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Silfra Snorkeling Tour - meet on location
#1 in the World - Best of the Best Tripadvisor Awards 2026
Silfra - between the continents
Snorkel the clearest water in the world
Immerse yourself in the clearest water in the world and float between two continents in Iceland! A snorkeling adventure in the famous Silfra fissure is an unforgettable experience. After all, there is a reason this snorkeling tour is repeatedly voted among the best in the world, most recently the number 1 "Once in a lifetime" experience in the world in 2026.
We can proudly state that DIVE.IS will offer you the best service level at Silfra. Let us tell you why:
- We built our own changing room so that our guests have the opportunity to dress up inside a heated changing van.
- After snorkeling in the cold water, we warm you up with hot cocoa and cookies.
- Our guides are all experienced PADI divemasters and instructors that have been through professional training before running any of our tours
We offer daily snorkeling tours of Silfra where the astonishing clarity of the water reveals a mesmerizing underwater world full of colors you don’t see above the surface. Silfra is a fissure created by the separation of the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates cutting through Iceland. The Silfra fissure fills with glacial water that has been filtered underground for decades through hardened, porous lava rock. The filtering process of the glacial water makes Silfra one of the clearest bodies of water on earth with up to 120 meters of visibility.
If you choose the tour option with pick up, we will pick you up in Reykjavík and drive with you to Thingvellir National Park. During the one-hour drive, your guide will provide you with background information about the unique geology and cultural history of Iceland and Silfra as well as the surrounding area of the UNESCO world heritage site. If you have your own transportation to Silfra, you can also meet us directly at the Silfra meeting point in the National Park.
Upon arrival at Silfra, your guide will give you your dry suit and snorkeling equipment. Your snorkel guide will explain how to use this equipment and how to ensure that you will be warm and comfortable during your 30 to 40 minute snorkeling tour of Silfra Hall, Silfra Cathedral, and Silfra Lagoon.
During your snorkel you will explore the four main parts of Silfra. You will float through Big Crack, Silfra’s narrowest section and where the continental plates are so close you can almost touch them. The fissure then widens into Silfra Hall. Here the full spectrum of Silfra’s colours and clarity become all the more apparent. At this point if you look at just the right angle you can see all the way to lake Thingvallavatn, over 150m away. Near to the opening to Thingvellir lake we will enter the Silfra Cathedral; as the depth reaches 23m you feel like you are flying over the boulders and glacial silt. Your snorkel is finished in the endless visibility of Silfra Lagoon.
Make sure to drink some of the Silfra water while you are snorkeling! Who knows when you will be able to drink water so pure again.
Our Souvenirs can be purchased in your booking process by selecting them under "Extras". If the Souvenir you are looking for is not listed below please contact us or leave a comment in your booking and we will bring it on tour with us.
Photos from your tour can be purchased directly from your guide at Silfra for 3000 ISK.
Silfra fissure is on the Golden circle, which is a very popular sightseeing route in Iceland.
Cool and Unique Experience!
We loved this cool, unique experience to explore the tectonic plates here in Iceland via snorkeling. There are a lot of companies that host this activity and I’m sure they are all good, but we had a blast with Dive.IS especially with our guide Quim. He and his co-host made us laugh the entire time and were an additional highlight on an already unique experience. The snorkeling is simple, but fun. It’s about a 20-30 minute snorkeling trip through frigid waters in an area that looks like a rock quarry. While the water was cold, the suits and gloves keep you warm outside of your lips that numb up. Water can get into the gloves, but was not unpleasant. The whole experience was a couple of hours: 30 minutes to get the appropriate gear, 30 minutes to walk across the parking lot to the launch point and for a safety session, 20-30 minutes to snorkel, and then 30 minutes to enjoy hot chocolate and return gear. We would recommend as a cool experience especially with Quim and Dive.IS!
Tour Details
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All year round, daily. Don't see a tour time that works for you, contact us at [email protected] and we will find the best time for you
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Approx. 2.5 hours at the site, 5.5 hours if with transportation from Reykjavík
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Maximum 6 snorkelers per snorkel guide
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We require a minimum of 2 passengers to run our transfer service. If the minimum is not met, we will contact you in advance and find an alternative solution with you.
