Morning dives near Rome, Venice, or Athens

[Esprise Me]

My husband doesn't dive and has never been to Europe. I've been several times, but never as a diver. We're thinking about a ten-day trip next fall or maybe the year after. I'm planning a couple dive trips without him, so this trip needs to be primarily about what he wants to do and about spending time together. His chief desire is to see Italy, mostly Rome and Venice, and he'd also like to see Greece; we have a friend from Crete we'd love to hang out with if he happens to want to visit then, but otherwise we'll probably just go to Athens.

I realize 3 cities in 10 days is already a tight itinerary, and I'm prepared for the possibility that diving just isn't in the cards. But if there's an option to go out in the morning from any of those places, get in a good dive or two, and be back by lunch, I'd like to try to squeeze that in. Any suggestions?

 

[Sbiriguda]

Hello
I have been told there are nice dives very close to the city of Athens but I can't really help
Your timing is already very tight... visiting the cities only would take 10 days, also including the trips from and to airports etc.
In Venice there are good dives, some of them reachable from the city of Venice. The problem is the visibility is totally unpredictable: it depends from the season, the currents, the tide, the rain, etc. etc. it's just a matter of luck. You can go to the "Tegnue" or the "Quintino Sella" or "Evdokia"
As for Rome, there are good dives in the Lazio (Rome region) but not really close to the city. You have to take a trip of one hour or two
I have been told instead that there are very good dives surprisingly close to downtown Athens. My bet would be that's the best choice for you, to dive in Athens. Still I can't really remember the names of the dives I was recommended in Athens

 

[FinnMom]

My husband doesn't dive and has never been to Europe. I've been several times, but never as a diver. We're thinking about a ten-day trip next fall or maybe the year after. I'm planning a couple dive trips without him, so this trip needs to be primarily about what he wants to do and about spending time together. His chief desire is to see Italy, mostly Rome and Venice, and he'd also like to see Greece; we have a friend from Crete we'd love to hang out with if he happens to want to visit then, but otherwise we'll probably just go to Athens.

I realize 3 cities in 10 days is already a tight itinerary, and I'm prepared for the possibility that diving just isn't in the cards. But if there's an option to go out in the morning from any of those places, get in a good dive or two, and be back by lunch, I'd like to try to squeeze that in. Any suggestions?

Not what you were asking, but be sure to stay overnight in Venice. It's a completely different and much nicer place when all the day trippers have gone home.

When I want to find local diving in an unknown foreign location, I search for shops and then contact them. Even if they don't have Engish on their website you can view the website using Google translate and an email in English might just turn up someone happy to provide info in English.

You can also set Google Earth to show dive sites, then use that to find places. A cluster of interesting dive sites is bound to mean there are dive shops in that area.

I know there are some fabulous sites down by Naples. If you don't go all the way to Crete, maybe you could go from Rome down to Naples, maybe even Pompeii, Sorrento and the Amalfi coast. There is definetely dives to be made down that way.

 

[Sbiriguda]

Not what you were asking, but be sure to stay overnight in Venice. It's a completely different and much nicer place when all the day trippers have gone home

I know there are some fabulous sites down by Naples.

I agree on both. In Naples very close to the city there is Baia (like Pompeii but underwater...) mostly people go to Pozzuoli to dive there. Then the Banco di Santa Croce (in Massa Lubrense again close to Naples), the Vervece, the islands like Ischia and Procida etc.
There are some threads in this section about them

 

[Mr. Manfrenjensenden]

I think you're trying to pack too much in by fitting in diving. You could easily spend far more than a week and a half visiting those cities. If the point is what he wants to do and spending time together, spend it above water.

 

[Tony Roberts Ireland]

Hi, any more info on diving near Athens? I'll be there for a few days at the beginning on November. More keen on marine life than wrecks or caves.

 

[Sbiriguda]

I found this old discussion about diving in Athens
Diving near Athens, Greece

 

[stepfen]

To be honest for such a short trip to all these places I would skip diving all together.

I haven't dived anywhere near Athens so I can't really tell - but from images and discussions I have had it is typical Mediterranean conditions (limited sea life, clear water, interesting landscapes and/or wrecks). Keep in mind that quite often "interesting landscapes" mean caverns/caves hence overhead and as you might know SB community strongly discourages this unless you are cave/cavern trained and prepared accordingly.

In any way just Google "Athens diving" or something to get an idea. My guess is that they'd mostly do day trips over the weekends and/or maybe few weekdays during the summer months.

I am from Chania (West Crete) so in case you plan to visit/dive here I could help you with specific stores/dives or anything else you might need. Just let me know!

 

[stepfen]

Hi, any more info on diving near Athens? I'll be there for a few days at the beginning on November. More keen on marine life than wrecks or caves.

Sorry but for marine life, especially bigger one, you would probably need to dive outside the Mediterranean .
Sorry I can't help with specific stores - worst case google is your friend. Keep in mind that November is low season hence I guess dive stores will do day trips only during weekends (weather permitting)

 

[Esprise Me]

Thanks for the input everyone. We're looking at least a year out, maybe 2, so I'd welcome additional input.

From the responses so far and my own preliminary research, it doesn't sound like these cities are near any can't-miss dive sites, so maybe it's best to just forget about diving on this trip. @stepfen I'm certainly wary of caves and do not plan on putting myself in that situation. On the other hand, if I could see an ancient Greek shipwreck, that might be worth tacking on a couple extra days (I realize this is nowhere near Athens):

Greece opens shipwreck sites to divers as underwater museums