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Diving Partners |
SCUBA Diving Destinations: Europe
We regularly add new areas to the SCUBA Travel site. If you want to be notified of updates to the site, along with other SCUBA diving news and discussion, please subscribe to our newsletter: SCUBA News (ISSN 1476-8011). Diving GreeceGreece diving has its own page at http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/europe/greece-diving.html. Please go there for the up-to-date information. Diving CyprusCyprus diving now has its own page at http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/europe/cyprus-diving.html. Click here for more on the great wreck of the Zenobia and other dive sites and dive centres. Diving Turkey
Butterfly Valley, Fethiye "This is a new diving site just opened last year. Before diving here was forbidden because of enviromental concerns. It is mostly shore diving, also it is very nice place for snorkelling. There are 5 main spots mostly walls. There are not too many fish but water is so clear and visibilty about 50 feet. I stayed at a camp site and I'd stay there again and again...Scuba cost 20 and 35 euros (2004). accommodation is about 15 euros included breakfast and dinner (mostly vegetarian). Aladins Cavern, Fethiye "Nice big cavern with corals and very good visibility. " Dalyan Reef, Fethiye "Drop off to turquoise blue and lots of baracudas " Three Tunnels, Fethiye "Swim-throughs covered with soft corals. " Elsewhere around Fethiye Gurmenli Ada, Kas "Wall dive with large grouper at depth. The wall bottoms at 85 m. Stunning vis." Canyon, Kas "Canyon entrance at 5 m dropping to 38 m. The wreck is split in two. Canyon wall has stunning flora recovering from wreck damage. Small chimney at 30 m climbing to 20 m. Deco at 5m wall brimming with life " "Starting from at depth of 2m you slowly descend into the narrow mouth of the canyon through several shades of blue until at a depth of about 25 m you encounter yellow, brown and orange soft coral. The final surprise, the wreck of a steel hulled cargo vessel at 35 m. " "Perfect place to make an very exciting dive in a deep blue next to sheer reef. Eagle ray, grouper, barracuda. " Flying Fish Reef, Kas " 5-40m dive with Moray eels, Amberjacks, Trigger fish and large grouper. Relaxing multilevel dive, Stunning. " Sun Diving House Reef, Kas " Shallow area close to the dive centre, placed on a nice reef where so many fish live. It is very usual dive with turtles, octopus, muren. Perfect place to take pictures specially in the night. " Dakota C47, Kas "At this site is a sunken WWII C-47 Dakota aircraft which lies in less than 20 metres of water. And, in season jack-fish, mackerel, barracuda and loggerhead sea turtles all along a small and quiet cove. " "American aeroplane sunk during the second world war. Suggestive place and full of big grouper." Besmi Adasi, Kas "Another site best approached by experienced divers due to strong current. The feeling of being enveloped in a swirl of every variety of local fish makes this one of the more exhilarating dive sites around. Many large ancient amphora are seen here deep at 40 m. " "Sometimes strong currents make it a difficult side but then current bring lots of planktons from open sea which makes the dive side so lively. Lots of huge groupers, jackfish, barracudas are the ones to underline. Different coloured and shaped nuddybraches are also so common to sea together with 1000 s of small fish. " Duchess of York, Kalkan "Wreck dive for all levels " Middle Reef, Kalkan "Very good fish"
Mavi Diving, Kas, Antalya, Turkey. E-mail: office@mavidiving.com Rating:
Dolphin Scuba Team, P.O. Box 31 Kalkan, Antalya, Turkey. Tel/Fax: +90 242-8442242. Rating:
Anemone Diving Center, Yacht Marina, Kas, Antalya, Turkey. Tel: +90 555 4730986, Fax: +90 242 8364008. E-mail: info@anemonedc-kas.com
Barakuda Queen, Ugur Eroglu, PK 44, Kas, 07580 Antalya, Turkey. Tel: +90 532 613 6584, Fax: +90 242 836 2997.
Sun Diving, Hastane Cad. 3, Kas, Antalya, Turkey.
Bougainville Diving, Kas, Antalya, Turkey. Tel: +90 242 836 37 37, Fax: +90 242 836 16 05, Skype: bt.adventure.sales, E-mail: bougainvilledivingkas@gmail.com
European Diving Center, Fethiye, info@europeandiving.co.uk Rating:
Lykiaworld, Oludeniz, Turkey. diving@lykiaworld.com
Okenos Scuba Center, Bay of Mandalia, Altinkum, south-east coast of Turkey. info@okenos.eu
Elite Diving Centre, Mephisto Diving, Yeni Erenköy, Yeni I.skele Mersin 10 Turkey / Karpaz / Northern Cyprus. Tel: 0090 533 867 37 74, E-mail: info@mephisto-diving.com
Amphora, Kyrenia, North Cyprus. E-mail: asimuygur@superonline.com.
