Favorite place in Europe for Vacation and Diving?

[Leejnd]

Liuk3, I'm currently planning a trip to Europe too - actually I'm taking a Mediterranean cruise in 2009, but I have a week pre-cruise that I wanted to fill up with diving. After weeks of research I've settled on the island of Sardinia, off the coast of Italy. It's apparently got some of the best diving in the Mediterranean, and the island itself is spectacularly beautiful, with areas ranging from chi-chi celebrity-drenched beach resorts to tiny remote fishing villages to a wild and mountainous interior dotted with ancient ruins.

But a lot depends on the time of year you are going, and what your wife wants to do. If she's more interested in the big Cosmopolitan areas with lots of shopping and huge tourist draws, Sardinia would not be the place. It's also probably not a great place to go for the entire month of August, because it's evidently THE place for Europeans to spend their month of vacation at the beaches there. But if you go any time slightly off-season, it should be fantastic. We're actually going in the month of October, when the beach crowds are all gone but the water is still warm enough for comfortable diving.

Another region you might want to check out is Italy's Amalfi Coast. I've been there - it's exquisitely beautiful, if a little bit heavily touristed. But there are dive ops nearby (it's just south of Naples). There are some lovely towns along the Amalfi Coast with a substantial tourism infrastructure - check out Positano, which is a charming fishing village with a town center filled with enough shops and boutiques to keep any shopper happy.

And a third region in Italy is the Cinque Terre, one of my favorite places on earth. (My will specifies that when I die, my ashes are to be scattered over the cliffs of Via Del'Amore along the Cinque Terre trail - seriously!) I haven't been diving there, but I've read that there are some decent dive ops in the area. And the five villages clinging to the cliffs are unbelievably picturesque, if a little remote. If you are into hiking at all, there's a stunning 1000-yr-old goat path that connects the five villages, that is a favorite among hikers. I've done it several times - it takes all day to do the whole thing, but you can also just hike individual legs between the villages. The views over the craggy shoreline are unsurpassed. Hey you can't spend your entire vacation underwater, right?

 

[Air One]

We've been to Bora Bora, Cozumel and Hawai

You use to dive in warm watter, don't you ? So, you should avoid northern Europe...
Plan your trip around the Mediteranean sea : Greece, Croatia, Italy, South of France, Spain.
So much to do !

 

[liuk3]

Thanks for all the input and ideas. I just wanted to brainstorm ideas I could look into.

There really isn't any requirement except warm weather. My wife is pretty self-sufficient and easy going. I just want to dive all week since it is my vacation, but I would like to take into her desire for a European vacation too. For her, I think that she just wants to relax and experience a different culture than where we are in the United States. She likes shopping, but the area definitely does not need to be a huge urban area. Since she is born and raised in warm sunny southern California, she would not do well in the cold. If it were up to me, I would plan a tropical vacation on an island, but I think that she really wants to go to Europe. So, I was thinking I could kill two birds with one stone if I could find vacation resort type areas in Europe where I could dive and she could just relax. There really isn't any requirement in terms of activities we need to do. We like to eat and try the local cuisines and experience the different cultures. But, put it this way, when we were in Bora Bora, we had pretty much nothing to do expect relax with each other, and that was enough for us to enjoy ourselves. The highlight was just trying out different restaurants because we also like to eat.

 

[liuk3]

You use to dive in warm watter, don't you ? So, you should avoid northern Europe...
Plan your trip around the Mediteranean sea : Greece, Croatia, Italy, South of France, Spain.
So much to do !

Most of the diving I do here in southern California is colder water (10-12 degrees Celsius currently), but you are right in that for my vacation I would prefer to do warmer water diving. Thanks.

 

[Leejnd]

Well Ken, based on your description, I would strongly encourage Italy. The FOOD is incredible, I can assure you of that! As for where in Italy, based on your description I would say Sardinia would probably be a great option, as there are some beautiful beach resorts and the diving is supposed to be fantastic. But you might also want to look into Sicily. I haven't done any real research on it, but I did read that there is some good diving there. But everything I've read says that Sardinia is the best diving in the region. Plus there you'll have the opportunity if you choose to get away from the beach resorts and go visit some villages to experience the local culture, or go visit Roman or Etruscan ruins, or do some mountain biking or whatever.

Good luck in your search!

 

[chrisch]

Hi Ken, I would place another vote for Sardinia as a good place to meet all your objectives. The food is great and its a laid back quiet kind of place that is really the Europe of 50 years ago. Nice and relaxing and a real mix of island culture and pastoral life. Go a little inland for food - the seafood is not quite what you would anticipate of island life, the real food is sheep meat and wild thyme.

Diving includes general reef diving, wrecks and caves.

Have a look here: Protec Sardinia

Patrick speaks English and is helpful and (unlike most dive shops in Italy) answers emails.

Chris

 

[Air One]

Most of the diving I do here in southern California is colder water (10-12 degrees Celsius currently),

...shame on me...
Sardinia seems to be a very good choice. Or Corsica, witch is realy close.
In Corsica the scenerys are awesome, better than Sardinia. But I have to say that they are probably more welcoming in Sardinia...

 

[liuk3]

This is great. I love hearing about the different ideas and areas. Thank you all so much for the input. If you have any additional ideas, please feel free to continue to add. This thread certainly gives me things to look into from the perspective of an American who has not traveled extensively abroad. I also have to thank you all for your patience and not making me feel dumber than I already am about world geography. I know that Europe is a big area composed of so many different countries and cultures, but I just wanted to hear where some of your favorite places are to vacation and dive (warm water). Thanks!

 

[Leejnd]

Have a look here: Protec Sardinia

Patrick speaks English and is helpful and (unlike most dive shops in Italy) answers emails.

Chris

Hey I wanted to thank you for posting this link! I hadn't yet heard of this dive op - but now that I've done the research, I'm pretty sure this is where we're going to go. The region sounds a bit more off-the-beaten-path and unspoiled than some of the other heavily-touristed areas of Sardinia, but according to what I'm reading it has some of the most beautiful scenery and awesome diving! They have lots of underwater caverns there, most of which they will take you in with only an AOW. Sounds fantastic!

Ken, I've been to Corsica and will vouch for its exquisite natural beauty. But I'm not finding nearly as many dive ops, or locations, on Corsica as I am on Sardinia. Plus, Corsica is further north than Sardinia so the water may be colder. Food for thought

 

[Air One]

But I'm not finding nearly as many dive ops, or locations, on Corsica as I am on Sardinia

Depends where you go.
There are many dive ops around Bonfacio in the south, Ajaccio on the west coast, Calvi and Bastia in the North.
There's probably no temp differences between Corsica and Sardinia. On each Island, it will depend of the depth, the wind, the season etc...it can be warm in Corsica an cold in Sardinia, warm on the west coast and cold on the east...
Anyway, if you go there and look for dive ops : Diving Corsica, to dive in Corsica, scuba diving centers
The best is to send a mail in english to check if they are able to understand you, and also ask if it's a PADI dive op.