Dive Review of DIVE.IS in
General Travel/Other Locations/Silfra, Iceland

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DIVE.IS: "Unworldly scenery, 300-foot viz, and delicious water", Jun, 2016, by Harvey S. Cohen, NJ, US ( Sr. Contributor 25 reports with 18 Helpful votes). Report 8963.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving	N/A
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	I booked on the Dive.Is Web site well in advance. They're very popular during the summer months, so I'd advise you do the same. Everything went perfectly smoothly. They picked me up on schedule at my B&B for the scenic hour ride to the dive site. I was assigned to a group of just 3 divers, with a DM guide and an apprentice DM chaser. The other divers were from Copenhagen and Seattle, and we all enjoyed chatting during the ride. Dive.is provides all gear, but tells you to wear long underwear. That means WEAR it, not pack it. There is no locker room, and it can be chilly. They serve excellent hot cocoa and chocolate cookies between dives. If you want anything else to eat, you must bring it with you. It's a significant hike from the gearing-up area to the water. If you 're not sure you can walk 50 yards or so wearing full gear, steel tank, and lots of lead, better discuss it with them before you book. The walk back is MUCH longer, but you can doff your tank and weights and leave them for the staff to pick up if absolutely necessary. (I didn't see anyone do this). I had only 1 drysuit dive logged when I arrived, but I was reasonably confident that I could handle the drysuit in these conditions. It was not a problem. I think they'll coach a complete beginner through the dives, but they recommend taking their drysuit course first. All the equipment was high-quality and very well maintained. The staff provided everyone with a lot of help donning everything. Water runs from Iceland's second-largest glacier, underground through many km of lava rock over several decades, and emerges at Silfra to flow into the huge lake Thingvellir. It is FILTERED-- clear as air and absolutely delicious to drink. The dive follows a mild current. The max legal dive depth is 60 feet, but most parts of the dive are shallower anyway. Toward the end there are parts that are extremely shallow. The views throughout the dive are awesome, but there's very little wildlife. There are 2 kinds of plants growing on the rocks-- a brown scummy algae and a phosphorescent green seaweed-like algae that's quite pretty. Animal life is generally limited to a few dwarf arctic char, well-camouflaged and shy, but our guide spotted a standard char and I saw a pink worm. Iceland makes it very easy to stop over for up to a week between the U.S. and Europe, and there's lot's to see and do in the summer months. Once you're there, you MUST dive Silfra!
Websites	DIVE.IS
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	251-500 dives
Where else diving	Andeman & Nicobar Islands, Gulf of Eilat, Bali, Komodo, Raja Ampat, Banda Sea, Fiji, Palau, Coral Sea, Galapagos, many Caribbean locations, New Jersey, Florida, National Aquarium, Dutch Springs
Closest Airport	Reykjavik	Getting There	Fly from almost anywhere in the world.
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, rainy	Seas	calm
Water Temp	35-39°F / 2-4°C	Wetsuit Thickness	0
Water Visibility	300-300 Ft/ 91-91 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	no
Enforced diving restrictions	60 foot max. Stay between guide and chaser.
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	no
What I Saw
Sharks	None	Mantas	None
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	None	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals	N/A	Tropical Fish	N/A
Small Critters	N/A	Large Fish	N/A
Large Pelagics	N/A
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities	N/A
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	If you have a camera, they recommend you bring it only on the second dive. The DM also photographs on the second dive, and you can buy access to all the pictures as well as their "best of Silfra" collection for about 30 Euro.

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Dive Review of DIVE.IS in General Travel/Other Locations/Silfra, Iceland

DIVE.IS: "Unworldly scenery, 300-foot viz, and delicious water", Jun, 2016,

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Dive Review of DIVE.IS in
General Travel/Other Locations/Silfra, Iceland