Rating: Hotels in Northern Cyprus Diving Italy
See our Italy Diving section for loads of information on diving Sardinia, Ustica and elsewhere in Italy. Diving Spain
For up-to-date information see our Spain diving page, which includes Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Costa del Sol and elsewhere. Scuba Moraira, Ctra Moraira-Calpe 130, Moraira-Teulada, Spain. Tel: 0034 966 492 006. E-mail: info@scubamoraira.com, Web: http://www.scubamoraira.com/. Aqua-Marina Oxygene, 396a CC Compostela Beach, Playa de las Americas, Tenerife, Spain.
Tel: +34 922 797944, E-mail: info@aqua-marina.com, Web: www.aquamarinadivingtenerife.com NEVERDRY, 249E compostela beach, Playa las Americas, Tenerife, Spain.
Tel: +34 922 79 05 86 E-mail: scuba@neverdry.co.uk, Web: www.scubadivingtenerife.co.uk Diving Portugal
Madeirense shipwreck - Porto Santo Island "It's a clear water dive, Atlantic ocean Portuguese Coast near Porto Santo Island. The ship lays at 25 m top 32 m bottom. It's a sealife-fool shipwreck, sunken for a dive spot. You can find groupers, Pargos, manta rays, meros, and other variety of small fish. Promoters - Rheadive. Garajau - Madeira island "Natural Reserve, full of sea life, occasionally you can trip on a seawolf, dolphins even Canejas(shark), you can touch the meros (groupers )located in the Atlantic ocean, rock/canyon/cave bottom 25 m deep maximum. Madeira island "Great wreck's (Madeirense), blue and worm water... Santa Maria Island, Azores "Azores islands and Santa Maria Island in particular is one of the best and amazing scuba spots! Princess Alice Bank, Azores "96 km SW of Pico, Azores in the Mid-Atlantic, the largest seamount on the mid-atlantic ridge forming a cleaning station for the devil ray with up to 30 not being uncommon Faial Island, Azores "Much underwater life: whales, dolphins, sharks....Atlantic jewels Pedra da Lagoa, Fonte da Telha "A rock at 26 to 32 m deep full of colourful Gorgonia & Sponges holding incredible amount of very rich and diverse marine life. Is very common to find schools of White Seabass (Atractoscion nobilis, Argyrosomus hololepidotus), octopus, squids, sardines, Sunfish (Mola Mola), Congers, Crab, Lobster, etc. Pedra da Âncora, Fonte da Telha "33 to 3 6m - A rock formation where big Congers can be found together with schools of coastal fish. Maria Eduarda, Fonte da Telha "33 to 36 m. A small cargo boat sunk several miles from the coast that holds an incredible variety of life due to the protection provided by the wreck on an sandy area. For experienced divers, good sea conditions required. U Boat 1277, Porto "WWII German submarine at 30 m. 67 m vessel. " XIX Century Steamer: Tiber, Porto "Cannons, funnelss and several other historical pieces remain at a max depth of 33 m. This is an easy going wreck dive: its parts were spread in a tight circle when fishing trawlers got entangled in the wreck. No danger of entanglement, great for those who have just started wreck diving. Everything is close by within a certain radius. " Kassamba, Porto "For experienced tech divers: trimix only. This large freighter was sunk in the 80's. 136m in length, its cargo of containers with cloth and wine still remain. The ship is intact with its stern at 75 m. A Dive for a few, but worth while. "
Cabana Divers, Fonte da Telha, Costa de Caparica beach, 25 km south of Lisbon, Portugal.
Portugal (Lonely Planet Country Guide) Includes notes on diving and snorkelling in Portugal Diving CroatiaDiving Croatia now has its own page: please go there for the latest updates. Croatia has 66 inhabited islands and much of the best diving is off these.
