Sturlaugsá & the Bjarnarhöfn Area Hot Water: Where to Soak Near Stykkishólmur

Ask about hot springs near Stykkishólmur and you’ll get a mix of answers, because the honest truth is there’s only one true soaking option right in town, and the two natural pots worth a special trip are both roughly an hour’s drive away. Here’s what’s actually there, what’s a swimming pool versus a real hot spring, and how to behave once you’re in the water.

The town pool: reliable, not wild

The Stykkishólmur swimming pool, on Borgarbraut, is the closest warm soak to the inn and the only one you can walk to. It’s a heated outdoor pool with two hot tubs and a cold tub, fed by geothermal water from a borehole near Hofsstaðir. This is not a natural hot spring — it’s a municipal pool with a schedule and a front desk — but it’s dependable in any weather and open long hours through the week. If you just want to unwind after a day on Snæfellsnes without driving anywhere, this is it.

Landbrotalaug: a genuine hot pot, small and unregulated

For a real natural hot spring, Landbrotalaug is the nearest option, roughly 45 to 60 minutes’ drive east of Stykkishólmur off Route 54, near the Stóra-Hraun turnoff on the eastern side of the Snæfellsnes peninsula. It’s a tiny pool — comfortable for two people, three at a squeeze — sitting in open farmland with no changing room, no attendant, and no fence. You reach it via a short walk across boggy, often wet ground, so old shoes matter more than swimwear here. Because it’s unregulated, temperature varies day to day and there’s no one checking the water before you get in.

Guðrúnarlaug: saga history near Laugar in Dalir

Further afield, in Dalabyggð near Laugar in Sælingsdalur, is Guðrúnarlaug — a turf-and-stone pool rebuilt in 2009 on the site of the original, which was damaged by a landslide in the 19th century. It’s named for Guðrún Ósvífursdóttir, the central figure of Laxdæla Saga, who according to the saga spent time at the hot spring on this site. The rebuilt pool holds around six to eight people and runs at roughly 42°C — a genuine link between the sagas and a spot you can actually sit in today. It’s a longer detour from Stykkishólmur, worth combining with a day exploring Dalir rather than a quick stop.

• Getting there: Town pool — walkable from central Stykkishólmur. Landbrotalaug — about 45-60 minutes’ drive east via Route 54. Guðrúnarlaug — roughly 1.5 hours via Route 60 into Dalabyggð.
• What to bring: Swimwear and a towel for the pool; for the natural pots, also old shoes or sandals for wet, uneven ground, and a dry bag for your phone and keys.
• Facilities: The town pool has changing rooms and showers. Landbrotalaug and Guðrúnarlaug have no lifeguards, no staff, and minimal or no changing facilities — you’re on your own.
• Timing: Visit natural pots in daylight and check the forecast; a soak that’s pleasant in still weather is much less appealing in wind and rain with nowhere to shelter.
• Etiquette: Icelandic pool rules require washing thoroughly with soap, without swimwear, before entering any pool or hot tub — this is enforced at the town pool and expected as good practice at the natural pots too, even without anyone checking.

Where to Stay

The Stykkishólmur Inn sits in the walkable old town, close enough to the Stykkishólmur swimming pool that a post-soak walk home takes only a few minutes — useful after an evening dip when you’d rather not drive. It also makes a sensible base for day trips out to Landbrotalaug or Dalir and back. Book direct on Ourhotels.is for the best rate.

Photo: Bradley Rentz via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.