Diving in the South East of France

[Jasonb]

Hi there...

I'm off to Roquebrun in France for the 1st week in August. It's a small village, about half an hour northwest of Beziers.

I'm wondering if there are any Dive Centers around this part of France. It's the Med coast, so I'm sure there are, and I'll have a car too, but I'd rather not drive for hours either! If anyone knows of any dive centers near Beziers or thereabouts, please let me know. Thanks!

Jason.

Oh, just in case it makes a difference, by then I hope to have a PADI Advanced Open Water cert...

 

[Jasonb]

Just to reply to myself!

I just found this place http://www.abyssplongee.com/uk_centre.php. Has anyone dived with them in the past? Thanks!

Jason.

 

[ScubaBabe22]

Just to reply to myself!

I just found this place http://www.abyssplongee.com/uk_centre.php. Has anyone dived with them in the past? Thanks!

Jason.

The farthest south in France I've been is Bourdeaux, mais, my friend was in Cannes for the semester and said that they had GREAT diving! Anywhere near you?

 

[chrisch]

Hi Jason. The Beziers area is not the best for diving. The run-off from the Rhone makes the viz in that area quite poor. You need to get well away from the Carmargue.

Nearest to you would be the centres (about 3 or 4 IIRC) in Agde. These are OK, but don't bother with the stuff east of that round the Carnon and Grande Motte area. Further west you will be in better viz - look around Argeles near the Spanish border. There are about 4 centres in Argeles IIRC. (try: http://www.neptuneplongee.com/ ) Parking in Argeles is a nightmare in summer - get there at least 40 minutes before kick off and drop your kit at the dive centre then go find parking.

The other option is to go east past the river. The Cote Bleu is good and there is a PADI centre there at Carry http://www.aqua-evasion.com/ where you will find a few English speakers and the possibility to dive with one of their instructors or DMs. (Its about 200 Km from Beziers)

As a PADI AOW you are only a CMAS 1 star diver. You will be limited to 20m maximum and must dive accompanied by a guide or instructor. You will also need a medical certificate of less than a year old. Self-certification is not accepted in France. Insurance can be bought at the centre or your standard DAN will be accepted no problem. (They are looking for 3rd party liability).

If you dive from the shore with a buddy none of this applies and you can do as you like

We have a flat in Montpellier but tend to travel to Marseille for diving (excellent) its about 2 hours from Beziers. The whole area is nice. Be sure to drive up into the Cevennes and check out the scenery. Enjoy the local wines too..

Chris

 

[Jasonb]

Hi there...

Thanks for the replies. I live near Dublin, Ireland, so I'm well used to terrible viz! Agde is definitely the closest place to where I'll be staying, and it's where that Dive Centre Link I posted is based.

Unfortunately, while I have a car, I'm going with a large group of people, and I'm the only diver, so I can't really go driving off for a few hundred km and a couple of days just for diving. My best bet would be to get two dives in one day, with as short a drive as possible. So while I know there's better diving down by Ageles, I think I'll have to stick with Agde ( unless I hear some horror stories about them from someone! ), it'll still be better than Dublin!

Jason.