Hot tubs and natural hot springs have been a part of Iceland's culture since the settlement era, and the love for swimming and bathing in warm water is engraved in the Icelander’s DNA. Swimming pools are considered one of the most important places to socialize, work out and unwind and many Icelanders visit the pool daily.

Apart from all the natural hot springs around the country, there are more than 120 publicly operated swimming pools in Iceland, the vast majority of them geothermally heated and open-air. Swimming or bathing is not just a summer thing - sitting in a hot tub on a dark frosty night, feeling the snowflakes land gently on your nose while gazing at the starry sky, is an amazing experience.

If you visit Iceland, we encourage you to go pool-hopping and explore the different kinds in every region you visit. See this video done be the BBC on Icelanders’ swimming habits. 

You find the swimming pools here: https://sundlaugar.is/en/swimming-pools/

Photo: Jórunn Siggadóttir