Travel in July 2014

[SafetyStopBait]

Hey,

Looking for recommended travel destinations for July 2014 that are relatively easy to get to and offer activities/exploration/relaxation in addition to diving.

I read this article on European diving ( http://www.dive.in/articles/diving-in-europe-10-best-dive-sites/#axzz2av2XjqLw) for starters.

The article's best suggestions seem to be Medas Islands in Spain, Anchor Bay in Malta, and Island of Chios in Greece. I'd love any thoughts, comments, or experiences in these locations or other recommendations.

Thanks!

Mike

 

[Quero]

Easy to get to from where? From the east coast USA?

European dive magazines are always going to recommend Red Sea and southern Europe/Med destinations first and foremost.
US dive magazines are always going to recommend Carib and US destinations.
Australian dive magazines are always going to recommend Oz and Asia.

In other words, you can get interested in a destination from what you read in a dive mag, but you have to take the recommendations about "best" with a fair amount of skepticism. First pick the general area you want to go to (where Europeans usually go? Where north Americans usually go? Where Australians usually go?) and then we can see which destinations in those general areas meet your criteria. For example, if you said "Asia in July" I'd say "Komodo liveaboard."

 

[SafetyStopBait]

Good question and good point. Traveling from Philadelphia. Looking at Europe as something different to try. Know a few good options in Carib.

Thanks,

Mike

 

[Quero]

Then let's put this in the Europe forum where you'll get more focused attention

 

[ElChe]

Well, I dived several spots in Europe and I would say Malta is a good destination for those who wants to organize a real diving holiday. I like the island, there are exciting spots above water as well, and because it's so tiny, you can dive all important dive sites around Malta and Gozo. I prefer the historical wrecks like the HMS Maori but the artificial wrecks (Rozi, P29, P31, etc.) are enjoyable as well. The Azure Window and Inland See in Gozo are cool sites too.
Cyprus? Sometimes I feel 90% of the divers want to dive the Zenobia altough there are another nice spots. But I have to confess, I like the huge Zenobia too, it's a must for every wreck divers. I like the country too, late autumn it's a really budget destination while the water is still warm. In July? It will be very hot and crowded I think.
Greece is a similar holiday destination with crowded resorts. You can dive anywhere in Greece, there are usually less fish under water but they have some wrecks and a few nice caverns. If you prefer to stay in lively resorts, go to Crete, Corfu or Rhodes but if you're interested in calmer places maybe you should consider Kalymnos. I like Greece very much, but I don't think it's the best diving destination in Europe.
Turkey is better for diving in my opinion, there are many nice dive spots around Kas or Bodrum, they use to create artifical wrecks, many divers like this C47 Dakota for example.
We discussed many diving areas of Croatia in the Central European forum. I visit that country regularly, I had a lot of nice dives there, but the water below 20 meters is cold even in July. Anyway, there are nice wrecks around the Istrian peninsula and Vis islands, there are many interesting walls, and you can find a lot of dive centers in the country.
And maybe you can think about the Canary Islands. These unique islands are amongst my favorite destinations, I visited Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura, La Palma, etc. I love the surface sightseeing and there are exciting under water spots, where you can find huge rays, angel sharks, many critters and so on. Maybe the Eastern Canary Islands are the best destinations for divers.

 

[Redshift]

Stop in the middle of the Atlantic and dive the Azores!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3k32GmO8zg

 

[SafetyStopBait]

Elche,

Are these places mostly wreck diving? My fiancee is less experienced and I want to introduce her to reef diving to start. Where's the best reef diving in Europe in your experience, particularly if it offers some surface activities as well.

Thanks,

Mike

 

[ElChe]

I have to tell you most of the European dive sites much less spectacular in themselves, so they try to create artificial reefs to attract more divers. But most of these wrecks are easy to dive, smaller boats which are enjoyable without penetration, for example the ones around Malta.
Anyway, if I want to see more life under water, I think the Canary Islands are much better than Mediterranean, altough it's not really Europe, geographically it's Western Africa. I had awesome dives here while the surface excursions were fantastic. I'd suggest Gran Canaria, the water can be 22-23 degrees in July, the air isn't that hot, and I can recommend some reliable dive centers there or in Tenerife.
You can consider the Turkish Riviera if you want to visit a bit more exotic country. They have many easy dive spots, the water is warm, the dive isn't too expensive and I remember some nice reefs around Bodrum, others praise the Kas area. When we stayed in Bodrum, we had a daytrip to the neighboring Greek island, another day we visited the famous ancient ruins of Ephesos, later we had a visit the underwater archeology museum in Bodrum town- it was one of the best holidays and we had some really nice dives too.
I know Croatia very much but maybe a less experienced diver wouldn't be happy to hear the more colorful inhabitants of the sea can be found deeper than 25 meters where the water is 16-17 degrees even in the summer...

 

[SafetyStopBait]

Very helpful. Thanks