Iceland’s Landbrotalaug Hot Pot Spring and Where to find it

Posted on September 19, 2018June 3, 2021 by AliciaMarieTravels

Landbrotlaug Hot Springs Pot- Today I want to introduce you to my favorite hot spring in Iceland, The Landbrotlaug hot pot! A hot spring for two on the Snaefellsnes Peninsula! This spot will definitely make you feel like you are in the middle of no where and much like a real Icelandic. The area actually has two hot springs. One fed by a pipe that is more shallow and but still toasty. The other is just a few meters away, it’s so small that it only fits two people! Maybe three people if you really want to cram yourselves in there. First, lets start with how to find it.

This secret spot was one of my favorite’s in Iceland, along with the Thakgil area!

How to Get There

The Landgrotalaug Hot Spring is hard to find. Typing it into Google Maps did not seem to work so well, it took some research to figure out how to find it.

We were traveling from the Hveragerði area so we followed Iceland’s Ring Road 1 to Highway 54, or Snæfellsnesvegur. From Ring Road 1 the pull off to the hot spring was a 32 minute drive once we got on highway 54. It comes right after the Eldborg volcanic crater sight (it is popular to hike to the crater). The sight doesn’t allow for much notice but it does have a tourism sight sign pointing to the dirt road leading to the hot spring. Turning onto the road makes you think this doesn’t quite seem like a tourist attraction, as it is literally a dirt road filled with pot holes. Check out what we did with the rest of our day along the Snaefellsnes Peninsula.

Take your time and you will get there without a problem. We got there with no problem by going slowly in our rented camper-van, you can read about our camper-van here.

Parking

Once you pass an abandoned building you are almost there. You will find yourself pulling up to a small parking lot. Parking is free but since these are both a small and secluded you may have to wait your turn.

To be polite and let other people enjoy their time without strangers hovering over them, wait in the parking lot until it is your turn. When we parked there was someone already there. So we decided to use our GoCampers campervan to go ahead and make dinner while we waited. Just as we were finishing up cooking our Backpacker’s Pantry meal we saw a couple leaving. We packed up our dinner and decided to enjoy our meal it at the sight.

Finding the Hot Spring

There really are no direct signs from the parking lot to the two hot spring locations. I went on ahead on the best path I could find passing by the one fed by a pipe, which someone was already in. He told me to check out the two person hot spring as it is deeper and the spring water was warmer. Luckily for us as it was getting chilly out and people were leaving that particular one so I headed that way.

To get here you have to cross over a small stream. They have placed some rocks in the water to help people cross. As nice as the gesture is you still get a bit wet, so bite the bullet and go with your bare feet or have some good waterproof shoes on.

Changing

No changing rooms or stalls here like you might see at other Icelandic Hot Springs! Some people change in their cars but the two springs are far enough away from the parking lot you could always be discrete with your quick dry towel to dress at the spring.

Enjoy!

Just as I was about to get in my husband was crossing over, he brought dinner and some adult beverages we picked up at duty free at the Airport (it’s hard to find anything in the grocery stores in Iceland). We scarfed down dinner as it was 11:00pm and enjoyed the warm water on our sore legs from our hikes on this chilly evening. You can easily lose track of time in the summer months (we went in June), they experience almost 24 hours of daylight. It’s easy to forget the time and find yourself cooking dinner at midnight. Iceland’s long daylight also leads to you being able to go to these types of sights in the middle of the night, you can avoid fighting crowds. It’s a win win.

Since we went so late at night we had a lot of time to sit and chill as not many people were out and about. We spent a good 45 minutes here getting wrinkly before we sadly had to make ourselves leave. We sipped on our beverages and took in the sights. It didn’t feel like you could get much more Icelandic than this. Mountains in the distance, reflections of the sky in the still stream nearby, a natural hot spring and a local brew in hand

But make sure you are being polite with your time as other people want to stop by to enjoy it for themselves as well. We kept an eye on the parking lot and saw a few cars pull up and then leave right away. Eventually we saw one that parked to stay and we decided our time there was sufficient as we still had an hour of driving left for the day. After drying off with our Turkish Towels we packed up our camp and headed back to our GoCamper campervan. On the way back someone was already heading in, a local that lives nearby. He said he uses this every night to tend to his sore back, its cheaper and a better heat than his water heater at his house.

What to Bring

Swimsuit

Quick Dry Turkish Towel (seriously these were a lifesaver in Iceland, between hot spring visits and campground showers)

Waterproof Camera

Flip Flops (if you don’t want your shoes to get wet walking over)

Beverages if you desire

For my complete Iceland Packing Guide check out my post here.

Tips

Go early in the morning or later in the day

We actually stopped by this sight twice in once day. We planned to get there fairly early but due to a later start we didn’t. When we showed up there were already a hand full of cars in the parking lot waiting their turn. Anxious to see other things we decided to stop by later in the day. We were actually driving a loop around the Snæfellsnes Penninsula so we had the option to stop by later. Which is when we came in luck when we pulled in about 10:30pm.

Drive a Loop from it

As mentioned above when we first showed up we felt like it may be too long of a wait and we might miss out on other sights. This is not something that you want to miss, so I was glad when we were able to still enjoy it on our way back for the night. By completing a loop this gave us two chances to make it happen, here is a map to our loop here.

Be Respectful

This hot spring is free, so there is no one there to constantly manage the property. Make sure you take out anything that you bring with you. This seemed to be more of an issue in the parking lot. Sad to see even in the parking lot of these serene locations.

Landbrotalaug Hot Pot is definitely worth the visit any time of the year. I kept wishing I had one of these in my backyard to relax in on the chilly evenings. Enjoy and let me know if you end up going or have any questions!