Which Blue Lagoon tour from Reykjavík is best?
For the Blue Lagoon itself, the GetYourGuide admission with transfers is the strongest pick: 4.6 across 5,072 reviews, leaving from the BSÍ terminal with entry, towel, silica mud mask and a drink bundled in. One catch nobody mentions: it cancels up to two days in advance, not 24 hours. If you would rather stay in the city, Sky Lagoon rates higher at 4.8 across 2,589 reviews and adds the seven-step ritual.
The four lagoon tickets worth booking with transfers
All four bundle a bus with an entry ticket, which is the practical difference between a lagoon visit and a lagoon problem: neither lagoon is a walk from a city-centre hotel. Two go to the Blue Lagoon out on the Reykjanes lava field, two go to Sky Lagoon on the Reykjavík shore. Read the cancellation windows carefully, because they are not the same.
Best way to do the Blue Lagoon without a car: bus from BSÍ, entry, towel, mask and a drink in one booking
From Reykjavík: Blue Lagoon Admission with Transfers (about 4 hours)
4.6
across 5,072 GetYourGuide reviews
- Round-trip bus from the BSÍ Bus Terminal in Reykjavík, with the Blue Lagoon entry ticket included rather than bought separately
- Comfort admission covers a towel, the silica mud mask and one non-alcoholic drink; luggage storage costs are not included
- Cancel up to 2 days in advance for a full refund, which is the widest window and the strictest deadline of anything on this site
Live price on the listing shown for your date and currency at booking
Check live availability & prices on GetYourGuide →
Operated by ICELANDIA. The listing currently carries a "Likely to sell out" badge. Note the two-day cancellation rule again: every other tour on this site gives you until 24 hours before, and this one does not.
Best if you are short on time: Sky Lagoon is on the Reykjavík shoreline, so the whole thing fits into an afternoon
Reykjavík: Sky Lagoon Admission Including Transfer
4.8
across 2,589 GetYourGuide reviews
- Departs the BSÍ Bus Terminal with multiple drop-off locations, and the round-trip transfer is included when you select that option
- Entrance, the seven-step spa ritual and a towel are all part of the ticket
- Free cancellation up to 24 hours before, reserve now and pay later, with "Top rated" and "Likely to sell out" on the listing
Live price on the listing shown for your date and currency at booking
Check live availability & prices on GetYourGuide →
Operated by ICELANDIA. The 4.8 across 2,589 reviews is the highest rating on this page, and the shorter journey is a large part of why: nobody rates a bus ride they did not have to take.
Best pickup coverage for Sky Lagoon: collection from Reykjavík points rather than one terminal, in a group capped at 50
Sky Lagoon Ticket with 7-Step Ritual and Transfers from Reykjavík (about 2 hours 30 minutes)
4.7
across 1,062 Viator reviews
- Maximum 50 people, with pickup offered from Reykjavík including the BSÍ terminal and round-trip transfers included
- Covers Sky Lagoon admission, the Skjól Ritual Spa, a towel, WiFi and an air-conditioned, carbon-neutral transfer
- Free cancellation up to 24 hours before, reserve now and pay later, with "Badge of Excellence" and "Trending" showing
Live price on the listing shown for your date and currency at booking
Check live availability & prices on Viator →
Operated by Reykjavík Excursions. At two and a half hours door to door, this is the shortest booking on the page, which makes it the one that fits around an aurora night without wrecking the evening.
Best backup for the Blue Lagoon when the GetYourGuide slot has gone: same lagoon, city bus stops, a 24-hour cancellation window instead of two days
Blue Lagoon Admission with Mask, Drink and Transfers from Reykjavík (about 5 hours)
4.3
across 576 Viator reviews
- Maximum 40 people, picked up from central Reykjavík bus stops, with the return transfer included
- Comfort or Premium admission, plus silica mud mask, towel, one non-alcoholic drink and WiFi on the bus
- Cancel up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund, so it is the more forgiving Blue Lagoon booking if your plans are soft
Live price on the listing shown for your date and currency at booking
Check live availability & prices on Viator →
Operated by Reykjavík Excursions. The 4.3 is the listing's own current Viator figure and the weakest on this page; the badges shown are "Badge of Excellence", "High interest", "Booked 4 times today" and "Trending". Five hours door to door for roughly two in the water is the trade you are making.
