Iceland - good spas for kids?

[MotherOfMonkeys0]

We are thinking of going to Iceland later this year. We're hesitant that kids aren't old enough to get the most out of it (DS 10, DD 15), especially accessing the spas.
Does anyone have experience of the spas near Reykjavik? Only some seem to allow children, and would be keen to visit ones that don't enforce public naked showering! Private or semi private naked showering fine, kids would die a death at the thought. Thanks.

Just take them to a normal outdoor swimming pool. Slides are way more fun than a 'spa'.

Laugardalslaug gets a lot of tourists and I think they have shower curtains in some of them... You still have to be a bit naked around the changing rooms, though.

The best slides are at Lágafellslaug in Mosfellsbær. It's a normal pool, not geared at tourists specifically so you do have to be naked in front of other people (of the same sex).

But nobody is looking, it's a very relaxed atmosphere. I would advise your children to do as the Romans do, much more fun than letting yourself be limited. There are so many amazing pools all over the country and it's one of the really special things about Iceland that you just don't get in most other places. Shame to miss out.

Public naked showering (in single sex changing rooms) is what happens in Iceland. The pools are warm and clean and an experience. I can’t remember having a problem bringing the children anywhere.

It’s a fantastic country to visit - scenery, geysers, glaciers, filter coffee on tap (if you like that), everyone speaks amazing English, everyone takes card payment no matter how remote. Enjoy!

Oh and in case anyone tells you it's not enforced - this is basically true. The days of the 'shower guards' are mostly in the past and it's likely you could break the rule and 'get away with it' if other members of the public were too shocked to say something. But please do not be tempted to shower in your swimsuits on the way in.

It is incredibly rude and considered disgusting. I'm not saying that you would be disrespectful, I'm sure you had no intention of this. But it's fairly common to see tourists breaking the rules so someone might be along in a second to say they did it and it was fine. It's absolutely not fine.

Go to the swimming pools - the Blue Lagoon is an instagram thing really.

Thank you all. I had been looking at the swimming pools around Reykjavik and they look great. I think that's probably what we'll do.

I certainly wouldn't break the rules and deliberately offend.
I can't get my head around a tradition that's so exclusive though, there are so many valid reasons that people (of all cultures) would not want to be naked in public, and the response always seems to be - well don't go then. But would you say that to someone in a wheelchair, someone who was disfigured, trans, someone who had experienced abuse or trauma with body related issues, someone who is neurodiverse and has very specific ideas about what the routine is around swimming, phobias/related mental health issues. I don't think it would be ok to say to all of those people - well don't go then. I know some of the thermal spas offer private changing at an additional cost. Again, you wouldn't make someone in a wheelchair pay for a ramp or a hoist. Surely a big proportion of the Icelandic population are excluded for these reasons as well? I work in the field of mental health/ neurodiversity for context.

My husband and I would be totally fine with communal showering. I know my children would absolutely not for various reasons, some listed above, but would enjoy swimming if they were allowed to shower in private.

I'm not trying to provoke, it just really puzzles me from an inclusion/access perspective. That's fine for some of the population, but really not all.

It's not an ideological position. It's about hygiene. Being shy isn't a disability, it's a mindset. If your children moved to Iceland they would get used to it very quickly, there is no genuine barrier other than nerves.

For people who have a disability or other serious issues that mean they can't use the standard changing rooms, many pools of course do have separate disabled facilities.

Disabled, trans people etc all wash? I am confused. Getting naked in public is not taboo in Iceland and they are a very inclusive society. DB is a wheelchair used and had a shower no problem whatsoever. He was then assisted by the regular staff who were ALL trained in using a hoist so he did not need to make a special appointment or booking, he did not need a carer with him and the pool was CLEAN. Not full of sweat and skank.

Yes all pools are fine for that kind of physical disability. All the ones I have ever been to have provisions for wheelchair users in the standard shower room, for example.

Children who grow up in Iceland are highly unlikely to develop phobias and body issues around the swimming pool because it is such a normal and everyday part of life and they see people of all kinds in the changing rooms, including those with disabilities and physical differences - people of all ages, shapes and sizes.

Of course it could happen in various circumstances that people develop fears of normal things in any society, but therapy to overcome that is a more practical course than expecting society to change. It's certainly not a common issue that people living here find themselves unable to go to the pool.

As for why it's communal rather than separate cubicles, well it's much more cost effective. Money is better spent on maintenance and cool slides than putting in expensive and space-inefficient cubicles.

After living in Iceland for over a decade, I find the grossness and lax hygiene practices in UK pools off-putting and I probably wouldn't go to one again. I can also well believe that ND people from Iceland would find it hard to deal with a UK pool. But that's life, isn't it, different countries do things differently, the UK isn't about to start improving pool hygiene practices because everybody there is just used to the way it is. When you're a visitor or a recent immigrant, you just have to take things as they are.

Having said that, because mass tourism is so big in Iceland, generally if you keep to the pools that are closer to the centre of town, you are quite likely to find that some concessions have been made for tourists. I think another one that has some shower curtains is Vesturbæjarlaug. But they don't have any slides so I wouldn't necessarily take kids there! It's pretty boring, but a good pool for chatting and chilling because they have a massive hot tub area.

You won't get the best slides or views in the more tourist-focused pools, but you can still have fun 😉

Thanks Puffin, that's really helpful : )

The strict hygiene rules are for entirely practical reasons. The water is too hot for chlorine. Do you want to be wallowing in hot water full of dirty bodies? I was fat and pregnant so very self conscious when I went to Iceland but no one is looking. It’s so normal to shower naked there. I wish UK pools were as clean.

The pools are chlorinated, but much less so than UK pools. They are able to use chlorine more sparingly because everyone (or almost everyone) is freshly and properly washed as they enter the pool. It does make the whole experience much more pleasant!

Just to clarify, I didn't question the hygiene ideology/rules or suggest any exceptions for washing. I was asking about privacy options.

I think it's just a different culture and norm. People used to the Icelandic way are far less likely to be self conscious about being naked in front of strangers or people they know because that's not how they've been brought up.

I've been to Lalandia in Denmark a couple of times (due to flying out of Billund on a work trip I often had a few hours to kill) and admittedly was apprehensive the first time as a slightly podgy middle aged British woman but I figured that no-one was looking at me, I'd never see these people again and I'd draw more attention skulking around in a towel or showering in a swimsuit so I just got on with it and it was fine. Even the time that I couldn't get my locker to work and a Danish woman started helping me while we were completely starkers.

The Secret Lagoon is fun. Basically a large hot pond surrounded by grass. I've checked the website and li looks like children under 14 are free if accompanied by adults.