Scuba Diving Tour in the Silfra Fissure

Top Attractions:

Thingvellir National Park

Silfra Fissure

Overview

Diving in Silfra Fissure has been repeatedly rated as one of the best diving tours in the world and you don’t want to miss it!

Silfra is located in Thingvellir National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site and an iconic landmark of the famous Golden Circle, making it a must-stop for every visitor in Iceland. The rift is filled with some of the clearest water in the world, allowing divers to enjoy exceptional underwater visibility. If you’re looking for the dive of your life, you’ve just found it!

Please check our Diving Handbook for more information about the tour.

Tour Snapshot

Duration

4 hours

Level

Demanding

Availability

All year

Starting point

Thingvellir National Park

End point

Thingvellir National Park

Languages

English

Minimum age

18 years

What to expect

On Tour

Experienced and certified dive guide
Top-quality dive equipment and a dry suit
Thingvellir Silfra entrance fee
Dive in the Silfra Fissure
Hot chocolate and cookies

Transportation

Meet on location
The meeting point is at the Silfra car park, in Thingvellir National Park.
Pick-up & drop-off in Reykjavik

Accommodation & Meals

Meals
Accommodation

Itinerary

The Silfra Fissure is one of Icelandic nature’s most phenomenal creations. It’s the only place in the world where you can dive and snorkel between two tectonic plates. Located between the North American and Eurasian continental plates, the crack slowly expands every year, as the plates shift farther away from each other.

One of the reasons Silfra is so popular among divers is its great underwater visibility. The rift is filled with crystal clear meltwater from Langjökull, the second-largest glacier in Europe. The water travels slowly through fields of porous lava rocks that filter the water. It’s crisp and fresh, and totally safe to drink! Diving in such pure water creates an exceptional diving experience.

Marine life in Silfra is quite sparse because of the low water temperatures (around 36°F or 2°C). However, the cold doesn’t bother the green algae that thrive on the rocks in the rift. Prepare for an out-of-this-world subaquatic chasm of sublime colors and mystical rock formations!

4 hours

Tour Itinerary

Once you arrive at Silfra, our experienced dive guides will give a thorough briefing. This will include details about diving procedures, signs and signals, national park rules, equipment, the route, and, most importantly, how to use the dry suit.

We’ll gear you up and walk you to the entrance of the dive site. You’ll have to walk a few hundred meters in your dry suit before getting to the water. You’ll first stand on a platform with water up to your waist so you can comfortably get used to the frigid water temperature. After each diver has done a weight check with the dive guide, it will be time to plunge into the rift!

You’ll dive through each of the four sections of Silfra. The first section is the Silfra Deep Crack, which is long and narrow as it winds to the left and right. As we dive further, the fissure widens into what we call the Silfra Hall. It leads to the fissure's deepest point called the Silfra Cathedral. The maximum depth allowed for a dive at Silfra is 18 meters, but the visibility is far deeper than that. After the Cathedral, we’ll turn left to enter the final part of the dive, Silfra Lagoon.

After stepping onto the exit platform, your guide will help you remove your fins and you’ll have a chance to get the blood flowing with the roughly 1300-feet (400-meter) walk back to the car park.

Once back in the car park, we’ll help you take the rest of your gear off and get you some hot chocolate and cookies. Warm your hands while telling us about your dive!

Important! For our diving tours in Silfra, you are required to have a dry suit certification or a log book with 10 logged dry suit dives in the last two years. However, if you don’t have any of these, you can join our 2-day drysuit specialty course that includes PADI Dry Suit Specialty course on day one and diving in Silfra on the second day. Otherwise, check out our snorkeling tour in Silfra, which doesn’t require any certification or experience!

Pick-up Information

We offer free pickups from Reykjavik on all dive tours.
If you plan to meet us on location, the meeting point is at the Silfra car park, in Thingvellir National Park. Please note that the National park charges a small parking fee for those that choose to meet on location.
You should arrive at Silfra car park at least 15 minutes prior to the tour start. For example, please arrive at 8:45 a.m. for the tour that begins at 9 a.m.

Practical Information

Requirements

Drysuit diving experience in the form of either Drysuit certification or a minimum of 10 logged drysuit dives. You need to have dived in a drysuit within the last 2 years. Your dive guide will ask you to see proof of your certification or logbook before the tour starts.

