[Road trip in Iceland] Days 14 & 15: Laugarvatn Fontana Spa, Secret Lagoon, Lobster Soup, Ikea
We arrive at the end of our stay in Iceland. Mine of nothing, it tires to visit in such an intense way since 2 weeks. We aren’t used to speed travel anymore 🙂
Part 1: Travel Diary Part
2: Practical Tips
Part 1: Travel Diary
Stop 1: Laugarvatn Fontana
Several people have told me about this spa, as a must-see stop next to the Cercle d’Or. When I inquired, I actually understood why: many hot pots of varying temperatures, but especially a hammam just above a hot spring. Yes, the steam comes directly from this source. And you can cool down directly in the lake right afterwards. JB talked about it here, I invite you to read it if you want more information.
Rates: 3800kr. We got -10% since we were at the guesthouse next door
Stop 2: Fax
Here is a stop we should have included on the 2nd day, between Gullfoss and Kerid crater. The waterfall isn’t very big (6 meters perhaps?) but it can be approached closely, and it is very beautiful.
Stop 3 : Secret Lagoon
The tourist guides talk about it as if it was a must-see spa in the area, so I wanted to go there and see what it looked like. Right next to it is a vegetable greenhouse.
You can kindly ask the receptionist to have access to the geyser and the small footpath around the pool. Free of charge.
You can see the springs – very, very hot – that feed the swimming pool.
The river next door looks warm as well.
And here is the little geyser, very cute, the water not exceeding 20cm 🙂
They’re miniature houses like this everywhere, I don’t know if it’s for elves.
Well, I didn’t take a picture of the pool at Secret Lagoon, but it’s very small, and there aren’t many hot pots like Laugarvatn Fontana. I don’t understand how people can compare Secret Lagoon to Blue Lagoon, it’s not the same level. The rates are soft (3500kr if I remember correctly), but I sincerely think that around Reykjavik, you still have to go to Blue Lagoon and Laugarvatn Fontana.
Stop 4: Café Bryggjan
It is an address that was recommended to me by the locals. Apparently, they sell there the best scampi soup in Iceland! Only that! We have the choice between a scampi soup or a lamb soup. With a refill (we can serve once more). I took in more a tray of smoked salmon + herring.
Ohlalala, it was too good! I even had some pieces of langoustines, the bread was perfect, there was even gingerbread to accompany the herring. In short, I recommend it with my eyes closed. Cost: 6600kr/per two
Stop 5: Gunnuhver Hot Springs
Contrary to the name, you can’t swim here, the water is much too hot. But this creates very impressive fumaroles, like a pressure cooker. It’s a nice stop, but not essential. This helps to understand why this peninsula is considered as a “lava circle” by the locals. There are other places like this one, type Krysuvik, which is 45 minutes away.
Day 15
This is our last day in Iceland. We prepare our suitcases, we separate ourselves from the boots of which one does not see any more utility. In the end, we ate almost all that we had bought (except some freeze-dried dishes because I couldn’t any more). We plan to return to Blue Lagoon to look at the blue water, but on the way, we were more attracted by Ikea ahaha
When we were students, we didn’t have a lot of money, and I often took the free bus from Ikea to Oslo ( during my internship in Norway) to go and eat a cheap ice cream at Ikea. So we went there to eat an ice cream, and remember those days. The food at Ikea is really cheap, so enjoy it if you want to eat hot before leaving Iceland! Just next door is Costco, which sells the cheapest fuel in Iceland (203kr per liter instead of 233kr per liter). Unfortunately, it is necessary to have a membership card, as we did not know how to get it and that there were people, we went elsewhere.
We returned our car to Icerental 4×4 without any worries, he hardly looked at the condition of the car. We are dropped off for free at the airport and here we are on our way to Canada, Toronto to be precise.
Thank you very much for following us to Iceland, I received many questions about our trip and you can consult our practical guide here, if you want to do the same as we did. <3
To read and reread all the articles on Iceland, click here
Part 2: Practical Tips
Budget
- Laugarvatn Fontana Spa: 3800kr/person
- Hot chocolate at Fontana Spa: 450kr, unlimited
- Fuel Day 14 : 6800kr
- Hotel: 65€, near the airport
- Lunch restaurant (langoustine soup): 6600kr for two
- Snack at Ikea & at the airport: 1840kr
- Fuel Day 15: 1662kr
