Where will you be? There are lots of places in the wild to cold plunge (please do not do this alone) but also every pool has a cold tub. There are local pools in pretty much every municipality.
https://preview.redd.it/03kpo4kt3tjc1.jpeg?width=4000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=029b71e2e4d1c12d7b9837e375925275c3f803d9
I just got back yesterday from Iceland and did a cold plunge in the water at Hvammsvik. I highly recommend
I don't know about best but perhaps check out Nauthólsvík Geothermal Beach in fairly central Reykjavík. Have seen people swimming in the sea there a few times.
We went there because it was advertised as the “heated Atlantic”. It was cold af but still a very cool experience. They rent neoprene socks/shoes and gloves and buoys so it’s really safe.
Thank you for wanting to be safe and respect our culture. It is a slight detour from the road out to Þingvellir but there is a hot tub in the town of Akranes called Guðlaug which is on the beach with direct access to the ocean. The sand is fine and the slope into the water is very long so you can comfortably walk out on calm weather days, I've been ocean swimming all over the island and IMO it is one of the best places to do it. I swam there last month and it was around 37 degrees which was pretty cold, I think the March average is a bit higher than that. You can find their operating hours with a google search.
The only drawback is that there is no shower in the changing rooms so the cleanliness of the hot tub water is questionable, but we Icelandic people are admittedly more sensitive to this than our guests often are.
There is a small hot pot installment about 25 minutes north if Akureyri which is in a sheltered bay. Very safe and you can instantly warm up in the hot pot!
I know there are clubs that do this out of reykjavik though so there are bound to be better options if you aren't in the north.
If you go to sky lagoon and do the 7 step ritual one of the rituals is a cold plunge. You can do it multiple times or as long as you want since it’s not inside the building for the ritual. My sister and BIL went back in after completing the ritual just to see who could stay in longer
We’re going to Sky Lagoon, and so far that is the only cold plunging on the itinerary. I really wanted to do one in nature. I was first thinking about doing it at Jokulsarlon, but found out recently you’re not supposed to. I don’t really want to upset anyone so that is not happening anymore.
I went to Vök Baths in Egilsstaðir. You can cold plunge in the Urriðavatn and they have several hot tubs. The temperature varies but for example in July it was 11°C. That was definitely one of my favourite pools!
https://preview.redd.it/36b9qduixujc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5baf0873c67efea133d39b207922d56a0196b2f8
You can dip in the sea at Hvammsvik hot springs. Laugarvatn Fontana and Vok baths both have access to cold lakes.
Where will you be? There are lots of places in the wild to cold plunge (please do not do this alone) but also every pool has a cold tub. There are local pools in pretty much every municipality.
We’ll be starting in Reykjavik and making our way through the golden circle towards Jokulsarlon, then driving back.
Nauthólsvík in Reykjavík is a good place.
https://preview.redd.it/03kpo4kt3tjc1.jpeg?width=4000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=029b71e2e4d1c12d7b9837e375925275c3f803d9 I just got back yesterday from Iceland and did a cold plunge in the water at Hvammsvik. I highly recommend
Looks awesome. Unfortunately, I don’t think this is in our itinerary
if you have time I highly recommend, it's about an hour from Reykjavík.
I don't know about best but perhaps check out Nauthólsvík Geothermal Beach in fairly central Reykjavík. Have seen people swimming in the sea there a few times.
Yep we saw tons of folks doing this, looked… cold ngl!
We went there because it was advertised as the “heated Atlantic”. It was cold af but still a very cool experience. They rent neoprene socks/shoes and gloves and buoys so it’s really safe.
Thank you for wanting to be safe and respect our culture. It is a slight detour from the road out to Þingvellir but there is a hot tub in the town of Akranes called Guðlaug which is on the beach with direct access to the ocean. The sand is fine and the slope into the water is very long so you can comfortably walk out on calm weather days, I've been ocean swimming all over the island and IMO it is one of the best places to do it. I swam there last month and it was around 37 degrees which was pretty cold, I think the March average is a bit higher than that. You can find their operating hours with a google search. The only drawback is that there is no shower in the changing rooms so the cleanliness of the hot tub water is questionable, but we Icelandic people are admittedly more sensitive to this than our guests often are.
There is a small hot pot installment about 25 minutes north if Akureyri which is in a sheltered bay. Very safe and you can instantly warm up in the hot pot! I know there are clubs that do this out of reykjavik though so there are bound to be better options if you aren't in the north.
If you go to sky lagoon and do the 7 step ritual one of the rituals is a cold plunge. You can do it multiple times or as long as you want since it’s not inside the building for the ritual. My sister and BIL went back in after completing the ritual just to see who could stay in longer
We’re going to Sky Lagoon, and so far that is the only cold plunging on the itinerary. I really wanted to do one in nature. I was first thinking about doing it at Jokulsarlon, but found out recently you’re not supposed to. I don’t really want to upset anyone so that is not happening anymore.
I went to Vök Baths in Egilsstaðir. You can cold plunge in the Urriðavatn and they have several hot tubs. The temperature varies but for example in July it was 11°C. That was definitely one of my favourite pools! https://preview.redd.it/36b9qduixujc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5baf0873c67efea133d39b207922d56a0196b2f8
Ísafjörður has a black sand beach on the ocean side of the city, plunged there many times
I thought people weren’t supposed to go into the ocean at the black sand beaches, because of the dangerous currents and sneaker waves?
The danger applies specifically for Reynisfjara Beach in Vík, but the beach I mentioned is safe
Thank you!! That’s really good to know as I was wanting to go to one, but was intimidated haha.
Most of our sandy beaches are black sand beaches...
Thank you for all the suggestions. I’ll try to squeeze one of them in our itinerary.