All divers have to supply their height/weight upon booking to ensure we bring you suitable equipment. For safety reasons, all divers need to understand instructions in English and be able to communicate with the dive guide in English. Please evaluate your physical health, if you have some medical issues please check health certificate and get physician approval if needed.

In order to participate in this tour, you have to have an Open Water diver certification or higher.

Please read our Diving Handbook for more information about the tour.

Age limit: Minimum 18 years old
Weight limit: 50-120 kg
Height limit: 155-200 cm

Note:

You can’t wear glasses underneath the diving mask. You will have to dive without glasses, so please wear contact lenses or bring your own mask with a prescription.
Avoid cotton underwear. If cotton gets wet, it will make you colder, so we recommend wearing wool or fleece.

Notable Information

You need to be physically fit to be able to walk about 1300 feet (400 m) with full dry suit equipment on.
Divers must supply their dry suit sized upon booking to ensure we provide the right equipment for you.
You must bring a dry suit certification or logbook with 10 logged dry suit dives in the last two years.

Meet your operator

At Adventures.com we love transparency, there are operators involved in your booking, we just stay with those we trust. This tour is operated by:

Arctic Adventures

Arctic Adventures is a top Icelandic tour operator known for its small-group experiences. Since 1983, they’ve specialized in guiding travelers through Iceland’s wild terrains, from glaciers to volcanoes. Their tours are all about adventure and sustainability, led by expert guides who make sure every trip is safe, fun, and memorable. Arctic Adventures combines deep local knowledge with a strong commitment to nature, making them a trusted choice for anyone looking to explore Iceland up close and responsibly.

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Packing List

Get ready for your trip, here are some items, you should not forget.

What to bring (Required)

Open Water and Dry Suit Specialty Certification or proof of ten logged dry suit dives
Warm socks
2-3 pairs, made of wool or synthetic materials
Thermal underwear

We're here to answer your questions

Yes, you need to have previous experience in dry suit diving. To dive in Silfra you need to have a special Dry Suit Certification or a logbook showing that you’ve completed at least 10 dry suit dives, one of them being in the last two years. Your guide will ask you to present your documents before the tour starts. Please note that without the required documents, you will not be allowed to dive.

If you aren’t dry suit certified but have an Open Water Diver Certification, we also offer a PADI Dry Suit Specialty Course.

If you’re certified with PADI but don’t have your certification card, please contact us well in advance and we’ll check if we can find you in the PADI online database. If you show up to the tour start without your certification card or without contacting us in advance — we will not allow you to participate in the diving tour.

You must be at least 18 years old to dive Silfra.
Drysuit diving experience in the form of either Dry Suit Certification or a minimum of 10 logged dry suit dives, one being within the last two years. Your dive guide will ask to see proof of your certification or logbook before the tour starts.
You should be reasonably fit and able to carry a full set of dry suit equipment for about 820 ft (250 m).
If you’re pregnant, you’re unable to participate due to the small risk of cold water entering the suit.
For safety reasons, all divers need to understand instructions in English and be able to communicate with the dive guide in English.
All divers have to supply their height/weight upon booking to ensure we bring suitable equipment.
The height limit is 5 ft, 1 in (155 cm) to 6 ft, 7 in (200 cm).
The weight limit is 110 lb (50 kg) to 265 lb (120 kg).
If you don't fall within these parameters, we won't be able to provide you with the right equipment.
All participants are required to read over our diving handbook prior to going on the tour.
The diving handbook includes important information on medical conditions that are not allowed in Silfra etc.

We provide you with an undersuit, a dry suit, and all the additional equipment required to dive in Silfra: including cold water regulators, a BCD (buoyancy control device), a weight harness, and tanks. You’ll also be given a mask, fins, a hood, and gloves.

We use high-quality neoprene dry suits from Waterproof and O´Three manufacturers.

Absolutely. Just make sure it’s waterproof if you want to take your camera underwater.

The maximum depth of dive is 59 ft (18 m). However, most of the dive is spent at a shallower depth due to the topography of the site.

Each Silfra dive is approximately 30 minutes.

Yes, complimentary pick-up and drop-off from Reykjavik is included on all of our diving tours.

You can dive in the Silfra Fissure year-round, though it’s a little bit colder in the winter due to the frigid outside temperatures

Still not convinced?

Customer Care

For Iceland, Scandinavia & Baltic tour

Open daily from 6:00 AM to 10:00 PM GMT

Address

Köllunarklettsvegur 2

104 Reykjavík

+354 562 7000

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