Greece in November

[Nexes1]

Hello Everyone,
I am visiting Greece this November and am hoping to squeeze a few dives in while I'm there. I'm having trouble finding reliable information on where to dive during the first two weeks of November. I'm trying to find an island that has good diving and is easy to get to as our timeline is fairly slim. I've emailed a number of operators on Santorini and Kos asking for availability. I've gotten a mix of "we may or may not be open" to "no we will not be open". Does anyone have some experience with diving in Greece in November that could recommend and island to visit and an operator that will be open?
Thank you,
-j

 

[RyanT]

@wetb4igetinthewater

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

Pretty much everything shuts down in October. The exceptions might be in Athens or Crete. The people I know are experienced archaeology divers who support everything from open water to rebreathers. These would be Vassilis Tsiairis of Nautilus Dive Center (https://diveinathens.gr/) and Nikolas Giannoulakis of Chania Diving (Chania Diving Center | Diving and Snorkeling, Chania - Crete). Tell them I referred you.

Tourism is pretty much done in November in Greece. I can ask around if you want as I'm currently in Greece for an underwater archaeology project with the Greek government and will be in country for another two weeks.

 

[stepfen]

What @wetb4igetinthewater said. Diving in small touristic islands will most probably be closed by then.

There are several interesting diving spots around Athens and several dive shops there that remain open year around (catering mostly locals) but they dive mostly on weekends. If your diving days are on weekends that will be your best bet. There is this facebook group Καταδυτικές εκδρομές | Facebook where every week depending on the weather, shops advertise (in Greek!) their plans for the weekend . You can see there active centers and contact them for more.

Other option is Crete/Chania as Kostas said above. Dive shop remains open year around (thanks God, I can get tank fills there). There should be another open dive shop(s) around the other major Cretan city (Heraklio) - but I don't know any specific one.

Keep in mind that weather in November can be anything from very good to very bad - so I wouldn't make long term plans.

To be honest with you, if your time here is limited, I'd suggest you spend it with topside activities. There are so many things to do/see...

Let me know if you need more help.

 

[mariosx]

Kosta is for sure more well connected. If you are close to Athens though (not hard recommendation with respect to other places for sure), ScubaLife is the absolute best option I know after many bad to mediocre experiences with other LDSs. Nikos is the solidest of the solidest scuba divers and instructors.

Also I have dives in Greece during November with a 7mm wetsuit, but I am really an extreme edge case on how well I handle cold. I think that drysuits are recommended in general. Please, any of your guys, correct me if I am wrong on that, since I got no experience from diving in the islands.

Tourism is pretty much done in November in Greece. I can ask around if you want as I'm currently in Greece for an underwater archaeology project with the Greek government and will be in country for another two weeks.

All the best Kosta! Hopefully next year I could join!

 

[stepfen]

Also I have dives in Greece during November with a 7mm wetsuit, but I am really an extreme edge case on how well I handle cold. I think that drysuits are recommended in general. Please, any of your guys, correct me if I am wrong on that, since I got no experience from diving in the islands.

From my logbooks I see temperatures around 20 to 22oC for November. These are for Crete (as south/warm as it gets). I would expect few degrees lower for the rest of Greece.
I do these in drysuit nowadays. Some people (especially northern Europeans) consider 20-22 degrees "hot" and dive wet.

 

[Antonios (Holy Diver)]

You may also check Diver's Corner in Athens. I had a double dive with Marios, (the shop's owner) last February and I was very pleased. Water temperatures back then were around 19o C, my lowest personal limit for wetsuit diving. ( I am not drysuit certified).

DIVER`S CORNER

Learning to dive is one of the most rewarding experiences of your life. Earning your PADI certification will forever change the way you see the world, both above and below the surface.

diverscorner.gr

 

[Nexes1]

Thank you everyone. This is great information. It's hard to gauge information when all anyone seems to post online is from July and August. The water temp may be a deal killer I was hoping some of the southern islands might be warmer later in the year but that is getting down there and we are not dry suit experienced. Thank you again for all the info, it is much appreciated

 

[mariosx]

I had a double dive with Marios,

I read it fast and for the past 1 minute I was doubting myself whether I was in Greece in February and what's going on with my mind.