Silfra & Diving
Is Silfra Cold? What to Expect from the Water Temperature
Short answer: yes, Silfra is cold. It's glacial meltwater filtered through porous lava for decades before it ever reaches the fissure, and it sits at a fairly constant temperature year-round — this isn't a lake that warms up in summer.
Why it's not actually a problem
A properly fitted wetsuit does the job it's designed to do. Everyone on a Silfra Freedive or Snorkel tour wears a full wetsuit with hood, gloves, and boots — the only skin exposed to the water directly is a small area around your mouth, and even that only registers as a brief, sharp sensation for the first minute or two before it fades into the background. Guests consistently describe it as far more manageable than they expected going in.
Why the water is so clear in the first place
The same glacial filtering that makes the water cold is also what makes it so clear — Silfra is regularly rated among the clearest water on earth, with visibility that regularly exceeds 100 metres. The cold and the clarity are the same phenomenon, which is part of why nowhere else quite looks like it.
What to do about it
Layer up underneath your wetsuit — bring warm base layers if you have them, though a swimsuit alone is genuinely fine for most people. Own wetsuits are welcome if at least 5mm thick; otherwise our gear is fitted to you on site. Afterward, everyone warms back up quickly once out of the water and changed.