Icelandic Swimming Pool Culture

Almost every settlement in Iceland, down to villages of a few hundred people, has an outdoor swimming pool heated with geothermal water, open all year, and it works as the local meeting place. The pool itself is for lengths. The point is the hot pots beside it, tubs held at different temperatures where people sit for an hour and talk, usually with a steam room and a cold tub attached. Entry costs very little compared with anything else here. The rules are firm and not negotiable: undress fully, wash with soap without a swimsuit at the marked places, then change and go out. Attendants will tell you if you skip it.

What you actually see

• The hot pots - tubs at stepped temperatures where the conversation actually happens.
• The washing rule - a full soap wash without a swimsuit before entering, and it is enforced.
• The village pools - heated pools kept open in places that barely have a shop left.
• The cold tub and steam - the plunge and steam room attached to most larger pools.

When to go

Year-round, and the colder and darker it is the better it works; sitting outdoors in hot water while it snows is the whole idea. Early morning and after five in the afternoon are when locals go. Reykjavik pools keep long hours daily, while village pools have short and sometimes seasonal ones, so check before driving to one.

Honest expectations

The washing rule embarrasses plenty of visitors and there is no way around it. Changing rooms are communal and busy. Large city pools fill with children in the afternoon and are not restful. The water in hot pots is not filtered as heavily as the swimming pool itself, and heavy use shows by the end of a busy day.

Nearby

Every town has one, and the large city pools in Reykjavik are the easiest introduction.