Diving in Catania, Sicily Area?

[Prop Joe]

Going to be traveling there for work. Might have a day or two for some diving. Anyone know of any dive operations/site that are nice?
TIA
Joe

 

[Boa Gialla]

Going to be traveling there for work. Might have a day or two for some diving. Anyone know of any dive operations/site that are nice?
TIA
Joe

Yes. If you want, I can send you the email of a friend of mine, a dive instructor, living and teaching in Catania.

The shore dives in Catania are interesting (I have just a couple of dives in Catania, on my logbook). In addition, there are other very nice spots within an hour by car (Siracusa, Capo Murro di Porco, Messina, .....).

Ciao,
A.

 

[Prop Joe]

Boa,
Thank you for the quick response! Sure I'll contact your friend. I was also looking at :
DiveSicily Diving & WaterSports Center
They have steel tanks and boat diving. I like steel tanks.
I have a few questions...
Is there alot of surf with shore dives?
Any idea what the water temp is there this time of year?
Will I need a DIN adapter?
I usually dive with a .5 mm full wetsuit and a beenie hood in Mexico (79*F).
Thanks Again!!!
Joe

 

[Boa Gialla]

Boa,
Thank you for the quick response! Sure I'll contact your friend. I was also looking at :
DiveSicily Diving & WaterSports Center
They have steel tanks and boat diving. I like steel tanks.
I have a few questions...
Is there alot of surf with shore dives?
Any idea what the water temp is there this time of year?
Will I need a DIN adapter?
I usually dive with a .5 mm full wetsuit and a beenie hood in Mexico (79*F).
Thanks Again!!!
Joe

I know that DiveSicily Diving & WaterSports Center is in Taormina, not in Catania. Are you going to Catania? Or other places close to Catania?

In any case, you can contact my friend Salvo (his name) at info@scubacademy.com. Give him my nick name: I've already told him about the possibility of your interest. Please, find here the link to their web page. In italian, sorry.

About your questions:
In Italy we use mainly steel tanks: this is true for Salvo too.
Not a lot of surf with shore dives.
The water is now about 16 °C (about 60 °F).
You don't need any DIN adapter: the pillar valves (is it the right name?) of the tanks are DIN.
Probably the .5 mm wetsuit is a little bit "light": in any case don't worry. They will rent you everything you need.

Ciao,
A.

 

[Prop Joe]

I know that DiveSicily Diving & WaterSports Center is in Taormina, not in Catania. Are you going to Catania? Or other places close to Catania?

In any case, you can contact my friend Salvo (his name) at info@scubacademy.com. Give him my nick name: I've already told him about the possibility of your interest. Please, find here the link to their web page. In italian, sorry.

About your questions:
In Italy we use mainly steel tanks: this is true for Salvo too.
Not a lot of surf with shore dives.
The water is now about 16 °C (about 60 °F).
You don't need any DIN adapter: the pillar valves (is it the right name?) of the tanks are DIN.
Probably the .5 mm wetsuit is a little bit "light": in any case don't worry. They will rent you everything you need.

Ciao,
A.

Thanks a gain for your help!
You have very good English, does Salvo speak English as well as you?
I land in Catania. It is close to where I'm going to be working. I didn't know there was diving right there in Catania. I might end up with a rental car. When I looked at the map, Taormina looked very close. That is why I was looking at DiveSicily. I do not speak any Italian so I'm not sure about renting a car. I need to get in touch with my contact there in Sicily. My boss has just given me his contact information. I will speak with him on Monday.
It appears there is many dive sites near Taormina.
Is the diving better at Catania or Taormina?
Cheers,
Joe

 

[Boa Gialla]

You have very good English, does Salvo speak English as well as you?
I land in Catania. It is close to where I'm going to be working. I didn't know there was diving right there in Catania. I might end up with a rental car. When I looked at the map, Taormina looked very close. That is why I was looking at DiveSicily. I do not speak any Italian so I'm not sure about renting a car. I need to get in touch with my contact there in Sicily. My boss has just given me his contact information. I will speak with him on Monday.
It appears there is many dive sites near Taormina.
Is the diving better at Catania or Taormina?

I do hope you will understand each other . I don't know how the English of Salvo is (I'm going to ask him), but I'm pretty sure you will able to communicate. And I think you'll appreciate the dives and the food as well.

The dives in Taormina and Catania are more or less the same kind: the coast is similar, and the fishes are the same. Probably, if you have time, it can be more interesting to dive in Siracusa (south of Catania) than in Taormina, IMHO.

Enjoy the dives in Italy.

Ciao,
A.

 

[Prop Joe]

Thanks Boa,
I'll post some pictures when I get back.

Joe

 

[sermar]

Joe,
I would suggest you to dive in the shipwreck of "Capomulini", few miles out of Catania or all the area around called the "Timpa of Acireale".
The shipwreck is at 30 to 40 meters (100 to 120 feet).
If you choose the Hotel Baia Verde | Grand Hotel Baia Verde | Catania | Una splendida oasi cittadina sul mare dei Ciclopi | you can dive right there; the hotel is right in the sea and has a diving center. It is not chip, but worth it.

Catania and surrounding, has black volcanic rocks and you will notice a deep blue sea and down to the bottom several vertical walls going from 10 to 40 meters.
If lived there for few years and there are a lot of nice diving sites.

If you have more than 2 days, you should dive to Ustica a little island 36 miles North than Palermo and is one of the most spectacular dives you can have.
It is one of the most renowned scuba destinations in the Mediterranean Sea.

Bye,
Sergio

 

[JS1scuba]

One of the best dives I did in Taormina is right off the beach at the Grand Albergo Capotaormina. From there you can dive all around this wonderful island that is there. It drops off pretty fast but you will find all kinds of long marble columns along the bottom. In the mornings when the sun comes up there are wild dolphin jumping through the water.

that blue thing is the swim pool -- you take an elevator drom the hotel down to the beach and then walk through a long tunnel. Or you can get a boat and go around. I was there in April of 1990 and I still remember it like it was yesterday.

IF you cant get diving there who cares -- the food and people are fabulous.

here is the square up in town --

If there was one place I could go and live for the rest of my life it would be Taormina.

Ciao!

 

[sermar]

I have been in Taormina several times and it truly beautiful. Joel, thank you for sharing your pictures and I agree is a nice place to live (if you don't need to work!). If you go again in Sicily, go to Cefalù, 60 KM (40 miles) from Palermo. It is a medieval little town as Taormina, but in the water.
Ciao!