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Silfra Snorkeling Self-Drive
Snorkel the world's clearest water
The Silfra fissure
Snorkeling between two continents
Snorkeling in Silfra is an astoundingly beautiful experience. We offer daily snorkeling tours of the famous Silfra fissure and if you prefer to drive yourself, you can meet us directly at the site!
Located about an hour from Reykjavík in Thingvellir National Park, Silfra is a deep fissure created by the diverging movement of the tectonic plates. This fissure is constantly being filled with fresh glacial spring water that has been filtered underground through lava rock for 30-100 years. The filtered glacial water creates one of the clearest bodies of water on earth, providing underwater visibility of up to 120 meters.
On the snorkeling tour of Silfra, you’ll be dressed in a high-quality dry suit by our expert guides so that you can get into the near-freezing water without getting wet. You should be sure to wear long thermal underwear and a couple pairs of thick wool socks to help keep you warm. Your guide will lead you on an approximately 30 minute snorkel through the Silfra fissure. The bouyant dry suit will keep you afloat and a gentle current leads you through the canyon. All you need to do is keep your eyes open and let yourself be immersed in this amazing scenery.
During the snorkeling tour you will see the four main sections of Silfra. The first section is known as Big Crack, an impressively deep caynon that narrows at depth so that the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates are nearly touching. The next section, Silfra Hall, is significantly wider, which allows more light so that the full spectrum of Silfra’s colors reveals itself. The awe-inspiring Silfra Cathedral follows. Nature had its best architect at work in Silfra Cathedral, the deepest and, some would argue, most sublime part of Silfra.
As Silfra is located just off the main road in Thingvellir National Park, it is very accessible from Reykjavík as well as from towns on the south coast, such as Hveragerði and Selfoss. Thingvellir National Park is one of the highlights on the celebrated Golden Circle route. As the tour lasts in total about 2.5 hours, you have ample time to use the rest of the day for walking through Thingvellir Park and visiting the other sites on the Golden Circle, such as Geysir and Gullfoss, or to join a caving tour in Thingvellir.
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.
Amazing experience with DIVE.IS
"I did the snorkeling tour and my husband did the diving tour. The snorkeling group was small and we were the first in the water.
DIVE.IS is a professional and friendly company. From the booking to the logistics of running the tour, I have been very pleased! They are the only company that has a changing van - which is a HUGE plus when you’re changing in the cold. I should also add that the van is HEATED!!!! The hot Chocolate and cookies were delicious. I highly recommend booking with them. You will not be disappointed!"
Tour Details
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All year round, daily
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Approx. 2.5 - 3 hours at the site
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Maximum 6 snorkelers per snorkel guide
Please bring:
- Long underwear
- Thick socks
- Suitable clothes for the weather of the day
- Contact lenses if you wear glasses
Included:
- Guided snorkelling trip
- All necessary snorkelling equipment
- Hot choclate and cookies after the snorkelling trip
- Entrance fee into Silfra
Excluded:
- Pick up service costs an additional 5.000,- ISK. If you would like transportation, please book the Snorkeling Silfra Day Tour with pick up in Reykjavík
- Digital photo package of the Snorkeling Tour, available at additional cost of 2.990,- ISK
Meeting times at Silfra:
Please see the booking calendar for available meeting times at Silfra for the snorkeling tour.
Pick up service:
If you would like transportation between Reykjavík and Silfra in our comfortable vans, please book the Snorkeling Silfra Day Tour with pick up in Reykjavík.
Safety requirements
Participants must:-
have read, signed, and followed directions on the online Snorkeling Silfra Medical Statement (link provided in confirmation email) 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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be at least 12 years of age on the year
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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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able to communicate in English
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not be pregnant
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 in rare occasions that your Silfra snorkeling guide is not able to take photos because he/she might be busy assisting other snorkelers in the water. Another uncommon reason could be that the camera has a problem. In this unlikely case you will be refunded for the tour photos should you already have purchased them online in advance.
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Are there any Souvenirs available?
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Yes, we offer a variety of Souvenirs of Silfra and DIVE.IS including photo packages, t-shirts, jumpers, hoddies, hats , logbooks, postcards and stickers. Please have a look at our Souvenir page for more detailed information. If you want to buy souvenirs at Silfra, just ask the guide for information.
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Are there toilet and changing facilities available at Silfra?
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Yes, there are toilet facilities at Silfra. However we kindly ask you to not use them for changing, as there are only 2 toilets at Silfra and it can cause long queues to form. 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 can try :) However our dry suits are very buoyant and won't let you sink. Due to safety reasons we unfortunately do not provide weight belts. Few people are able to free dive in these suits, most are not. You are more than welcome to try, but please be aware that moving around that much and at extreme angles will raise the risk of water entering your dry suit through the neck seal.
For those of you who are enthusiastic freedivers, we also offer freedive tours of Silfra through our trusted partners who are specialists in freediving. These tours are conducted in a wetsuit, which makes freediving possible.
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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 snorkel 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, merely able to swim and be comfortable in the water.
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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 (750,- ISK for a passenger car ), 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 online at www.myparking.is before or during the day of 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 centre. Pay machines will also be installed at the parking lots in 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 and 2.5hrs from start to finish at Silfra, not including pick up and drop of times. The speed of the tour is dependent on the participants in the group and the number of people at Silfra, so if you are planning a second activity afterwards, please work on 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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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 around the park and close by Silfra, and many of the areas have information signs telling you about the historical & geological aspects of the area around Silfra and Thingvellir.
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What type of dive 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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