Iceland Travel GuideLOCAL TRAVEL AGENCY IN ICELAND
My trip
Talk to a local
Iceland Travel GuideLOCAL TRAVEL AGENCY IN ICELAND
My trip
Talk to a local
Brimketill is a natural pool in the lava shore near Grindavík on the Reykjanes Peninsula, shaped by the sea over thousands of years. It is about 62 km (50 minutes) from Reykjavík, free to visit and open all year. It is not a hot spring, and swimming is dangerous. Most people stay 15–20 minutes.
Brimketill means “surf cauldron”, and you will also see it translated as “whitewater cauldron”. It is a round pool cut into the edge of the lava shore, at the foot of a low cliff right by the open ocean, and it is filled by waves rather than by any hot water. People sometimes call it a hot spring, but it is not geothermally heated. It is just cold Atlantic seawater, and in rough weather the waves empty and refill it again and again.
The pool is best seen from the viewing platform, which was built to give a safer view. Waves crash into the pool and over the cliff edge, and on a rough day spray can reach the car park. That is much of the appeal, but it is also the danger.
It is also known as Oddnýjarlaug, after a giantess named Oddný who folklore says bathed there. The place is a good short stop on the way to or from the airport, about 25 minutes away.
According to local tradition, the pool was the bath of Oddný, a giantess in some versions of the story and a troll in others, who is said to have used it to bathe and wash her clothes at night. In Icelandic folklore trolls are only about after dark, because daylight turns them to stone, so Oddný had to be home before sunrise. The older name for the pool, Oddnýjarlaug (“Oddný’s pool”), comes from her.
A giantess would have needed a sturdy pool. The sea has been at work on the lava here for thousands of years, and Brimketill is one of the shapes it has left behind.
The Grindavík area has been affected by volcanic activity and road closures since late 2023. Check safetravel.is, road.is and Grindavík municipality information before you set out, and follow any closure signs.
Brimketill looks calm in photos taken on a still summer day. It is not a calm place.
The pool is carved out of lava from the eruptions of the Reykjanes Peninsula, and the shore around it is rough black rock with odd shapes, cracks and sharp edges. The same waves that shaped the pool still pound it. In a swell they come over the rim with great force, and anyone standing down by the pool would have no time to get back to safe ground.
In summer it can look tempting to climb down for a dip. Do not. Icelandic weather changes quickly, the rocks are slippery with spray and seaweed, and a single larger wave is enough to knock a person over or pull them out. The viewing platform gives you the best view anyway, and it is where the photos you have seen were taken from.
Brimketill is about 25 minutes from Keflavík airport, so it works well as a first or last stop of a trip, or on a short stopover in Iceland.
There is a viewing platform and a small car park. There are no toilets, café or shop at the pool, so use the facilities in Grindavík or at the Reykjanes attractions nearby. The platform is reached by a small set of steps, so it is not accessible for wheelchairs.
Most visitors stay in Reykjavík or near Keflavík airport and visit Reykjanes as a day trip. There are hotels and guesthouses around Keflavík and Reykjanesbær, and the Blue Lagoon area has a small choice too.
No. It is a natural rock pool filled with cold seawater by the waves.
No. It is dangerous. The waves are unpredictable, the currents are strong and the rocks are sharp and slippery.
About 62 km, around 50 minutes by car. From Keflavík airport it is about 25 minutes.
No, it is free to visit.
15–20 minutes is enough to see the pool and take photos from the platform.
Tours and trips that include Brimketill, booked directly with a local travel agency in Iceland.
