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Champagne and Ice, snorkelling in Iceland
CJ & Mike from Bimble in the Blue discover snorkelling in Iceland
Iceland is a land of adventure with glaciers and volcanoes. You can snorkel in crystal clear icy cold water in the morning and bathe in toasty warm geothermal pools in the afternoon. It is safe to say any trip here will tick off a few things on most people’s bucket lists!
When considering snorkelling in Iceland, most people immediately think of the famous Silfra, a natural freshwater fissure with incredible underwater visibility. Silfra is in Thingvellir National Park which straddles the boundary between North American and European continental plates and is located about 45 minutes drive from the capital city of Reykjavík.
Thingvellir is one of the stops on the Golden Circle Tour, along with Geysir and Gullfoss waterfall, which are all within an easy day trip of Reykjavík. Today we are focused on our snorkel trip with Dive.is. Mike and I will take any opportunity to jump in the water and 3°C temperatures are not going to put us off! Especially as we will be protected from the elements by drysuits and will also be rewarded with a steaming cup of hot chocolate after our exertions!
Visitors wishing to snorkel in Silfra must book through a tour operator and be accompanied by a guide for safety and under the rules on the national park. The guides are both knowledgable and are very efficient at getting all the customers into drysuits and ready to go. There is a dedicated car park for dive and snorkel tours, just a short walk to the site. Beside the entry platform is an information board with a handy map of the Silfra fissure where snorkellers are briefed on the upcoming experience.
Having donned our drysuits, neoprene mitts and hoods, masks, snorkels and fins, we’re ready to go!
The water in Silfra stays a constant temperature of 3°C making it accessible year round.
The icy water travels from distant glaciers, flowing underground through porous lava rock, and emerges through cracks in the bottom of the fissure. This creates a gentle current that pushes us along on our snorkel.
Having spent the first 30 seconds adapting to the initial shock of the cold on our faces we set off, traveling through the first section of the rocky fissure looking down into the most incredible deep blue water. We soon reach a narrow section where it is possible to touch both sides of the fissure, the North American and European plates! Next comes a fun slither over a shallow section and on into deeper waters again.
The striking topography of the sheer rock walls of “The Cathedral” with light streaming down through the crystal clear water is mesmerising. Popping my head above the surface for a moment, the rocks look like many others we have seen around Iceland, but as soon as my head is in the water, the scene is transformed to one of utter beauty again. I can see Mike’s grin reflecting my own and we take out our snorkels to take a sip of the pure spring water. Where else can you drink the water you are swimming in?
At the end of “The Cathedral” we make a turn, out of the current and swim round against a gentle current into the final section, “The Lagoon”. The lagoon is a shallow area, with brilliant azure water and a white silty bottom. If it wasn’t for my numb hands and lips, I would have thought we were in the tropics. We glide around exploring the lagoon before heading to the exit platform.
We emerge grinning from ear to ear, absolutely awestruck, though we soon discover the wind is doing nothing to warm us up and hurry back to the car park and our waiting hot chocolate and cookies!
On land Iceland has a huge amount on offer, but Mike and I are not to be distracted from our immersions in water and so joined another snorkel tour. This time to see a geothermal site. Kleifarvatn is a geothermal lake within an hour’s drive of Reykjavík, whose bubbly waters are reminiscent of swimming through champagne!
Though usually hot springs are far too hot to bathe in, Kleifarvatn offers a unique opportunity to snorkel above hot springs safely due to the body of cold water above. Sadly since the waters of Kleifarvatn are not warm, a drysuit is required, but thankfully it is summer and so it will still be significantly warmer than Silfra! The drive takes us from the capital out along the Reykjanes peninsula. Before kitting up we stop off at the nearby Seltún geothermal area, to see the activity on land, before seeing it in water.
We then take a track down onto the black sand beach surrounding the lake and park up in a spot seemingly no different than the rest of the shoreline. Our guide helps us into our suits and once again hands out the snorkelling gear. A short walk to the waters edge and we enter the 8°C water, then follow our intrepid leader out over the black sand beneath. The water here is nowhere near as clear as Silfra but still has decent visibility and we have no issues following our guide into the lake. The water remains quite shallow and except for the odd rock, there is nothing to suggest what is about to appear.
Suddenly I see Mike signalling something of interest ahead, I catch up and see the first crater emitting hundreds of tiny bubbles, creating a curtain of effervescence. The release of the gas causes the black sand to dance beneath us and stretching out a hand you can feel the warmth coming up from below. There is also a constant low rumble under the water, a reminder of the powerful forces at work deep below us.
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The Kleifarvatn snorkelling site is fairly compact, with several craters dotted around about 50meters from shore, but Mike and I spend a happy hour floating in and out of the bubble streams and taking photos with our friends in the aptly described “champagne waters”. Afterward we enjoy the obligatory and very welcome hot chocolate and biscuits, plus a nice hot cup of soup before heading back to the city.
I really cannot do justice to the experience of swimming through gin-clear glacial water between tectonic plates and seeing hues of blue I didn’t know existed or snorkelling in a champagne glass of bubbles, above geothermal craters driven by heat from magma just below the earth. These places are simply incredible and Iceland seems to be a land full of such awe inspiring sights. Pretty much wherever you choose to go here and however long you have to spend we are certain you will wish for more time and be planning a return trip even before you have left the airport!