Snorkeling the Silfra Fissure is often considered one of the top tourist attractions in the WORLD! Why? Because it is the only place in the world where you can snorkel between two tectonic plates. Also, it is the clearest water you will ever swim in, with visibility over 100 meters. So when you go snorkeling at the Silfra Fissure, you get the amazing experience of swimming on two continents at once while seeing everything.
The Silfra Fissure is between the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates. So when you’re swimming here, you’re swimming in two places at once. It is the only place in the world where you can do this. The clear water comes from runoff from the Langjökull glacier. The water, which is just above freezing, filters through the porous underground rocks before surfacing. This, along with the fact that lots of algae and microbes that normally make water cloudy can’t grow in the cold water, gives you the high visibility you’ll experience while snorkeling the Silfra Fissure.
Our Reasons for Visiting the Silfra Fissure
We originally planned a 12 day trip to Iceland – then our flights got changed and we wound up spending 14 days in Iceland. Which is not the worst problem to have in the whole world, but with our preference for intensively planned vacations we needed to find something to do. After scouring the internet for top Icelandic experiences to see if we left anything out, we asked our Twitter friends what their favorite Iceland experiences were and we came to the glaring conclusion that snorkeling the Silfra Fissure was a must-do when visiting Iceland according to lots of travel buddies on the generally reliable corners of the internet.
We originally had decided not to go snorkeling in the Silfra Fissure for a few reasons. First, we wanted to go diving in the Silfra Fissure but we aren’t dry suit certified. Second, we don’t like cold water so we didn’t really want to spend the time and money to get dry suit certified and if we weren’t going to dive, we didn’t want the second best option of snorkeling. Third, this is something that you have to do with a tour, and the tours are expensive and take up several hours. However, with an extra days to fill with things to do, all the sudden these excuses didn’t seem to matter, so we booked a tour.
Now keep reading to learn everything you need to know about planning a trip to snorkel the Silfra Fissure, including transportation, budgets, packing lists and what to expect.
When to Visit the Silfra Fissure
The water temperature at the Silfra Fissure is 2-3 degrees Celsius, which means it is just above freezing. However, it maintains this temperature year round so the water never freezes over. This means you can do this tour year round.
However, you will get wet, you will be cold, and you will have to change in a parking lot. So while you can do this year round, we think it would be wildly uncomfortable in the winter. I don’t know about you but I get cranky when I’m cold. We did this in July and still got cold.
Getting There and Around
You can opt to meet your tour at the Silfra Fissure or take a transfer. If you choose to take a transfer with the tour company, they generally will pick you up from your accommodations in Reykjavík. You’ll want to book this transfer when you book your tour.
Alternatively, you can choose to meet your tour on location. This is what we chose to do as we also wanted to explore other things in Þingvellir National Park. If you are driving there, you’ll want to take Route 36 out of Reykjavík. Once you get into Þingvellir National Park, you’ll see signs directing you to different parking areas. You’ll want to park in lot P5. The drive takes just under an hour so make sure to give yourself enough time to meet your tour group on time.
There is a special parking area for the tour companies that is across the road from area where you enter the Silfra Fissure and across a bridge from parking lot P5.You cannot park your car in the tour company parking area!
What to Pack for Snorkeling the Silfra Fissure
While the dry suit you wear while snorkeling the Silfra Fissure is meant to keep you warm, and therefore dry, you will get wet. Your hands, face and hair will all get wet. Also, you may have leaks in your dry suit that cause more of you to get wet. Therefore, it’s important to pack the right clothes for this tour.
You want a full cold weather base layer. This means socks, long underwear (I love these), and a long sleeve shirt. Try to wear wool if possible or other quick drying fabric. Cotton is probably not the best option in case it does get wet. Also, I snorkeled in a fleece layer and Scott did not. I think I kept warmer than Scott. Whatever, you choose to wear, bring extra dry clothes to change into after your tour.
Make sure to pack hair ties if you have long hair. A low braid works best for the type of hood you’ll be wearing and will decrease the chances of your hair causing a leak in your suit.
Now for cameras, I have mixed feelings about packing them for this trip. You can pack your waterproof camera but the battery will likely die before the end of the trip because of the extreme cold. Also, you have to put your hand in the water to use it which will make you extremely cold. So if you choose to pack your camera, be warned. We’d recommend choosing a tour company that provides pictures and then leaving the camera behind.
Also, food in this area is limited. So make sure to pack yourselves snacks or lunch if your are going to need that before or directly after the tour.
What to Expect When Snorkeling the Silfra Fissure
As mentioned, we met our tour at Þingvellir National Park. After meeting our tour guide, they looked us over to fist us for our special cold water gear before getting us in the water for our tour.
The Gear
First, we got a thermal layer that looks a lot like a long underwear onesie.
Then, we got a dry suit. For you divers out there, you may know that this is a suit meant for diving in cold water. It essentially holds air in the suit to provide you with warm air around you and keep you bouyant. This suit will cause you to float during your entire snorkeling session, so you won’t be able to free dive even if you wanted to. Also, once you are in the dry suit, you CANNOT go pee. So make sure to take a trip to the bathrooms in the parking lot before putting it on. A drysuit is meant to keep you dry so if you pee everyone will know when you take your drysuit off.
Next, we got gloves and a hoods. All of these things will get wet and cold, but the goal is to keep the warm water next to your skin in a thick layer of neoprene. Lastly, you get flippers and a snorkel mask.
A side note about the outfits. Dry suits will be incredibly tight around the wrists, ankles and neck. This is to keep out the water. This also may be very uncomfortable for people and I would not recommend this to people with claustrophobia. It gets more comfortable once you’re in the water – or you just don’t notice it because you’re so cold. Also, the gloves are like lobster claws so your ability to take photos will be severely limited.
