Dive sites for beginners

What makes a beginner site

Shelter from swell so the surface is calm for the first descent; a sandy or rocky bottom at 5–8 m where the first breaths are taken; and a reef within 13 m for the second dive, interesting enough to forget the equipment. The instructor picks the spot on the site for exactly these things.

What a first dive at these sites feels like

The first minutes are spent kneeling or hovering on the bottom at 5–8 m beside the instructor, getting used to breathing through the regulator and clearing the mask. Then the instructor takes you for a slow tour of the rock at that depth for 15–25 minutes: bream drifting past, the pale limestone, sunlight moving on the sand. It is deliberately unhurried — the aim is to relax, not to cover ground.

The second dive goes to about 13 m along the reef itself, where the boulders, ledges and cave mouths are. You will look into dark openings from open water and watch fish traffic around them; you will not go inside. The instructor controls your buoyancy and depth throughout, in a group of 3–4 divers, and you can end either dive at any moment by signalling.

The reefs off Cleopatra Beach

The coast's home site and the usual beginner venue: rocky reef and boulders beneath the castle, fish in the open, cave mouths seen from outside. See the dive sites page for the terrain.

The amphora site

At accessible depth, so it can be a beginner's second dive within the ceiling: ancient jars on the seabed and the octopus that live in them. Chosen on the day, never promised.

What a beginner does not dive

Anything with rock overhead, anything deeper than about 13 m, and any site the morning's sea makes unsuitable. That is the ceiling on our boats and it does not move for a confident guest.

What to expect from the sea

The sites are sheltered by the castle peninsula and lie minutes from the harbour, which is exactly why they suit a first dive: short boat time, calm water and clear visibility on most days. The crew still reads the sea each morning and chooses the site accordingly, and if the day is not suitable for beginners, the dive is moved rather than forced.

This is the beginner dive: 45 € per person, everything included, pay on the day.