Europe boasts some world class dive sites, with great visibility and masses of underwater life. According to our readers, these are the ten best dive sites in Europe. Disagree? Then cast your vote.
The Zenobia, Cyprus
The pristine wreck of a huge ferry. Lying on its port side, the wreck starts at about 15 m and descends to 42 m. Fabulous dive. Possibly the best shipwreck dive in the world in recreational depths. 20 m plus visibility and some great swim-throughs. Needs several dives to see anything like all of it.
Blue Hole, Gozo
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. A most extraordinary dive.
Cirkewwa, Malta
Features the wreck of the Rozi MV as well as stunning underwater topography. Visibility is very good and there iss ea life in abundance: barracuda, morays, octopus, cuttlefish and even dolphins.
Booroo, Isle of Man
The Burroo, with its extremely diverse and plentiful marine life offers a truly magnificent dive. In fact, in areas exposed to the fast flowing current, it is something of a challenge to find a single square centimetre of bare bedrock, so abundant is the life here.
Blockship Tabarka, Scapa Flow, Scotland
This shallow 18 m dive is a real beauty. One of the block ships scuttled to prevent submarine attack during WW2. Covered in life, a beautiful place. Worth the trip and the one of surprises of Scapa.
Diamond Rocks, Kilkee, Ireland
Claimed to by on a par with the famous Yongala. It is a cold water dive off Ireland's west coast. The bay is fairly sheltered and is teaming with life. The terrain is full of rocks and gullies and the water is really clear.
Eddystone Reef, England
12 miles off Plymouth, England. The reef is from 8 to 60 m. Encrusted with jewel anemones and with the remains of ancient wrecks, including a large 17th century anchor. Stunning.
Secca della Columbara, Italy
One of the best dives in the Mediterranean. It features a steep, beautifully-decorated, wall; large shoal of barracuda; grouper; giant amberjacks and a wreck. The wreck is a 74 m ship which was carrying slabs of marble. It sank in 2005 and rests at 20 m in two parts.
Fanore, Ireland
Shore dive in crystal clear Atlantic water with abundant fish.
Chios island, Greece
Small undersea caves and paths between impressive rocks, colourful reefs and vertical walls.
How are the votes counted?
The first criteria is number of votes (weighted to favour the first choice dive site above the second). Where two dives tie for a position, priority is given to those with the most enticing descriptions and those whose area has several votes for different dives.
by Monty Halls, Ultimate Sports Publications Ltd, 2004, 320 pages, Softback
Monty Halls' book describes 60 of the world's best diving areas, and highlights specific dives not to be missed whilst you are there. It also aims to provide independent travellers with the other information they will need, such as about water temperatures, visa requirements, the best time of year to go and addresses of dive centres and recompression chambers. For more details read our review... or visit amazon.co.uk or amazon.com.
Buy with 10% off at Amazon.co.uk Buy from Amazon.com
SCUBA News (ISSN 1476-8011)
Every month we send out a free newsletter featuring the best diving areas, underwater life, diving book reviews and interviews with authors. To receive this please fill in your e-mail address below. For an archive of previous issues see the SCUBA News page.