Diving (sea and lake) in Croatia and the Balkans

[Sbiriguda]

Hello,
I saw some information scattered in several threads but no specific discussion on this, so I would like to open a new one.
Which are the best diving spots in Croatia? How is the visibility there in the different months of the year? On the Italian side of the Adriatic sea Sistiana in Trieste is considered a very good one, and Muggia not bad too. While on the other hand places like le Tegnue off the coast of Chioggia or the Paguro wreck in Ravenna are good only if you are lucky and the visibility is good that day, and it's not easy to predict

Also, if you have information on the nearby countries (Slovenia if there are any lake dives, Bosnia, Albania, etc.) I am curious because in Italy people talk almost only of Croatia as a diving destination but there must be something worth of notice also in the other Balkan countries around
Thanks

 

[Vicko]

Croatia offers a very wide array of diving possibilities. But usually the further south you go the conditions improve. In the very north of Croatia the diving is ok, but he visibility is usually bad and the water cold except for the summer. Once you get to the outer island (Dugi otok, Kornati archipelago, Vis, Lastovo, Mljet) you get the real deal. Great visibility year round, during winter the water temperatures rarely go bellow 14 Celsius. Rich reefs and quite a few wreck diving opportunities.

I live on Vis island and work in one of the dive centres and I can say this is one of the best European dive destinations, the only thing is that it's deep. It's a tec divers paradise with over 15 wrecks in a 15 miles radius with depths ranging from 30 to 120 meters. Almost all of the wrecks have some historic context especially the WW2 planes. As for the reefs if you are comfortable diving to 40 meters with a little bit of air deco I don't think you will be dissapointed, a bunch of corals, a bigger bunch of small fish and occasional visits from pelagic predators, Mola Molas etc. (It's a island with less then 3000 inhabitants and 5 dive centres, what else to say )

The biggest dive destinations for Italians are island Krk and Istria. It's ok diving for a great price but a lot of people will be dissapointed and get the wrong idea about Croatia in general if they only stay there.

Montenegro is great for diving, smaller then Croatia but with more fish life. Albania is great unless you get robbed by drug smugglers or the coast guard.

 

[Sbiriguda]

Vicko,
thank you very much for your post, very informative, it is exactly what I was looking for because like you said, we probably get a partial and wrong idea of diving in Croatia since most people dive in the same places and do not have a wider knowledge of the country

If anybody wants to share info on Montenegro and Albania I am listening

 

[admikar]

What @Vicko said. As a matter of fact I'm going to Vis in two weeks.
As for Montenegro I dove only northern part of coast. There are nice locations from island Mamula down to village Bigovo. Didn't venture further south.
One thing, though. In my experience, marine life is better in Vis and Croatia in general (apart from Istria) than Montenegro.
In Bosnia, there are few options, none really great IMO. There is river Una, which is crystal clear, but fairly shallow, Neretva (about the same). There is a artificial Neretva lake, but have no information about conditions. Both Neretva river and lake are cold through all year. This Saturday I should go and dive in Bileća lake, which is supposed to be clear and deep. Have no idea about plant/fish life.
Serbia.....not really familiar, dove on only two locations. One is Ada Ciganlija, which is a dammed part of Sava river, right in the middle of capital, Belgrade. The other is an artificial lake called Zaovine, beautiful scenery around the lake. But, at this moment it is completely drained, have no idea how situation will develop during this year.
Since you are beginner (at least your profile say so) I guess you're not interested in this, only five clicks from my home?

 

[Vicko]

Oh yeah, Fresh water springs here are all great dives, mostly uncharted even the popular ones, but it's full cave diving in cold cold water.
Also cave diving in the region keeps getting set back by dumbasses committing suicide in overhead without any training or equipment (in Croatia we had 3 mass causality events involving recreational divers and recovery divers...)

 

[Wingy]

Hey Viko - met a friend at a Buddy Guy concert in Prague who kindly sent a nice birthday present. Will be overlooking Kotor Bay while im housesitting then need to get to Crete ...any diving around crete? Where best to dive from Kotor and what month wont I freeze ??

Edit to add - I have no clue how to dive in fresh water...never done it

 

[admikar]

Edit to add - I have no clue how to dive in fresh water...never done it

IMO, prudent course of action would be to put reg in your mouth and breathe in and out?

 

[Wingy]

Thank you, thats a very handy hint...so i need all the usual stuff like tank and fins and mask too?

(I kinda meant diving in ocean recommendations but enjoyed your response)

 

[Sbiriguda]

Apart from that, there are regs not meant for cold fresh water that might go free flowing especially during winter and in extreme conditions (alpine lakes on the mountains, ice diving, etc.) Rivers are dangerous, while lakes mostly are not so dangerous. Temperatures tend to be lower than in the sea and you use less weights on the belt. Algae bloom during summer and make visibility very low, while on the contrary viz is good in winter but then again temperature will be much lower and you will need a drysuit
All in all, what admikar said is correct, it's almost the same as diving in the sea, but perhaps if you have specific questions on this you can ask in a thread about lake diving or open your own

 

[Sbiriguda]

The Best 5 Scuba Regulators for Cold Water Diving | Scuba Diver HQ