Iceland Travel GuideLOCAL TRAVEL AGENCY IN ICELAND
My trip
Talk to a local
Iceland Travel GuideLOCAL TRAVEL AGENCY IN ICELAND
My trip
Talk to a local
Hellulaug is a small natural hot spring right by the sea in Vatnsfjörður in the southern Westfjords, a few metres from a roadside car park near Flókalundur. It is free to use, about 38°C all year, and most people stay for 30–45 minutes.
Hellulaug is little more than a shallow stone-lined pool, about 3–4 metres across and around 60 cm deep, but its setting is the appeal: warm water with open views out over the fjord, and almost no development around it. There are no changing rooms, so most people arrive with swimwear already on under their clothes.
The pool can't be seen from the road, which is why many people drive straight past. From the small car park you walk a few steps down a low cliff to the shore, and the pool is right there among the rocks, a few metres from the sea, looking out over Vatnsfjörður. No hiking is needed.
Locals look after it. The pool is emptied and cleaned regularly and meets the quality standards for natural bathing pools. There is no entrance fee, but a donation box by the car park pays for the upkeep of the pool and the area around it.
Because it is a short step off the road with nothing built around it, Hellulaug is an easy stop for anyone driving through the southern Westfjords, and it stays quieter than better-known hot springs elsewhere in the country. For a long time few people other than locals knew it was there.
Parts of the road along the fjords are gravel, and it winds a lot. Drive to the conditions, take your time, and check umferdin.is before setting out, especially outside summer.
Hellulaug can be hard to find because nothing shows from the road. Follow the GPS point 65.57715, -23.15948 and these steps.
At about 60 cm deep the pool is for sitting in, not swimming, and it holds eight to ten people in comfort. The water is a steady 38°C or so in every season.
There is nowhere private to change. Either put your swimsuit on under your clothes before you arrive or change in the car. Bring an extra warm layer for getting out, because the wind off the fjord is cold even in July.
There is nothing else here, so bring everything you need: towel, dry clothes, food and a hot drink. Don't use soap or shampoo in the pool, take all your rubbish with you, and don't camp or park overnight at the car park.
None. No changing rooms, toilets, café or shop.
There is a campsite at Flókalundur, under a kilometre from the pool. Patreksfjörður and the wider southern Westfjords have guesthouses and small hotels within reach.
Yes, there is no entrance fee, though there is a donation box on site to help with upkeep.
It is on the shore of Vatnsfjörður near Flókalundur, on Route 62. You can't see it from the road, so use the GPS point 65.57715, -23.15948 for the car park.
No, there are no facilities at all, so wear swimwear under your clothes or change in the car.
No, the pool is a few metres below the roadside car park, down a short path.
Around 38°C, comfortable for bathing all year.
About 3–4 metres across and 60 cm deep, enough for eight to ten people to sit comfortably.
