Author: Christos

Church Bay

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Set in the waters of Coral Bay, the Church Bay dive site is located by the Amphitheatre dive site and is accessed by a rope rail that safely guides divers down the side of a cliff to enter the sea.
 
Despite its seemingly challenging start, the site is perfect for beginners as it offers a gradually increasing water depth and a mostly sandy and flat surface.
 
The stunning rock formations add interest to this easy dive, including overhangs, canyons, gullies, swim throughs and a large cavern where light streams in from the dome ceiling.
 
The moderate marine life includes bream, cuttlefish, grouper and pufferfish, along with schools of thousands of transparent sand smelt fish that look like masses of glittering glass in the water.
 

Location: Coral Bay, Pafos
GPS Coordinates: 34° 858629”N 32° 347172”E
Type of Dive Site:Rocky and Sandy Bottom
Depth:23 metres
Visibility:20+ metres
Access:Shore
Qualification Required:Open Water
Dive Category:Recreational Diving

Airport Reef

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Located at a beautiful bay next to Pafos International Airport, this dive site is a series of high reefs that stretch out for 200 metres, forming the illusion of being in a labyrinth and revealing underwater treasures with each turn.

The mesmerising site unfolds across swim throughs, chimneys and gullies and is ideal for beginners as it offers easy access from the shore and has a mostly flat, sandy surface.

Among its inhabitants are octopi, squid, and shrimp, whilst crab and turtles have also been spotted.

Location: Pafos
GPS Coordinates: 34°42’37.6″N 32°29’15.1″E
Type of dive site: Rocky and Sandy Bottom
Depth: 16 metres
Visibility: 20+ metres
Access: Shore
Qualification Required:Open Water
Dive Category:Recreational Diving
 

Jubilee Shoals

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This majestic site is the largest natural reef on the island, stretching out for 2km along the Pissouri coastline of Lemesos. As such, two dives are advised to fully appreciate all this amazing reef has to offer.

As one of the most stunning dives of Cyprus, the experience is characterised by a mountain wall, immense rocks that resemble stalagmites, and multiple caves at various depths, including a large cave with three entrances that is encountered after a dramatic, plunging cliff face.
The site is also considered to be the top site for cave and wall diving; excellent for technical diving, and one that will challenge and delight the more experienced diver.

The flourishing and diverse marine life at the reef includes schools of amberjack, coloured wrasse, crayfish, damselfish, grouper, moray eels, lobsters, and more. Particularly impressive are the bright nudibranch, flamboyant flambelinas and turtles. The larger marine species are found at the feeding ground created by the upwelling along an immense rock wall known as Jubilee Arches.

Location:Pissouri, Lemesos
GPS Coordinates: 34° 37’46.44″N 32° 46’12.78″E
Type of Dive Site: Rocky, Drop-off, Wall, Cave
Depth: 65 metres
Visibility: 20+ metres
Access: By boat
Qualification Required: Advanced
Dive Category:Technical & Recreational

Amathus Archaeological Site

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The Amathunta Marine Protected Area (MPA) is also known as ‘The Pyramids’ in reference to the artificial reef created there in 2009 with large concrete blocks in the shape of pyramids.

The reef was the island’s first and remains its largest at 2.5 square kilometres, with the name deriving from its location at the old harbour of ancient city kingdom ‘Amathus’.

Fourboulderpyramids forming a square – and approximately another 100 concrete blocks distributed around the area- form the reef.The highest pyramid is 18 metres tall, and the holes inside the structures allow fish to seek shelter and safety, without allowing larger species – or humans – to enter their refuge. A series of statues add further interest for the diver and habitat for marine life.

With such a wonderland created for marine life, the reef was rapidly populated, and today includes a thriving plethora of different species, including bream, grouper, moray eels, octopi and sea urchins, among others.

Location: Amathunta,Lemesos
GPS Coordinates: 34°40’50.34″N 33° 5’4.74″E
Type of Dive Site:Artificial Reef
Depth: 18-35 metres
Visibility:15+ metres
Access:By boat
Qualification Required: Open Water
Dive Category:Recreational

Dorida

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The Dorida natural, circular reef forms part of the Larnaka Marine Protected Area (MPA) that also features the MV Elpida and LEF1 wrecks that were sunk in 2019 to create an artificial reef and enrich marine diversity in the area.

Situated just 600 metres from the coast of Voroklini, the shallow waters make the reef perfect for snorkellers, as well as for a leisurely recreational dive. The reef offers an interesting combination of sandy and rocky substrates, withmeadowsofPosidonia seagrassalso contributing to the optimum environment for a variety of marine organisms, including sponge species and small sea creatures. Divers can see combers, damselfish, fan worms, gobiids,marbled spinefoot rabbitfish, parrotfish, pufferfish, scorpionfish, sea cucumbers and starfish. Larger species include dusky grouper and the greater amberjack. Octopi can also be spotted.

Tour the site virtually here.

