They are worth it.
Just so you know that the naturally heated lagoons that we have are not the same as our pools. The pools are man-made and we just use the geothermal heat to warm them up. You can find some lagoons around the country but they are naturally heated and are not inspected or made sure are clean and etc.
It won´t matter where in Iceland you go there will be a swimming pool there. Almost every town in Iceland has one, some have more. We really do love our geothermal hot water and we use it. The pools are a good example of it. There will usually be at least one big pool plus some hot tubs (2-3) at different temperatures and last but not least the cold pot and steam baths! It´s a wonderful experience to visit the pools and it does not have to take a lot of time from you. The pools open early and close late.
To show you how extreme our pool locations are I have a little story for you. I was on a 6-day riding tour, we rode from the south into the highlands of Iceland. On our way back we took a little detour with the cost that for five hours we had no excess to water. There were no rivers or puddles that we, the riders, or the horses could drink from. We packed extra water bottles with just to keep us hydrated. On our way there the other guide that was with me suddenly looks at me “is that a swimming pool….. ?” and yes it was. Where we had no excess to water they still found a way to put a swimming pool!
This tradition of going to a pool is deep in our culture, comes all the way back from our origin. If you find old photos from Reykjavík you will notice that we had a swimming pool there quite early. Most mornings there will be kids learning to swim in the pool and older people sitting in the hot tubs having a chat about what is going on at each given time.
What is really nice about the pools is that it´s not expensive to go and enjoy them. The entrance fee is around 900 per person for most of them.
Just one thing you have to remember, it´s obligated to wear swimsuits in them. So bring your short or swimsuit.
Here are three in Reykjavík:
Vesturbæjarlaug (West-town pool)
Sundhöllin (The swimming hall) – located in the city center
Here is the one in Akureyri in the north:
