Aside from its rich history and heart-warmingly charming towns, Croatia is perhaps best known and loved for its gorgeous coastline. There are more than 1,000 Croatian Islands and with the opalescent pull of the Adriatic Ocean, much of your holiday in this country will likely be spent near the sea. The water here is incredibly clear making for fantastic scuba diving spots and more and more people are travelling to the area purely to go scuba diving. There is a variety of exciting finds hidden in the depths from caves and submerged cliff faces to shipwrecks and even sunken planes just waiting to be discovered. If you are thinking of taking the plunge during a holiday here, then take a look at 5 of the best dive sites in Croatia.
1. Bisevo Grotto, Vis Island
Meaning Blue Grotto, this gem of a diving spot is located just off Vis Island, which is best reached from Split. This mystical looking sea cave, logged with sea water, reminds me of something from a movie somehow, but one thing is certain; it’s a prime location for diving and is a well-loved beauty spot. Naturally due to its location, you can only reach this one via boat from the port on Vis Island, but when you arrive, you can enjoy visibility of between 80-90ft (20-30m) and enjoy a wide variety of marine life including the likes of lobster, octopus, corals and scorpion fish among plenty more. Undoubtedly one of the best known diving spots on the Adriatic, don’t miss this one out in your plans!
2. Pakleni Otoci, Hvar
Opposite the entrance to Hvar harbour, there lays a further group of islands known as the Pakleni Islands. The spot that is of particular interest when it comes to diving however is Vodnjak Reef. A colourful kaleidoscope of algae and corals adorn the reef with just as colourful fish easily spotted darting in and out making it a fun place to go diving in Croatia.
3. Taranto, Dubrovnik
The wreck of Taranto lays submerged just off the coast of Dubrovnik near the port of Gruz, so its best reached by arranging car hire at Dubrovnik Airport. The 45 degree angle of the ship means there is an excellent depth drop; the hull is naturally at the deepest point of 170ft, buried among sand having laid here since 1943, while the nose of the ship sits at a much more accessible depth of 70ft. Cargo from the ship, including two tractors, can still be seen on the seabed, cranking the interest of this wreck up another notch by creating an even larger underwater playground for marine life including schools of scorpion fish, mullet fish, cardinal fish and more. With such variety on offer and indeed a tragic tale to accompany this dive, it’s definitely one of the best scuba diving spots in Croatia.
4. Premuda, Pag
The island of Pag sits just north of Zadar and is in fact connected to the mainland via a causeway. What we are most interested in however, is the diving of course and the most popular spot is Premuda, the name of an underwater ‘cathedral’. Of course it isn’t actually a cathedral but a series of connected caves and an underwater light show that is out of this world. Spider crabs, octopus, amberjack and corals await you and for the more adventurous divers, there is also a tunnel connected to the main cave to explore.
5. Baron Gautsch, Rovinj
Often described as one of the most beautiful wrecks in the Adriatic, we have the Baron Gautsch off the coast of the island of Rovinj. It’s one that should be reserved for more experienced divers but if you fit the bill, this is one diving spot not to be missed. Resting on the sea floor since its demise in 1914, it’s adorned in multi-coloured algae and corals and its depth has meant many schools of fish now call it home. For excellent marine diversity and plenty of adventure, this is definitely one of the five best scuba dive sites in Croatia.
With warm water and visibility ranging anywhere from 60-90ft (20-30m) during the summer, these spots are definitely worth checking out if you plan to go scuba diving in Croatia. Do you have any other suggestions for excellent diving in the Adriatic?
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This blog was originally written by Kerri Ware and published on the Diviac Magazine.
About The Author: This post was written by Kerri Ware and sponsored by UK based holiday car hire broker EconomyCarHire.com. Kerri loves to travel and having visited Dubrovnik recently, Croatia quickly became one of her favorite destinations.
