Studlagil Canyon and the Vök Baths in one day
A windy walk to the bottom of a canyon followed by a long soak in hot water makes a good day in East Iceland. Vök Baths float on a lake near Egilsstaðir, not far off the road between the canyon and the port, and one small-group tour joins the two with the admission included. Below we walk through that day, then compare it with a shorter version and with going on your own.
What Vök Baths are
Vök Baths are geothermal pools on Lake Urriðavatn, at Fellabær just across the river from Egilsstaðir. Some of the pools float in the lake itself, and others sit on the shore beside it, so you can soak with the water of the lake around you. The ticket listing allows about 1.5 hours for a visit. For anyone going to Stuðlagil (Studlagil, if your keyboard has no ð), the baths sit near the road back from Jökuldalur toward the port, which is why the two fit into one day.
Tanni Travel's canyon hike and baths
The tour that does both properly is Tanni Travel's Stuðlagil Canyon Hike and Vök Baths, from ~$407. It lasts 7 hours in a minibus with 15 people at most. Cruise guests meet at Tanni's port pickup in Seyðisfjörður 15 minutes before departure, and the minibus also stops for passengers at the Hús handanna craft shop in Egilsstaðir and at Vök Baths itself, handy if you are staying in that area. The route goes through Jökuldalur with a stop at Rjúkandi waterfall, then follows the east-side walk to the canyon. That walk adds up to about 3 miles (5 km) out and back, largely level gravel broken by two gentle climbs, and it ends on the canyon floor beside the river. The baths come last, with admission included.
Reviewers are warm about it, with a 5.0 average on GetYourGuide from more than 20 reviews. Guides such as Tinna and Stefan get named, and slower walkers say the pace suited them. One group did the whole day in wind and rain and still rated it highly. The catch is plain enough. It is the most expensive seat per person on this site and makes for a long day. The swimsuit and towel are yours to bring. The listing also rules it out for non-swimmers and for people with mobility impairments.
The walk to the river, then the hot pools
Once you have walked the east bank down to the river, Tanni Travel's minibus of 15 at most takes you on to Vök Baths with admission paid, from ~$407. The listing promises you back before boarding, and you can cancel free until 24 hours ahead.
Why the walk comes first
The order makes sense once you have done the walk. You arrive at the baths with muddy boots and cold hands, and the hot water does the rest. The other way round, you would leave the pools with damp hair and step out into the wind on an open gravel track. Ending at the baths also means the last stretch of the day is the drive over the pass to the port, not a hike against the clock. If the river is running gray from the late-summer overflow (see when the river runs turquoise), the soak is a fair consolation for a canyon without its blue.
The Express version, without the hike
Tanni Travel also sells a shorter pairing. The Stuðlagil Canyon Express and Vök Baths, from ~$324, runs about 6 hours. After Rjúkandi it visits the viewing platforms and trails on the west side, then ends at the baths. The catch is that it never goes down to the river. You see the columns from the stairs and platforms above, which suits tired knees but not anyone who came to stand by the water. It also has only a handful of reviews so far and takes no children under 5. Our guide to the east and west sides of the canyon lays out what you give up on the platforms.
Doing it yourself with a ticket
With a car, you can build the same day for less. The Vök Baths entry ticket, from ~$62, has a 4.7 average from more than 450 reviews on GetYourGuide. The catch is in the name. It buys entry and nothing else, so you need your own way to the canyon and on to the lake. Egilsstaðir is roughly an hour's drive from the canyon, and landowners charge for parking at both canyon car parks, so expect to pay on arrival. Our self-drive page describes road 923 and both car parks.
Tour guests can run the same sum. When we compared them, the step up from Tanni Travel's small-group hike at ~$328 to the hike-and-baths day at ~$407 came to only a little more than a baths ticket bought on its own. The extra mostly covers your admission, and the ride out to the lake comes with it. What a Studlagil Canyon tour costs sets out every option side by side.
Packing and pool manners
Tanni Travel's hike-and-baths listing leaves the swimsuit and towel out, so bring both, plus a plastic bag for the wet things on the way back. If you would rather not carry a towel all day, check with the baths whether towels can be rented before you count on it. As in every Icelandic pool, you shower without your swimsuit before getting in. Hiking shoes with grip for the gravel make the walk easier, and a warm hat helps after the soak; the packing list for a canyon day has the rest. The tour includes no food, so pack something for the walk.
Fitting it into a cruise day
Seven hours is a long shore day, but Tanni Travel says it brings you back before boarding. Compare the tour's end with your ship's all-aboard time before you book, and leave yourself a margin for the drive over the pass to Seyðisfjörður. Our cruise-port guide explains the pickup and the road. If your call is too short for both, a canyon-only tour with a waterfall stop or two is the simpler day, and the baths can wait for a visit with a car.