FUN DIVING Ltd
Croatia Divers Diving Greenland
Disco Bay "Western Greenland, iceberg diving " Diving Iceland
Silfra, Thingvellir "Silfra (The name is a variation on the word Silver) is a deep crack in the lava in the National park Thingvellir in Iceland. It is about 5 to 10 meters wide and 200 meters long. Average depth is about 20 meters but there is a dropoff down to 40 meters. Silfra is a large fresh water spring where water from the nearby glacier Langjokull surfaces and runs into the lake Thingvallavatn. Silfra's main attraction is the total clarity of the water. The clarity of the water gives the diver the feeling of flying above the bottom and on sunny days when there are slight small waves on the surface the light breakes into its rainbow of colours creating a beautiful display of colour. The water is very cold, only about 2 degrees celcius, so frost protected equipment and dry suits are necessary. The lake Thingvallavatn is also interesting with some canyons in the bottom but less visibility. No boat is needed for Silfra the diver simply dresses on shore and jumps of the vertical bank. " Thingvellir "Unique dive spot in the world. You dive in cold freshwater in a crack between the American and the European continental shelves. The water comes from the Glacier and forms a small river and lake. Over 100 metre (300 feet)visability. Increadible under water caves. Make sure you have an experienced guide that can guide you through the dives. I have dived Yongala in Australia, Zenobia on Cyprus and also the Red Sea. Anyway Thingvellur on Iceland is a unique dive spot beyond comparison that must be on every top 10 diving list! " " Fantastic dive site. Endless visibility in a canyon between the American and Eeuropean continents. Diving in Iceland is definitly expensive, but so is Iceland. For me personally it was absolutly worth it. The best dives I had so far. I stayed in the guesthouse which belongs to Hotel Keflavik. Nice rooms and good service for budget price. " " Diving in +3 C cold water with visibility over 150 m. Silfra is the place where American and European tectonic plates meet, and you can go diving between them! " Flosagja and Haagja, Thingvellir "Flosagja and Haagja are also interesting to dive and have clear water. There are caves extending from the cracks under the lake and can by dived by very experienced cave divers. The cracks require advanced dive exprerience. " "Diving between European and American tectonic plates. "
DIVE.IS, Grofinni 2, 230 Keflavik, Iceland, email: dive@dive.is.
" Diving Silfra with DIVE.IS was great experience." Diving NorwayNorway is now in its own section: Diving in Norway...
Gulen Dive Resort Nyborg Polardykk, Notveien 17, 8013 Bodø, Norway. Tel: +47 75525293, E-mail: mail@bododykkesenter.no Diving BritainSee our new UK diving section for details of diving Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland. UK Dive Sites | UK Dive Operators | UK Accommodation | UK DivingBooks | British underwater photo gallery. Diving IrelandSee also: British underwater photo gallery.
There are hundreds of dive sites off the west coast of Ireland. Here are descriptions of a few. Rutland Sound, Burtonport, Co. Donegal "This is a Drift dive located in the channel on the way out to Aranmore Island. How fast a drift you want depends on at what stage the tide is. I last dived this channel in early September last year on a Spring Tide. We timed it to be three hours after the tide-change as we wanted a fast drift. Our Club, Omagh SAC, know this area well as we do this dive every year. In mid-channel there is a maximum of 23 m though much shallower at the edges of the channel and with a lesser speed of the tide-run. Good boat cover is essential as you can travel maybe 1 km underwater in only 20 or so minutes. Another minor point is to find out the times of sailing of the Aranmore Ferry. The ferry travels up and down the channel, which accounts for the variety of old and recent, but interesting, object found on the bottom. So if you happen to be underwater do not panic as it has a very shallow draught. Just stay on the bottom, or head to the western side of the channel. A good safe dive and one for trainees as well as experienced Divers. " Tory Island "Located approximately 14 km off the north coast of Co. Donegal. A ferry runs from Magherority (??) out to the island. There were 23 of us and other passengers also, plus all our gear and bags, which the skipper of the ferry and two crew all helped to load. We stayed in the only hotel on the island and made good use of the Dive Centre behind it. They supplied all our air filling needs and also took us to the various dive-sites around the island. All the dives we did gave us approximately 30 m viz, even at 30 m depth. Granted, you have to have luck with the weather, which we did, and so we were treated to fabulous views of the marine wild-life. This area is frequently visited by Whales, Dolphins and also the odd Basking Shark. Very much worth a visit but should be booked well in advance as the demand is great. " Diamond Rocks, Kilkee "I have dived the Yongala - Stupendous! But this is on a par. It is a cold water dive off Ireland's west coast. The bay is north west facing and the prevailings are south west - so it is a fairly sheltered area. The place is teaming with life, loads of stuff mating and reproducing cos of the sheltered location. The terrain is full of rocks and gullies and the water is really pure. " Carraroe "Beautiful reefs and fish life. " Fanore "Crystal clear Atlantic water with abundant fish. " Further reading: Shipwreck Index of Ireland by Richard and Bridget Larn, Lloyd's Register - Fairplay Car Hire: Discount & Luxury car rentals in Dublin, Shannon, Cork, Galway & Belfast.
