Scuba Diving

5 Reasons Why you Should do Scuba Diving in Messinia

Written by Scuba Turtles   |   28 May 2023

Welcome to Messinia, a gorgeous destination located in the heart of the Peloponnese region of Greece. This picturesque region is known for its history, landscapes, and ancient ruins, but it also offers underwater wonders to divers. Let us guide you through the enchanting world of diving in Messinia.

Unveiling the Underwater Secrets.

1. Vibrant Marine Life

Dive into the vibrant underwater world of the Ionian Sea and discover a variety of marine life like no other. From schools of fish to unique and fascinating creatures like octopuses, moray eels, sea turtles, rays and seahorses, every dive brings an unexpected surprise. Embark on an underwater journey and discover nature’s wonders beneath the waves.

2. Spectacular Dive Sites

Divers of all levels can enjoy the amazing dive sites off Messinia’s coasts. From easy shore dives to thrilling cave explorations, the region offers a diverse range of underwater landscapes to explore. For example, on Proti Island you can explore more than fifteen dive sites where you will discover wrecks, caves and colorful walls. Not far from there, you will find Navarino protected underwater park. This park is famous for the array of ancient artifacts and wrecks that hold its waters.

Don’t miss the chance to dive into legendary underwater caves and ancient shipwrecks that hold stories of the past.

3. Pristine Waters and Visibility

Experience unparalleled clarity as you plunge into the pristine waters of Messinia. With excellent visibility that often exceeds 30 meters, divers are treated to awe-inspiring views of underwater rock formations, sea grass meadows, vibrant sponges, and thriving marine ecosystems.

4. Dive Training and Certification

Whether you’re a seasoned diver or a novice looking to embark on your first underwater adventure, Messinia offers a range of dive centers and schools that provide professional training and certification. Dive instructors with extensive knowledge of the local marine life and dive sites ensure a safe and unforgettable experience.

5. Conservation Efforts

Messinia is dedicated to preserving its marine ecosystem and promoting sustainable diving practices. Several initiatives and organizations work tirelessly to protect the underwater habitats, ensuring that future generations can continue to marvel at the region’s natural beauty.

If you want to volunteer or donate to protect the sea turtles in the area, please visit Archelon site.

Embarking on a diving journey in the Ionian sea promises an unforgettable experience for both seasoned divers and beginners alike. The region’s vibrant marine life, spectacular dive sites, pristine waters, and commitment to conservation create an ideal environment for exploration and appreciation of the underwater world. Whether you’re fascinated by ancient shipwrecks, intrigued by the diversity of marine species, or simply seeking tranquility beneath the waves, Messinia offers it all.

Diving in Messinia is a gateway to an underwater paradise where adventure and serenity coexist. Join us at our dive center and jump on an underwater adventure like no other. Let us guide you through the wonders of this captivating region, where the magic of the sea awaits your exploration.

Scuba Diving

How Scuba Diving may improve your health

Written by Scuba Turtles   |   12 February 2023

There are numerous reasons why people enjoy this sport, from discovering the unknown and admiring magnificent aquatic wildlife to making new friends and creating memories that will last a lifetime. But what happens if we told you that scuba diving is indeed beneficial for your health?

If you’re wondering whether you should start a sport or remain sedentary, let us convince you why you should try scuba diving and how you will benefit from it.

1. Decreases blood pressure and enhances blood circulation

When we spend time underwater, our body try to get used and adapt to the gradient pressure. Each one of your muscles require more oxygen to perform normally, so your blood vessels dilate to allow this. Furthermore, our bodies adapt to this pressure by slowing down our breathing in order to reduce air consumption, and this has been shown to help by lowering our blood pressure. A good diver must breathe deeply and slowly and several studies now presume that regular divers are less inclined to suffer from a heart attack or stroke.

2. Boost your bone health

Diving generally requires being outdoors and exposed to sunlight. Fortunately, the sun is the body’s primary source of Vitamin D. This Vitamin is essential for our health, but getting enough of it from food can be difficult. Therefore, getting enough vitamin D increases the body’s calcium intake, which is necessary for healthy bones and teeth.

