Wash first, without a swimsuit

In public pools you shower naked and thoroughly before entering, using soap, in the changing-room showers. This is not negotiable and it is why Icelandic pools use so little chlorine. Attendants will say so if you skip it.

At natural sites there is no shower, which is exactly why you do not use soap, do not enter with sunscreen you have just applied, and do not bathe if you are unwell.

Private land is the default

Most of Iceland's farmland and much of its geothermal ground is privately owned. The right to walk across uncultivated land does not extend to driving onto it, camping on it, or entering built structures such as a maintained hot pot.

Where a site has an honesty box, a sign or a fee, that is the owner setting the terms of access. Pay it. Where there is a closed sign, the site is closed, whatever an older blog post says.

• Never drive off marked roads or tracks. It is illegal and the scarring lasts decades.
• Park only in the marked area, even if it means walking further.
• Leave gates as you found them.
• Take out everything, including biodegradable waste.

Numbers, noise and photographs

A small pool holds a handful of people. If it is full, wait or move on rather than crowding in. Keep voices low, keep drones grounded unless you have permission, and do not photograph strangers bathing.

Several well-known springs have restricted or ended access after a period of viral attention. That is the mechanism by which good sites disappear, and it is why our public pages carry regional information rather than pin-drop coordinates.