Dive trip the marine park to Capri, on the Sorrento Coast, Punta Campanella Marine Park

Swim, dive, snorkel and dive in Italy, in the marine park to Capri, on the Sorrento Coast, Punta Campanella Marine Park

Take your time to plan your holiday in Italy to dive into the Punta Campanella marine reserve. A diving holiday on the island of Capri, in the Bay of Naples, in the Tyrrhenian Sea, facing the Sorrento Peninsula and Cap Capanella, will leave you with unforgettable memories for its sumptuous landscapes, in a dolce vita atmosphere, to the tune of the hit song Capri c'est fini, by the singer Hervé Vilard! Your holiday in Capri allows you to take a look at its Marina Piccola, its belvedere of Tragara, its famous blue grotto (Grotta Azzurra), the Villas San Michele and Malaparte. Capri is 6 km long and 3 km wide and has 17 km of coastline, reaching an altitude of 589 m. To the south, it has three sugar loaf islands, the Stella, Faraglione di Mezzo, and Faraglione di Fuori, the result of thousands of years of erosion by wind, rain, and waves. Enjoy great recreational diving at Cap Carena in a profusion of red and yellow gorgonians or practice technical diving at Pylone de Punta Carena. Capri's limestone nature sets it apart from the other volcanic islands of the Gulf of Naples. This is why gigantic fossilized bones of the mammoth and the ancestor of the rhinoceros as well as primitive stone weapons were found during the Roman imperial constructions. The settlement of humans in the region is therefore very old.

Capri naturally became a holiday resort also in Roman times. When you dive at the foot of the cliff on the Tiberius Jump spot, where Tiberius the emperor threw his slaves into the water, you will think of it! Later used as a military garrison, Capri gave rise to battles between the French and the English. From the 19th century onwards, the Romans settled in Capri in the summer and many personalities stayed there. In this place full of history, embark for the day with a picnic or for half a day on the centers' boats to explore the best diving sites of the Punta Campanella Marine Reserve linking the Sorrento peninsula and the Amalfi coast and which almost reaches the island of Capri. Since 1997, this marine park has protected 40 km of coastline and extends over a maritime area of 1500 hectares, between Massa Lubrense and Positano, including the towns of Piano di Sorrento, Sant'Agnello, Sorrento, and Vico Equense. Classified as a Special Protected Area of Mediterranean Interest, this reserve protects approximately 40 km of the Italian coastline. Activities to discover the marine area and the Mediterranean flora and fauna are organized here. With the establishment of 3 access zones A, B, and C, differently restrictive, the regulation of boats and visitors is effective. Diving centers Subaia Diving Center and Punta Campanella Diving Centre must therefore be approved to enter this zone. This is the price to pay for access to the most beautiful offshore site of the Punta Campanella Marine Reserve, the Vervece Rock. It is one of the most beautiful dives in the Gulf of Naples with common dentex (Dentex dentex), and sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax). Large schools of sedentary barracudas roam the area. A garden of red gorgonians is located on the north side of Vervece Rock with large scorpion fish. Look out for St Peter's (Zeus faber) here, and especially black and white hake (Physiculus dalwigkii), a deep-sea fish that has become a rare specimen in Italy, more present in Sicily, Naples, and the Ligurian Sea.

Marine species in the area

Dive sites

Discover the Santa Croceun Bank, a magnificent shoal located off the coast of Sorrento, near Vico Equenze. After the first few metres of depth, as soon as you pass through the first layer of murky water, you will be amazed by the profusion of sciaphilous marine organisms. This dive site is close to the mouth of the Sarno River, which carries suspended nutrients. This environment is ideal for the development of sponges and algae that appreciate the darkness. From a depth of 18 metres, red and yellow gorgonians and yellow sponges (Axinella cannabina) flourish. Of course, as the depth increases, the gorgonians become denser! Come closer to spot the eggs of the small dogfish (Scyliorhinus canicula), hanging in their branches. From a depth of 30 m, admire the bushy anemone (Savalia savaglia), with its branched branches. In the faults, look for conger eels (Conger conger). A large vertical crack divides the wall of the main rock in two, allowing sunlight to filter through the branches of the gorgonians, with a large grouper or a dentex sometimes making an appearance. Underwater photographers, take some nice atmospheric photos here!

Rays wallow on the sand. At your safety stop, watch for amberjack (Seriola dumerii), bonito (Sarda sarda) and dolphinfish (Coryphaena hippurus) in the blue during their summer migration. Between the fishing village of Marina Grande and the remains of the ancient Roman villa of Pollio Felice, on the western side of the magnificent Sorrento Bay, at Cape Sorrento, the rock face appears covered with tunicates (tunicata, urochordata), polychaete annelids (Sabella Spallanzani) and yellow and red gorgonian. This drop-off plunges steeply into the sea to a depth of 60m. The objective of the dive? To find sars and groupers in the faults and schools of tuna in the Blue. At Punta di Puolo, beginners dive from the beach and then explore the cliff along its length. More experienced divers explore many caves and caverns here. A wonderful night dive is to be made at one of the most beautiful dive sites in the Gulf of Naples because of its biodiversity. Usually, you see here speckled seahorse (Hippocampus guttulatus), sea anemone (Alicia mirabilis), sea hare (Aplysia depilant), cleaner shrimps (Stenopus) and Cymathium parthenopeum, a rarely seen gastropod. Located in the heart of the Punta Campanella integral marine reserve, the Vervece Rock combines all the advantages of diving in the open sea, isolated from the coast and drained by the dominant currents of the Gulf of Naples. The western slope of the Vervece rock has a wall lined with Poseidon's coins (Halimeda tuna) alternating with fields of anemones (Parazoanthus).

