Sky Lagoon Experience, Reykjavík

Located just 15 minutes south of Reykjavík city center, Sky Lagoon offers a luxurious take on the traditional Icelandic bathing culture. Your entry includes access to the signature Skjól seven-step ritual, which starts in the oceanfront infinity pool fed by soothing geothermal waters. Follow with a bracing cold plunge, and enter the traditional turf house for sessions in the sea-view sauna and hot and cool steam rooms. Toast the end of the circuit with an elixir of crowberry juice, then head back to the lagoon for a drink at the swim-up bar or step indoors to warm up with some rustic Icelandic fare at the on-site café.

Your Sky Lagoon experience starts at reception, where you'll check in and receive a scanner bracelet to secure your locker and serve as a payment method for drinks and snacks. Get changed and shower off in the spacious changing rooms, then begin the signature Skjól ritual, a seven-step journey inspired by traditional Icelandic wellness practices. Your first step is a long and luxurious soak in the central lagoon, a spectacular infinity pool sheltered by volcanic rocks and fed by naturally heated geothermal waters from far below the earth's surface.

The lagoon's location perched at the edge of Kársnes Harbour gives you panoramic sea views, and there's a swim-up bar hidden within a rock cave where you can grab a glass of bubbly or a local cider or craft beer without leaving the water's soothing warmth—which ranges from 100.4-104°F (38-40°C). Next, awaken your senses in true Icelandic style with a plunge in the cold tub, which averages a brisk 41°F (5°C) and is said to boost circulation.

Step inside the traditional turf house for a spell in the sauna, where you'll sweat out any impurities in the dry 176-194°F (80-90°C) heat and look out over the harbor from the floor-to-ceiling glass wall. Continue through the cold mist room and apply the spa's special salt scrub to exfoliate and soften the skin, and unwind in the warmth of the steam room before showering off and sipping a fresh elixir of crowberry saft (juice). You can head back to the central lagoon for a longer soak at the end of your ritual, or wrap things up with a meal of hearty Icelandic fare like soups and sandwiches at the on-site café.