Iceland Trip Report (with photos!)

[AlexinWanderland]

So, in June I went on my first drysuit dive to Silfra in Iceland!

I'm a rescue diver with maybe 200 dives, but I was very intimidated by the idea of drysuit diving and the cold water. I was assured I would go numb from the cold, but that wasn't true for me... I was uncomfortable the entire time. In fact, I almost had to call the second dive due to a "brain freeze" type headache. And the drysuit experience was very humbling! Kudos to all those that do it regularly. Oh, and note to those that are weaklings like me: I was wearing almost 80lbs of gear -- I was sore for two days from the short walk.

Still, despite all that I'm SO GLAD I did it. Never in my life have I seen visibility like that (100m+!) or colors like that (I didn't know neon existed in nature!) It was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. Being between two tectonic plates, seeing the brightest neons nature has to offer, drinking glacial water throughout the dive — these are experiences that simply can’t be replicated. And after struggling through the constant discomfort of the drysuit, the psychological challenge of the cold, and laboring with the weight of the equipment, I can certainly say that it was a hard-earned high. And that of course made it so much sweeter.

I can't recommend Scuba Iceland enough. I felt like I was diving with old friends -- both the instructor and the divemaster were brilliant and fun and had great diving stories to tell. It was a small group, just me fun diving and one student doing a check out dive. Oh and also, they took AMAZING photos and gave them to me on a disc after.

For a full report and photos see my blog post: Scuba Diving Iceland

I'm happy to answer any questions that I can! Happy diving!

 

[Starcruiser]

I spent 3 years there, and would gladly go back in a heartbeat. One of my 'bucket list' goals is to do the Silfra dives.... thanks for the great shots.

 

[hui]

Thanks for the review Alex, can you tell me if they have a range (size wise) of drysuits to hire? and what was the water temp / dive time like?

I regularly dive in a drysuit here in Melbourne (10C water temps atm), so the extra padding and weights is not a worry too much...just the fit of the drysuit.

 

[Scuba_Noob]

Looks nice. Are there any animals down there?

 

[AlexinWanderland]

Thanks for the review Alex, can you tell me if they have a range (size wise) of drysuits to hire? and what was the water temp / dive time like?

I regularly dive in a drysuit here in Melbourne (10C water temps atm), so the extra padding and weights is not a worry too much...just the fit of the drysuit.

The water was about 2 degrees celcius! I wasn't wearing a dive computer because I had just bought mine and was too lazy to set it up... but I think around 35-40 minutes? I was worried they wouldn't have a drysuit short enough for me (I'm only 5'1"!) but it fit fine. I saw a group of very tall and fairly heavy snorkelers going out and they didn't seem to have trouble finding a suit for them either, so it seems they have a wide range.

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Looks nice. Are there any animals down there?

There are some small fish in the lake -- catfish I think, but they don't tend to come into the ravine. It's definitely a dive about the topography and the colors and the visibility rather than the fish! Believe me, you won't be bored down there

 

[RMAdventure]

Great write up! Thanks for sharing.

 

[covediver]

wow. that sure looks great. Icelandair recently announced direct flights next summer from Anchorage to Iceland. I may have to check out the diving and the sites. thanks for the detailed report and the links

 

[TSandM]

I think I would like to do Silfra. A Seattle friend did it this year, and his photos were awesome. 2C is daunting, though.