When we decided to visit Iceland with our 13-month-old (“J”), the first question we had was whether or not we could still enjoy the numerous geothermal pools and natural hot springs or whether that was out of the question due to his age. It’s such a wonderful part of visiting Iceland that we really wanted to do in some way if possible. However, I did a fair bit of research and pretty much everything that came up was related to older kids (at least 2+). As such, I wanted to write this article to share what we found out plus our experience taking J to several geothermal pools and hot springs for other parents with toddlers visiting Iceland!

A few things first:

Always do your own research to decide whether or not you feel it’s safe to take your toddler to a geothermal pool or hot spring in Iceland
I’m a pediatric emergency department nurse and Justin is a family medicine physician, so we definitely contemplated the possibility of illness related to visiting a geothermal pool or hot spring. What we learned was that the Iceland health authorities report very few cases of illness related to geothermal pools and hot springs, although that may of course be a hard metric to really track. We found no reports of amebic meningitis, which is the most serious infectious risk for hot spring visitors of any age anywhere. We also read from numerous scholarly sources about the fact that pretty much all public water (in any country, including the US and Iceland) in which humans swim contain contaminants/bacteria - even water that is chlorinated and in places that require bathing before getting in the water. As such, we decided the risk for J was acceptable if we took multiple steps to mitigate risks:
- Checked each place we took him beforehand for reports of dangerous bacterial growth and/or reports of illness
- Checked the temperature of each geothermal pool or hot spring to make sure it fell around the ideal temperature for bathing for infants and toddlers
- Kept his head/face/ears well above water with no splashing and no ingestion of water
- Continual monitoring to make sure he was doing okay (shivering? flushing?)
- Dried him off really well and bathed him as soon as possible afterwards

Seljavallalaug

Seljavallalaug is one of the oldest geothermal swimming pools in Iceland, just a short drive off the Ring Road (GPS coordinates and driving instructions can be found here from Go Iceland) in the southern part of the country between Ásólfsskáli and Skogafoss. Originally built in 1923 as a place to learn to swim, it is not managed by any specific entity and as such is free to visit. We purchased a sim card prior to arriving in Iceland, so were able to just used Google maps to navigate here and it did a fine job. We parked with a few other cars in the lot at the end of the gravel road, put J in his carrier and started the short approximately 1 mile hike (2 miles round trip) up the canyon to where we’d read the pool was located. There was a very obvious trail to the left of the river that we didn’t find difficult to traverse despite carrying a kiddo, but note that it’s rocky and we had to cross a shallow but fairly wide creek flowing down the hillside (plenty of rocks to step on so didn’t have to remove our shoes), so if that sounds beyond your ability with your child, you may want to go somewhere else. Everything we read said the hike would take around 15-20 minutes, but it only took us 12 minutes, so make of that what you will! When you drive up it looks like there is a parking area near a house, but it’s not the one at the end of the road, so we were wondering if that first parking area is where the 1 mile one way number is coming from, as it felt more like a half mile-ish one way hike to us. The hike was stunning with the river on one side and waterfalls cascading down the hillside at the end of the canyon, so even if we hadn’t decided to get in the water, it would have been a worthwhile adventure. The water temperature at Seljavallalaug is typically only about 30C (86F) in the summer, so it’s more warm than hot. Justin got in first to test the temperature and make sure there wasn’t too much algae. We knew the pool had recently been cleaned and there was only a little algae on the bottom, so I decided to let J have a little swim. He was pre-prepared in a swim diaper with his cozy one-piece bunting suit over the top (also called a pram if you’re not sure what I’m talking about), so all I had to do was a quick un-zip and straight into the warm water. He had a great time, but due to the fact that the water really wasn’t that warm and it was just over 50F outside, we only let him stay in for about 10 minutes and then dried him off and got him back into the bunting suit without bothering with other clothes (aside from a dry diaper) to make sure he didn’t get chilled.

Overall recommendation with a toddler: 3/5 - The hike was easy and beautiful and the location of the pool right beside the river is awesome, but the water is lukewarm, has some algae, and not everyone will want to have to change their kiddo outside in the cold.

*Starting our hike up the canyon to Seljavallalaug*

Kvika Foot Bath

After doing a partial loop on the Ring Road, we returned to Reykjavík for a day before our flight home and were intrigued by several of the geothermal options in the city, one being the Kvika foot bath. This little pool, located just a 10 minute drive from downtown on the point of Seltjarnarnes Peninsula, was carved into a rock by artist Ólöf Nordal and offers wonderful ocean views. At approximately three feet wide by one foot deep, this pool is obviously not for swimming and is just meant for soaking your legs as you take in the view, but that sounded perfect to us so we headed there that evening. Google maps had no issue navigating us there, but if you don’t have data you can find it by pre-loading directions when you have wifi access, using maps.me, or by doing your best to follow the driving directions from Iceland Travel Guide. Norðurströnd dead ends in a free parking lot for the Grótta lighthouse and there was plenty of space so no issue parking. We grabbed a towel and headed down the boardwalk back towards town for less than a minute before reaching the little wooden fisherman’s hut on the right that we knew indicated we had reached the foot bath. Amazingly, there was no one else there. We knew the water temperature was about 102F (38.8C), but we still tested the temp first and when it felt quite moderate and pleasant, took off J’s pants and socks and let him ease his feet into the water. We spent the next 20 minutes luxuriously soaking and chatting while watching the ocean. J loved kicking his feet in the water while watching the birds but was definitely ready to do something more active by the time we left. Gotta love toddlers!

