Can Non Swimmers Do Snorkeling at Silfra? What to Expect

• Top choice Reykjavík Silfra Snorkeling from US$137 Duration3-5.5 hours^[4]Group sizeLimited to 6 participants^[4]Rating4.71 from 2,142 reviews^[4]PickupCheck availability for pickup options^[4]GuideLive tour guide: English^[4] Check availability
• Silfra Diving Day Tour from US$283 Duration3-5 hours^[5]Group sizeLimited to 3 participants^[5]Rating4.60 from 74 reviews^[5]PickupCheck availability for pickup options^[5]GuideLive tour guide: English^[5] See this tour
• Silfra Snorkeling, Photos from US$215 Duration4.5 hours^[6]Group sizeLimited to 6 participants^[6]Rating4.83 from 628 reviews^[6]PickupCheck availability for details^[6]GuideLive tour guide: English^[6] See this tour

Can Non Swimmers Do Snorkeling at Silfra?

The short answer is that you do not need to be a strong swimmer to snorkel Silfra, but you do need to be a swimmer. The rule is that participants must be able to swim and be comfortable in water, and life jackets and swimming aids are not permitted at Silfra.^[1] Snorkeling here means floating face down along the surface of a flooded fissure rather than swimming laps or ducking under ledges, so the strength you need is modest. What matters far more is calm: someone who can put their face in cold water, breathe slowly through a snorkel and trust their gear will enjoy this far more than a fast swimmer who panics.

The phrase to test honestly is comfortable in water. If you have only ever swum in a warm pool, or you dislike deep water or getting your face wet, a float above a fissure can feel strange at first. Practising with a mask and snorkel in a pool before you fly is a cheap way to find out how you react, and swimming a few lengths without stopping will tell you whether your breathing settles. If you cannot swim, or you need a float to stay at the surface, this is not the trip for you, and life jackets and swimming aids are not permitted at Silfra.^[1]

You are never on your own in the water, because this is a guided activity, and the Reykjavík: Silfra Fissure Snorkeling between Two Continents tour keeps the group small, limited to 6 participants.^[4] A guide leads the line, points out what to look at and watches anyone who starts to struggle, which takes the pressure off a beginner.

Minimum Age and Height at Silfra

To snorkel at Silfra you must be at least 12 years old and at least 150 cm tall.^[1] Those checks decide a surprising number of bookings. A child who meets them and swims confidently can join, while a slightly older child below the height line cannot, even with a parent in the water alongside.^[1]

If you are travelling as a family, get the tape measure out before you book rather than at the meeting point. Children grow, but not on the morning of a tour, and a booking that falls apart in a car park costs everyone a day of an Iceland trip. A tall adult who cannot swim is in the same position as a short child, because the swimming rule is checked as carefully as the numbers.

Previous snorkeling experience is not part of the requirement; age, height and swimming ability are the checks that matter.^[1] That means a complete beginner who is comfortable in water can book with confidence. Check the rules for everyone in your group as soon as you start planning, not on the last evening before you drive out to the park.

Meltwater so clear that the far wall of the fissure stays in view.

Gear Fit and Body Size

Gear fit is the quiet detail that decides how much you enjoy a Silfra snorkel. A suit that is tight across the shoulders makes breathing through a snorkel hard work, and a suit that sits loose around the neck lets cold water in at the worst moment. Sizes are worth asking about when you book, especially if you are unusually tall or short, or if you sit between the sizes a standard range carries.

Body size and swimming ability are separate questions. A heavier swimmer who is comfortable in water meets the requirement as long as they are at least 12 years old and at least 150 cm tall.^[1] The requirement itself is about age, height and swimming ability, so read it as written rather than as a comment on fitness.

Two pieces of preparation help more than anything else. Tell the team about your size when you book, so a suit that fits is ready for you. If you are bringing your own mask, try it on at home, because a mask that leaks turns a beautiful float into a constant fidget.