Comparing the four lagoon bookings
Ratings, durations, inclusions and cancellation terms as shown on each operator's live listing. Prices are not printed here because they move by date and currency; the listing shows the real one.
| Booking | Platform | Rating | Door to door | Cancellation window | Pickup |
|---|
| Blue Lagoon admission + transfers | GetYourGuide | 4.6 (5,072) | About 4 h | 2 days | BSÍ terminal only |
|---|
| Sky Lagoon admission + transfer | GetYourGuide | 4.8 (2,589) | Not stated on the listing | 24 hours | BSÍ terminal, multiple drop-offs |
|---|
| Sky Lagoon + 7-step ritual | Viator | 4.7 (1,062) | 2 h 30 min | 24 hours | Reykjavík points incl. BSÍ |
|---|
| Blue Lagoon Comfort + transfers | Viator | 4.3 (576) | About 5 h | 24 hours | Central Reykjavík bus stops |
|---|
That cancellation column is the one thing on this page most people get wrong. Every other tour we cover, from the Golden Circle buses to the whale boats, gives you until 24 hours before. The GetYourGuide Blue Lagoon product asks for two days, so if a storm rolls in the night before, that booking is already past saving while everything else in your week is still refundable.
Blue Lagoon or Sky Lagoon: which one to book
The practical decision, laid out on the axes that actually change the day. Inclusions are as listed on the products above.
| Lagoon | Where it is | From Reykjavík | What admission covers | Ritual included | Around a flight |
|---|
| Blue Lagoon | Lava field near Grindavík, on the Reykjanes peninsula | About 50 minutes by road | Entry, towel, silica mud mask, one non-alcoholic drink on Comfort | No | Yes, it sits out on the Keflavík side, though luggage storage is an extra cost on the GetYourGuide product |
|---|
| Sky Lagoon | Reykjavík shoreline, at the edge of the city | Minutes, and the Viator run is 2 h 30 min door to door | Entrance, the seven-step Skjól ritual, towel | Yes, seven steps | No, it points the wrong way; use it on a city day instead |
|---|
The short version: book the Blue Lagoon if you want the famous milky-blue water and are happy to give up half a day, and book Sky Lagoon if your week is tight or you want the ritual. If it is the Blue Lagoon you are after, the bus-and-entry booking at 4.6 across 5,072 reviews is the one to check dates and prices on GetYourGuide, and to do it early, because that listing wants two days' notice to refund you rather than 24 hours. Ratings back the second option, since Sky Lagoon's two listings sit at 4.8 and 4.7 while the Blue Lagoon's sit at 4.6 and 4.3. Cost is a separate question, and the winter trip cost breakdown puts lagoon entry next to everything else you will pay for.
What to know before you book a lagoon in winter
Two things trip visitors up, and neither is in the marketing copy.
The first is the walk. Both lagoons are outdoor water in an Icelandic winter, so there is a stretch between the changing room and the surface that is genuinely unpleasant, especially in wind. Everyone does it once, at speed, and then forgets about it for two hours. Long hair freezes at the tips if you keep your head above water, which is a fair trade for what the sky looks like at three in the afternoon in January. Sky Lagoon's Viator run is two and a half hours door to door, short enough that the evening stays free, which is how people fit a soak and a northern lights chase into the same short winter day.
The second is the Reykjanes peninsula itself. There have been nine eruptions on Reykjanes since December 2023, none of which closed Keflavík airport, but the Blue Lagoon sits in that lava field and has closed at short notice during periods of activity. Nobody, including us, can tell you what the ground will be doing on your date. The lagoon publishes its own operating position at bluelagoon.com/seismic-activity, and the official Icelandic status page is safetravel.is. Check both before you travel, and remember that the GetYourGuide product wants two days' notice to refund you, which is a real reason to look early rather than the night before.
One more practical note for the airport plan: the GetYourGuide transfer excludes luggage storage costs. The Blue Lagoon is a classic last-stop-before-the-flight visit, and if you turn up with three suitcases you will be paying at the locker desk. Where you are sleeping the night before changes how sensible that plan is, which the winter accommodation guide goes into.
