Greece is a popular travel destination renowned worldwide for natural landscape, culture and cuisine. It` s coastal waters provide excellent diving opportunity for divers of every level. The Mediterranean Sea has beautiful visibility with crystal clear water and rocky formations. Zakynthos is known for the iconic Navagio but the island has a lot to offer for everybody. Diving is Zakynthos is a good opportunity to practice or to explore the underwater landscape.
My dive:
During my first dive I got the chance to explore The Arch, one of the most popular sites in the area. The dive starts near a shallow limestone reef and rapidly descends through the arch, a hole that starts from 8 m / 26 feet and drops to 20 m / 65 feet. The area is surrounded by passages and caverns that can be explored. The walls are encrusted with soft corals and sponges and full of sealife with breams, parrotfish, wrasses, eels, lobsters or groupers.
The dive was fairly easy with low current, a maximum depth of 24 meters / 79 feet and a bottom time of 50 minutes. The water temperature can drop to 20°C / 68°F at depths of 18 meters / 59 feet or more.
For the second dive we chose Marathonissi, also known as “Turtle” Island because of its shape. The area surrounding the island is shaped as a maze with large rocks breaking the surface. The reef consists of limestone rocks populated with sponges and soft corals. If you are lucky enough the Giant Loggerhead Turtles can be encountered. Also the sealife consists of lionfish, eels, wrasse, large schools of tuna or amberjack.
The dive was easy with almost no current, a maximum depth of 14 meters / 46 feet and a bottom time of 57 minutes.
Check my Zakynthos diving experience in the following clip:
Getting there:
Fly to Zakynthos International Airport or take the ferry from Kyllini to Zakynthos.
When to visit:
Diving season runs from late May to September but summer months are recommended for having comfortable temperatures (above 23°C / 73°F) and excellent visibility (over 20 m / 65 feet).
What you`ll see:
Parrotfish, Lionfish, Groupers, Loggerhead sea Turtle, Stingray, Caves and caverns
Water temperature can drop severely at depths over 20 m / 65 feet so bring at least a 5mm wetsuit.
DIVETIP
Accommodation:
Zakynthos is a large island with multiple areas available for accommodation. Most of the divecenters are located in Kalamaki – Laganas area.
Diving center:
I dived with Eurodivers and the overall experience was pleasant with good personal. They also provide transfer from your hote to their location.
Dive rating:
Snorkeling:
Great visibility with good chances of spotting sealife like parrotfish, lionfish or even turtles.
Interested in diving in Europe? Check our dedicated articles.
No Comments