Sky Lagoon Tickets and Tours

The ritual is the reason to choose Sky Lagoon over a municipal pool, and it is included in the entrance pass rather than sold as an extra. You work through seven stages in order, alternating hot and cold, and it takes as long as you want it to. This is the sequence as the spa sets it out:

1. Laug (lagoon): slow down in the warm geothermal water and the infinity edge over the North Atlantic.
2. Kuldi (cold): the cold plunge. Short, bracing, and the step everyone talks about afterwards.
3. Ylur (warmth): the sauna, which has the best window in Icelandic bathing.
4. Suld (drizzle): a cold mist to cool you back down.
5. Mykt (softness): the Sky body scrub, applied yourself, to exfoliate.
6. Gufa (steam): the steam room, which sets the scrub.
7. Saft (juice): a taste of krakiber, the crowberries that grow on the surrounding lava fields.

One practical note from the small print: if you have allergies, check the ingredients of the body scrub before you use it, as they are listed on the booking page.

The entrance pass is £86 and comes in two versions, chosen at booking:

• SAMAN pass: shared changing and shower facilities. The standard choice, and the one most people book.
• SER pass: private changing facilities and shower cabins with signature botanical body products.

Both include entry, the seven-step ritual, a towel and Sky body wash, shampoo and conditioner. Food and drink are available to buy at the Keimur Cafe and Smakk Bar, and swimsuits can be rented for an extra fee if you have travelled light. The minimum age is 12, and staff can ask for ID to confirm a child's date of birth.

Booking is instant, the ticket lands on your phone, and cancellation is free up to 24 hours before. Evening slots go first, so book the time you want rather than the time that is left.

Sky Lagoon is cheaper at £86, far closer to the city, and built around the ritual and the ocean view. Blue Lagoon is £108, the more famous photograph, and sits between Reykjavik and Keflavik airport, which makes it the better choice for an arrival or departure day.

The full head-to-head, including which one to pick for a first visit: Blue Lagoon vs Sky Lagoon: which to book.