Book your required dive time, and meet your dive instructor at Silfra parking lot (parking fee at own expense) in Thingvellir National Park. Listen to a thorough briefing about park regulations, diving procedures and signals; and get acquainted with your diving gear, drysuit, and dive route. Diving in Silfra is challenging, and you will need to carry heavy equipment for about 1,312 feet (400 meters) at depths limited to 59 feet (18 meters). During the summer months, you will have the option of making two 30-minute dives; while in winter, if water temperatures are below freezing, you will perform a single dive of approximately 45 minutes. Don your equipment and head to the Silfra entrance, descending a ladder to a submerged metal platform. Stand in the waist-deep water to acclimatize, and perform the required weight and safety checks. If you wish, taste the clean and clear water — it’s perfectly safe to drink. Next, descend into the water and follow your guide through the spectacular underwater world. Marvel at the electric blue shades and clarity of the water — visibility can extend beyond 328 feet (100 meters) — and swim through the Silfra Deep Crack, where the two continental plates lie a short distance apart. Glide through the narrow gap and as it widens, enter Silfra Hall, a space that leads into Silfra Cathedral — the deepest point at 72-feet (22 meters). Take in the pristine beauty of this cavernous chamber with its plunging lava walls, and continue into Silfra Lagoon: a brilliant-blue lake of seemingly endless visibility. Ascend to the surface here and remove your fins and other heavy equipment to walk back to the parking lot. Then, change into your everyday clothes and recharge with warming hot chocolate and cookies. Your 4-hour diving experience then concludes here.