Cold Water, Heart and Lung Conditions

The glacial meltwater in Silfra stays very cold and remains 2°C to 4°C all year round, and it never freezes because fresh water constantly fills the fissure.^[2] Before it arrives, that water is filtered through porous underground lava for 30-100 years before reaching the spring that feeds into Silfra.^[2] Winter and summer snorkelers float in exactly the same cold, clear water, so there is no warm season to wait for.

Cold water is the reason health questions deserve a proper answer rather than a quick tick. If you have a heart or circulatory condition, a respiratory condition or asthma, diabetes or another metabolic condition, or if you are pregnant or recovering from recent surgery, speak to your own doctor before you travel, not at the water's edge on the morning of the tour.

Be straightforward in any medical declaration you are asked to complete, and mention any medication you take. Guides deal with nerves all day long and would far rather hear about a condition in advance than discover it in a fissure. Comfort matters too: warm layers for before and after, a hat and dry socks in your bag, and something hot to drink afterwards.

Diving and Freediving Rules at Silfra

Diving at Silfra has a prerequisite that snorkeling does not. To dive Silfra you are required to have either a drysuit diver certification or drysuit dive experience.^[7] For snorkeling, the requirements are age, height and swimming ability.^[1] If you have never worn a drysuit in cold water, a guided snorkel is the simpler way to see the fissure from the surface.

Dive groups are kept tiny: the Silfra diving day tour is limited to 3 participants, and the Thingvellir fissure diving tour with optional pickup is limited to 3 participants as well.^[5][8] The diving day tour is listed from US$283, and the Thingvellir fissure diving tour from US$275.^[5][8] Freediving is guided too, with a Thingvellir freedive adventure with a guide listed from US$223.^[9]

Whatever you book, you float or swim in the same cold, clear water. The difference is only what you do in it and how deep you go.

What You See in the Water

Visibility is the reason people book this. In Silfra the water allows for underwater visibility of over 100 meters.^[2] The fissure reaches depths of up to 200 feet (60 meters) in its deepest sections, though most snorkeling takes place near the surface.^[3] You look down a corridor of rock that fades into blue and green light, and you never need to dive to see it.

The marine life is sparse and strange: mostly bright green 'troll hair' and different types of algae.^[2] With rock walls on either side and that much visibility below you, a float here feels more like flying over a landscape than swimming through one.

Snorkelers stay near the top of the water column, so the deepest sections are something you look into rather than explore. Photographs come out well in water this clear, and keeping your hands off the rock and the algae leaves the fissure as you found it.

Where Silfra Is and How to Plan

Thingvellir National Park is 47 km northeast of Reykjavík on Route 36.^[10] The park was added to UNESCO's World Heritage List in 2004.^[11] It receives approximately 1.5 million visitors each year.^[12] Silfra sits at the northern shore of Þingvallavatn, a lake covering 84 square kilometres with a greatest depth of 114 metres.^[10][13]

The geology is what makes the snorkel unusual. At Þingvellir the North American and Eurasian plates break apart and the land between subsides, while away from the plate boundaries the activity is fairly constant at about two centimetres a year.^[14] The crack you float through is the space between those plates.

The Reykjavík: Silfra Fissure Snorkeling between Two Continents tour is listed from US$137 and rated 4.71 from 2,142 reviews.^[4] It runs 3-5.5 hours, keeps the group limited to 6 participants and uses a live guide who speaks English.^[4] Pickup options are available to check when you book, you can reserve now and pay later, and free cancellation runs up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund.^[4]

Getting ready to snorkel

1. Check the rules first

   Age, height and swimming ability are the requirements that decide whether you can join.^[1]

2. Book your slot

   Check the duration and starting times, and note that free cancellation runs up to 24 hours in advance.^[4]

3. Sort your health questions

   If you have a heart, lung or metabolic condition, asthma, or you are pregnant, speak to your doctor before you travel.

4. Fit your gear

   Tell the team about anything that feels loose, cold or tight before you get in, and let them adjust it.

5. Float the fissure

   Keep your face down, breathe slowly and let the suit hold you at the surface above visibility of over 100 meters.^[2]

Good to know first