Luxury Diving in Iceland

While both of these once-in-a-lifetime activities are a part of most Iceland itineraries, you may not be as familiar with luxury diving in Iceland. Iceland is home to one of the world's most unique dive sites, the Silfra Fissure, where divers have the chance to swim between two continental plates that are still shifting to this day.

This amazing dive site was formed in 1789 when tectonic activity (from the North American and the Eurasian tectonic plates) caused an earthquake that left a rift across the surface of Iceland. Along the fissure, there are three main dive sites, the most famous of which is Silfra Cathedral, a 100-metre-long fissure that extends as deep as 20 metres.

The Silfra Fissure is in Thingvellir National Park, a UNESCO Heritage Site less than an hour from Reykjavik. So, when luxury diving in Iceland, you could spend the morning or afternoon experiencing the fissure's crystal clear glacier water (with visibility that can exceed 100 metres), before returning to your luxurious accommodation in Iceland's capital and enjoying a gourmet dinner.

Although the Silfra Fissure is the main draw of luxury diving in Iceland, if you're looking for an action-packed diving holiday, there are plenty of other wonderful (albeit cold) dive sites to choose from. You could find yourself exploring Garður (which means 'garden' in Icelandic) on the west coast, home to over 42 species of marine algae, as well as an array of cold-water species (monkfish, wolf fish, scorpion fish and more). Or, if fissure diving has you hooked, you'll find another eerie rift in Bjarnagjá, which, unlike the Silfra Fissure, is influenced by the salinity of the coast nearby.

Both of these sites are near the Blue Lagoon, so you could easily spend the day diving, before enjoying a restorative soak in the lagoon's warm waters.

Home to the iconic Silfra Fissure and many other interesting dive sites, a luxury diving holiday in Iceland can be an adventurous mix of diving, relaxing and exploring the country's beautiful landscapes. If you're interested in taking the icy plunge and visiting Iceland on your next luxury diving holiday, our team can help you create the perfect itinerary, both in and out of the water.