Snorkling at the Silfra Fissure at Thingvellir National Park was one of the highlights of our trip around Iceland’s Golden Circle (more about the Golden Circle here!). Fissures are long narrow cracks in stone that are the results of an earthquake and the Silfra Fissure is the only place on Earth where you can dive/snorkel between the American and Eurasian tectonic plates! Though there are multiple fissures in Iceland, another unique thing about Silfra is that it is filled with crystal clear water from an underwater spring.
We booked our snorkeling tour through Dive.is and were not disappointed! There is an option to get a ride to and from Reykjavik but as we were finishing our Ring Road trip we opted to meet the group at Thingvellir National Park. We met our snorkel guide, Eric, and he helped us learn about all the gear that Dive.is provided. The water in the Silfra Fissure varies between 2-4 degrees Celsius (33-39 degrees Fahrenheit) year-round so we definitely needed dry suits to stay warm! The point of the suits is to not let water inside so they can be fairly tight around the neck and wrists, it was a little hard to breathe in them before we got in the water. After suiting up, we grabbed fins and snorkel masks and headed over to the loading platform.
Before we got in the water we had to spit in our snorkel masks to keep them from fogging up. Saliva does the job and they don’t want to add any non-natural chemicals into the fissure. Getting in the water was a cold process. While your body is still warm (hopefully you don’t have leaks!), your face and hands can feel the chilling water. The gloves you wear allow water in, but are insulated so as long as you don’t move your hands through the water much they’ll stay fairly warm.
As we snorkeled through the water we were able to see the incredible underwater landscape of lava rock, sand and algae. While you won’t find any animals in the water, the visibility exceeds 100m making it some of the clearest water in the world! Luckily we brought our waterproof camera to capture some of the awesome views (note if you don’t have a wrist strap you cannot take your camera). But if you don’t have one your guide takes photos along the way that you can purchase afterwards.
After we got out of the water we got a couple of much needed cups of hot chocolate and cookies to warm up!
Snorkeling in the Silfra Fissure was awesome and it is a year round activity! According to our guide, there are a couple of differences between the seasons: In the winter, the visibility gets better whereas during the summer you can see rainbows in the water. We snorkeled in mid September and loved the high visibility!
It's a Schmahl World 
2 Comments Add yours