Snorkelling Silfra Fissure, Iceland

Renowned as one of the top snorkelling and diving destinations in the world, Silfra Fissure attracts thousands of visitors each year. It's the only place on Earth where you can snorkel between two tectonic plates, the rift where the North American and Eurasian continents have split.

Located in the famous Þingvellir National Park, just an hour out of Reykjavik in southwest Iceland, the fissure itself hides somewhat subtly within the various waterways that interconnect through the landscape. It’s only when you immerse yourself within the crystal clear, frigid waters and look below the surface do you see the deep channel, flanked on either side by rockface belonging to each continent.

Photo By Arctic Adventures

Silfra is a fantastic way to experience some of Iceland’s unique and adventurous landscapes, whether you’re visiting for a long or short period of time. It was certainly a highlight for us during our time exploring Southeast Iceland, and something we definitely recommend.

Do I need any previous experience?

If you’re wanting to snorkel, no. If you’re wanting to dive, yes you do have to have prior experience. Your tour provider will specify this when you book with them, but you’ll need an open water diving certificate and either a dry-suit specialty certification or proof of ten logged dry suit dives to be able to participate.

It’s worth saying here that there are typically age restrictions with diving or snorkelling Silfra, 18 seems to be the average for divers, and 12 seems to be the average for snorkelling, although any minors need to, understandably, be accompanied by a guardian during the entire tour.

Accessibility

If you have any underlying medical conditions, you may not be able to experience Silfra. The tour company you book with will ask if you suffer from heart or lung disease, have experienced head injury, are prone to seizures or conditions resulting in sudden unconsciousness, etc. and will ask you to declare this in the waivers you’ll sign. If you do have any of the conditions they list, some operators will still allow you to participate as long as you have a doctor’s sign off before the tour. If you are pregnant, you won’t be able to dive or snorkel.

How to Get To Silfra

Silfra is located in UNESCO World Heritage Þingvellir National Park, about an hour west of Reykjavik. There are a few ways to get to the National Park, but the two most commonly used are either to self-drive or to book a tour which includes pick up-drop off.

Þingvellir is a magical place, and with it’s close proximity to the capital, it makes a perfect day trip. If you are self-driving, we definitely recommend spending more time within the National Park after your snorkel or dive.

1) Self Drive

The most flexible option, self driving is always a great way to be able to experience a location in your own time, with the ability to extend your stay and wander around the National Park, or go further beyond to explore more of the Golden Circle.

If you are self-driving, head to the ‘Silfra Carpark’, also known as Thingvellir P5, which is the closest car park to the area where the tours operate out of, and the parking ticket will cost you about 500isk.

2) Book a Tour

As you’re already needing to book a tour to experience Silfra, book a tour that offers pickup and drop off from Reykjavik if you’re not planning on renting a vehicle.

Know that the public transport system in Iceland is underdeveloped, with no rail systems and bus links which can be few and far between. So if you are hoping to visit more within your trip and aren’t planning on driving, definitely rely on the tours that operate out of Reykjavik, or look to carshare with fellow travellers.

 

What to Expect

Within Iceland’s conservation guidelines, you will have to book with a registered tour company to dive or snorkel within Silfra. Although Iceland is known for its geothermal activity (see our post on how to access the active Geldingadalir volcano here), the waters of Silfra are glacial, the average temperature ranging between 2-4°c, so the proper equipment (a dry suit, in particular) and licensing is needed to navigate the waters. As we mentioned above, you will need prior certification to dive, but if you’re just looking to snorkel, you’re able to as a beginner as long as you are guided.

It was our first time using a dry suit, and it was needed! The fissure, pictured, is deceivingly cold. Photo By Arctic Adventures.

If you’ve never used a dry suit before, we recommend looking into it before booking the tour to make sure you feel comfortable with it. They are essentially an insulating suit which is placed over your regular clothing and

We saw a few people with other tour groups who opted out of the experience after they put on their dry suit as they found it quite restrictive, it’s not recommended for people who experience claustrophobia.

The suit, which looks like a larger wetsuit with attached boots, acts as an insulator for your body that you put on overtop your base layer (regular thermal clothing), and under suit (a warm jumpsuit). Once the dry suit is put on, it will be secured around the neck and wrists with seal bands to make sure water doesn’t get in (this is what causes some people discomfort). The suit has an air pocket within the upper back that is zipped shut and acts as a flotation device to help keep you afloat.

Keep in mind that all of the tour companies operate out of their vans in the open, so bundle up if you’re coming on a chilly day and leave your valuables in your accomodation.

For snorkelling Silfra, they’ll give you fins, a neoprene hood to put over your head, neoprene gloves for your hands, a mask and snorkel. Although we’ve mentioned the cold, manage your expectations before you go in that although your body is protected and will stay dry, your face and hands (although your tour will recommend you to put them behind your back) will be exposed to the water, which is very cold!

Keep in mind that there are no locker rooms at the Silfra car park/ where the tours operate from, so although your tour company will offer that you can leave a bag in their vans or near their open-air setup, we recommend leaving your valuables, or anything you’d be gutted to lose, in your accommodation or locked vehicle.

Our Experience

We did our snorkel with Arctic Adventures, and had a really great experience with them. Finding them online, we chose them because of their small group size, availability, price, and, because we weren’t planning on taking a camera with us, they also offered to take a few photos throughout. The price of our tour also covered the 1500 isk National Park fee.

We decided to self- drive, and met at our meeting point with a change of clothes and suited up in thermals. It wasn’t unreasonably cold,
Self-driving, we were asked to meet at the meeting point adjacent to the Silfra car park (see directions and map above), and were asked to bring a change of clothes, wear thermal layers, warm hat and gloves. As we were doing the tour in Autumn, it wasn’t unreasonably cold out, but the tours do go on throughout the winter, and if you do choose a tour throughout the winter months, know that the entire tour, including getting ready in your suit, takes place outside, so bundle up!

Photo By Arctic Adventures

Arriving at the site, there were many other tour companies within the space. We looked out for the Arctic Adventures van and began to suit up. Most snorkelling tours run for about 3 hours in total, but a solid 2/3 of this is getting suited up and suited down, with about 30-45 minutes of this time spent snorkelling in the fissure. We thought this was actually the perfect amount of time. The tour operators work together to take their groups in one at a time, and as Silfra is a one-way system, this works quite efficiently. The entry point for the fissure is about 150m from the carpark, and the exit point about 400m.

We loved the experience, the fissure is crystal clear with undisturbed visibility. The nature of the experience taking in the incredible continental plates on either side, know that there is no wildlife or sea life within the fissure, with sparse vegetation.

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Snorkelling Silfra was one of the most unique things we’ve done to date, and still remains one of our favourite locations to snorkel in the world. It comes highly recommended if you get the opportunity to try it out!

Happy Travels,
Sam + Steve

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