Laugarvatn Fontana

Perched on the black-sand shore of Laugarvatn lake, Fontana is one of Iceland's most naturally immersive geothermal spas — where steam rooms sit directly above bubbling hot springs and the rye bread baking in the ground beneath your feet has been slow-cooking since yesterday.

What Makes Fontana Special

Most Icelandic geothermal pools pipe heated water into tiled pools. Fontana is different. The steam rooms are built over real, active hot springs — grilles in the floor let you hear the earth hissing below and feel the living heat rising around you. The temperatures vary naturally with the season and with geothermal activity, making every visit genuinely unique.

Just steps from the steam rooms, the cold waters of Laugarvatn lake invite a bracing dip — a classic Icelandic contrast bath that locals have practised here for generations. The original bath house on this site dates to 1929; the current purpose-built facility opened in 2011.

The Hverabrauð Experience

One of the most memorable things you can do at Fontana has nothing to do with soaking. On the guided rye-bread tour, a pot of traditional hverabrauð (hot-spring bread) is dug up from the black sand where it has been baking slowly underground, heated by the earth itself at around 100°C for a full 24 hours. You taste it warm, with Icelandic butter — dense, slightly sweet, and unlike anything from a conventional oven. It is as close as you can get to eating Iceland's geology.

What to Expect on Your Visit

• Multiple geothermal steam rooms at varying temperatures
• Outdoor mineral pools overlooking the lake
• Direct access to Laugarvatn lake for cold-water contrast bathing
• Daily guided rye-bread (hverabrauð) baking tours with tasting
• A café and on-site facilities

The setting is relaxed and unhurried — far less crowded than the Blue Lagoon, with a genuine local character that reflects how Icelanders have used this land for centuries.

On the Golden Circle Route

Laugarvatn Fontana sits almost exactly halfway along the classic Golden Circle loop, between Þingvellir National Park and the Geysir geothermal area. It makes a natural mid-morning or post-Geysir stop, and a soak here pairs beautifully with a Golden Circle day tour. The village of Laugarvatn itself is small and charming, sitting on the lake of the same name in the heart of South Iceland's geothermal belt.