Geothermal pools and beach

There are twenty heated public pools in the Reykjavík Capital area. I‘ll repeat that: twenty. Most of them are outdoors, very affordable (around two euros for an adult) and open from very early in the morning until late in the evening all year round. We use the pools a lot to keep healthy and fit, relax, meet the neighbours to catch up on the latest gossip and simply splash about. When the sun comes out so do the locals – on fair weather days the pools fill up with Icelanders of all ages, shapes and sizes. It‘s an essential part of the Reykjavik experience so you should definitely go - and bring the family. We usually do.

Icelanders don‘t let a minor thing like geographic location impede on their lifestyle choices, so we‘ve also gone and made a heated bathing beach. Nauthólsvík is located on the south coast and has been certified as a Blue Flag beach (see chapters 10 and 11). The lagoon and nearby pool are heated with run-off water from the city’s geothermal heating system, and are connected to the coastal footpath.

Geothermal Pools in Reykjavík

Geothermal Beach in Reykjavík

A large portion of the energy we use comes from geothermal heat. We‘ve found multiple ways to use the naturally hot water, which has contributed greatly to improved environmental performance, public health, central heating, growing vegetables and all manner of other good things - such as twenty heated swimming pools.

The Cold Water

We‘re all about value at Visit Reykjavik, so here‘s a free tip to get yourself into the good books of the locals: Praise the water. Icelanders have access to an abundance of quality drinking water which we are convinced is the best water in the world. The cold water is incredibly clean. It comes from groundwater reservoirs where it is filtrated through porous lava rock and thus requires no treatment. We look after our water, too: Reykjavik City has placed a strong emphasis on sustainability in their water harvesting policies, so much so that we have all we need and enough left over to offer our guest a nice, cold drink of water. And it‘s as safe as it gets - the reservoirs are under strict quality control, enforced by RE in compliance with their monitoring systems and by the Reykjavík Public Health Authority.

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