Dive Sites
Imagine a Mediterranean island bathed in warm, clear blue water. Long, sandy beaches punctuate the predominantly indented and rocky coastline, and the culture and cuisine are unmistakably Mediterranean. This is Cyprus, and it’s nestled in the northeast corner of the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. From simple, sandy-bottom dives for beginners to epic deep dives, the island’s diving offers something for everyone.
There are many memorable dive sites in Cyprus, but some of the favorites are the Zephryos Reef and the Wall, The Merit Pipe and lots more. Other sites include the The Amphorae Caves which are are found off Paphos, where you’ll see ancient pottery, still intact. The Zenobia is the most famous wreck dive on Cyprus (and one of the top 5 wrecks in the world), and the trucks chained to the deck are not to be missed.
Here are some of our favourites, and also the places we run our courses, enjoy !
Mare Monte reef is where our home is
just off Mare Monte beach. A gentle shore dive, with an easy entry into the water from the beach, just a few steps away from the dive centre. A perfect shallow dive for your first ever Try-Dive at a gradual increase in depth along the sandy bottom up to 6 meters. Wonderful visibility and picturesque swim throughs, perfect photo opportunities for those all important dive selfies! The reef is a plenty with marine life, colourful ornate groupers will be happy to make your acquaintance and you may be lucky enough to spot tiny nudibranch making their homes on the reef.
Zephyros Reef
Zephyros Reef, just a very short rib ride away from the dive centre jetty on Mare Monte beach. An easy descent down a permanent buoy line to the top of the reef, perfect for open water divers at a starting depth of 18 metres. Abundant with marine life and home to many large groupers that feed on the top of the reef, turtles, rays and plenty more. There is an abundance to explore here, with great visibility and plenty of nooks and crannies to explore. Look out for octopus hiding between rocks, or many small fish hiding in the sea grass. Advanced divers can drop over the edge of the reef to explore further and deeper in search of more marine life, such as tuna and barracuda. Zephyros is a bountiful reef and perfect for amateur photographers and all levels of divers to explore.
The Wall – Dive site
The Wall as you can guess is not the Pink Floyd album but the dive site is as deep 😉
Top of the wall is about 20m and max depth is ~30.Topography looks like a slice of pizza. Following the right side rocks will lead you to Zephyrs and following left side takes you to back of Rock garden. Groupers and Lion fish are usually spotted here; you need to be aware of your buoyancy to have a smooth dive here. If there is current, you can slide down towards Zephyros.
SG-70 Wreck Dive
I first dived on SG-70 a little over four months after the former Turkish coastguard boat had been skuttled about 500 metres off Mare Monte beach. The vessel, which is around 40 metres in length, was sunk in October 2017 to a depth of 32 metres to provide a wreck for divers to explore. On that first dive it was as if the local squid population had assumed the boat had been put there for them to deposit with their cases of eggs, decorating vast areas of its structure with what look like clusters of white pea pods hanging and swaying in the gentle current.
Fast forward a few months and the squid hatchlings gone, the boat was establishing itself as a reef with shoals of fish attracting in passing tuna – and a lone trigger fish that have made the SG 70 home.
A short ride on the DP Diveboat, there is a permanent line to aid descent / ascent. At it’s deepest, the SG-70 sits just short of 36 meters but most of what you want to see is above the deck making it just about suitable for divers qualified to 30 metres.
As a dive attraction take your pick! You have the marine life already described, or the vessel itself – an ideal training ground for deep, wreck and Nitrox courses. This dive can also be combined with a short swim to the Pinocchio reef… and to know all about that you’ll need to read another review!
Day Trip to the Zenobia
This is one of the best wreck dives you will ever make. The MS Zenobia is in the top 5 listed wrecks world-wide. The ‘Roll on Roll Off’ ferry sank in 1980 just one mile off shore. With a length of 178 metres (thats 2 whole football fields) and most cargo still in place this dive is a must for every experienced diver staying in Cyprus. The wreck lies on its port side with many of the 108 trucks visible. The depth of the Zenobia starts at 17 metres and reaches the seabed at 42 metres. This day trip requires an early start and includes two dives on the Zenobia, a brilliantly prepared lunch and all transfers. If you have dived the wreck once you always want to go back. Nitrox is ideal on these two dives. This dive is only suitable for experienced divers.
Amphorae Caves
A fantastic dive of archaeological importance. The dive takes you to depth from 5 metres to 12 metres where you can find and explore several caves and gullies. There are a few swim throughs which consist of encrusted amphorae in the roof of the cave. According to archaeologists this happened due to movements of the seabed many thousand years ago. This brilliant dive is the second dive of our two tank dives outings. Not to be missed.