The islands of the Mediterranean are rich in culture and history, but how do
they compare under the water? DIVE readers give their verdicts.
SicilyThe island of Sicily is just 3km away from the toe of the Italian mainland.
Despite this proximity, it has a completely different feel, which is partly
attributed to the Arabic influence of the past. Think unspoiled natural beauty
alongside incredible historic and archaeological sites, add to that a good Mediterranean
climate, gastronomy, a choice of two or more flights per day and excellent diving,
and you have a superb holiday location.
Scopello is positioned on the stunning coastline of northwest Sicily, and at
the foot of the only nature reserve, 'Zingaro'. This consists of 7km
of unspoiled coastline, backed by steep mountains. Scopello is ideal for resort
divers who want a relaxing family holiday with a few good dives thrown in. Wrecks,
walls, grottoes and caves are all on the menu here. The wrecks include the Capua,
a Second World War battleship with a cargo of ammunition, lying upright and
intact. Clouds of anthias, moray eels and a resident conger have made their
home there. Another wreck here is the Kent which sank in 1973. Sponges and anemones
have long since replaced its cargo of thousands of copies of the Koran. Throughout
the underwater nature reserve of Zingaro you will find beautiful rock formations
and limestone chambers decorated with stalactites and encrusting sponges. Scopello
boasts probably the prettiest dive centre in the world, Cetaria Dive centre
is based in an old tuna factory. To make the most of your stay, it is best to
collect a hire-car from Palermo airport.
Marettimo or 'the sacred island' is part of the Egadi archipelago,
furthest from Sicily, but one of the easiest resorts to access. There are almost
no cars, no hotels and no campsites on the island itself, which is a green mountain
covered with brushwood forests. It's about as far away from the madding
crowd as you can get, but is a perfect location for divers, with accommodation
in typical local rooms and apartments. Lunch is cooked and served on the dive
boat, and there are plenty of good restaurants to choose from in the evening.
The diving here is probably the best in the region, with visibility of 30-40m
and guaranteed sightings of amberjacks, sea breams, morays and lobsters. You
will not find any wrecks, but the dive centre visits more than 20 sites.
Ustica is a small, volcanic island 60km north of Palermo. You can dive among
Roman artefacts, which the conservationists have left in place with explanatory
cards. The island has been a protected marine reserve for 15 years and as a
result, the marine life has become prolific. You will find everything from protected
bays for dive training, to offshore sites such as La Colombara, where you can
often see schooling barracuda and large groupers.
Pantelleria is another volcanic island and the most southerly of them all. It
resides on the same latitude as Gozo, and has an Afro-Mediterranean climate
due to its close proximity to Tunisia. Its volcanic beginnings have made for
some interesting sites. Why not immerse yourself in hot springs and thermal
pools? Pantelleria, while more difficult to reach, has several claims to fame.
Not only is it the hideaway for stars like Madonna, Armani and Sting, but it
also produces the best capers in the world. The dive centre has set up an underwater
archaeology course for those who wish to understand more about the remnants
that are scattered around most dives sites. Surprisingly, parrotfish are common
species here, and the rare Mediterranean monk seal allegedly still exists in
the area. In spring, it is not uncommon to encounter dolphins and sperm whales.
TOP DIVES
La Cattedrale, Marettimo: This large cave, approximately 100m in length, is
at a depth of 27-30m. The topography of the cave is fantastic, with columns
of stalactites and stalagmites, which you can swim around - one of which
looks suspiciously like the Virgin Mary! Inside the cave you can see lots of
morays, congers, goatfish, cleaner shrimps and cardinal fish.
MARINE LIFE
Big stuff: Congers and groupers are about as big as it gets.
Small stuff: Morays, anthias, damsels, parrotfish, goatfish, baselet, numerous
crustaceans.
TEMPERATURES
The Mediterranean climate means the summers are hot and dry and winter is mild
with light rainfall. Winters are short and spring comes early to this area.
Air temperatures range from 14 to 30ºC. Water temperatures range from 18ºC in
June to 24ºC in September and October.
GETTING THERE
Ryan Air operates two flights a day from Stansted to Sicily's capital Palermo.
There is also a British Midland flight each Sunday from London Heathrow. Scheduled
flights are also offered daily via Milan.
If flying with Ryan Air, it is best to pre-book extra baggage allowance. For
an extra £15 in advance you can have an unlimited sports kit allowance.
READER'S VERDICT
Kathy Dunford
Experienced diver
I travelled to Marettimo with Crusader Travel in July this year for two weeks
and had a wonderful time. The island is completely unspoiled and the dive centre,
Voglia di Mare, couldn't have been more friendly or helpful. 'The
Med is overlooked by divers, but the diving in Marettimo is incredibly colourful,
with plenty of hard and soft corals.' 'The marine life is also very
good, and although there are not as many fish as in the Red Sea, there are lots
of anthias, groupers, parrotfish, damsels, goatfish, morays and congers. On
some of the dives you can also see big shoals of amberjack and barracuda.
