Laugarás Lagoon: which ticket, and is it worth it

Short answer: book Birki, the standard ticket, from €62, and bring your own towel. Lerki at €80 buys a towel and one drink at the swim-up bar, which is fine but not €18 of difference to most people. Ösp at €128 is only worth it if you were going to eat at the restaurant anyway. And yes, the lagoon is worth it if you’re doing the Golden Circle and want to finish the day in warm water rather than on a bus.

What Laugarás Lagoon is

It’s the newest lagoon on the Golden Circle, in the village of Laugarás near Skálholt, about ten minutes from Friðheimar and half an hour from Geysir. It sits on the bank of the Hvítá river with the farmland and low hills of the south behind it. The lagoon is on two levels, with two saunas, a cold plunge and swim-up bars. There’s a restaurant, Ylja, run by the chef Gísli Matt, which cooks from local farms and greenhouses.

It’s built for comfort rather than drama. You’re not in a lava field or at the edge of the sea. You’re in a quiet river valley, and that’s the point. Most people who go are finishing a Golden Circle day and don’t want to drive another hour before getting into hot water.

The three tickets

All three give you the same lagoon, saunas and cold plunge, a locker and a changing room with shampoo and shower gel. The difference is what’s added.

Birki — standard entry from €62. You bring your own towel and swimsuit. Drinks and food are extra. Entry slots run every half hour from 10:00 to 21:30.

Lerki — premium entry from €84. Adds a towel and one drink at the swim-up bar. Same slots.

Ösp — lagoon with a meal from €128. Towel, one drink, and a two-course day menu at Ylja. The lagoon books your table two hours after your entry time, and Ösp can only be booked for entry up to 15:00. If you want to eat later than that, book Birki and reserve the restaurant separately.

Children under eight can’t go into the lagoon. From eight to fifteen they pay a child fare. Anyone can eat at Ylja.

Cancellation is free up to 24 hours before your slot on all three.

Getting there without a car

The lagoon has no public bus. Two Golden Circle day tours from Reykjavík finish there with entry included.

Golden Circle, Friðheimar and Laugarás Lagoon from €130 is ten hours by minibus, with lunch stop at the tomato farm (the lunch is extra) and entry to the lagoon at the end of the day. It’s the better value of the two.

Golden Circle and Laugarás Lagoon small group tour from €182 is also about ten hours, in a minibus of up to 19, with the Lerki ticket and its drink included. No Friðheimar. You’re paying the extra for the smaller group, not the lagoon.

Both run every day through the winter in our calendars.

Laugarás or the Secret Lagoon?

The Secret Lagoon at Flúðir, from €44, is fifteen minutes up the road. It’s Iceland’s oldest swimming pool, from 1891, a simple natural pool with steam rising off the hot springs around it and a small geyser that goes off beside it. The water is warm, the changing rooms are basic, and there’s a bistro but no hot meals.

They suit different people. The Secret Lagoon is older, rougher and cheaper, and feels like somewhere locals would swim. Laugarás has saunas, a cold plunge, a bar in the water, better changing rooms and a proper restaurant. For a couple on a slow day, or anyone with stiff joints who needs step-free access, Laugarás is the easier choice. For a family on a budget, the Secret Lagoon saves €18 each and takes children under eight.

For a wider comparison with the Blue Lagoon and Sky Lagoon, see Blue Lagoon vs Sky Lagoon vs Secret Lagoon.

Our honest take

If you’re driving the Golden Circle, book Birki for the late afternoon, after Gullfoss, and bring a towel from your hotel. Two hours in the water and you drive back to Reykjavík warm and slow. That’s the best use of the place.

Don’t make a special trip from Reykjavík just for Laugarás. Sky Lagoon is twenty minutes from the city and has the sea. Laugarás earns its place because it’s on the way.

If you don’t have a car, the €130 tour with Friðheimar is the one we’d book. It’s a long day, and the lagoon comes at the end of it, which is exactly when you’ll want it.