated that Saturday would be a better day to catch them instead.

The next morning it was off to the Blue Lagoon.

Snow and frozen pathway.

Frozen pond. It is blue due to the sulphur in the water.

The sight of the snow, frozen pathway and pond sorta made me feel crazy for wanting to go out in the cold in just my swimwear. Coupled all of that with very strong and cold wind. Boy was it freezing cold!

Paying extra for the bath robes was the best decision ever because they were life savers.

It was all good though after we enter the warm water.

Unfortunately it was a pretty misty day to take any clear pictures :(

The clearest full group picture we had.

The surroundings were very beautiful so it was pitiful we couldnt take nice pictures.

Mask station.

So this is the place where we got to try the famous face masks from Blue Lagoon.

There are two types of masks:

The white one which comes free with the Standard package (40 Euros) is a silica mud mask.
The silica mud gives a vital energy boost and smooth complexion. Brings out the skin’s inner glow. The silica mud is the Blue Lagoon’s principal element. The special white geothermal mud deep-cleanses and exfoliates. It naturally strengthens the skin barrier function. Easy to rinse off.*
The green one which comes free with the Comfort package (55 Euros) is an algae mask.
Nourishes, moisturizes, gives an immediate and long lasting lift and youthful glow. This is a new advanced formula containing Blue Lagoon active ingredients: algae, essential minerals and silica mud. Research has shown that Blue Lagoon algae have significant protecting and anti-aging effects.*

*Got them fine details from the Blue Lagoon website.

Channelling our Joker faces with the silica mask.

Algae mask

Personally I preferred the algae mask over the mud mask. In fact I love it!

Your skin feels incredible after washing it off.

A little tip for the girls:

Dont bother with make-up and go with your naked face. The masks are worth it. Plus the place is so foggy that no one can see whatever insecurities you have concerning your face anyway :)
TIE UP YOUR HAIR as high as possible to avoid it getting in the water especially if you have dyed your hair. I know its tempting to let your hair down and look awesome in pictures but the water really will ruin your hair. Unfortunately I didnt heed the advices enough from past travellers and brought a loose scrunchy to tie up my hair. My hair was so dry after that and not to mention it smelled like sulphur for a few days.
There are lots of advices from people saying you should put on the conditioner provided in the toilets on your hair before you enter the water. I didnt try this but after what happenned to my hair I would agree that it might probably be a good idea to do that. Though it wouldnt be great for pictures hence the importance of advice number 2.

More general tips:

Bring slippers!
Towels too if your package doesn't come with it.
Find the hot spots in the pool. The water temperature varies at different areas so some areas are much warmer than others.
Be prepared for the strong freezing winds. Say hello to frozen ears.
Short people like me may face some difficulties at the deeper areas. I pretty much clung onto my bff the whole time we were there as the deeper areas were warmer. I literally could not touch the ground at the deep areas =.=

More pictures:

Mandatory vain solo picture.

When you are trying to take the epic selfie.

But you got caught by your friends.

And of course being your good friends they came rushing over.

Because true friends wont let you be vain on your own.

More came rushing over so there goes your selfie opportunity.

Tadah group picture.

When the person that is suppose to keep you from drowning is being suicidal.

Trying to act cool while pretending we werent freezing to death for getting out of the water.

Disturbing the peace.

Because boys will be boys.

Overall, I really enjoyed my time at the Blue Lagoon.

There were some reviews saying that it is not worth going.

In fact while queuing at the entrance, one woman who was leaving told us in the queue while passing by that it wasnt worth it.

Personally though, I dont think it is a waste of time and money.

Yes, you do have a 45 minutes bus ride to get to the Blue Lagoon from Reykjavik (hence why there are many tours offering to go straight to Blue Lagoon from the airport or before you head to the airport to save travelling time) and there are more affordable geothermal spas but it is something you do once and its enough.

It is indeed a good experience.

Of course like everywhere else, it is even better if you are in good company which I was.

It probably would not be as enjoyable if you go solo or in a really small group.

After that it was off to dinner at Sushi Samba Restaurant as recommended by a local.

Cute decorations.

There were a few set menus to choose from but unfortunately we could only get one type of set menu per table. Ala carte orders were of course allowed.

After much debate we settled for the Omakase set, a 6 course tasting menu recommended by the chefs (7990 kr.).

The set includes:

A glass of sparkling wine.
5 dishes. It is possible to make special requests for the chefs to include certain food which we did for puffin and whale meat.
1 dessert.

If anything I have learnt from my past travels is to partner up with a fellow foodie to share food with.

More perfect if that person is as adventurous and love to eat as much as you.

This way you can cut your expenditure on food, be able to try more variety and not be too stuffed from having to finish everything on your own.