My Sardinia

While it may seem that much of the action in Sardinia happens above the water, the island’s underwater scene is also worth trying out. Beginning divers and expert technical divers can have their fill of dive sites both easy and challenging. There are simple coral dives, and likewise there are complicated wrecks and archaeological sites requiring technical skill and knowledge to fully appreciate. That the waters around the island remain clean and unspoiled adds to the appeal of this Mediterranean paradise.

Beginners can visit the caves and gorges of Tacche Biance in Carloforte in Isola di San Pietra. They can feast their eyes on marine life and coral. Cave divers can explore the biggest underwater cave in the Mediterranean, the Nereo Cave in Alghero. They might even see frilly red coral and a light show of natural sunlight streaming down through the water as an added bonus. Cave diving enthusiasts who would rather observe marine life can go to the Oyster Cave in Golfo di Orosei. Here, rare live oysters and fossils share the limelight with prawns and mussels in their natural habitat, as well as submerged columns and stalactites near the top of the cave.

Natural wonders greet experienced divers at Secca del Papa in Isola Tavolara, Costa Smeralda. The colorful and abundant flora and fauna can be seen at depths of about 30 to 50 meters, so a little more skill is needed to visit this site.

Expert divers will find a challenge in the Romagna wreck in Cagliari, where the Romagna, a steamship built in 1899, rests at a depth of 42 meters in the Golfo di Cagliari, a casualty of a mine attack in 1943. Navigate the big propeller, the pilot bridge, and the kitchen when you visit this wreck.

If wreck diving is not your stuff, but are still hankering for something different, visit the Ruins of Nora, Pula, where underwater ruins and amphorae lie at about 12 meters on the sea bed. The dive is easy enough, and will probably whet the appetite for the labyrinthine passages formed by the underwater granite rocks and monoliths of Scoglio di Tahiti in Isola Caprera in the Arcipelago di La Maddalena.

Another natural underwater rock formation can be found at the site in Secca di Santa Caterina in Villasimius, where between 12 meters and 38 meters are found old anchors, deep canyons, and red-coral caves.