Six nights at a private lakefront home in southern Iceland, a small group of ten guests, and permission to do exactly as much, or as little, as you want.
You keep telling yourself you’ll slow down when things calm down. They won’t. There is no week at home where the world agrees to stop needing you.
So you stay half-on. You “rest” with your phone face-up. You take the long weekend and spend it catching up. And the tiredness that sleep doesn’t fix just… stays.
This is the one week a year where stopping isn’t a discipline you have to maintain — it’s built in. No signal to babysit, no inbox within reach, nothing to get back to for seven days. Just heat, cold water, cold air, and a small group of people all choosing the same brave thing: rest.
Steam lifts off the water. The lake is dark and still. Somewhere behind you a door clicks shut on everything you were carrying. For the next six nights, the most demanding thing on your schedule is deciding when to get back in.
This isn’t a hop-on-hop-off bus tour. It’s a private lakefront home on Lake Gíslholtsvatn, hot water and cold air the way locals actually bathe it, every meal handled, nothing for you to plan.

Not included: airfare, passport/visa, travel insurance, and the arrival-day transfer from Keflavík to Sky Lagoon. Booking & payments handled by Wandering Roots; 6-payment plan available.

On a secluded peninsula on Lake G\x{ed}slholtsvatn in southern Iceland: a private waterfront home that blends old-world Scandinavian charm with modern Nordic design. A library with a wood-burning stove, a south-facing dining room over the lake, a fireside living room, a full kitchen, and quiet bedrooms made for slow mornings â with a lakeside geothermal soaking pool steps from the door.
Double occupancy · 6 payments of $1,099
Single occupancy · 6 payments of $1,199
Single occupancy · 6 payments of $1,299
A-frame ensuite · 6 payments of $1,399
Reserve your room through Wandering Roots. A 6-payment plan is available across the year.
The trip is seven days. What you bring back is the point.
You’ll remember what rested feels like — not the after-a-nap kind, the deeper kind you forgot was available.
You stopped for a week and nothing fell apart. That permission travels home with you.
Heat, cold, pause. A way to find the reset again on an ordinary Tuesday — not a one-time splurge.
Nine other people who get it. Friendships that outlast the week.
Real guests from co-host Anna’s past retreats — same team, same care, including Chef Abbey. (Iceland is the team’s next chapter.)
I took something home with me that I didn’t have before and it’s still with me. Something good… still me plus more me.
— TT, Wandering Roots retreatThe food Abbey made blew me away… So much attention to detail and special moments… I left with my cup overflowing.
— HM, Wandering Roots retreatThis trip changed my life! Anna and her team created a retreat that nourished my body, soul, and spirit… and rediscovered my passion for life.
— JG, Wandering Roots retreatEvery meal is cooked from scratch by a private chef, in the house, for the ten of you. You come in from the cold, hair still damp, and there’s something warm and unhurried waiting. No reservations, no deciding, no check.
The water resets your body. The table resets the rest of you — the long, lamplit dinners where the week’s armor finally comes off and the real conversations start.

Founder of Howl at the Moon Sauna Co. Left corporate burnout in 2021 and built a business on bathing culture and rest. She hosts the water.

25+ hosted retreats around the world. She handles the travel so the week runs like water — and she’s been to Iceland before.

Every meal made from scratch, with allergies and dietary needs handled with ease — soulful, place-rooted food that deepens the whole week.
Between Alisa and Anna, this isn’t a first-timer’s guess — it’s a team that has done the trip and the bathing both.
All-inclusive once you land — lodging, every meal, bathing, transfers. Flexible payment plan available; airfare and insurance separate.
Real moments from the expedition â every photo here is from the trip itself.











A spa is a treatment you receive once. This is bathing culture you live inside for a week - a private lake, real heat-and-cold rounds and the modern Gusa ritual, hosted by a working sauna host, in a group small enough to feel like yours.
Less like a spa glow, more like remembering a setting you forgot you had - slower, clearer, less braced. We are careful not to make medical promises; this is about how you feel and who you come home as.
Perfect - most guests come solo, and it is the best way to make new friends. Every guest (and host) shows up a little nervous about being accepted exactly as they are. You will be in great company; we have perfected the art of making besties out of strangers.
There is Wi-Fi in the common areas and your room, so you are reachable if you truly need to be - but the whole point is that there is nothing to get back to for seven days. Our guilt-free rhythm makes it easy to actually let go.
We specialize in a guilt-free culture. Our choose-your-own-adventure approach asks nothing of you - opt out of anything that does not serve you in the moment. Do everything or do nothing; we are here for you either way.
Chef Abbey handles any allergy or dietary need - and the pickiest of eaters - with ease. She loves curating a from-scratch menu authentic to the area, and yes, she has you covered.
Yes. We offer a 6-payment plan split evenly across set dates: at registration, then April, June, August, September and October - designed to make the experience accessible while keeping things simple and transparent.
Included: 6 nights in the private lakefront home, all meals by Chef Abbey, all bathing experiences and rituals, all excursions and guides, airport transfers (KEF) and in-country transport, and expert help booking flights and insurance. Not included: airfare, passport/visa, travel insurance, and the arrival-day transfer from Keflavik to Sky Lagoon. From $6,600 per person.
A full suggested packing list is sent once you reserve - and you can preview ours now: the Iceland itinerary & packing list (PDF). (Permission granted to buy a new swimsuit, by the way.)
We are committed to making every guest feel comfortable and safe. There is a place on the registration form to share any injuries or concerns, or you can reach out to Alisa directly to build a plan for your needs.
Wellness looks different for everyone, so we never impose strict rules. You are always welcome to bring your own, and sometimes there are complimentary drinks. Whatever your preference, it is never an issue.
Yes, though it can be limited depending on your carrier and the location. Wi-Fi is available in the common areas and in each room.
Totally normal - this expedition is co-hosted by Howl at the Moon Sauna Co. and Wandering Roots. All bookings and payments are processed securely through Wandering Roots, and invoices come directly from them.
All payments are non-refundable and non-transferable, so we strongly encourage comprehensive travel insurance (including cancel-for-any-reason coverage); we will provide documentation to support a claim if needed. A few terms: you must be 18+, your passport must be valid at least six months beyond the trip, and a liability waiver is required before participation.
Yes, and yes - bathing is for every body and every week of the month. Sit a round out whenever you like; it is completely normal.
Not sure yet? Book a free, no-pressure consult with Alisa — or grab the full itinerary and sit with it.
Or get “The Iceland Bathing Expedition — full itinerary & what to pack”
Goes to a dedicated Iceland interest list — not the sauna-rental emails.