We were lucky enough to visit both Sky Lagoon and the Blue Lagoon on our trip to Iceland, and in this guide we’ll be comparing the two experiences. And you don’t need to worry about us sitting on the fence, because in our opinion, there’s a clear winner when it comes to Sky Lagoon vs Blue Lagoon.
Although it would be nice if everyone could visit both, we know that most people don’t have as much time as we did, so we’ll make sure you know exactly what to expect, as well as our personal opinion on which is the better experience.
Sky Lagoon vs Blue Lagoon
The aesthetics: which is the most beautiful
You might be surprised by this answer, because most people seem to say the Blue Lagoon is the most beautiful. However, in my opinion, it’s only the water colour of the Blue Lagoon that is more beautiful because it has that stunning milky blue hue.
Blue Lagoon
Once you look past the water colour, it’s actually Sky Lagoon that is the clear winner for me. The Blue Lagoon does have mountains on one side, but there are also lots of buildings, rubbish bins and not particularly attractive walkways surrounding the entire lagoon.
It’s lost its natural feel and instead made me think of a giant swimming pool. It’s no ugly duckling, but it was much less beautiful than I was expecting.
Sky Lagoon
By contrast the Sky Lagoon only has one small building, which houses the seven step ritual (more on that later) and it’s quite sweet with a little grass roof. Other than that, you have infinity views to the ocean and are completely surrounded by tall craggy rocks.
It feels like it has been made to blend into the natural environment, and for me is more spectacular. In terms of water colour, it’s no slouch either, yes it’s not milky blue, but it’s clear and often shone a deep blue, which was lovely in its own right.
Sky Lagoon
Blue Lagoon
If it purely came down to water colour, then the Blue Lagoon would win, but if you’re looking at the lagoons as a whole, then Sky Lagoon is more stunning.
The experience inside the lagoons
The Blue Lagoon is much larger than Sky Lagoon, so there’s a lot of room to spread out. With your general entry ticket you will be able to use the sauna and steam room, and you’ll receive one complimentary drink (alcoholic or non alcoholic). You can also use one of the complimentary face masks.
The steam room and saunas were a bit of a let down if I’m honest. That’s purely down to the crowds, as neither one had the door shut long enough to be hot! The fresh juice we had was great and the face masks are good too.
It’s worth noting that it’s best not to get your hair wet in the Blue Lagoon as it really dries it out and can make it unmanageable for several days. I tied my hair up so it was fine, but my skin was pretty dry for around two days after the Blue Lagoon, despite using lots of moisturiser.
When it comes to Sky Lagoon, it’s a smaller space, but a more interesting one as you have the infinity pool area and the area just before it, where you walk between the tall rock walls.
Your general entry ticket only gets you access to the lagoon (and a towel, which you also get at the Blue Lagoon). In reality though no one minded if you used the cold plunge pool, which is technically the second step of the seven step ritual, which is an extra charge. The cold plunge is amazing and will definitely make you feel alive!
Whilst you got more inclusions at the Blue Lagoon, the price is higher (which we’ll come to later) so although I’ve said things like the drink and face mask are complimentary, the reality is you’re paying for them, whether you want them or not.
If you upgrade your Sky Lagoon pass to include the seven step ritual, you’ll still pay less than the general entry at the Blue Lagoon, but also get access to an incredible sauna, mist room, steam room and body scrub. It’s well worth the extra money.
The crowds
Far more people visit the Blue Lagoon than Sky Lagoon, but it’s also a bigger space. There were huge numbers of people at the Blue Lagoon on our visit, but there was always plenty of space, so you weren’t all on top of each other.
During our visit to Sky Lagoon, it wasn’t overly busy and we always had plenty of space, but I can imagine that as it gets more popular it might feel busy as it’s a smaller space.
My advice if this bothers you is to go first thing in the morning. You can stay for as long as you like, so when it starts to feel too busy for you, you can just leave.
There are actually quite a few people here, along the edge of the infinity pool, but the steam covers them up!
I’d also recommend visiting the Blue Lagoon first thing too for the same reason.