An alternative to this wonderful dive is to explore the wreck of Vervece. 100 metres from the Vervece Rock, towards the coast, lies the wreck of a small cargo ship that was wrecked several decades ago, following a storm. Go down to see the wreck along an occasional anchorage, in the middle of the current, then underwater progress to 30m depth to the rock of Vervece where the dive boat will pick you up. Punta Campanella is located between two gulfs, the Gulf of Naples to the south and the Gulf of Sorrento to the north. This cape is also called the Promontory of Minerva and is of great archaeological interest. Greek and Roman ships waited for the best possible weather conditions before crossing it. When their ships stopped over, the crews of the ships took advantage of the opportunity to make donations to Minerva. The Torre Mozza was built over the remains of this temple. The underwater topography is varied with rocks, plateaus and steep drop-offs. A cave concentrates Plesionika narwhal shrimps. Roman artefacts have been found on the bottom. On the eastern side of Mitigliano Bay, you will discover the opening of the Mitigliano Cave, 3 m wide and 80 m long, between 6 and 15 m deep. Paddle quietly inside the cave, for about 40 metres, without lifting any sediment.

Then the divers move around in a queue, as the walls of the cave are considerably narrower. Inside, you discover two vertical chimneys that open up into two small caves. If you are a fan of organic diving, you can observe Grammonus ater, a nocturnal solitary fish, which hunts close to the bottom at night, and the long, thin, transparent anemone Halcampoides purpureus. Think of history as you immerse yourself in the Tiberius Leap, in Capri. The boat is anchored in a small bay under a steep cliff. The Roman emperor Tiberius threw unwanted slaves into the sea here. Go right along the cliff face and reach a steep bottom. You will be surprised by the life that reigns there with red and yellow gorgonians, orange sponges, and fish, bathed in a beautiful luminosity! For experienced divers, one of the best dives on the island of Capri is at Cape Carena, which is bathed by a strong current and located in the path of the boats. The relief looks like the overturned hull of a ship! Imagine a rocky ridge tumbling several hundred metres out to sea.

Exposed to the prevailing currents, the wall on the southern side is covered with yellow and red gorgonians, with thermoclines of red barbarians, especially at 2 vertical crevices occupied by huge sponges. Pelagic fish watching is to be expected here as the further you go from the island the more life there is. Teak divers will also be delighted to explore Capri's technical dive spot, Punta Carena Pylon, at a depth of over 50 metres. At the foot of the rocky wall covered with coral and gorgonians, lies a large pylon lying on the sand, facing out to sea, extending to a depth of 62 metres. Covered with sponges, tunicates, and red and bi-coloured gorgonians, it concentrates thousands of barbarians (Anthias anthias). In the summer, you can have beautiful encounters here with sunfish (Mola mola). Climb up the rock face to avoid the boats that line the surface. Make the necessary decompression stops in a small cove on the coast.

Others Activities

the marine park to Capri, on the Sorrento Coast, Punta Campanella Marine Park : Dive shops

Subaia Campania divers
Italy - Bacoli
French

The Subaia Campania divers diving centre is located in Baia, to the west of the Gulf of Naples, in the area known as the "Phlegrean Fields", once a holiday resort and a centre of economic and military interest in ancient Rome, and now a popular area for water sports tourism! Open from April to November, the centre is located behind the port of Baia, where the boats are moored, close to a large pay car park. The facilities include a customer reception area, a maintenance and equipment storage area, changing rooms and showers with hot water. On-site, you can refill Nitrox and Trimix cylinders, store your own diving equipment, book accommodation and access WiFi! On request, Subaia Campania divers can organise transfers to and from hotels in the "Phlegrean Fields" area, babysitting for couples wishing to dive together, and dives with a private guide. After loading the legendary Piaggio Ape with equipment to cover the 100 metres between the centre and the two semi-rigid boats, you'll meet your buddy on board, made up of a maximum of 5 divers per guide, grouped by level of experience, certification and interests. With Subaia Campania divers, you'll dive mainly in the Baia Archaeological Marine Park and in the "Regno di Nettuno" marine park, on the islands of Ischia and Procida, and on the island of Nisida. From time to time, the boat goes as far as the Punta Campanella Marine Park. [+]

Baby Sitting
Diving around Islands
Protected Marine Park

From 30,00 €

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Punta Campanella Diving Center
Italy - Sorrento
English

The Punta Campanella Diving Sorrento Centre is located in Marina della Lobra. Meet at 8.15 am at the dive centre or at 8 am at the hotel for those who have chosen the bus pick-up at Sorrento Corso Italia 1, opposite the Sorrento hospital. You'll have time to deal with the administrative formalities and prepare your equipment, before boarding one of the 2 approved RIB boats for 12 people at 9.15 am. The 4-hour trip includes 2 dives and 1 guided snorkelling trip in the marine protected area of Punta Campanella, at 2 different dive sites. Return to the centre at around 1.30 pm. The afternoon pick-up is at 2.45 pm (2.30 pm for those who have chosen the Sorrento pick-up option), with the boats departing at 3.45 pm. The outing lasts 2 hours and includes 1 guided dive and snorkelling, supervised by a marine biology expert, at a single site in the Marine Park. The return journey is scheduled for around 6 pm. Capri is a 20-minute boat ride away. The groups are made up of 6 certified divers with a guide and, in training, 3 students with an instructor. Here you can do technical diving with on-site trimix inflation, as well as rebreather diving. Non-divers can board the boat if there's room, and go snorkelling along the coasts of Sorrento and Amalfi. The Punta Campanella Diving Sorrento training centre offers PADI and SSI courses from Discover Scuba Diver beginner level to divemaster level. [+]

Protected Marine Park
Diving around Islands
Near Downtown area