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If you require pick up, there is a minimum of 3 passengers on our bus. We will refund you in full if the minimum is not met
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Want to be more private? Check out our Private snorkeling day tour
Included:
- Guided snorkeling trip
- All necessary snorkeling equipment
- Hot chocolate and cookies after the snorkeling trip
- Entrance fee into Silfra
- If you choose the option with Pick Up from Reykjavík, the price includes transportation between Reykjavík and Silfra in our comfortable vans
Please bring:
- Long underwear
- Thick socks
- Suitable clothes for the weather of the day
- Contact lenses if you wear glasses
If you would like to warm up after the snorkeling tour, consider booking our Hot and cold Snorkeling and Spa tour, the perfect Golden circle self-drive combo.
POPULAR TIMES AT SILFRA
If you are looking for a more private experience with pick up, we have just the tour for you!
For your safety, all participants must:
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have read, signed, and followed directions on our online Snorkeling Silfra Medical Statement PDF
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have our Snorkeling Medical form signed off by a doctor if they are age 60 or older PDF
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sign our liability release form at the start of the snorkeling tour PDF
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be at minimum 150cm / maximum 200cm
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be at minimum 45kg / maximum 120kg
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fit within our dry suit size chart PDF
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be at least 12 years of age on the year and at least 45 kg / 99 lbs
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be comfortable in water and be able to swim
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be physically fit
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be ready to wear a sometimes tight & constricting dry suit
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be able to communicate in English
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not be pregnant
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eat well before the tour
Timeline of your tour
- (If you have booked a tour with pick up you will first meet your driver at the selected pick-up location in Reykjavik)
- Arrival at the meeting point at Silfra 15 minutes before the tour start time, check-in with guides
- Division into groups of 6 people, one group per guide
- Briefing and gear-up with your guide (∼1 hour total)
- Once you are fully dressed, your guide will take a number from the park ranger and that will be your group’s number to enter the water
- Make your way to the entry platform, short wait (wait time may vary)
- 30-45 minutes spent in the water
- Exit through platform, walk back to the meeting point (∼250 meters)
- Take off equipment, enjoy hot chocolate and cookies to warm up
- At this point, you will have time to chat with your guide, ask any questions you might have and take a look at the pics taken during the tour
Your bookable extras
Experience the tour
Guides on this tour
You will snorkel here
Address
Join our pick up service from Reykjavik or meet us at our meeting point at Silfra!
Thingvellir National Park
801 Selfoss
Frequently asked questions about our Snorkeling Silfra Day Tour
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Are photos always taken on the Silfra Snorkeling Tours?
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In general, the answer is yes. However, it can happen on rare occasions that your Silfra snorkeling guide is not able to take photos because they might be busy assisting other snorkelers in the water. Another issue could be that the camera has a problem. In this unlikely case you will receive a full refund for the photos you purchased.
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Are there any Souvenirs available?
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Yes, we offer a variety of Souvenirs of Silfra, such as t-shirts, jumpers, hoodies, hats and postcards. Please take a look at our Souvenir page for more detailed information. If you want to collect your souvenirs at Silfra on the day of your tour, we recommend pre-paying for them, as the guides only bring a handful of items in random sizes.
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Are there toilets and changing facilities available at Silfra?
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There are two small toilets at Silfra. However we kindly ask you to not use them for changing, as it can cause long queues. We do have a changing room vehicle, and often several other cars at Silfra for participants to change clothes in. Due to this layout, we highly recommend that participants arrive at Silfra already wearing their thermal base layer.
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Can I buy food at Silfra?
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Unfortunately, there is no food sold directly at Silfra. There is however a restaurant at the Thingvellir Information Centre which is located just 3,5km away from Silfra.
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Can I free dive/duck dive while snorkeling in a dry suit?
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You are more than welcome to give it a try! Our dry suits, however, are very buoyant and will keep you afloat. Unfortunately, we don't provide weight belts for safety reasons. While some people can manage to free dive in these suits, it's not recommended for most. But if you want to attempt it, please keep in mind that moving around too much and at extreme angles increases the risk of water entering your dry suit through the neck seal.
