Opinions - where IS the best place to dive in Italy?

[Leejnd]

I know there are threads in here asking about diving in Italy, but I would like to see a summary of opinions about where the best place really is to dive in that beautiful country.

I'm going to Italy in Oct. '09 and will have about four or five days to spend diving. I'd like to find a location where I can stay in one place and do two or three dives a day, and maybe even some night dives, if possible. I can pretty much pick wherever I want to go. So, where should I be looking? I read in one thread that someone thinks Sardinia is the best diving in Italy - is it? Or how about the Naples/Capri area? Cinque Terre/Portofino? Someplace else?

Thanks for your opinions!

 

[Boa Gialla]

I know there are threads in here asking about diving in Italy, but I would like to see a summary of opinions about where the best place really is to dive in that beautiful country.

I'm going to Italy in Oct. '09 and will have about four or five days to spend diving. I'd like to find a location where I can stay in one place and do two or three dives a day, and maybe even some night dives, if possible. I can pretty much pick wherever I want to go. So, where should I be looking? I read in one thread that someone thinks Sardinia is the best diving in Italy - is it? Or how about the Naples/Capri area? Cinque Terre/Portofino? Someplace else?

Thanks for your opinions!

IMO, your question cannot be properly answered. It depends: which kind of dive do you prefer? Italy offers a very large number of choices: wrecks, caves, drop offs, pinnacles, .... ?

I cannot say which one is my unique preferred place.
My suggestion is for Sardinia, in the north-west (Alghero, or Sassari): there you can find many different possibilities.

Portofino is fantastic (not only the dives), but I'm not sure you can have night dives (I should check, sorry), and all the dives are very similar, so after two-three days it's difficult to find something new.

I know that Palinuro (Campania) is a very good place for diving, lot of caves and other dives, but I never dove there, so I cannot be more precise.

Sicily offers a lot of great dives: probably Ustica Isle it's the numer one, but you can choose other little isles (Marettimo, Pantelleria, Lampedusa,...) and you will have amazing dives.

Another great place for diving is Isola d'Elba (Elba Isle): I spend every year 3-4 days diving there, and it's always fantastic.

October is a good month to dive, the water it's still warm, but in the north of Italy the weather is not as good as in the south: probably in the south you should find better conditions.

Ciao,
A.

 

[chrisch]

I agree with Boa. You're asking to pick just one place from a whole country with a huge coastline plus the huge island of Sardinia and smaller islands like Sicily and Elba and without us knowing what you want to dive. I used to live in Milano and I could find you a week's diving in lake Como. Whether you'd like it or not is another matter

I like wrecks and caves and maybe the odd (like one or two a year maximum) reef dives. So I'd head for Sardinia.

protecsardinia

DIVING CENTER CAPOGALERA - ALGHERO - SARDEGNA

I believe there are some fish there if that's your thing.

BUT any self-respecting Sardinian will deny you are in Italy

Chris

 

[Leejnd]

Yeah I guess I should have clarified what I'm looking for! I supposed I'd say I prefer reef diving. I'm not a big wreck diver - I prefer looking at nature-made structures, rather than man-made. Also I'm not a tech diver - not trained for going into overhead environments. I like to see lots of marine life.

I would definitely prefer warmer water, so I'll limit my search to areas more in the Southern region. Isola d'Elba sounds wonderful - I've seen some lovely hotels on there. Not sure I want to head all the way down to Sicily, but it's not out of the question either - I'll have to do some more research. Sardinia sounds very promising - I like the idea of a lot of variety, since I'll have several days.

Here's another question: I'm going to be a solo diver on this trip. Dive ops in different parts of the world operate differently when it comes to solo divers. For example, in heavily-touristed areas like the Caribbean, dive ops usually expect all the divers on the boat to stay with the DM during the dive; whereas here in SoCal, the DM's usually don't even get in the water, and divers go off on their own with their own buddies. If you don't have a buddy, sometimes the DM will help buddy you up with someone else on the boat, or if there are no other solo divers, they might dive with you, but that's the exception, not the rule. So how do dive ops in Italy operate? Are the dives generally DM-led, or are the divers usually left on their own? If I'm a solo, will I have any trouble finding a buddy?