Scubadive West, Co. Galway, Ireland,info@scubadivewest.com Inishfree Charters, The Pier, Burtonport, Co. Donegal, Ireland. Tel: 00 353 (0) 749551533, Mobile : 00 353 (0) 862209508, E-mail: info@inish.ie Diving Malta and Gozo
Blue Hole, Gozo "Scenery going to the dive is awesome, looking at the Azure window. Next door is the inland sea, which is a good dive in itself, but if your navigation and air is good the combo is awesome. Start in Inland Sea, down to 10m, through to Ocean down to 22m and keeping wall on left shoulder gradually back up to 15m, across first inland part (10 fin kicks) to join wall on left, the through Azure window and 30 fin kicks to Blue Hole at 12m. If your air is good, then go past blue hole cave entrance and turn right keeping wall on left, and then in through chimney swim-through up to 7m, then back round to right (wall now on right) and rejoin blue hole cave entrance, explore cave before ascent into the Blue Hole itself. Smile at the tourists as you surface. " "It is a beautiful sharp drop off into the blue hole with what seems like limitless visibility and literally feels like you are on the very edge of the world. It really is the most extraordinary dive!" Azure Window, Gozo "The dive starts off into a fissure in a cliff wall then opens up into a magnificent inland sea. As you come out of the cavern the rocks form a triangular shape like a window with the most startling bright blue water on the other side. This then goes into a beautiful steep drop off with amazing vis. " Reqqa Point, Gozo Entry to dive is down a ladder. Swim to your left along a cliff. Big shoals of chromis. Xlendi Cave, Xlendi Bay, Gozo Enter the water by the 6th lampost. Swim across the bay to a cliff where the cave, or tunnel, is at 6 m. The cave is straight and you can see daylight at either end. HMS Maori "Malta diving: it's great. The HMS Maori wreck dive at St. Elmo Bay, Valletta was excellent. Lots of marine life it also makes a good night dive! anchor bay has good reef and cave dives,and wied iz zurrieq-west has drop-offs,ledges,gullies and caves. " Anchor Bay, Popeye Village, Malta This dive features a long, straight cave. In this you can always see the opening if you look back. At the end of the cave is a big air chamber - but don't remove your regulator as the air is not fresh. Swim into the cave keeping the wall on your left. If you carry on with the wall on your left, when you leave the air chamber you can enter another passage leading to another chamber. Still keeping the wall on your left, another exit from this chamber takes you back to the original entrance passage and out. "Has good reef and cave dives. " Wied iz Zurrieq-Wes "Drop-offs, ledges, gullies and caves." P29 Cirkewwa "Condor Class Patrol Boat. (Dived with Dive Med.) "A perfect place to go diving: full of colour and adventure. A nice smooth dive where you can see anything from a small jellyfish to a shark. "Excellent dive site with wreck of ROZI as well as stunning underwater topography (swim through's, drop offs etc.) Vis stunning usually 30 m+ occaisionally 50 m+. Sea life in abundance, barracuda, morays, octopus, cuttlefish and even dolphins! Slugs Bay "A perfect place to go and do a couple of hours boat diving and if you want adventure then this is the place to go with the pristine reefs. Marfa Point, Malta Dive at the North West tip of Malta, near where the ferry for Gozo docks. Good access to a little gully to the left of a tower. Down to the left there is at 7 m a drop off down to around 15 m. A few small caves, several wrasse. Worth doing. Blenheim Bomber, Malta "The Blenheim Bomber (plane) is one of the best dives in Malta! Its history is unclear, but when it crashed inot the water it landed on its belly, loosing the front of the cabin and nose wheel. It is dived by boat, but not all dive Centers know of its exact location. There is sometimes a current running so it is important to descend as quickly as possible holding onto the shot line which will be provided. This is a dive for more experienced divers only. (Dived with Dive Med.)
Family Diving (Gozo) - Katharinewood@f2s.com
Dive Med - Divemed,
Zonqor Point,
Marsaskala,
Malta, MSK 1570. "I will dive with them again and again and again. They organized boat trips to any dive site. Excellent value for money. Chikarma Diving (UK)
- diving@chikarma.com Holidaysmaltagozo - diving@holidaysmaltagozo.com, Location: Malta and Gozo.
Holidaysmaltagozo Diving into Malta "Accommodation at Diving into Malta is excellent and cheap."
Maltese Islands Diving Guide by Ned Middleton Your CommentsWe endeavour to keep this site as informative and current as possible. If you would like to recommend, or warn about, a particular dive or diving location we'd love to hear from you. We're also compiling a Top Ten Dives list. Tell us about your favourite dives: why were those particular dive site so fantastic? Books of the World's Best SCUBA Diving
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