The best time to book a Hvammsvik hot springs tour
Hvammsvik is open to the sea and the sky, so when you go shapes the visit more than it would at an indoor pool. The tide sets how many pools you get, the season sets the light, and the tour you book sets the hour. Below, how to line them up.
The tide matters more than the season
The biggest single factor is the tide. Some pools sit so low on the shore that high water covers them, and they reappear as the sea pulls back. The springs describe it that way, and so does one reviewer.
The more pools you want to try, the closer to low tide you should aim. A visit near high water still works, only with fewer pools to choose from. Our guide to the pools explains how they sit along the shore.
The tide turns at a different hour every day, in every month of the year. A tide table for Reykjavík is close enough for planning a drive up the fjord.
The shared tours do not plan around the tide, so a bus visit is luck either way. Neither of their listings mentions the water level at all.
Who gets to choose the hour
Only some ways of visiting let you pick the time. The springs' admission package from ~$80 covers a stay of 1.5 hours up to a full day, so drivers can arrive near low tide and stay as long as they like.
With the private return transfer at ~$330, you agree the return time with the driver, according to the GetYourGuide listing. That gives you a say in the hour without driving yourself, as our private driver guide explains.
The shared tours run to their own clock. ICELANDIA's bus from ~$160 allows about 2 hours at the springs, and on both shared tours you take whatever tide the hour brings.
Nicetravel's Golden Circle day at ~$222 reaches the pools last, after Þingvellir, and a reviewer was back in Reykjavík around 8 pm. It rates 5.0 from 200+ reviews on Viator, so your soak falls late in the day.
A full day that ends in warm water
Nicetravel's minibus collects you in Reykjavík between 8:30 and 9:00 am, takes in the Golden Circle and closes with about 2 hours in the pools. Lunch on the way is at your own cost.
Summer, with light late into the evening
Around June, the midnight sun keeps the nights from ever growing dark. An evening soak at Hvammsvik then means low sun over the fjord rather than darkness.
Stormur Bistro keeps longer hours in summer, from 12:00 to 8:30 pm between June 1 and August 20, and 11:30 am to 7:30 pm the rest of the year, per the listing. That suits a late arrival with dinner after the pools.
Summer is also the easiest time for drivers heading up the fjord road. Our bus or self-drive comparison covers the drive and what it saves.
Winter, with snow on the hills
In winter, snow settles on the hills around the fjord and the days are short. The contrast of cold air and hot water is much of the pull of a winter soak, and the long dark brings a chance of the northern lights.
Auroras need darkness and a clear sky as well as some activity, so they are possible roughly from September to April and never promised. The pools lie away from the city glow, and our northern lights guide covers the odds.
Winter roads can be icy and the afternoons dark. For many visitors that makes the bus or a private driver the calmer choice. Our packing list covers a warm hat and the rest of what to bring.
Spring and autumn in between
The months on either side of summer bring a mix. You get useful daylight for the drive, and evenings dark enough for a chance of auroras later in autumn and early in spring.
Light changes fast from week to week in these months. Check sunset times for your dates, whether you want daylight over the fjord or darkness for a chance of auroras.
Wind and rain can arrive in any month, so a soak in a shower or a stiff breeze is normal. Warm water makes it easy to sit out the weather, and some visitors like the pools best that way.
The length of your stay matters more than the hour
Since most tours fix the hour for you, the more useful question is how long you want in the water. Two hours, the time on both shared tours, is enough for several pools plus a sea dip, without lingering.
If you also want lunch at the bistro or a slow afternoon, go with the admission package and your own car, or the private driver. Prices for each are in our cost guide, and all four tours cancel free up to 24 hours ahead.
Matching the booking to your plans
- A car and a free day: check the tide, then book the entry ticket for a slot near low water
- No car and half a day: ICELANDIA's bus from BSÍ, whatever the tide
- The Golden Circle on your list: Nicetravel's day, which ends in the pools
- Hoping for auroras: a dark evening between roughly September and April, with a spare night in case of cloud
Children under 10 cannot come at any time of year. Our Hvammsvik and Blue Lagoon guide compares where each soak sits if you are still choosing.