Overall recommendation with a toddler: 5/5 - So easy and risk free even if your toddler doesn’t like it because it’s free! Does't requiring changing or swim diapers while still letting you enjoy a relaxing geothermal feature. Your toddler can also burn off some energy running around on the boardwalk or taking the short hike to the lighthouse before or after your soak.

Nauthólsvík Geothermal Beach

The first place I was intrigued to visit in Reykjavík was Nauthólsvík Geothermal Beach. Located just a 10 minute drive from downtown, Nauthólsvík features changing rooms, a hot pool on a deck looking out at the lagoon, a hot tub in the lagoon (depending on how high the tide is when you visit), and the lagoon itself into which hot water is pumped to increase the water temperature to around 59-66F (15-19C) during the summer. I did quite a bit of research and didn’t find anything regarding whether a toddler was allowed to visit, so we decided to just go and check with the staff at the entrance. The parking lot is above the beach and before we headed down the stairs, we noticed a sign with rules and the only thing it said was that children 10 years or younger had to be accompanied by a person 15 years or older in order to swim and that parents/guardians have to take care of their children. As such, we proceeded to the check in desk by the hot pool where I paid the 810 ISK (approximately $6 USD) entrance fee. Justin didn’t feel like soaking, so he sat on a bench with our bag while I tested the water temperature in the main hot pool and the hot tub in the lagoon. I already knew from my research that the main hot pool sits at about 100-102F (38-39C) but wasn’t sure about the hot tub in the lagoon. After feeling the temperature of the hot tub (that’s what they call it on their map at least!) I would say it’s more of a warm tub as it was much cooler than the main hot pool - I would guess low 90s F. Since the main pool felt a little hotter than what I bathe J in, I decided to take him to the “hot tub”. I showered per the rules and then we dashed down to the lagoon and climbed in. Since most folks are obviously looking for a warmer soak, we had the hot tub to ourselves. The bottom was sandy and it was about a foot and half deep, so a great spot for J to splash around. He had a grand time, but after about 15 minutes, I noticed he was starting to shiver a bit so I wrapped him in a towel and we went up to the main pool where we sat on the edge and both dangled our feet in the nice hot water. There was a bench around the entire edge of the pool about a foot beneath the water, so after awhile I sat on that to have a soak and eventually J slid in and stood on the bench about waist deep in the water and was very content. The staff monitoring the pool to make sure everyone paid/bathed didn’t mind at all and the locals sitting beside and across from us were very welcoming, chatting with us and playing with J. We enjoyed the hot pool for about 20 minutes and then Justin quickly got J dried and into something snuggly while I used the changing rooms.

Overall recommendation with a toddler: 4/5 - The hot tub in the lagoon is definitely cool enough for a toddler/infant, but was actually too cool for anything but a short swim while we were there and depending on the day, the hot pool may feel a little too hot. At any rate, toddlers appear to be welcome and the entrance fee is very reasonable so you don’t have to commit to staying long if the pools temperatures don’t feel ideal. As far was we could tell, the entrance fee was just to use the pools and associated facilities, so you could still take your toddler down to play on the beach even if you didn’t want to swim. We saw another family doing this and their kiddo was having a great time playing with buckets in the sand.

*Map of Nauthólsvík near the parking lot*

*The hot pool looking out at the lagoon and hot tub. As you can see, it’s pretty small but I loved this unique local hangout!*

*The beach even had some hammocks and picnic tables*

The Secret Lagoon (Gamla Laugin)

The Secret Lagoon, known locally as Gamla Laugin, is the oldest geothermal swimming pool in Iceland. It’s a beautiful natural looking pool an hour and a half from Reykjavík and quite close to other major attractions like Gullfoss, so we were really interested in visiting. The Secret Lagoon website states that children age 14 and under can enter for free with their parents (max of 3 children per parent) but did not state whether there were age restrictions. As such, I decided to write to them to see if a toddler was allowed and received this lovely reply from the staff:

“Góðan daginn / Good morning

Feel welcome to visit us with the baby, no age limit:) Please provide baby with swimming diaper, if still use it.”

Sadly, it didn’t end up working out with our schedule to visit, but I still wanted to include it here since I contacted them about age limit. Leave us a comment with your thoughts if you’ve taken your toddler there! Keep in mind that the average temperature is 100-104F (38-40C), so it could be perfect baby bath water temperature or a little hotter than you want your little one exposed to. The adult entrance fee is 3300kr (approximately $24 USD).

Geothermal Swimming Pools in Towns

Last but not least, although we didn’t visit one, I wanted to mention that pretty much every town in Iceland has its own public geothermal swimming pools where the community can gather to swim and soak. As such, they are very family friendly and often have wading pools for little ones. This article by Iceland Magazine has some great information on five of the best pools in and around Reykjavík, while the Sundlaugar website allows you to select various areas in Iceland and then read descriptions of all the local pools including water temperature and facilities for children!