For those of you who are passionate about freediving, we also offer exciting freedive tours in Silfra, through our trusted partners who specialize in this activity. These tours are conducted in a wetsuit, which allows for freediving.
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Can I use my full face snorkel mask?
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Although we understand that many people prefer to snorkel with a full-face mask (also known as a Easybreath mask or Ninja mask), it is regrettably not possible to use them here in Iceland as it is not possible to get them to seal around the hood that you need to wear. This would result in your mask constantly flooding with water, which would not be an enjoyable experience
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Can I use my own snorkel equipment?
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You are most welcome to bring your own snorkeling equipment, but please be aware of the following. If you are thinking of bringing your own fins, please make sure that they are open-heeled fins, as they will need to fit over a drysuit boot. Most people will wear a drysuit with similar-sized shoes to their normal shoe size, but sometimes that is not the case, and therefore your fins may not fit. If you have your own neoprene hood and gloves, you are welcome to bring them, but please remember that this is 3°C water - we highly suggest a minimum of 7mm hood and 7mm three-finger mittens as these are the warmest options, and what we will supply. You may find that 5mm five-fingered gloves are quite cold, and we do not advise wearing anything less than 5mm thickness.
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Do I need to be able to swim in order to take part in Snorkeling?
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Even though the dry suits are very buoyant and keep you afloat, it is a requirement that all participants must be able to swim and feel comfortable in water to join the tour. This is for your own safety and comfort. You do however not need to be a very strong swimmer, as long as you can maintain yourself at the surface and propel yourself through the crack.
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Do I need to pay for parking at Silfra?
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The Þingvellir National Park charges a parking fee, which allows you to park in any of the five car parks in the park for the duration of the day. Please note that the parking lot for divers and snorkelers at Silfra is called P5 and is about a 5-minute walk to the Silfra meeting point.
You can pay for parking on CheckIt before or during the day of the visit, and enter the license plate of your car into the system. Cameras check all license plates entering and leaving the parking lots. If you can’t pay online, you can pay at the Visitor center. Pay machines will also be installed at the parking lots in the near future. The pay machines accept all major credit/debit cards.
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How far is it to Silfra from Reykjavik?
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It is about 60 km from Reykjavik to Silfra and it takes a little less than one hour to drive the distance by car, given the weather conditions are good. If you choose to drive to Silfra yourself and don‘t know the way, we recommend you to study the map before you hit the road. Silfra is located in Þingvellir National Park, which is a bit different from other national parks. At a point, when you turn into road 36, you will feel like you are driving into the middle of nowhere. Please do not turn around, just keep going straight until you see our company cars which are parked at the Silfra Meeting Point, you then drive a little further to parking lot P5 to park. If at anytime you feel lost please do not hesitate to call our office for help.
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How long is the Snorkeling Silfra tour?
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The tour time is between 2.5 and 3 hours from start to finish at Silfra, not including pick-up and drop-off times. The speed of the tour depends on the participants in the group and the number of people at Silfra, so if you are planning a second activity afterwards, please consider a maximum time frame of three hours. Please note that this is the duration of the tour on-site at Silfra. If you have chosen to use our transport options, your tour time will be between five and six hours from pick up to drop off.
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I already paid the 1500.-isk entrace fee, how do I enter the park?
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The Silfra fee only applies to customers entering the water in Silfra. Entry to the National Park itself is free of charge and there are no gates, so the park is accessible at any time, day or night.
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Is there anything to see around Silfra?
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Silfra is located in Thingvellir National Park, one of the main sites of the Golden Circle. It is a stunningly beautiful area, as well as being one of Iceland's most important historical sites. There are many walking trails and interesting landmarks around the park and close to Silfra, and many of the areas have information signs telling you about the historical & geological aspects of the area around Silfra and Thingvellir. More details can be found on our dedicated blog post.
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What type of scuba diving certification(s) do I need in order to participate in one of your scuba dive tours?
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To join any of our scuba dive tours, you need to:
- Be at the level of PADI Open Water Diver or above. Equivalent dive certifications from other dive organizations are sufficient.
- Have a dry suit dive certification OR 10 logged dry suit dives within the last two years of the dive tour date and be able to provide written proof from a diving instructor of these dry suit dives.
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