Diving in Italy in July?

[Ankush Mittal]

Planned itinerary will take us to - Milan, Florence, Rome, Naples, Amalfi Coast.

Is there any diving around any of these places?

Looking for first hand feedback.

I have heard about a Saint Lucia wreck off Rome, but can't find any websites for the shops there.

Wanted to know whether I can dive Elba from Firenze.

Else, have heard about diving off Naples such as Sorrento and also Amalfi Coast.

Looking at suggested dive sites you may have been to or shop names you have dived with would be nice.

Thanks.



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[Searcaigh]

If you are near Venice

Y-40 The Deep Joy

 

[Sbiriguda]

Honestly, Y-40 is the deepest pool in the world but it’s just a pool...Fun anyway this year they put a Fiat 500 car and a Vespa moped inside the pool.
In Venice the best dive is the ‘Tegnue’. The boats mostly leave from Chioggia one of the first towns on the mainland in front of of Venice but it’s very likely some of them leave from Venice

@Ankush Mittal

You have plenty of choices.
Naples - baia it is a submerged Roman town Atlantis in the real world
Naples and Amalfi - banco di Santa Croce in Vico Equense the caves in Palinuto and plenty other dives
Milan: you can go to Liguria 2 and a half hours by car, Portofino natural reserve is the best, then plenty others isola Gallinara isola di Bergeggi and Haven wreck etc. you might try the lake Como I would suggest Moregallo close to Lecco but just for the view on the landscape the lake dives are not comparable to the sea dives
Florence: Elba, Porto Ercole, Argentario and Giannutri Island

Provided you will stay in Naples and Amalfi coast I would focus on those since you can do the dives there just taking a boat and you don’t need to waste time to reach the dive sites from the town where you stay

 

[Carlokj]

Hi! South of Milan you will find Rapallo, and the Ligurian coast. Lots of dives there in the Portofino area. On the West of Florence you can reach Isola D'Elba and Porto Santo Stefano. All this places are amazing, but you will need some form of transportation (car).

I've never been in Naples, but friends of mine from there know some places. If you need I might ask for some shop name.

 

[Anthony A.]

Rapallo is one of my favorite spots in Italy. Beautiful clear water.

 

[Sbiriguda]

I've never been in Naples, but friends of mine from there know some places. If you need I might ask for some shop name.

I asked around:

The MUST SEE DIVE in Naples / Amalfi coast area, strongly recommended by all is: Banco di Santa Croce; diving Bikini o Amici degli Abyssi based in Torre Annunziata (Naples)

Baia (Naples) some archeological dives:

- Villa a Protiro
- Ninfeo Claudio
- Porto Giulius
Diving like Sea Point, Sub campi Flegrei, SuBaia (mostly located in Pozzuoli)

Other dives: Punta Campanella (Scoglio dell'Ischia, Scoglio Penna) --> Nettuno Diving

Vervece: where Italian freediving legend Enzo Maiorca attempted a world record:
Diving --> Bikini, Nettuno diving, Amici degli Abyssi

Grotta dello Zaffiro (easy and not dangerous cave) Punta di Puolo
Diving SuBaia o Nettuno

Several other dives are availbable in Ischia, Capri, Procida
AFAIK Capri has very clear water but not plenty of sea life while Ischia and Procida are better in this respect
If you happen to go to Ischia it would be worth to spend an afternoon in the Giardini Poseidon (thermal baths in a mediterranean garden) if you have time for non scuba activities there

Hope this helps

 

[Rob9876]

I just saw Baia ruin diving on "Drain the Oceans" -- looks amazing, it is now on my bucket list.

 

[chrisch]

What sort of diving do you like? Near to Milan are the Italian lakes. If you don't want the 3 hour drive to the coast the lakes are much closer, but are very different to sea diving. They are cold (a drysuit is a good idea) and there really isn't much to see. They are deep and have a few caves and other features at depth. There is a dive shop/school in Como HOME

 

[Sbiriguda]

The 3 biggest lakes of Italy are lake Como and Maggiore (both of them easy to reach from Milan) and Lake Garda, quite easy to reach from Milan, even easier from towns like Brescia or Verona. All of them have diving activities. In lake Como a classic dive is the Moregallo, close to the town of Lecco and easy to reach from Milan. Then there are many other smaller lakes. In the mountains there are lakes that get frozen where they do ice diving during winter, lake Lavarone for example. Possibly one of the best lake dives in Italy is Capo d'Aqua in the south of Italy. In the lake there is a submerged town from the middle ages

As for other dives in Rome area, I collected some info (from others, but sources I trust) and I got these recommendations:

Secche di Tor Paterno
Capo Linaro
Several dives in the area from Capo Linaro and Civitavecchia

Tor Paterno is considered the best both as a dive and because it's easy to reach from the center of Rome. Generally speaking, the best dives are not really close to the city of Rome but out of Rome for example Ventotene or Giglio islands