Photo by Bromr, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
🇮🇸 Iceland · Skagafjörður, North Iceland
Photo by Bromr, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
🇮🇸 Iceland · Skagafjörður, North Iceland
♨ Temperature
39°C
⛰ Altitude
5 m
⚗ pH
8.1
💧 TDS
160 mg/L
🌊 Flow rate
4 L/s
📅 Established
Medieval (legend)
✓ Verified on 2026-07-22
Grettislaug consists of two simple stone and concrete hot tubs built over a natural geothermal source on the shore of Skagafjörður fjord in northern Iceland. The site takes its name from Grettir Ásmundarson, the outlaw hero of Grettis saga, who according to the medieval saga swam across the fjord from the island of Drangey — a distance of several kilometres in cold Nordic water — and warmed himself in the hot spring here. Whether the legend reflects historical fact is uncertain, but the site has been known and used for centuries. The low stone walls and the views across to the dramatic sea-stack island of Drangey give the pools an atmosphere of almost mythic simplicity.
| Silica | 65 mg/L |
| Sodium | 48 mg/L |
| Calcium | 22 mg/L |
Grettislaug is one of the few hot spring sites in the world directly named in a medieval literary text. Grettis saga, written in the 14th century but set in the 11th, places the hot spring at a key moment in the outlaw's journey. The site thus connects geothermal bathing with a living literary tradition.
The Icelandic saga tradition gives Grettislaug a cultural depth unusual for a small rural hot pot. For Icelanders, bathing here is an act of connection with a literary heritage that has shaped national identity. The view of Drangey — dramatic and unapproachable — from the warm water creates an experience that links landscape, myth, and geology.
Grettislaug is maintained by the local farming community of Reykir and accessible on a small fee basis. The simple infrastructure ensures minimal environmental impact, and the spring flow is entirely natural.