Free Hot Springs in Iceland

9 min readUpdated 12 July 2026Hot springs

The natural, no-ticket soaks worth the trip — where they are, how to reach them, and how to behave once you are in the water.

Short answer

Yes — many of Iceland’s best hot springs are free, natural pools with no ticket booth. Reykjadalur’s warm river, Hellulaug and the Drangsnes hot pots, and remote Highlands pools like Landmannalaugar all cost nothing. They are wild spots, so leave no trace, change discreetly, and never trust the temperature until you have tested it by hand.

A natural, free hot spring in Iceland with steam rising off the water — A wild, free soak in the open landscape — no pool edge, no attendant, no fee. This is what most of Iceland’s free springs actually look like.

Where the free springs are

Iceland’s free springs are scattered across the geothermal belt — a cluster near Reykjavík, a run of pots through the Westfjords, and a handful deep in the Highlands. Open the map to place them against your route.

Hot springsOpen the interactive map

What “free” actually means here

A free hot spring in Iceland is a natural pool or warm river you can walk up to and get into without paying. There is no reception, no locker, usually no toilet — you find the spot, test the water, and climb in. That is the trade for the price: these are wild places kept good only by the people who visit them treading lightly.

It is worth being clear about the difference from the geothermal lagoons — Blue Lagoon, Sky Lagoon and the rest. Those are built spas with changing rooms, showers and a booking system, and they charge accordingly. The springs below are the opposite: no booking, no staff, and no guarantees. Both are worth doing; they are just different days out. If you would rather soak with a towel service and a bar, the lagoons are your lane.

A couple of honest caveats before the list. “Free” does not mean “easy”: several of the best pools sit at the end of a Highlands track that needs a proper 4WD (our 4WD guide has the honest answer by route). And “natural” does not mean “safe”: geothermal water can scald, and a couple of famous spots are look-only. The etiquette and safety section at the bottom is the part to read before you go.

Free hot springs at a glance — which are genuinely free, and how to reach them

Hot spring	Region	Free?	Getting there	Facilities
Reykjadalur Thermal River	South Coast	Free	≈45-min hike from Hveragerði (2WD reaches the car park)	changing shelters
Hellulaug	Westfjords	Free	Roadside pull-off near Flókalundur	none (wild)
Drangsnes Hot Pots	Westfjords	Free	Roadside in Drangsnes village	changing hut
Pollurinn	Westfjords	Free	Short drive from Tálknafjörður	changing rooms
Grjótagjá	North Iceland	Free · look only	Short walk near Mývatn	none (bathing restricted)
Landmannalaugar Hot River	Highlands	Free	Highlands — needs 4WD	campsite nearby
Hveravellir Pool	Highlands	Free	Kjölur route (F35) — needs 4WD	none (wild)
Laugarvallalaug	East Iceland	Free	Rough Highlands track — needs 4WD	none (wild)
Krosslaug	West Iceland	Free	Gravel side-road, West Iceland	none (wild)

Every name above links to its full page with the location, the map pin, and any photos and conditions we have. The Highlands entries are marked because reaching them is a genuine drive, not a stroll — read the access notes before you commit.

The springs worth the trip, region by region

You are unlikely to hit all of these on one trip — they are spread right across the country. Here is the pick per region, easiest first, so you can slot a soak into wherever you are actually driving.

#1.Reykjadalur Thermal River — South Coast

type: natural warm riverregion: South Coastaccess: ≈45-min hike, 2WD

The easiest free soak from Reykjavík, and the one most people mean when they search for a free hot spring. Above the town of Hveragerði, a geothermal valley feeds a stream that runs warm enough to sit in. It is about a 45-minute walk uphill from the car park — a 2WD car reaches the trailhead — to a bathing stretch with basic changing shelters. The water scalds upstream, so stay in the marked section. We have the full drive and trail in the Reykjadalur hike guide.

#2.Hellulaug, Drangsnes & Pollurinn — the Westfjords

type: roadside potsregion: Westfjordsaccess: near the road

The Westfjords are the quiet heartland of free bathing. Hellulaug is a small stone pool a few steps from the road near Flókalundur, looking straight out to sea — no facilities, no fee, just a warm pool on the shore. Further north, the three Drangsnes hot pots sit right beside the road in the village, with a changing hut across the way, and Pollurinn above Tálknafjörður is a tidy free pool with changing rooms. None of them charge; all reward the long drive out here.

#3.Grjótagjá — North Iceland (look only)

type: lava caveregion: North · Mývatnaccess: short walk

Near Mývatn, Grjótagjá is a lava cave with a startlingly blue pool inside — free to visit and worth the short walk, but not a place to bathe. It sits on private land, bathing has long been restricted, and the water can run too hot to be safe. Treat it as a photo stop. For an actual soak near Mývatn, the paid nature baths a few minutes away are the reliable option.

