Dive Sites in Italy - Scuba Diving at its Best!

Diving Overview for Italy

Italy is a beautiful country full of delicious wine, world-famous cuisine and glorious sunshine! Well known for its love of football, the roman empire and home to the Vatican, Italy also has some fantastic diving opportunities.

Italy is known more as a tourist destination than a diving hot spot although there are some truly fabulous sites worth exploring. Diving predominantly happens around the islands of Sicily and Sardinia where the warm Mediterranean and Adriatic Seas create only mild currents, making Italy the ideal place for some relaxed, holiday diving. Further diving opportunities are available in Elba, Ponza and Ventotene.

Sardinia is a paradise for divers and nondivers alike providing divers with caves, corals and colourful underwater creatures. The island also boasts one of the most famous dives in Italy - Secca del Papa. From Sicily’s Aci Trezza, you can dive from the famous lava stones called the Ciclopi rocks.

Close to Rome, you will come across the Isole Pontine, an archipelago that includes Ponza and Ventotene Islands. This area is a cave lover’s paradise also offering rich red coral and diverse marine life.

Italy and the large islands of Sicily and Sardinia have very changeable weather in autumn, winter, and spring in marked contrast to the settled sunny weather of summer. Disturbed weather tends to occur from September to late May, some more sheltered areas are available so good dive planning and local advice is recommended, especially out of season.

Underwater visibility can range from 10 to 30 metres depending on the dive site due to currents or weather systems in the vicinity. The best time for diving is between May and September when the weather is warmer and more settled and you can expect land temperatures of up-to 35 degrees centigrate and water temperatures upto 30?C.

Videos of Italy