3. Improves your fitness and flexibility

Can it be a better sport than the one that gets you in shape with a relaxing workout? As you effortlessly float underwater, the movements you make put all your muscles to work against the water’s resistance.This motion increases the heart rate, invigorates muscles and builds stamina and strength. Furthermore, underwater activity is easier for joints and ligaments as well.

Learning how to dive and relax the body and mind enables your muscles to ease and thereby increase your flexibility.

4. Lowers stress levels and strengthen mental health

As previously mentioned, breathing control and diving are a whole. Some may call diving a form of meditation. Meditation, like diving, is well known for the relaxed mental status that can provide. Helps ease stress levels, control anxiety, reduce age-related memory loss, combat addictions and promote emotional health and self-consciousness.

Ready to discover the health benefits of scuba diving by yourself? Go ahead and sign up for a course at Scuba Turtles and start learning today with PADI eLearning.

Scuba Diving

Top destinations for Scuba Diving in Greece

Written by Scuba Turtles   |   03 Aug 2022

As one of the most touristic destinations in the Mediterranean, Greece remains unknown for its underwater treasures. Being an archipelago with thousands of kilometers of coastline and a rich background of nautical history. Surprisingly, until 2020, when a new law was enacted, recreational diving was prohibited in many areas with fear of unique archaeology and antiquities been plundered. The new laws has opened up the gates to numerous wrecks, submerged archaeological sites and unique marine sanctuaries. But remember, if you find anything that resembles an artifact or even the fragment of one, you can look at it but leave it behind. Discover with us the top destinations for Scuba Diving in Greece.

Greece is also the ideal destination when it comes to diving conditions, calm and crystal clear waters with an average visibility of 20 to 30 meters. In addition, the temperature of the water varies between 20ºC and 26ºC during the diving season (April-October).

Let us recommend you some our of favorite sites around the country, that could easily be on the top list of Mediterranean dive sites.

1. ALONNISOS and the “Parthenon of Shipwrecks”

Alonnisos Marine National Park is the first of its kind in Greece and the largest European marine protected area. It was created to protect the Mediterranean monk seal and its natural habitat, along with significant archaeological discoveries.

It also houses the first Greek underwater museum, the Peristera shipwreck, which opened to diving enthusiasts in 2019. This ancient merchant ship sunk 2.500 years ago due to the bad weather while carrying four thousand wine amphorae. This discovery had a great impact on the understanding of archaeologists, since it is the largest vessel of its time ever found.

2. Elephant’s Cave (CRETE)

If you found yourself in the Drepano area of Akrotiri you must dive Elephant’s Cave. The cave features beautiful white and red stalactites and stalagmites. Further into the cave, you will find fossilized remains (vertebrae, teeth and tusks) of extinct elephants from the Ice Age. And if you’re in luck, maybe you could see a monk seal.

3. HMHS Britannic wreck

Better known as the Titanic’s sister ship. Britannic was a hospital ship in WWI until it sank in 1916 after hitting a mine deployed by a German submarine. Today, it rests at 100m depth close to Kea Island on the Aegean Sea, and can only be visited by technical divers with the right permits. The spectacular 270 meter wreck was discovered in 1975 by Jacques Cousteau and it is the largest intact passenger ship on the seabed.

4. Navarino Bay and Proti Island

Navarino Bay, famous for the nautical battle during the War of Independence, houses a variety of wrecks with interesting artifacts. This is why the Greek government is planning to open one of the first two Underwater archeological parks in the Bay.

Along this coastline, where the loggerhead turtles return every year to lay their eggs, we find the island of Proti, an unspoiled diving paradise with stunning reefs, rock formations, canyons and caverns filled with colorful sponges and exquisite marine life. There is something special about this place that goes unnoticed by most. It is a hidden gem that is worth exploring.

5. Zakynthos

The turquoise waters of Zakynthos make this Ionian Island a famous holiday destination in the Mediterranean. It is also ideally suited for divers of all levels. Gerakas beach, known as the breeding ground for endangered loggerhead turtles, makes the Ionian Sea and above all Zakynthos a paradise for sea turtles. Be sure to dive along the coast of Keri, where you can find multiple dive sites, from cave to steep walls, with a wide array of marine life and clear waters.