Not many people would opt for a snorkel in 2°C water in the middle of winter. But we love adventure and not a fan of crowds, so we decided to give it a go!
In Iceland, you can snorkel between two continents known as the Silfra and it is one of the top dive sites in the world. Silfra is a fissure created by the separation of the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates cutting through Iceland. The Silfra fissure fills with glacial water that has been filtered underground for decades through hardened, porous lava rock. The filtering process of the glacial water makes Silfra one of the clearest bodies of water on earth with up to 120 meters of visibility.
Snorkelling between two continents wearing thermals and a dry suit (so our bodies and feet didn’t actually get wet, only our face and hands) was such a crazy, unique, and quite extreme adventure!
I hope these photos inspire a snorkeling adventure in the middle of an Icelandic winter!
Admiring the colours of the clearest water in the world!
Floating between two continents
We kept popping our heads up, because we didn’t know which was more beautiful – above or below the water!
Dawn lighting, even though it’s 11am!
Colours of the Silfra Fissure
Another new, unique adventure ticked off the bucket list
We went snorkelling with dive.is who offer day trips for snorkelers and divers with pick up from Reykjavík or can meet you on site if you prefer to drive. The location is along the Golden Circle so it is definitely an efficient way to do both. As we’re both from sunny Australia with no experience of driving on icy roads, we avoided self driving.
The guides took great care of us and ensure a boutique experience with only 6 snorkelers per guide. There were only 5 of us. You don’t even need snorkelling experience (but I wouldn’t recommend this be your first snorkel, as the cold water is quite confronting!) One woman in our group had not been snorkelling before. Our guide spent a quick amount of time teaching her the basics before she completed the snorkel with the rest of us.
The snorkel takes about 30 minutes to float through. The complimentary cookies and hot chocolate is a warming treat post the mission of taking the gear off. The guides are ready with hot water bottles to pour over the zips to prevent them from freezing! They also have a changing van (which I believe are the only company who do) allowing you to keep out of the wind or extra privacy.
This tour is run all year around so I recommend it be part of your Icelandic adventure!
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