Garður sits at the end of the Reykjanes peninsula, about an hour's drive south of Reykjavík, where divers enter the North Atlantic from the shore or down a ladder from the old pier. Its name means "garden" in Icelandic: fitting for a site carpeted with more than 42 species of marine algae, a food source Icelanders have harvested for over a thousand years.
Beyond the algae gardens lie sprawling kelp forests that shelter an abundance of marine life: wolffish, scorpionfish, monkfish and several kinds of flatfish are regular sightings, with flatfish often half-buried in the sandy patches between coral. It is one of the richest ocean dives in the Reykjavík area and a favourite for meeting Icelandic sea life up close.
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PADI Open Water Course
A three-day PADI Open Water Diver course in Iceland that takes you from beginner to certified diver. Complete your theory online, build skills in the pool, then log four open-water dives. You finish certified to dive worldwide to 18 m — and dry-suit certified to dive Silfra.