Grettislaug is a hot geothermal pool located at Reykir in Skagafjordur in north Iceland. The pool is named after Grettir Ásmundarson, the outlaw and the strongest man in the Icelandic Sagas. According to the Saga Grettir is said to have warmed himself up in the pool after the famous Drangeyjarsund, a 7,5 kilometers long swim in the ocean from Drangey island.

Until the 20th century there used to be two pools at Reykir, the one was used for laundry called Reykjalaug and the other one was Grettislaug. In 1934 the pools were destroyed in a great storm. In 1992 the local Jón Eiríksson rebuild the pools and Reykjalaug was renamed Jarlslaug (The Earl’s Pool) after Jón.

The temperature of the pools is about 39-42 ° C, but may vary depending on the weather. The area around the pools is open and beautiful by the ocean, with wonderful nature and the perfect place to watch the sunset. It is fun to walk around the beach and over to Glerhallavík bay, which is a popular hiking trail. There are dressing rooms for the pool but there is a small entrance fee and they are closed around the springtime.

Reykir offers good accommodation, camping ground, café and boat trips. The campsite has toilet facilities, electricity, barbecue facilities and playground for the children.


Directions:

The hot spring is located about 25 minutes (18km) from Sauðárkrókur town and 3 hours and 40 minutes (296 km) from Reykjavik. Take road nr 748 where the sign says Reykjaströnd and from there the drive is about 20 minutes to the car park at Reykir. The road is not very good so for small cars it might take longer to get there.