Silfra

The first thing you notice isn't the cold. It's the silence, and then the fact that you can see all the way to the end of the fissure, a hundred metres off, as if the water weren't there. Then the cold arrives in your lips and fingertips. And you forget about it again because you're floating in a crack in the Earth.

Silfra is a water-filled fissure in Þingvellir National Park in Iceland, a gap that opened as the North American and Eurasian plates drift apart. It's fed by meltwater from the Langjökull glacier that seeps through porous lava for decades before bubbling up here, filtered so thoroughly that visibility underwater can exceed 100 metres. The water stays around 2 to 4°C all year. It's one of the few places in the world where you can snorkel or dive between two tectonic plates, which is exactly what everyone says, and it happens to be true.

Tours that visit Silfra

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Into the Blue - Silfra Snorkeling

3 hours · From Thingvellir

4.7(743)

From 17.990 ISK

Into the Blue - Silfra Snorkeling from Reykjavík

5 hours and 30 minutes · From Reykjavík

4.7(497)

From 26.990 ISK

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Self drive: Drysuit Snorkeling in Silfra - with underwater photos

2 hours and 30 minutes · From Reykjavík

4.9(3,275)

From 22.990 ISK

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Drysuit Snorkeling in Silfra - with underwater photos / From Reykjavik

4 hours and 30 minutes · From Reykjavík

4.9(3,280)

From 30.990 ISK

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Self drive: Wetsuit Snorkeling in Silfra - with underwater photos

2 hours and 30 minutes · From Iceland

4.9(3,278)

From 22.990 ISK

Black & Blue - Lava Tunnel + Silfra Snorkeling from Reykjavík

10 hours · From Reykjavík

4.7(183)

From 34.990 ISK

What is Silfra snorkelling actually like?

You wear a drysuit over thermal layers, plus a hood and gloves. Only your face and, depending on the gloves, your hands really get wet. You float face down along the surface, and the drysuit keeps you buoyant, so you barely need to kick. The route runs through four sections: the Big Crack, the narrow start; Silfra Hall; Silfra Cathedral, the deepest and longest view; and Silfra Lagoon, a wide shallow basin where you exit.

Time in the water is roughly 30 to 40 minutes. The whole thing, with briefing, suiting up and walking to the entry point, takes about two and a half to three hours on site.

Colour down there is mostly blue, grey and bright green algae. There isn't much in the way of fish. You come for the clarity and the walls, not for marine life.

Silfra requirements: age, fitness and diving

Silfra is protected, and you can only go in with a licensed operator or a park permit. For snorkelling you need to be able to swim and be comfortable in water, and the usual minimum age is 12, with under-18s accompanied by a parent or guardian. Operators ask you to fill in a medical form, and certain conditions may rule you out, so read it before you book.

Diving is stricter: you need a dive certification plus drysuit certification or proof of recent drysuit experience, and depth is limited to 18 metres. If you're not a drysuit diver, snorkelling gives you nearly the same view.

Pro tip: the drysuit seals at the neck and wrists are tight on purpose, and the neck seal is what makes people panic. It feels like being choked for the first minute. Breathe slowly, don't tug at it, and it settles. And go to the toilet before you get zipped in. Seriously.

Best time to snorkel Silfra

The water is the same temperature all year, so the season really changes what happens when you get out. Summer is milder, with long daylight. Winter is quieter, often snowy, and bright light on a clear day makes the water glow. Getting changed in a winter wind is the hard part, and warm clothes waiting in the van help.

How to get to Silfra from Reykjavík

Silfra is about 45 minutes from Reykjavík. You can meet the operator at the Silfra car park in Þingvellir, where parking costs 1,000 ISK a day, or book a tour with pickup from Reykjavík. Many people combine snorkelling with the rest of the Golden Circle, or with a lava tunnel. Tours that include Silfra are below, including self-drive meet-on-site options and trips with underwater photos.