Location:Voroklini, Larnaka
GPS Coordinates:34° 57’55.2″N 33° 40’35.6″E
Type of Dive Site:Natural Reef (Circular)
Depth:12 metres
Visibility: 30 metres
Access:By boat (600m from the shore)
Qualification Required:Open Water
Dive Category: Recreational 

 

The Nail

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Located close to the Bullet Point (Skopia) dive site, The Nail takes its name from a rock shaped like a nail that looks downwards to the bay. Conditions are always favourable at the site, and it is quite similar to its neighbouring Bullet Point (Skopia) in the experience it offers divers, making it ideal for beginners and snorkellers thanks to its shallow depths.

The interesting rock formations of the site create a welcoming habitat for an array of marine life including sea slugs, starfish, moray eels, whilst grouper, red snapper and squid are spotted seasonally.

Location: Xylofagou, Larnaka
GPS Coordinates: 34° 57’27.16″N 33° 50’9.03″E
Type of Dive Site: Rocky & Small Caverns
Depth: 17 metres
Visibility: 20+ metres
Access: Shore
Qualification Required: Open Water
Dive Category: Recreational Diving

Watchtower (Bullet point)

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This site takes its name due to its proximity to a local shooting range, with bullets visible on the seabed, but is also known as ‘Skopia’ which means ‘watchtower). It provides an easy diving experience with low currents and varying levels making it ideal for beginners and snorkellers too.
The natural reef is characterised by varying rock walls and crevices of different lengths and heights, as well as impressivegeomorphological formations with many semi-enclosed caves, small bays with coral substrate, and meadows of Posidonia seagrass.
 
Species encountered during this dive include fire worms, goblids, nudibranch,moray eels, tube worms, scorpionfish, sea slugs, starfish, wrasses, as well as colonies of the Mediterranean endemic pillow coral.Larger fish dwell in the caves.
Tour the site virtually here.
 

Location:Xylofagou, Larnaka
Coordinates: 34° 57’38.79″N 33° 49’47.84″E
Type of Dive Site: Rock & Canyon
Depth:16 metres
Visibility:20 metres
Access: Shore / By boat
Qualification Required: Open Water
Dive Category: Recreational Diving

Watchtower (Bullet point) by visitcyprus on Sketchfab

For the Coral 1 click here

For the Coral 2 click here

Cape Pyla Reef

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This dive is characterised by a series of rock formations with interesting, small canyons that ascend from the bottom, adding interest to the swim throughs.

The site is perfect for the more claustrophobic diver, or a beginner to cave dives, as entry into the cave is safe and the exit point is clearly visible. Furthermore, there is a striking illusion of brightness throughout the cave and swim throughs thanks to the different layers of the seabed in combination with the colour of the rocks and the white sand.

The rich marine life consists of sea stars, sea slugs, shells, and soft sponges and corals, among other delightful discoveries.

Location: Xylofagou, Larnaka
GPS Coordinates: 34° 56’23.67″N 33° 51’16.22″E
Type of Dive Site: Reef & Small Canyons
Depth: 18 metres
Visibility: 20+ metres
Access: By boat
Qualification Required: Open Water / Boat Diver
Dive Category: Recreational Diving

Pyla Pirate Caves

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The stunning underwater caves and caverns of this site are as beautiful as they are unique. As the only place on the island where you can dive in a cave and surface inside a mountain, the experience is further enriched by stalactites and a dazzling range of different blue hues throughout.
 
All three caves at the site can be entered with a single dive. And although the marine life here is not as prolific as at the reefs of Larnaka, it is certainly special; the caves are one of the few places on the island where you may be lucky enough to catch a glimpse of the shy Mediterranean monk seal (Monachus monachus).

An array of different coloured crabs also dwell here, as well assmall spotted cleaning shrimp. In the upper cave – where divers resurface – bats hang from the ceiling, amidst the minimal light that streams in through the crevices.

Location: Xylofagou,Larnaka
GPS Coordinates: 34° 56’38.83″N 33° 51’16.57″E
Type of Dive Site: Caves & Caverns
Depth: 5 metres
Visibility: 20 metres
Access: By boat
Qualification Required: Open Water / Boat Diver
Dive Category:Recreational Diving

Alexandria Shipwreck

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The Alexandria is an Egyptian wooden fishing boat that sank in 2006; one of the few wooden shipwrecks on the island.

The vessel sank perfectly onto the seabed where she continues to sit – just 200 metres from the world-famous Zenobia wreck – attracting shoals to the overgrowth that now embraces her. Turtles sometimes visit the reef and there have even been dolphin sightings.
Among the schools of fish that flourish at the wreck are barracuda, big grouper, jacks, kingfish, parrotfish and tuna. Brightly coloured sea slugs (flambelina and nudibranch) also favour the old wooden vessel.

The wreck’s depth and its small swim throughs make it suitable for technical diving, with the use of nitrox advised.

Location:Xylofagou, Larnaka Bay
Coordinates: 34° 53.49 N 33° 39.27E
Type of Dive Site: Wreck
Depth: 30 metres
Visibility: 20+ metres
Dimensions: 30 metres long / 9 metres wide
Access: By boat
Qualification Required: Advanced Open Water/ Boat Diver
Dive Category:Recreational and Technical Diving

Alexandria (dive_route) by visitcyprus on Sketchfab

For the Alexandria shipwreck dive route click here