Reykjavík
Sea kayak + Vesturbæjarlaug soak
Paddle past Harpa and the Sun Voyager from a brand-new angle, then recover in the locals' pool.
More about this plan
Sea kayaking from the Old Harbour sounds ambitious and is not. A guide takes a small group out in sit-on-top kayaks past the whale-watching fleet, the glass facade of Harpa, the Sun Voyager sculpture, and sometimes out as far as the little island of Engey. Mount Esja is always there in the background. Seals show up about a third of the time.
Two hours in a boat will leave your shoulders certain they did something. Drive or bus five minutes to Vesturbæjarlaug — the locals' pool in the west end, quieter than Laugardalslaug and with the west-Reykjavík neighbourhood feel intact. Outdoor hot pots, a steam room, and a gradient of temperatures to work through. An hour there is the right reward.
The plan, stop by stop
- 1
Sea kayak tour from the Old Harbour
Guided two-hour paddle past Harpa, the Sun Voyager, and out toward Engey. Sit-on-top kayaks, drysuits in shoulder season.
- 2
Hot pots at Vesturbæjarlaug
The west-end locals' pool. Outdoor hot pots, steam room, a cold plunge, fewer tourists than Laugardalslaug.