Hotel Vittoria, Positano, Italy, 04-08 June 2007?

[ScubaGypsy]

I've booked a room at the Hotel Vittoria in Positano, Italy for 04-08 June 2007 and am hoping to get some dives in while I attend a conference in Napoli. It appears that it will be about an hour commute between the hotel and conference, but it should be worth it as it appears that this hotel has a diving center near its premises. From the website, A few metres far there is The Sub Centre Costiera Amalfitana, where you can rent all the necessary equipment, attend to the diving courses and make guided divings in what is one of the most beautiful seas in the world. I did a search for The Sub Centre Costiera Amalfitana but it only refers back to this same hotel website passage. Is anyone familiar with this outfit? What kind of diving might I expect? Is anyone else nearby that might like to join me for a few dives? Appreciate any insights that may be provided.

 

[chrisch]

http://www.centrosub.it/

Chris

 

[crlavoie]

I've booked a room at the Hotel Vittoria in Positano, Italy for 04-08 June 2007 and am hoping to get some dives in while I attend a conference in Napoli. It appears that it will be about an hour commute between the hotel and conference, but it should be worth it as it appears that this hotel has a diving center near its premises. From the website, A few metres far there is The Sub Centre Costiera Amalfitana, where you can rent all the necessary equipment, attend to the diving courses and make guided divings in what is one of the most beautiful seas in the world. I did a search for The Sub Centre Costiera Amalfitana but it only refers back to this same hotel website passage. Is anyone familiar with this outfit? What kind of diving might I expect? Is anyone else nearby that might like to join me for a few dives? Appreciate any insights that may be provided.

First, let me tell you how miserably jealous I am.... I went to Positano on my honeymoon and the place is just unbelieveable.

Anyway, I dove with this guy when I was there and he runs a nice little operation. It's actually very close to the Vittoria. Walk down the hill, toward the Ocean and take a right on to the stone walk way at the Hotel Covo De Saraceni. Follow the path way (which beautiful in it's self) down a set of stairs to the next beach over. His shop will be right in front of you and he has a couple of Zodiacs that he beaches in front of the bar. I only did 2 dives with him as it was kind a last minute thing but my brother used him for 2-3 days and really enjoyed it.

 

[ScubaGypsy]

http://www.centrosub.it/

Chris

Thanx for the link Chris. I was able to have the page loosely translated (sort of) thru google although much of it was poorly done. Regardless of any language differences, the gallery pics look sweet indeed! I assume that this is the nearby shop to the Hotel?

First, let me tell you how miserably jealous I am.... I went to Positano on my honeymoon and the place is just unbelieveable.

Anyway, I dove with this guy when I was there and he runs a nice little operation. It's actually very close to the Vittoria. Walk down the hill, toward the Ocean and take a right on to the stone walk way at the Hotel Covo De Saraceni. Follow the path way (which beautiful in it's self) down a set of stairs to the next beach over. His shop will be right in front of you and he has a couple of Zodiacs that he beaches in front of the bar. I only did 2 dives with him as it was kind a last minute thing but my brother used him for 2-3 days and really enjoyed it.

LOL, don't know how jealous that you should be as I'll be solo and certainly not on a honeymoon!

I'm planning on bringing my own equipment sans weights and tanks. Are their tanks DIN? Are the dive sites nearby or an extended charter? Should I make charter arrangements ahead of time or is it informal and I should wait until I arrive? Are night dives available?

Thanx for the insights, this sounds like it should be alot of fun!

 

[Cris]

Hi GypsyDoc
usually italian dive shops have 15 liters steel tanks with din connections. Probably you won't dive very far from positano but it might be well worth the effort to contact them in advance and arrange some dives near Capri or near Sorrento ( Vervece rock or Banco di Santa Croce).
as far as i know every facility have scheduled night dives, but may be not everyday.
You should expect to be taken quite deep, since the best part of underwater walls is deeper than 25 meters. be aware it might be pretty cold deep down, around 15 celsius.
Hope this helps
Ciao
Cristian

 

[ScubaGypsy]

..........be aware it might be pretty cold deep down, around 15 celsius........

15 C in June?? Are folks wearing drysuits?

 

[crlavoie]

I don't recall what we used for tanks but I would suspect that it's DIN. When I went, I literally strolled up to him on the beach, scheduled the dive for the next day and that was it. We never went deeper than 80 FSW but that was likely due to my ability at the time. Basically, we dove a walll inside a cove that was only about a 5 or 10 minute ride by Zodiac. The vis was great and there were lots of cool critters. For reference, it was mid-October and I was in a 2 or 3 mil shorty.

Personally, I alway take my own gear (now anyway). On this occassion, it was last minute so I used his rental gear which was all far better than 90% of the stuff you would normally find.

 

[Cris]

I gave a look at my log book. Last time i was there was October 2005: the water was a warm 22/23 Celsius at shallower depths (up to 22/25 meters) and 15/17 Celsius deeper (35/45 meters). Usually October has warm water since the sea has been heated up by the sun all summer long, but this year we nearly had no winter and i guess you'll find the same conditions.
There are some nice, undemanding caves too
Have fun
Ciao
Cris

 

[ScubaGypsy]

......Last time i was there was October 2005: the water was a warm 22/23 Celsius at shallower depths (up to 22/25 meters) and 15/17 Celsius deeper (35/45 meters).......

Hmmm, so I assume that the water will still be abit cooler in June as it is in New England. I guess that I should bring my drysuit, gloves and hood then!

......There are some nice, undemanding caves too.......

How deep are the caves? Are they in the sea and coral encrusted?

 

[Cris]

Hmmm, so I assume that the water will still be abit cooler in June as it is in New England. I guess that I should bring my drysuit, gloves and hood then!

Well, hood and gloves are mandatory but maybe a thick wetsuit would work great and pack easier. Consider you won't stay very long in deep water to avoid deco stops. but of course if you're going to dive twice a day a dry suit is right piece of equipment.

How deep are the caves? Are they in the sea and coral encrusted?

I'd better say caverns, since they're not very long. Yes, the caves are in the sea but are not very incrusted since tey are pretty shallow ( Isca cavern is 10/15 mt deep but has a huge room were you can surface, nice dive). Mitigliano cave should be shallow as well but never been there.

You may look at this link http://www.divingtour.it/diveresidence/divingcenter/immersioni.php to have a better idea of some dives in Sorrento area

Ciao Cristian