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Diving bargains - Porquerolles, South of France
You can go on holiday and find yourself swimming in warm, blue water without even having to catch a flight. DIVE contributor Graeme Bruce proved this by driving from Tyneside to Porquerolles.  Photo: Matt Bailey  Photo: Graeme Bruce |
‘Porquerolles has a dive centre, cheap self-catering accommodation, a few bars, restaurants and shops,’ Graeme says. ‘Five of us – including one non-diver – travelled in one big car with all our gear. Using the Internet, we booked the Channel Tunnel, the accommodation, the dive centre and arranged to be collected from the French mainland. It’s a bit of a hike from Newcastle to the South of France, but 20 hours’ driving and one overnight stop covered it.
‘The dive centre staff were great, even though our spoken French was a mixture of ‘Allo, allo’, Geordie and failed GCSE French. We had to be on the pier at 8am every morning ready to leave, and our rebreather divers were not allowed to be more than 70 minutes underwater on each dive.
’Although his group faced rough sea conditions (with typical Geordie fortitude), they enjoyed a good mixture of diving in clear, blue water. Porquerolles serves as an excellent base for wrecks such as the Vieux Vapeur and the Farrando, not to mention high-quality reefs such as La Gabinieres, where a dramatic wall studded with gorgonian fans drops down to 48m.
Graeme used dive centre Porquerolles Plongée, www.porquerolles-plongee.com and booked accommodation through the local tourist information bureau www.porquerolles.com. Flights from London to Toulon can be booked through www.buzzaway.com if you want to cut out the road trip.
Top Tips
Dive centres usually have fixed prices, but they may be prepared to discount if you are an experienced diver, perhaps with experience in instruction. If you don’t mind nannying a less experienced buddy it will make life easier for them, so why not ask for a favourable rate or some other kickback?