The Grjótagjá lava cave and its blue geothermal pool near Mývatn, Iceland — Grjótagjá near Mývatn — free to see, but a look-only spot. Bathing here is restricted and the water can run dangerously hot.

#4.Landmannalaugar Hot River — the Highlands

type: warm riverregion: Highlandsaccess: F-road, 4WD only

The classic Highlands soak. At Landmannalaugar, a short walk from the campsite leads to a stream where a hot source and a cold one meet — you wade in and shuffle along until the temperature suits you. It is free, with changing facilities at the campsite, but getting there is the catch: the access roads are summer-only F-roads that legally require a 4WD. Do not attempt them in a 2WD.

#5.Hveravellir, Laugarvallalaug & Krosslaug — remote & wild

type: wild poolsregion: Highlands · East · Westaccess: rough tracks, 4WD

For the ones you earn: Hveravellir is a geothermal field on the Kjölur route (F35) with a warm pool among the steam; Laugarvallalaug in the east is famous for a warm waterfall falling into its pool; and Krosslaug is a small wild pool in the west. All are free, none have facilities, and all sit at the end of gravel or Highlands tracks — so match the car to the route and check conditions before you set off.

Laugarvallalaug, a remote warm pool fed by a hot waterfall in East Iceland — Laugarvallalaug in the east — a warm pool at the foot of a hot waterfall, reached by a rough Highlands track.

How to reach them — and which car you need

The springs split cleanly into two groups. The roadside and short-walk pots — Reykjadalur, the whole Westfjords run, Grjótagjá — need nothing more than a normal rental car in summer; a cheap 2WD reaches every one of them. The Highlands pools are a different proposition: Landmannalaugar, Hveravellir and Laugarvallalaug sit behind gravel and F-roads that need a proper 4WD, and some behind river crossings that need more than that.

Before any Highlands drive, two habits save trips. Read the 4WD guide so you rent the right car from the start, and check whether the route is actually open on the day — F-roads open late and close early with the snowmelt. Our can-I-drive verdicts and the live alerts page tell you before you waste half a day driving to a closed road.

Krosslaug, a small natural warm pool in West Iceland — Krosslaug in the west — a small wild pool with no facilities, at the end of a gravel side-road.

Wild springs stay good only if everyone treats them well. Change in the shelters or discreetly, never on a boardwalk or in full view. Take every scrap of rubbish back out — there are no bins. Keep soap, shampoo and sunscreen out of natural pools; they poison the delicate microbial life that makes these places what they are. And stay on marked paths near boiling ground: the crust beside a mud pot is thinner than it looks.

Never trust the temperature until you have tested it by hand. Geothermal water can scald, and in wild pools the hot and cold have not always mixed evenly — one end of a river can be pleasant and the other genuinely dangerous. Do not walk upstream looking for a hotter spot, and watch children the entire time. Where a site is signed as look-only, like Grjótagjá, respect it: bathing there is restricted for good reasons.

These are unstaffed, remote places with no lifeguard and often no phone signal. Tell someone your plan, go in daylight, and turn back if a track is dangerously icy or a river is running high — the spring will still be there another day. Check the alerts page before you set out.

Frequently
asked questions

Are there free hot springs in Iceland?

Yes — plenty. Many of Iceland’s best soaks are free, natural pools with no ticket booth: Reykjadalur’s warm river above Hveragerði, Hellulaug and the Drangsnes hot pots in the Westfjords, and remote Highlands pools like Landmannalaugar and Laugarvallalaug. These are wild spots, not spas, so there is usually no attendant and few or no facilities. The paid geothermal lagoons are a separate, more comfortable option.

Is Reykjadalur free?

Yes. Reykjadalur is a free, natural hot river above Hveragerði on the South Coast. There is no entry fee — you just pay with the walk in, roughly 45 minutes uphill from the car park. A 2WD car reaches the trailhead in summer, and there are basic changing shelters at the bathing stretch. Stay in the marked section: the water upstream is genuinely scalding.

Do you need to book natural hot springs?

No. Wild, free hot springs cannot be booked and are first-come, first-served — you simply turn up. That also means no one is managing crowds or safety, so go early or on a weekday for space, and check the water temperature and conditions yourself before getting in. Booking only applies to the commercial geothermal lagoons, which is a different experience.

Can you bathe in Grjótagjá?

Usually not. Grjótagjá, the lava cave near Mývatn, is on private land and bathing has long been restricted — the water there can also run too hot to be safe. Treat it as a look-only stop: it is free to visit and worth seeing, but do not plan a soak. For actual bathing near Mývatn, the paid nature baths are the reliable choice.