The Swim
Once we were fully suited up, we waddled our way across the road and wait in line to get in the water. This line can get long as all tour companies seem to arrive around the same time. So try to book earlier tours so that you can get in the water right away.
Once we were in the water, we did a few skills with our tour guide, including rolling about like a seal. You will be so cold. This will not get better, but you’ll eventually go numb. Once you go numb, just keep yourself in the water. Every time we lifted outed our faces and then put them back in the water it was shocking. You’ll also want to keep your hands behind your back as you float down the river. If you keep your hands behind your back, they’ll stay warmer as they’ll mostly be out of the water.
We floated most of the way as there is a small current that keeps you moving. This is one of the few snorkeling experiences where you need minimal swimming skills. There is one section where you need to kick with your flippers to get out of the current and into the exit point. You’ll want to use small frog kicks anytime you need to move about, rather than dipping your hands in the water for arm strokes. But for most of the time, we could just float and enjoy the views. The entire swim lasts about 45 minutes.
Once we exited the water, we made our way back to the tour parking area and disrobed. We then had hot coco and cookies with our tour before changing into dry clothes and leaving. The whole tour takes about 2 hours because getting the drysuit on and off is such a chore.
The Scenery
First, it is so cold here, few things can live in the water. So don’t expect to see beautiful fishies like you do on warm water snorkeling adventures. You’ll mainly see tiny fish, plants and rocks. That being said, it is not without interesting things to look at. The water is so clear here you’ll see beautiful colors of the rocks and plants.
There are two areas of the tour. First the actual fissure will be a narrow area between two rock walls. The depth here varies but the views here are amazing. Your guide will set the pace for you here as you’ll need to keep moving so other tours behind you can enter the water. The second section is the lagoon, this is a small pond area where a lot of algae and plants grow. This is an area that you can explore freely.
One of the cool things about snorkeling the Silfra Fissure (besides the temperature) was that the water here is so pure you can take a drink. Don’t forget to do this as it’s something you can’t do at many snorkel sites.
What to Budget for Snorkeling the Silfra Fissure
You will have to pay for parking at Þingvellir National Park. You can pay with an app or with the kiosks in the parking lot. Parking is 500 ISK and it gets you entrance into the park for the entire day.
You’ll also have to pay for a tour. It is not possible to go snorkeling the Silfra Fissure without a certified tour company. Prices for tours range from $100-175 USD. We’d recommend booking these in advance as they often sell out in the busy summer months. To get more bang for your buck, make sure to pick a tour company that includes photos with your tour. We choose Arctic Adventures for this, and other tours, and we were happy with our guide.
Was Snorkeling the Silfra Fissure Worth It?
Well that depends (doesn’t it always). For us, we’re glad we experienced it once but won’t be doing it again.
How cranky do you get when you are cold? There was one couple in our group that definitely wasn’t having a good time because they were wet and cold. So if paying a few hundred bucks to be wet and cold isn’t your idea of fun, this activity is not for you.
If you love exploring underwater worlds, you’ll enjoy this. It is different from anything we’ve experienced as divers or snorkelers. The water clarity was something that really impressed us.
However, at the end of our 45 minute swim, we were glad it was over. There weren’t many different things to see while snorkeling so we definitely didn’t want to stay in the water any longer. Also, at the end, we were once again getting to the point of being so cold we couldn’t go on if we wanted to.
So did we think it was worth it? Yes, but not for the reason you may think. We had previously talked about getting our drysuit diving certification so we could do some amazing shipwreck dives in cold water. This tour cost less than a drysuit course would cost in our area. So it was kind of a test run for us. And we decided we do not like being cold and will NOT be taking the drysuit course. So for us, it helped us save money and had better scenery than a drysuit course would have.
However, if you asked me to look at the cost and time vs. the experience, I’d probably say it wasn’t worth it. It was cool to say we did it but it wasn’t nearly as cool as other things we experienced in Iceland (though it was the coldest) and it took a lot of time. So we’d recommend this for people with extra time in Iceland but we wouldn’t put this on the top of our list of things to do in Iceland.
Have Extra Time in Þingvellir National Park?
If you have extra time, either before or after your tour, make sure to spend some time in Þingvellir National Park. If you don’t have extra time, you should make some because there is so much more to this park than snorkeling the Silfra Fissure.
Top sites to explore are the tectonic plates (from land), the visitors center with exhibits, Þingvellir Church, the site of the first parliament in the world, and the must-visit Oxarafoss waterfall.
In the two hours before our tour, we explored all of these areas. We came extra early in the day and had the park completely to ourselves for a while before other visitors started arriving.
We hope this has helped you to decide if you want to take a tour snorkeling Silfra Fissure of Iceland. It’s our honest opinion and we hope that you decide whether or not this trip will be worth it for you based on our descriptions along with your own travel preferences. Don’t agree with our assessment? Leave your reasons for loving the Silfra Fissure in the comments below.
Thank you so much for the detail you included in this post. I love snorkelling and my adult kids who will be travelling with me do as well. I thought this would be a great experience for them to see the tectonic plates underwater because they love things like that so your detailed feedback about the experience is going to be very helpful to us.
Thank you so much for your kind words! I’m so glad to hear this is helpful for you. It’s why we write this blog 🙂
Thank you so much for the article, the details, and your honest opinion. I was debating and have so many agendas in Iceland to see if it was worth it. This really helps with my decisions
Thanks for your feedback 🙂 I know how hard it is to narrow down an Iceland itinerary into something actually realistic and meaningful so I’m glad this has helped you with your agenda. This was one of those stops that we were very on the fence with so I’m glad it’s helped you make a decision.