Volcano Tour: Grindavík Volcano Village & the Blue Lagoon

The drive crosses the Reykjanes peninsula, a landscape of lava fields, craters and geothermal areas shaped by the tectonic boundary that runs through it. Your guide explains how the recent eruptions fit into this longer story as the coach heads toward Seltún.

Krýsuvík is a geothermal system on the Reykjanes Peninsula, and Seltún is the part most visitors see: a compact hillside of bubbling mud pots, hissing steam vents and mineral-stained ground in yellows, reds and greys. Wooden walkways and viewing platforms let you get close without stepping on the ground, which is fragile and can be scalding hot. Keep to the boardwalks.

Fagradalsfjall is a volcanic system on the Reykjanes Peninsula that woke in March 2021 after about 6,000 years, the first eruption on the peninsula in almost 800 years. Two more followed at Fagradalsfjall in 2022 and 2023, and since December 2023 the eruptions have been at Sundhnúksgígar near Grindavík. Whether you can hike to the craters depends on current activity. The volcanic area that began erupting in 2021, reached by a marked trail across rough, exposed terrain.

Grindavík is a fishing town on the Reykjanes peninsula, close to the Blue Lagoon. Before 2023 it had around 3,000 residents. Since an earthquake swarm in October 2023 and the eruptions that followed, the town has been evacuated more than once, and access depends on current advice from the authorities.

The Blue Lagoon is a milky-blue geothermal spa on the Reykjanes peninsula. The water is geothermal seawater from the nearby Svartsengi power plant, rich in silica and minerals, and it stays at 37 to 40°C all year, whatever the weather outside. The silica gives the water its blue-white colour and a slightly cloudy, mineral feel. The lagoon holds about nine million litres, renewed roughly every 40 hours. Iceland's best-known geothermal spa, with milky blue water, a swim-up bar and a silica mud mask included with standard entry.