The vibe
The vibe at the Blue Lagoon was totally different to Sky Lagoon on our visit. It was a lot louder with people drinking beers at 10am, at one point there was even a big group chanting like at a football match!
Even though there are rubbish bins everywhere, people tended to leave glasses scattered all over the sides of the pool, which did detract from the atmosphere. Although the water is amazing, the Blue Lagoon just wasn’t really our vibe. Maybe we got unlucky with the day and time we picked, but it just wasn’t how I imagined it would be.
We knew it would be crowded, but we thought it might be a bit more peaceful than it was in reality. They do have a quiet part of the pool, which has signs saying to keep the noise down and not to bring phones in, but in reality this was totally ignored and it was just like any other part of the pool.
Sky Lagoon has a much more spa-like vibe. People were still having a few drinks, but it was generally quiet and tranquil. In addition to this, children under the age of 12 are not allowed inside Sky Lagoon (at the Blue Lagoon the minimum age is 2 years old) so that’s a different vibe too - although in fairness to all the kids, it was definitely the adults who were shouting all the time in the Blue Lagoon : )
Both the sauna and steam room at Sky Lagoon were much nicer than at the Blue Lagoon too. Again they felt like a spa, as opposed to a swimming pool.
The changing rooms
I honestly feel like this article is starting to read like I’m picking on the Blue Lagoon, but what can I say, the changing rooms are better at Sky Lagoon too. In the Blue Lagoon it feels much older (which makes sense because it is) and less inviting. There are shower stalls (which are private) and then I did see one private changing room as I left, but mainly it’s a communal changing area. The shower stalls are quite small and I didn’t realise how powerful the shower would be, so I soaked both my towel and hair, so watch out for that one!
At Sky Lagoon you have two options for changing rooms. The lower priced entry tickets come with access to the communal changing rooms, although the showers are private. In that sense it’s like the Blue Lagoon, but nicer and newer.
You could also pay approximately USD $20 extra and upgrade to the most luxurious changing rooms I’ve ever seen. Not only do you get your own private changing room, but also your own private shower inside it, and it’s a fancy one. The closest I have ever come to a changing room like this is when I was lucky enough to fly business class and have access to the lounge, and even then they weren’t nearly so nice as the ones at Sky Lagoon.
It really did make the whole experience feel like a spa day.
I didn’t quite realise what a difference it made until I went to the Blue Lagoon. I think the changing room experience does set the tone and it was a pleasure to get ready in at Sky Lagoon, as opposed to something to rush through like it was at the Blue Lagoon.
Value for money
When it comes to value for money, the Blue Lagoon’s iconic reputation has allowed it to charge far more than it’s really worth. We paid USD $92 each (it says you can buy cheaper tickets, but I only saw it for USD $7 less across all 11 days of our winter trip).
If I’d paid half that I would have felt it was much better value. Sadly I had high expectations for the Blue Lagoon, based on its fame, but also the price. It sadly didn’t meet those expectations and I wouldn’t go back.
You can pay for a higher priced package at the Blue Lagoon, which would no doubt be more impressive, but that costs hundreds of dollars more.
If you book the seven step ritual package at Sky Lagoon you’ll pay USD $20 less than general entry to the Blue Lagoon. For me this is much better value. You can also pay another USD $20 less if you don’t want to do the seven step ritual. And in turn you could pay a fraction more than the general entry to the Blue Lagoon and get both the seven step ritual and access to the fancy changing rooms.
Neither lagoon is cheap, this is Iceland after all, but Sky Lagoon is infinitely better value. I just hope that as people cotton on, the prices don’t rocket like they clearly have done at the Blue Lagoon!
So which is better Sky Lagoon or Blue Lagoon?
I probably don’t need this section as it’s fairly obvious that I am going to say the Sky Lagoon! I would only opt for the Blue Lagoon over the Sky Lagoon if you can’t go past the water colour. In all other aspects, Sky Lagoon is the better experience in my opinion.
I am glad I visited the Blue Lagoon because I had wanted to go for so many years, but I wouldn’t go back. It’s an incredible natural phenomenon, but just not my vibe and pretty overpriced.
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