Sardinia Sardinia is the second largest of the Mediterranean islands (Sicily takes the
honour), lying to the west of mainland Italy and to the south of France and
Corsica, it is flanked by the Tyrrhenian Sea to one side and the Sardinian Sea
to the other.
The island has endured a colourful history, having been colonized by an assortment
of nations, but nowadays the pace of life is much more relaxed, so much so that
the inhabitants tend to live to a healthy old age. This is attributed to a healthy
lifestyle, fresh food and good, full-bodied wines!
Sardinia has 1,800km of stunning coastline and is well-known for its deserted
beaches and translucent waters. Visibility can reach 25m-plus, which is ideal
for exploring the numerous wrecks littered around its shores. Several of these
are located in the Gulf of Cagliari, near Sardinia's capital Cagliari,
which lies in the south of the island. The most famous of these are the Entella
and the Romagna. Most of the wrecks in this area were sunk in 1943 by the most
successful of the Royal Navy's submarines, HMS Safari.
The Entella settled in a shallow 16m but is very broken-up. Half of the hull
is covered with Neptune grass, which hides the overall view, but there are lots
of critters to be found, including several types of nudibranch. The Romagna
is a 50m tanker, which was carrying gasoline and weapons. The wreck is broken
into two - the bow having been blasted away by a mine - but the wreckage
is still quite intact and lies at a depth of 42m, with the top of the stern
starting at 34m. Large shoals of fish are to be found here, which makes it popular
with fishermen, so beware fishing nets and lines.
If you work your way up the east coast to Marina di Orosei, approximately two
miles offshore, you will find another of HMS Safari's victims. The KT is
probably the most beautiful wreck in Sardinia. Carrying ammunition for the German
army in Africa , the Krieg Transporte 12 was 70m long. The bow was devastated
by the explosion but the central part of the hull is still in good condition
and lies on a sandy bed at 34m. Strong currents can sometimes make this a difficult
dive, but it's worth the effort.
If wrecks don't whet your appetite, then head to the north of the island
where you can find La Maddalena marine park, stunning seamounts and granite
seascapes as well as an underwater labyrinth of caves and tunnels.
With a length of more than 350m, Nereo Cave is one of the largest salt-water
cave systems in Europe. There are three main entrances linked together by various
passages. The main one is a short distance from Capo Caccia on the northwest
of the island where a limestone mass plunges into the sea. The main caverns
can be dived, but special permissions are required for deep penetration diving.
Top dives
Lavezzi Island: Lying in the French marine park between Corsica and Sardinia,
the island can be reached by fast RIB within 45-60 minutes. The most famous
residents are the 40 or so groupers, which are completely unfazed by the paparazzi
divers and their strobes, and are happy to pose for pictures.
Secca del Papa, off Punta del Papa: The seamounts at this site, one of which
peaks at just 9m below the surface and plunges down to 40m, are covered with
red and yellow sea fans. Nudibranchs are everywhere and morays and groupers
patrol their territory. Boats are limited to only one dive on this site per
visit.
MARINE LIFE
Big stuff: not a lot, unless you include the groupers and conger eels.
Small stuff: nudibranchs, tiger morays, octopus, cuttlefish, shrimps, many Mediterranean
fish including amberjacks, sea bream, wrasse, blennies and damselfish.
TEMPERATURES
The weather is generally good all year round, with warm summers and mild winters.
Air temperature ranges from 14ºC in Jan to 29ºC in July. Water temperatures
range from 14 to 26ºC.
The best time to travel is between May and September. Diving is offered year-round,
but storms can blow you out during the winter months.
GETTING THERE
Direct flights are available from several regional airports in the UK to all
three airports in Sardinia: Cagliari in the south, Alghero in the northwest
and Olbia in the northeast. If you don't want to fly you can travel overland
through France and Italy and catch the ferry from Genoa, which takes about eight
hours.
READER'S VERDICT
Alan James
Underwater photographer
'Sardinia has the most exciting diving in the Mediterranean. The water
clarity is superb and the topography both above and below the water line is
stunning. I lead photography trips to the island and we usually travel with
Location Sardinia and dive with Anthias Divers in the northeast of the island.
The dive centre is fantastic and covers around 100km of the coastline. It also
makes the hour-long trip to Lavezzi island to photograph the groupers. If you
want to get the best out of the diving in Sardinia, you need to dive with an
operation that has fast boats which can get you out to the best sites.
Corsica Lying six miles north of Sardinia, Corsica is a French territory perhaps best-known
for being the birthplace of Napoleon Bonaparte. However, there is far more to
Corsica than this footnote in history that occurred some 235 years ago. The
island, which is about half the size of Wales, is a remarkable mixture of landscapes
- there are mountain ranges, national parks, glacial lakes, forests and
rocky coves with sandy beaches.
