Mykonos and Rhodes Scuba Tips

[toothpilot2005]

I don't know if this generates any inteest, but we just returned from 12 Days Celebrity to Greece and Turkey. Prior to sailing I looked for and found dive operators in Santorini, Rhodes and Mykonos who were willing to pick us up at or near the ship and take us for half day one tank (2-tank available) dives.

 

I can say that our experience in Rhodes was the best using waterhoppers. A very professional operator, and they came directly to the entrance to the port. There was available snorkeling for those interested. I would highly recommend their services. Gear was included in their reasonable fees.

 

In Mykonos, I can not say we were pleased with the operator dive adventures dot gr. It would be fine for young divers willing to carry their gear a great distance and climb a difficult phone-pole type ladder into an inflatable. They did offer snorkel ride alongs. Gear was not included in their high fee, and they charged 15 Euros per person for cramped sweaty transportation to and from the dive shop.

 

We decided before our trip to forego Santorini becuase of the recent sinking of Sea Diamond and the resulting oil spill; however, we have read rave reviews of the diving there and would love to try some diving should we return. Gear was not included in their fee, and they charged 15 Euro per person for transportation. I very high proce for a very poor experience.

 

Also, we could not help but notice quite a number of dive shops in Istanbul right by the cruise port, and wished there was time to have taken a dive or two there. If anyone has dived Istanbul, we would appreciate comments should we decied to revisit this lovely town.

 

Well, hope this helps someone. We were very much on our own trying to arrange Eastern Med dives, but were glad to have one great experience in Rhodes.

[Eileen G]

Thanks so much for the info. We have thought about diving in the Med. How was the diving. Is it anything like diving in the Carribbean? What did you see? Thanks.

[toothpilot2005]

Wow, I really didn't know if I'd get a response, but glad someone was interested. I can say that it is quite different than the fish and coral filled waters we are used to in the tropical Caribbean. There were tremendous stone formations, canyon-like, with limestone caves, swim throughs leading to quiet grottoes, octopus, and fish species that were unfamiliar to us. The water temp is colder than I'm used to (I don't own anything heavier than a 3mm full suit and 2 and 3mm shorties. They provde 5mm full-suits with hoods, did not complain about the use of gloves or boots. Water clarity was good ranging from 60-100 feet. It is rare to see any large or pelagic species, so we were happy to see schools of medium sized jacks (12-18") following us everywhere.

 

Greece has lifted many restrictions on diving archeological sites, and we were there too soon to take advantage of this, but licensed dive operators are gearing up to take folks like us to these recently forbidden sites. I would really like to go back and see some truly unforgetable ancient treasures.

 

Just a note sub campi flegri (dive operator in Puzzioli, Italy) outside of Naples (west of the city) does offer dives to a sunken city (Baia - look this up on wikipedia dot com). We were going to do this, but our timing was poor. The summer season had not yet arrived so it was cold, and the visibility was only 20-30 feet so we decided not to bother. This place was recently shown on a Discovery channel special. Nice to know that things are becoming more available!

 

Good Luck, and let me know how it goes! Like I said, if we had known there were so many dive shops right by the port in Istanbul, then maybe we would have considered this as well!