 

[Boa Gialla]

Yeah I guess I should have clarified what I'm looking for! I supposed I'd say I prefer reef diving. I'm not a big wreck diver - I prefer looking at nature-made structures, rather than man-made. Also I'm not a tech diver - not trained for going into overhead environments. I like to see lots of marine life.

I would definitely prefer warmer water, so I'll limit my search to areas more in the Southern region. Isola d'Elba sounds wonderful - I've seen some lovely hotels on there. Not sure I want to head all the way down to Sicily, but it's not out of the question either - I'll have to do some more research. Sardinia sounds very promising - I like the idea of a lot of variety, since I'll have several days.

Elba is wonderful, and you can find very nice dive with a lot of sea life (Capo Stella, Capo Fonza, Remaiolo, Gemini, Picchi di Pablo,.... are all good dives in the south of the isle). Lot of diving center in Elba: you'll choose depending on the town you will stay.

Sardinia offers lot of dives, and it's a very peculiar region in Italy. It's a large isle, and you can travel by car, visiting different places with different dives.

Sicily is warmer than Sardinia and much warmer than Elba: there are a lot of possible dives too.

Here's another question: I'm going to be a solo diver on this trip. Dive ops in different parts of the world operate differently when it comes to solo divers. For example, in heavily-touristed areas like the Caribbean, dive ops usually expect all the divers on the boat to stay with the DM during the dive; whereas here in SoCal, the DM's usually don't even get in the water, and divers go off on their own with their own buddies. If you don't have a buddy, sometimes the DM will help buddy you up with someone else on the boat, or if there are no other solo divers, they might dive with you, but that's the exception, not the rule. So how do dive ops in Italy operate? Are the dives generally DM-led, or are the divers usually left on their own? If I'm a solo, will I have any trouble finding a buddy?

Well, Italy is big enough to have many dive centers, and I don't know them all. Usually, the dives are led in water by a DM or instructor, and all the divers should have a buddy: another diver or, in case, the DM. This is the general rule, but I cannot guarantee that it's valid for each dive center.

So, I think you will not have problems to find a buddy.

Ciao,
A.

 

[andyoctopus]

I'd like to insert myself into this discussion and ask for your help ideas for novice divers in the Liguria region. I will be traveling with my 11 year old son. We are both newly certified (his is, obviously, a junior open water certification with the appropriate restrictions). A friend is loaning us a house in a little village close to Ventimiglia. We would love to do some diving in the area, particularly in or Cinque Terre.

I'd be grateful for any suggestions.

Thx in advance.

 

[snooozer]

We (2) will be in Sicily next month- Sept 08 and would like to at least sample the diving.
we are staying in NW - near Palermo and it looks like Ustica is perhaps the best bet for good diving if you only have a couple of diving days.

Looking on the internet there are several dive shops that advertize -but of course good personal experiences are usually the best indicator of a good shop.
any recommendations for dive shops in the Palermo area- appreciated.

 

[chrisch]

I'd like to insert myself into this discussion and ask for your help ideas for novice divers in the Liguria region. I will be traveling with my 11 year old son. We are both newly certified (his is, obviously, a junior open water certification with the appropriate restrictions). A friend is loaning us a house in a little village close to Ventimiglia. We would love to do some diving in the area, particularly in or Cinque Terre.

I'd be grateful for any suggestions.

Thx in advance.

Nice might be worth a look. (Nizza if driving there from Italy)

To be honest I'd rent some gear and have a dive off the beach. Most boat dives will be a bit deep for your circumstances.

Chris

 

[plongeursousmarin]

There is a dive operation in the southernmost village of the Cinque Terre (sorry I don't remember the name, Vernazza maybe, anyway the first one starting from the south). It's located at the bottom of the village, kind of in a tunnel that leads to the only access to the sea (sorry about the weird description but it'll make sense once you're there). I have no experience diving there but given the topography it would be interesting with lots of walls and pinnacles.

 

[agilulfo]

There is a dive operation in the southernmost village of the Cinque Terre

That would be Riomaggiore.