Few UK operators offer specific diving packages to Corsica, but there are numerous
travel companies which can arrange package holidays for you, and then it's
simply a matter of arranging diving yourself. We'd recommend hiring a car,
as there is a wealth of glorious countryside, impressive towns in the shape
of Bastia, Bonifacio and Ajaccio, and beautiful villages to explore. Most dives
sites are situated on the western side of Corsica, so it's worth bearing
this in mind when deciding where to go, although the wreck of the Alcione C
is one eastern dive site worth visiting and good-quality dives to the south
of Bonifacio at the Lavezzi Islands can be accessed from southeastern-based
dive centres. There is a variety of accommodation available all over the island,
from guesthouses and villas along the coast to inland gîtes. For those
on a budget, camping is a cheaper option and there are plenty of campsites with
excellent facilities.
Most of the diving takes place from hardboats, visiting offshore reefs, walls
and a number of wrecks.
One of Corsica's best areas for diving is the Lavezzi Islands marine reserve.
The islands lie off Corsica's southern tip, not far from Bonifacio. Here
you will find remarkably friendly grouper, testament to the positive effect
the reserve has had on fish numbers. This part of the Mediterranean is renowned
for its good visibility - up to 25m - so be sure to pack your cameras.
As well as large grouper, you can expect to see moray eels, gorgonians, bream
and other Mediterranean species. While currents are generally mild, the further
offshore you go, the stronger they become as the Strait of Bonifacio takes effect.
Moving further north along the east coast towards the town of Propiano lies
the wreck of the Vickers Viking, a two-engined aircraft that crashed in 1959.
Lying at a depth of 18m, the wreck is still largely intact, sitting upright
on patches of seagrass. The wreck is extremely photogenic.
To south of the town of Calvi, near the harbour town of Galeria, there are several
good dives. These site are distinguished by large amounts of fish-life and mature
fans and sponges. Near Calvi itself lies the wreck of an American B17 bomber,
which has become a favourite with visiting divers.
Top dive
B17 bomber, Calvi: shot down by a German aircraft in 1944, this relatively shallow
wreck is now home to schools of fish and moray and conger eels. With wings intact
and often in excellent visibility, this makes for a stunning wreck.
Marine life
Big stuff: if you're lucky, whales and dolphins - there is a cetacean
sanctuary in the Ligurian Sea. Small stuff: cuttlefish, octopus, lobster, bream,
moray and conger eel, scorpionfish, and grouper, nudibranchs, sponges, anemones,
fans, and other typical Mediterranean fishlife.
Temperatures
Corsica's climate is very mild, with winter lows of 12ºC and highs of 29ºC
in summer. Water temperatures are 10-14ºC in spring, reaching highs of
25ºC in summer.
Getting there
Direct flights from the UK are few and far between. British Airways offers direct
flights from London Gatwick to Bastia in northern Corsica between April and
October. Alternatively, you could catch a connecting flight, most of which are
via Nice. You can also go by ferry from Marseille and Toulon in France and Genoa
and Livorno in Italy.
READERS VERDICT
FrÉdÉric Therin
Experienced diver
'Corsica is the most beautifulisland I know. The topside scenery is mind-blowing,
making it an ideal place to visit for both divers and non-divers. And then there's
the underwater world. I stayed near Porto Vecchio in the southeast of the island.
Most of the dives were scenic and took place on small walls, but there were
wrecks too. The best memory I have is of the five moray eels that stuck their
heads out of a pile of bricks. I also had some great night dives - on one
I saw my first cowrie.'
Corsica
Dive centres
Centre de Plongée Atoll, Bonifacio
tel: 00 33 4 95 730283
email: atoll@atoll-diving.com
website: www.atoll-diving.com
Hippocampe, Porto Vecchio
tel: 00 33 4 95 705654
email: dive@hippocampe.de
website: www.hippocampe.de
Sardinia
Dive centres
Anthias Diving Centre
tel: 00 39 078 986311
email: sardasub@tiscalinet.it
Argonauta Diving Club
tel: 00 39 078 493046
email: info@argonauta.itCentro Immersioni Sardegna
tel: 00 39 070 807500
email: stelnet@pobox.com
Diving Center Costa Paradiso
tel: 00 39 339 1951976
email: costaparadisodiving@tiscali.it
Sicily
Dive centres
Alta Marea Dive Centre (Ustica)
email: info@altamareaustica.it
website: www.altamareaustica.it
Aquasub Dive Centre (Pantelleria)
email: info@aquasub.ch
website: www.aquasub.ch
Cetaria Dive Centre (Scopello)
email: info@cetaria.com
website: www.cetaria.com
Volgia Di Mare (Marettimo)
email: info@vogliadimare.com
website: www.vogliadimare.com
