Fludir & the Secret Lagoon: What Else to Do in the Area

What Is There to Do in Fludir?

The Secret Lagoon is the headline, and the village around it holds another half day if you want it. Geothermal greenhouses, a local swimming pool, horse riding, two waterfalls within twenty minutes and the main Golden Circle sights half an hour north.

Flúðir sits in the Hrunamannahreppur district in southwest Iceland, about 1 hour 45 minutes from Reykjavík and 30 minutes south of Geysir.

It is a farming village of a few hundred people rather than a resort, which is exactly why the lagoon here feels different from the ones near the capital.

The Secret Lagoon Itself

Iceland's oldest swimming pool and the reason the village appears on any itinerary.

Gamla Laugin was built in 1891, fell out of use for decades, and reopened after restoration. The water holds 38 to 40°C year-round according to the Secret Lagoon.

Three hot springs feed it, Vaðmálahver, Básahver and Litli Geysir, and the whole volume is replaced within 24 hours, which is why no chemical treatment is needed.

A boardwalk runs around the geothermal field beside the pool, past steaming ground and the small geyser that erupts every few minutes.

Adult admission is 4,500 ISK, winter hours run 10:00 to 19:00 and summer to 20:00. Our page on the Secret Lagoon covers the practical details.

Allow 90 minutes including changing, or two hours if you also walk the boardwalk.

Geothermal Greenhouses

The thing that makes this district genuinely unusual, and it hides in plain sight along the road.

Flúðir sits on a high-temperature geothermal field, and the hot water has been used since the mid-twentieth century to heat greenhouses. Tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and herbs grow here through an Icelandic winter.

Mushrooms are the other local speciality, grown in dark sheds rather than glass, and Flúðir supplies a large share of the national crop.

Farm stalls along the roads sell tomatoes, cucumbers and berries in summer, usually on an honesty box. This is the least touristic thing you can do in the area and one of the better ones.

Friðheimar, 20 minutes north, is the greenhouse that opened its doors properly. Lunch is served among the vines, tomato soup with fresh bread is the signature, and the kitchen runs 11:30 to 16:00.

Book Friðheimar in advance. Tables go days ahead in summer, and our page on Friðheimar covers what to expect.

Geothermal heat lets tomatoes grow through an Icelandic winter twenty minutes from Flúðir.

The Village Pool

Worth knowing about, and almost entirely ignored by visitors.

Flúðir has its own municipal swimming pool, separate from the Secret Lagoon, with hot pots, a sauna and lanes.

Admission is a fraction of the lagoon price and the clientele is local. This is where people from the village actually swim.

It is not scenic and it is not designed for photographs. It is a good, warm, cheap Icelandic pool, which is a category of experience most visitors never try.

If the Secret Lagoon is sold out on your evening, this is the fallback and it is a perfectly good one.

Waterfalls Nearby

Two within twenty minutes, and they are quite different from each other.

Faxi, also called Vatnsleysufoss, is about 20 minutes north on the road towards Geysir. It is wide and low rather than tall, with a salmon ladder up one side and a car park almost at the edge.

Faxi takes fifteen minutes and most coach itineraries drive straight past it, which is the main argument for stopping.

Brúarfoss is around 30 minutes north and is the bluest water in the region, a set of small cascades dropping into a bright turquoise channel. There is a paid car park at the trailhead and a short walk in.

Brúarfoss rewards a bright day and disappoints on a grey one, since the colour is the entire attraction. Our page on Brúarfoss covers the walk.

Gullfoss is 30 minutes away and is a different order of waterfall entirely.

Golden Circle Sights From Fludir

The village makes a better base than its size suggests, because everything is close.

Geysir is 30 minutes north, where Strokkur erupts every five to ten minutes.

Gullfoss is 30 to 35 minutes north, at the far end of the loop from Reykjavík.

Kerið crater is 25 minutes south on Route 35, which makes Flúðir a natural point between the two halves of the route.

Þingvellir is the outlier at about an hour, since it sits at the western end of the loop.

Skálholt, the country's episcopal seat from 1056, is 20 minutes away and is the quietest historic site on the route.

Our guide to what the Golden Circle covers sets out the distances between all of these.

Flúðir is a working farming village rather than a resort, which is the point of staying here.

Horse Riding and the Outdoors

Two activities that suit a half day rather than an hour.

Several farms around Flúðir run Icelandic horse tours, typically one to two hours, which fits a Golden Circle day better than a half-day trek.

The Icelandic horse has a fifth gait, the tölt, which is smooth enough to drink coffee at. Trying it is the point of a short ride here.

Walking routes follow the Litla-Laxá and the surrounding farmland, and they are unmarked and gentle rather than dramatic.

Reykjadalur, the steam valley above Hveragerði where you can bathe in a warm river, is about an hour south and involves a 3 kilometre uphill walk each way.

None of this is spectacular by Icelandic standards. It is pleasant countryside with hot water under it, which is a fair description of the whole district.

Where to Eat and Stay

Modest options, and enough of them.

Flúðir has a supermarket, a petrol station and two or three places to eat, including a pizzeria that has a genuine local reputation.

Friðheimar 20 minutes north is the standout meal in the area, and it needs booking.

Efstidalur, a dairy farm with a restaurant overlooking the cow shed and ice cream made from that morning's milk, is 35 minutes away towards Laugarvatn.

Guesthouses and small hotels around the village make Flúðir a workable overnight base for a two-day Golden Circle, which is a better plan than rushing the loop in one.

Staying here also means you can be at Gullfoss at eight in the morning before any coach from Reykjavík arrives.

How to Get to Fludir

Straightforward, with two routes in.

From Reykjavík, take Route 1 to Selfoss then Route 30 north to Flúðir, which is about 1 hour 45 minutes.

From the Geysir end of the Golden Circle, come south on Route 35 then Route 30, roughly 30 minutes.

Both roads are maintained through winter and both get ice, snow and drifting. Live status is published at umferdin.is.

There is no useful public transport to Flúðir for a day visit, so this is a self-drive or guided-tour destination.

At Hjarðarland, the nearest long-running station to the route, Met Office climate data puts September as the wettest month at 147 mm, which is worth knowing before planning an outdoor day here.

Is Fludir Worth a Stop?

Yes, and the answer depends on what you want the day to be.

For a soak at the end of a Golden Circle loop, Flúðir is the obvious choice and it costs almost no extra driving.

For a lunch stop, Friðheimar nearby is better than anything in the village itself.

For an overnight base, it beats Reykjavík if you want early mornings at Gullfoss and Geysir without the drive.

For a destination in its own right, it is a quiet farming village with hot water. Some people want exactly that and others will be bored within an hour.

Our page on Flúðir covers the village in more detail.

End Your Golden Circle Day in Hot Water

The best version of a Golden Circle day finishes with a soak rather than a drive back in the dark, and Flúðir is the only place on the route where that is possible without a detour. Our small-group Golden Circle tour with Kerið and Friðheimar covers the main sites with groups under twenty, and we can advise on adding the Secret Lagoon at the end. Tell us your dates and we will work out the timings.