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Kusadasi is an ideal destination for a family or for divers who have a non-diving partner, or for those who want to try diving for the first time. It makes a great place to combine diving with a normal holiday and package deals tend to be very reasonably priced. The diving is typical of the Mediterranean, so although very pleasant, don't expect the amount of marine life to be as abundant as in the Red Sea or the Caribbean. If you are an experienced diver, you should enquire at your diving center before you book as to whether you will be grouped with new divers during your holiday.
The first is a shore
dive, which means a
fairly shallow dive of
less than 10 metres,
remaining close in
shore. However, that
doesn’t mean it’s
not a good dive as there
are plenty of varieties
of smaller fish and
usually a few octopus to
be seen in and around
the rocks. Plus, first
time novice divers get
to feed the fish on
these dives.
Then there’s Barabaros
Reef which is located
about 1km directly out
in the bay from the
Grand Blue Sky Hotel.
This is a favoured reef
as its quite large
(measuring about 1km
long by about 7 – 800
metres wide). This reef
starts at about 6 metres
deep and goes down to 41
or so metres deep. There
are generally plenty of
barracuda and large
Groupers to be seen,
along with many other
varieties of fish,
coral, sponges, octopus,
Moray eel, and some
pretty hefty clams (some
are nearly 5 – 6 foot
tall). There is a
smallish cave on this
reef, but it doesn’t
really count as a cave
dive as its quite a
simple entry and exit.
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Finally,
there’s Adabanko Reef,
which is located about
1.5 km directly off
shore from the harbour
in town. This reef is
smaller in size than
Barbaros, but it goes a
lot deeper (95 metres).
At 27 (ish) metres deep
on this reef there’s a
Roman wreck that can be
readily identified from
the amphora sitting on
the reef. As well as
seeing the types of fish
to be seen at Barbaros,
diving this reef
presents the prospect of
becoming intermingled
with Dolphins (which
stay over the far side
of the bay); it’s not
a regular occurrence so
divers shouldn’t
expect it to be a
feature of their dive,
but it does happen.
There is a Moray eel
which has lived on this
reef for at least the
last 16 years and who is
regularly visited by
dive groups, he is fed
carefully as he’s
quite a big boy with
sharp teeth. It’s
quite good fun to be
hovering at depth around
this reef and hear and
see a cruise liner go
by, as it’s pretty
much on the main route
into or out of the
harbour.
A fourth location, which
is used for a
specialised dive, is in
the sea just below the
Adakule Hotel. We are
fortunate to have a cave
underwater there,
allowing Advanced and
Rescue divers to cave
dive under the guidance
of a Divemaster. This is
a specialist dive and
not generally available
to all divers, it must
be requested by the
diver(s) concerned (who
must also be able to
show their Advanced or
Rescue certification).
There are other reefs in
the bay, but these are
not generally used as
there may be strong
currents or other
hazards (such as being a
fishing area) associated
with them.
Types of dives
available:
Show dive – this is a
dive that enables
complete novices to
sample diving to a
maximum depth of 5
metres. The actual dive
lasts for approximately
30 minutes, and is
preceded by a safety
briefing which lasts
about ten minutes
(unless there are any
questions). Novice
divers are taken through
breathing exercises
(using the SCUBA
mouthpiece until both
they, and we, are happy
with their breathing)
then they go diving.
Novice divers are
accompanied by qualified
divemasters (and in fact
hold their hand
throughout the dive)
Discover diving – This
again is aimed at novice
divers, but is a
combination of two show
dives to 5 metres and
one boat dive to a
maximum of aprrox 10
metres. These dives
follow the same course
and restrictions as the
show dive, so a discover
diving diver will hold
the hand of one of our
divemasters throughout
each of their dives.
Boat Dives – These are
primarily for qualified
divers who are able to
show their log book and
certificate.
Open water divers will
descend to a maximum
depth of approx 18
metres under the
guidance and control of
one (or more) of our
divemasters.
Advanced and Rescue
divers will descend to a
maximum depth of approx
25 – 30 metres under
the guidance and control
of one (or more) of our
divemasters
Then there are
specialist dives such as
cave dives, wreck dives
and night dives (night
diving is completely
different to day-time
diving)
Allied with all of those
dives the dive centre
offers the full range of
PADI diving courses, so
that anyone having
completed a show dive
and who wishes to gain
their first certificate
(Open Water) can do so.
Similarly certified
divers can upgrade their
skills, and
certification, all the
way through to
Divemaster.Click here to book
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