Diving in Sardinia - advice needed

[AbyssalPlains]

I dove with Asinara Diving Center in June of 2009 and had a great experience. And that was with unfortunate winds that prevented us from diving the places that are supposedly the REALLY good ones. Asinara Diving Center is on the northwest corner of the island, off the town of Stintino, which is a fun, laid-back harborside town. The only down-side is that the diving is one tank per trip only, which I believe is quite common in Italy (and perhaps in the Mediterranean in general). The good part is that you're riding out in a Zodiac with four or five other divers at the most. Also, they have 15-Liter tanks, about the volume of a 100 cubic foot tank, so you get a nice long dive. Prices were cheap compared to the US. I forget how much, but I want to say something like 35 bucks per trip. Don't quote me on that, though. Asinara Diving offers a discount if you book more dives with them. It's a very personal, hassle-free and well-run operation. Because you're diving in a marine protection area, the dives are guided, again something I believe is common outside the US. Their divemasters are great at finding creatures. We were diving the east side of Asinara Island, which is protected above and under water. The island's west side features steep walls and drop-offs, but unfortunately, we didn't get to go because of weather. The weather can be iffy there. Diving on the east side is less spectacular in terms of scenery, mostly bouldery and not too deep, about 80-100 feet max. But the creatures were great. Lots of groupers, octopus, and small stuff. In general, the Mediterranean is so overfished that personally I wouldn't bother diving anywhere but a Marine Protection Area, except maybe for a wreck or something. So that aspect makes for some very good diving up in Asinara. I didn't dive or visit any other part of Sardinia, but I read good things about diving in the South and the Southeast of the Island. topside, there is a lot to see, most importantly the famous prehistoric castles built by an unknown people. I think I used the Lonely Planet Travel Guide Book for Sardinia, which was great. You'll have a great time!

 

[Leejnd]

Thank you so much for this great response! This is the kind of info I'm looking for. I will check out Asinara Diving right away.

Good to know there were lots of critters - that's been the one thing that's had me the most worried, that it would be rather barren of sea life. I plan on diving around Cala Ganone (with ProTec) for the underwater caverns, but I wasn't sure if there would be much to see elsewhere in terms of life.

Stintino is on the agenda for at least a couple of days, so this should work well. I'm also planning on diving somewhere on the south end, around Cagliari, but I haven't found a dive op yet. So if anyone has any info on dive ops in the South, please post!

I'm used to diving with guides off small zodiacs - I've done that in numerous locations around the world. It's not the norm where I live - on the dive boats here in SoCal you are expected to bring your own buddy and dive on your own. But there are many resort areas popular with divers where you are expected, and in some cases only allowed, to dive with a DM or guide. I'm fine with that, provided we're in small groups as you describe.

Btw, I've been reading the Lonely Planet guide to Sardinia myself - good to know it worked well for you. I also have the Rough Guide to Sardinia, so I figure between those two I should be able to figure out what we want to see and do during our trip. It's a huge island, and I realize that I won't be able to see all of it in only three weeks - got any favorite, must-see sites to recommend? We're wide open at this point! We'll be renting a car so we can pretty much go anywhere.

 

[r4e]

I just spent a week diving at Cala Gonone Sardinia with Protec. This was now, in the beginning of April.

The area is certainly a cave diver's paradise! At least to a rooky like me. They have something like 15-20 kilometers of line in the cave systems. I did my Intro to Cave course there and I was amazed at what kind of cave sites you can visit at that level.

Please view the video of one of the caves I visited ten days ago:

Grotta del Fico - Sardinia on Vimeo

In this dive (and video) you can see stalactites, dry caves, haloclines, unbreathable gas pockets, vertical shafts, line sharing, "minor" restrictions just wide enough to wiggle through etc. Fun.

I posted my video video on Vimeo in order to encourage and inspire divers to train to atleast Intro to Cave level certification. It really is worth it.

The diving is done mainly with double tanks and other tec gear, but, there are some sites that may be visited by single tank configurations. I saw one american tourist doing that.

 

[Leejnd]

WOW! I just watched this entire video. AWESOME! Unfortunately, I couldn't do that. I seem to have developed a strange case of claustrophobia in small, tight places. I recently had to have a couple of MRIs prior to back surgery, and I literally panicked in the tiny tube. Just watching your video made my heart pound! It's funny - I have no problem with larger enclosed spaces such as elevators, or larger caves or caverns...but those tight caves in your video would kill me.

I'm definitely eager to see some of the larger caverns, though. I have not yet done overhead environments, but I did my GUE Fundamentals a few months ago, and am interested in doing the Cavern course at ProTec.

So what where the water temps? We'll be there in May, so it'll be similar if not a little warmer.

 

[r4e]

Thanks for your comments, LeeAnne. Don't worry, they've got larger and wider caves. Large enough that you cannot see the other edge at times. However, you might want to point out to them your concerns of claustrophobia. The narrow parts on my video were known as "minor" restrictions - actually not very far from major restrictions. At Intro to Cave level you are allowed to dive minor restrictions, not at Cavern level.

The training at Protec is very thorough and high quality. I am sure you'll enjoy the training and the crew. Depending on your current skills, you might consider practising with them in open water for a day or two before the actual Cavern course. This might help you be more cave/team/situation aware instead of just practising a single technical skill at a time.

Fundies is a very good beginning point, but, be prepared to make some adjustments to your kit;-)

Water temp was 14 degrees centrigrade in early April. It should be about 18 degrees by May.

 

[Leejnd]

18C is 65F to us metrically-challenged Americans - which is downright balmy to me! Here in SoCal, we're lucky if the water gets above 60F, and most of my diving is done in water temps between 55-60F. So May sounds like it will be good diving.

Thanks for the feedback. I will definitely tell the crew about my issues with tight spaces - although I don't think we'll be going into any environments where it will be an problem, since I'm only planning on doing the caverns. And I agree about doing some open water dives before we plunge into the cavern training. I'm planning on spending several days in Cala Ganone, so that should work.

So, I've got a dive op for the Stintino area, and for Cala Ganone - still need recommendations for an op somewhere in the South, maybe around Cagliari. I also read that Isola di San Pietro has some interesting diving, especially during the tuna season (which May is smack dab in the middle of). But I can't seem to find any info about dive ops there. Anyone know anything about diving on Isola di San Pietro?

 

[r4e]

You might want try this link for locating dive operators almost anywhere in Sardinia:

Diving Sardegna

And if you are not fluent in Italian or Spanish, add some Babelfish or similar web translation...

 

[willem tel]

sorry but its not complete
the one were I went is not on the list
so maybe many more who don't have the right contacts ( $ ) with that site

 

[Leejnd]

It seems like no site is complete, listing all the dive ops in Sardinia. I've found a few other sites that list some other dive ops. Still looking for one in the south...will post when I find one.

 

[r4e]

That is why I used the word "almost". For example, the listing does not include Protec. But, the listing does give a better than average coverage of the area.

There is also a book called "Sardinia, Diving Guide" by Egidio Trainito, dated 1997, 168 pages, ISBN 1-85310-922-3. The book has lots of photos, 3D sketches of dive sites and some 25 pages on local flora and fauna.