Where the two lagoons are
The Blue Lagoon is 50 minutes south-west of Reykjavík, sunk into a black lava field outside Grindavík, on the same peninsula as Keflavík airport. Sky Lagoon is on the Reykjavík coastline itself, facing out to Faxaflói Bay, which is why its transfer times are measured in minutes.
About 50 minutes by road from central Reykjavík, out along the Reykjanesbraut toward the airport. The transfer buses on this page all run that stretch.
Book the lagoon before the slot goes
Three of the four bookings here cancel free up to 24 hours before and let you reserve now and pay later. The fourth, the most-reviewed Blue Lagoon transfer, wants two days' notice, so it is the one to lock in early rather than leave to the last evening. Both GetYourGuide listings currently show a sell-out warning.
Check live availability & prices →
Blue Lagoon tours: common questions
Is the Blue Lagoon worth it in winter?
Winter is arguably the better season for it. The water is warm whatever the air is doing, the light in January is low and blue for most of the short day, and the crowds are thinner than in July. Reykjavík averages about 0.5°C in January, so the contrast between air and water is the entire point. The 5,072-review GetYourGuide transfer sits at 4.6, which for a bus-plus-ticket product is strong.
How far is the Blue Lagoon from Reykjavík?
About 50 minutes by road, south-west along the Reykjanesbraut toward Grindavík. Door to door, the GetYourGuide transfer from the BSÍ terminal runs about four hours and the Viator equivalent about five, which includes your time in the water. Sky Lagoon, by contrast, is on the Reykjavík shoreline, and its Viator transfer product takes two and a half hours in total.
What is the cancellation policy on a Blue Lagoon tour?
It depends which one you book, and this is the unusual bit. The GetYourGuide Blue Lagoon admission with transfers refunds in full if you cancel up to two days in advance, not 24 hours. The Viator Blue Lagoon Comfort transfer, and both Sky Lagoon products, use the standard 24-hour window. Book the two-day one early in your trip planning, because a bad forecast the night before will not get your money back.
Can you visit the Blue Lagoon on the way to the airport?
Yes, and it is one of the most common ways people use it, since the lagoon sits on the same peninsula as Keflavík airport rather than beyond the city. The catch on the GetYourGuide transfer is that luggage storage costs are excluded, so budget for the locker desk if you turn up with your cases. Sky Lagoon does not work this way at all: it is on the Reykjavík shoreline, in the opposite direction from the airport.
Is the Blue Lagoon open despite the Reykjanes eruptions?
There have been nine eruptions on the Reykjanes peninsula since December 2023 and none of them closed Keflavík airport, but the Blue Lagoon sits in that lava field and has shut at short notice during periods of activity. Nobody can promise you a date months out. The operator posts its live position at bluelagoon.com/seismic-activity and the official Icelandic status page is safetravel.is, so check both close to your trip.
Do you need to book Blue Lagoon tickets in advance?
Book ahead. Both GetYourGuide listings on this page currently carry a "Likely to sell out" badge, which is the platform's own signal rather than ours, and the Viator Sky Lagoon transfer shows recent bookings too. Buying the transfer and the ticket in one go also removes the awkward part, since neither lagoon is a walk from a downtown hotel. Reserve now and pay later is offered on three of the four products.
Blue Lagoon or Sky Lagoon: which is better?
On reviews, Sky Lagoon: its two listings sit at 4.8 across 2,589 and 4.7 across 1,062, against 4.6 and 4.3 for the Blue Lagoon products. On fame and on scale, the Blue Lagoon. The honest split is time. Sky Lagoon takes an afternoon and includes the seven-step ritual, the Blue Lagoon takes half a day and sits near the airport, which makes it the better bookend to a trip.
What to pair a lagoon with
One of the four Golden Circle buses runs an optional Blue Lagoon leg on the way back, which turns two half-days into one.
A lagoon afternoon and an aurora bus at 20:30 is the classic Reykjavík winter day, and Sky Lagoon's shorter run leaves room for it.
The Old Harbour boats sail all winter, and three cold hours at sea is the strongest possible argument for a hot lagoon afterwards.
Back to all Iceland winter tours →
