West Iceland
Akranes Ocean Diving Tour
Wildlife and kelp forests in West Iceland
Dive in the North Atlantic Ocean
1 hour from Silfra
The town of Akranes is located about a 40 minute drive from Reykjavik on the other side of the bay. This small town is not visited by a lot of tourists although it boasts a beautiful lighthouse and Guðlaug, a geothermal pool on the beach, that are both well worth a visit.
We will enter the ocean from a beach right by the Akranes campsite. The entrance is accessible and easy to enter and exit.
The North Atlantic ocean is full of Kelp forests wich colorful algea. This is a great habitat for a number of marine species, including lumpsuckers, flat fishes, hidden crabs, nudibranches, and seals when lucky.
You will most likely notice pairs of eyes sticking out of the sandy patches of the ocean floor where the flounders live. Soft orange coral also intermittently decorates the sandy ocean floor. In the area of the kelp forests, a wolf fish might pay you an unexpected visit or stick its head out of a pile of rocks, looking a bit like a prehistoric creature.
The pick up time of this tour depends on the tides. We usually want to end our dive around the peak of the high tide. Note that ocean dives in Iceland depend on the weather and it can happen that scheduled ocean dive trips have to be canceled due to unfortunate weather conditions. If that is the case we usually have a plan B and can offer you other dive sites, such as Garður, Bjarnagjá, Kleifarvatn, Davíðsgjá or Silfra that do not depend on the weather as much as the ocean.
Akranes Ocean Dive was a great experience.
Conrad was amazing! At first I was very reluctant to do this dive after having a terrible training dive for my dry suit certification, but Conrad eased all of my fears and kept me calm throughout the entire dive. Visibility was not the best but we got to see lots of kelp and starfish.
Tour Details
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1 April - 31 October
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Don't see a tour time that works for you? Contact us at dive@dive.is and we will find the best time
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5 hours
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Maximum ratio of 3 divers per 1 dive guide
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Minimum 2 divers, we will refund you in full if the minimum is not met
Included
- Dive Instructor
- 1 guided dive
- All necessary dive equipment
- Round-trip transportation from Reykjavik
- Hot chocolate and cookies after the dive
Please bring
- Your SCUBA dive certification card (PADI Open Water or equivalent)
- Proof of dry suit diving certification OR written proof from a diving instructor of 10 logged dry suit dives within two years of tour date
- Long underwear
- Thick socks
- Suitable clothes for the weather of the day
Want to add an extra dive to your day? Why not combo this tour with a dive in the famous Silfra?
Safety requirements
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be a certified diver at the level of PADI Open Water Diver or equivalent
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Have dry suit diving certification OR have at least 10 logged dry suit dives within two years of the Silfra tour date and be able to provide written proof from a diving instructor of these dry suit dives PDF
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have read, signed, and followed directions on the Diving Medical Statement PDF
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have our Diving Medical form signed off by a doctor if they are age 60 or older PDF
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sign our liability release form PDF
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be at minimum 150cm / maximum 200cm
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be at minimum 45kg / maximum 120kg
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fit within our dry suit size chart PDF
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be at least 17 years of age (signature of legal guardian required for under 18 year old participants)
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be physically fit
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be able to communicate in English
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be ready to wear a sometimes tight & constricting dry suit
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not be pregnant
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eat well before the tour
Timeline of your tour
- (If you have booked a tour with pick up you will first meet your driver at the selected pick-up location in Reykjavik)
- Arrival at the meeting point by the ocean, check-in with guides
- Short drive to the dive site (may vary depending on weather and tides)
- Division into groups of 3 people, one group per guide
- Briefing and gear-up with your guide (∼1 hour total)
- Make your way to the entry point
- Weight check upon entering the water
- 30-45 minutes spent in the water
- Exit the water, take off equipment, enjoy hot chocolate and cookies to warm up
- At this point, you will have time to chat with your guide, ask any questions you might have and take a look at the pics taken during the tour
- (if you have booked a tour with pick up, your driver will drop you off at your location in Reykjavik)
Bookable Extras
Experience the tour
Experience the tour
Guides on this tour
You might be guided by one of these nice guys
