Experience the Authentic Swimming Pools of ICELAND | UNESCO World Cultural Heritage

The advertisements for the geothermic spas might be all over the place. The instagram feeds might be saturated by them... but these are for the most part just manufactured tourist traps. Experience the genuine Icelandic swimming pool culture by visiting a neighborhood pool.
Edit: Just after 1:30 I said "25 years ago". That should have been "15 years ago"
------------
Wanna buy me a cup of coffee? Check out my page on ko-fi: ko-fi.com/ivargu.

[@jjinwien9054]

Good to see/hear you again, Ivar.

[@Anterak11]

Thank you for the timely video! I'm visiting in less than a month and might give the pools a try, as I typically have a reaction to the amount of chlorine in North American pools.

[@patrick707100]

first time here and you did an excellent job of explaining the Icelandic pool culture and giving full details. Thank you.

[@BobbieonYT]

Thank you :-)

[@LaEurovisionQueen]

I love all your videos. You are an amazing ambassador for your country.

[@SoCo_Surfcasting]

Thanks Ívar, were' coming back for trips three and four this year. Looking forward to spending time in the pools at Kirkjubaejarklaustur and Höfn for sure.

[@ivargu]

Wonderful area. Enjoy your trip!

[@icelandinreallife2042]

I've been to roughly 12 different swimming pools in Iceland. My favorite one is the one in Akureyri.

[@BillHong19.56]

My son's mother-in-law lives in Kópavogur, and we've used the sundlaug there, the one shown in your opening shot. It's wonderful and we are looking forward to using it more on our next visit.

[@ivargu]

It's my personal favorite 😊

[@Urspo]

It must be an amazing experience to bathe in a pool of water warmed by the fires below

[@herishidesigns]

I missed the swimming pools but we did love Hvammsvik Spa!

[@LaEurovisionQueen]

So, Hera Björk made the video for her 2010 Eurovision song in Sundhöllin swimming pool, and when I visited Reykjavík, I really wanted to "recreate" the video, and the pool was just round the corner from my B&B... but I never got around to it and now I really regret it. NEXT TIME!

[@jakchoe7183]

Women's suits: one piece or two piece. Also, I have thus far avoided going to the swimming pools. Don't know why, but been a bit shy about it. Are the locals okay with us invading their personal relaxation spots? (Coming from a tourist town myself, I sometimes wish the tourists stayed out of our way and that the local hangout spots aren't highlighted....)

[@BillHong19.56]

In our experience we had no problem (being Asian we of course stood out in the crowd); it was in the metro Reykjavík area. My son has used pools elsewhere in the country and it's never been an issue.

[@ospgunnarsdottir6965]

This response is probably too late, but I'll go ahead anyway 1. Both one- and two piece swimwear is common 2. I think if everyone visiting Iceland now started streaming towards the local pools, they might feel "ruined" as locations for relaxation. But since the majority of visitors are only here for a few days, they're still more likely to spend a bit of extra money and go to the "known" lagoon-types anyway. Which means those who are actually interested in exploring the "basic Icelander" option of neighborhood pools, are very welcome :)

[@davidhjortnaes2000]

i would prefer a natural hot spring out in the wild. A pool is just a pool and they are everywhere. I am surprised you did not sing the little jingle about head, shoulders, knees, and toes or whatever it is they sing.

[@tonyf9984]

Try Hveravellir, between Langjökull and Hofsjökull glaciers, off the F35 fell road (Geysir > Gullfoss, then just carry on driving north, over the top of Iceland!). You can't get much further out in the sticks/boondocks/wop-wops than that ...

[@atmferret]

How is Seljavallalaug pronounced ? and vallalaug appears on many names of pools/ hot plunges. Can you explain the meaning? Selija valla laug

[@ivargu]

Historically "Sel" is a small hut, usually either a shelter on a long road, or a depot for some farming activities. "Selja" is the plural, posessive form of the noun. "Völlur" means "Field", and "valla" again is the plural, possessive. "Laug" is simply "pool". So "Seljavallalaug" is ~hutfieldspool 😉

[@atmferret]

So if we see “valla-laug”. is that my/our pool? or a field Pool ?

[@ivargu]

@@atmferret Vallalaug would be "fields-pool"