diving in Zante, Greece

[barb]

I'm going to Tsilivi in Zante, Greece in Aug with my husband and children. I have never dived aboard before (I'm a sports diver going on dive leader, my husband is the same and our eldest daughter is a budding sports diver)and would love to dive when we go to Greece. Any ideas on possible dives to do?

[alison boler]

Hi
Haven't dived there myself but I can see that there are operators in Zante - Eurodivers is one. St Nicholas Beach is mentioned as a dive location and there are quite a few sites. It looks like typical Med diving - turtles, octopus, rocks and wierd topography.
Hope you enjoy it - send us a trip report when you get back.
Alison

[barb]

Hi
Haven't dived there myself but I can see that there are operators in Zante - Eurodivers is one. St Nicholas Beach is mentioned as a dive location and there are quite a few sites. It looks like typical Med diving - turtles, octopus, rocks and wierd topography.
Hope you enjoy it - send us a trip report when you get back.
Alison
Thanks Alison. I'm sure I will love it and would love to do a trip report for you.
Barb

[Grouty]

Hi I dived with St Nicholas Divers based on St Nicholas Beach a few years ago, English setup with some very nice dives.

Dont know if their still there though, I may have a contact number if your intereted.

I also recomend snorkeling from Kalamaki Beach - Turtles & Large Tuna when I was there

Have fun

Ian

[barb]

Hi I dived with St Nicholas Divers based on St Nicholas Beach a few years ago, English setup with some very nice dives.

Dont know if their still there though, I may have a contact number if your intereted.

I also recomend snorkeling from Kalamaki Beach - Turtles & Large Tuna when I was there

Have fun

Ian
thanks for that Ian, I would be very grateful for the number of St Nicholas Divers.
I'm not sure how far we are from Kalamaki beach but if we are fairly close then I'll make it a must.
Thanks again
Barb

[Grouty]

Vassilikos is the area of 'Zante' the other name for Zakynthos, where St Nicholas Beach is found the diving centre is based in the Wreck Bar there, I can't find there number at present but have found some links where they are mentioned

Reading reveiws and seeing the site has brought back some good memories I said at the time I'd go back one day....

I'll give them a 10/10 rating as do most of the mentions they get on the web

Hope this helps

perhaps you'll let me know how you get on

Ian

<a href="http://www.justzante.co.uk/" >http://www.justzante.co.uk/</a>

<a href="http://hotelvasilikosbeach.gr/zakynthos-diving.htm" >http://hotelvasilikosbeach.gr/zakynthos-diving.htm</a>

[tommy gore]

I'm going to Tsilivi in Zante, Greece in Aug with my husband and children. I have never dived aboard before (I'm a sports diver going on dive leader, my husband is the same and our eldest daughter is a budding sports diver)and would love to dive when we go to Greece. Any ideas on possible dives to do?

hello i was looking for the same info as yourself and went to Zante a few years ago (not a diver then) i found this link hope it helps,keep us updated as we are thinking of using them in September :-)

<a href="http://www.diversparadise.gr/en/index.html" >http://www.diversparadise.gr/en/index.html</a>

have fun and be safe

TG

[gnirtS]

Hi,
Ive been to Zante for the last 3 years and dived the last 2 years.

Firstly a warning, dont expect too much from the diving - greek law is very strict and in Zante only certain areas of the island (around the south and west coast and keri peninsula are the main ones) are allowed by law for diving. Secondly wreck diving and night diving is against greek law. There is also a mandatory 30m depth limit and no deco.

The net result of this means you'll be diving rocky reef, walls and possibly the keri caves only.
While visibility when ive dived has been excellent there does seem a distinct lack of marine life, particulary larger marine life such as found in the eastern med. You may be lucky and find a loggerhead turtle to dive with (i was) but otherwise the odd grouper and barracuda is probably about it.

As i noted above, most diving is in the south/west tip of the island from the bay of Lagana out towards Keri with most of it on or near the rocky cliffs in that area. As a result most of the dive areas are in these areas.

Someone else mentioned St Nicolas beach diving - when i went and asked last year they cater nearly entirely for try divers only. The only certified dives they offer are a walk in shore dive from their location and they have no boat.

There are 15 or so dive sites commonly used by other centres and prices are near identical so selection is a matter of choice. Divers Paradise located out of the Louis hotel in Kalamaki and Eurodivers (who i used) in Laganas tend to be the main one used by british people. There are a few also in Keri itself, one dutch and the other i forget. Most tend to go out for 2 trips per day at around 9am and 2pm but eurodivers operated a day boat system where it left around 10am and got back about 3-4pm after 2 dives so that might be something to consider if juggling around a non diving family and so on.

The best dive imho there is the Keri Caves and the dive around the western side of Marathonisi island and "The arch (with shrimp cave) is also worth doing.

Hope thats of some use to you, feel free to email or message if you want any more information.

[gnirtS]

Hi, more detail in my reply below but St Nicholas diving is now nearly entirely based on try diving with only one afternoon shore-diving for qualified divers.
I wrote a report for my website months ago and didnt bother uploading but i can remember that St Nickolas isnt really an option. To dive there you have to go to Laganas/Kalamaki or Keri.

[Sam Walters]

I'm going to Tsilivi in Zante, Greece in Aug with my husband and children. I have never dived aboard before (I'm a sports diver going on dive leader, my husband is the same and our eldest daughter is a budding sports diver)and would love to dive when we go to Greece. Any ideas on possible dives to do?

Hi,
Have been to Tsilivi, it's beautiful, great for families and couples alike. You will have a great time. It has a large main beach which can get quite busy at times, but we found a little cove just north of the main beach, quiet, peaceful and great for free diving.

The best way to get around is to hire a car, a 4x4 is great if you want to get off the beaten track. Some of the beaches in the South-East of the island are beautiful and definately worth a visit, most of the turtle nesting beaches are there, v.picturesque.

We dived at St Nicholas beach, it was a shore dive, where the best they seemed to offer was a wreck.... of a jet ski!! lol It was great to get in the water for a refresher, but to be honest we would have seen just as much had we been snorkelling!

We're off to Tsilivi again at the end of June, so I am also looking for new places to dive, so far I have come across the following site which looks promising:

<a href="http://www.diving-center-turtle-beach.com/" >http://www.diving-center-turtle-beach.com/</a>

I will have to post another message once we've been and let you know how we got on.

I hope this helps,

Sam :o)