Immerse yourself in the waters of the island of Ischia

About this activity

The sea of Ischia is wonderful, and thanks to this experience you can discover that it hides an enchanted underwater world.

Experience it with a real deep dive or surface snorkeling activity. You can dive from countless spots, such as the Secca delle Formiche, the reefs of Punta Pizzaco and San Pancrazio, the Secca del Bellomo, Sant'Angelo, the legendary Scoglio della Nave, in the beautiful Neptune Marine Protected Area which includes the maritime district of the islands of Ischia and Procida.

You will admire a remarkable variety of environments, with breathtaking cliffs, caves, offshore shoals, numerous areas rich in marine vegetation, and no less fascinating, the archaeological excavations of the ancient settlement of Aenaria in the bay of Cartaromana.

The dive points

Let's discover together some of the dive spots in the beautiful stretch of sea between the island of Ischia and Procida.

The ant shoal

The beautiful Dry of ants, between Ischia and theislet of Vivara, consists of a large central rocky body on which several blocks rest, creating spectacular passages, ravines and burrows just a few meters above the surface.

The posidonia-rich sandy bottom is home to various species of fish, such as the pony needlefish, which is so similar to the posidonia leaf that it is only rarely spotted. The walls are covered with yellow gorgonian corals, an optimal habitat for many marine animals. You will be able to observe by going deeper some valuable crustaceans such as sea cicadas and along the shoal cave also crabs, scorpionfish, shrimps and nudibranchs. You will then encounter octopuses and moray eels and going up to the surface also many damselfish.

The cliff of Punta Pizzaco

The cliff of Pizzaco Point is another wonderful dive spot, just a few minutes' boat ride from the port of Ischia. It is an extension of the southern side of the island of Procida.

The dive begins a few meters from the surface, following a vertical rocky drop-off with various types of corals, sponges, enchanting carpets of sea daisies, a true marine garden, which continues with forests of increasingly dense red gorgonians. Going deeper you can admire rare red coral, dogfish eggs and shoals of red damselfish. Going upstream, on the other hand, you will find a statue of a madonnina within a wide inlet, and you will be joined by numerous needlefish cavallini, cuttlefish and octopus.

The cliff of San Pancrazio

Another beautiful cliff is that of San Pancrazio which descends to a depth of about 40 meters.

Starting from the bottom, you will find a small cavity between the rocks called the shrimp cave for the copious presence of these small crustaceans. The shrimp are afraid of people and are not easy to spot. Here too you will then admire dense expanses of yellow gorgonian and ascending to shallower depths beautiful colonies of sea daisies. You will find marine specimens typical of deeper Mediterranean environments such as scorpionfish, lobsters, spirographs, urchins, starfish and even further toward the surface yellow and orange sponges.

Bellomo shoal

The Secca del Bellomo, off Punta Caruso, lies along the northwestern side of the island of Ischia. It is a rocky shoal with a strong exposure to currents, populated by many different species such as groupers, snappers, sagargos and barracudas. It is rich in posidonia oceanica, white and yellow gorgonia.

The promontory of Sant'Angelo

One of the most fascinating views of the island is the headland of St. Angel, which from the Maronti Beach goes to the sea.

The vertical rock fall is covered with red gorgonians in which one can see huge spirographs, yellow sponges, nudibranchs and many specimens of umbraculum mediterraneum, which is one of the strangest mollusks in the Mediterranean because of its peculiar appearance. Numerous rock inlets are accessible and host the rare red coral with small white polyps. Also characteristic is the presence of numerous gerardia savaglia, a bright yellow false coral.

The Rock of the Ship

Looking at this rock from a distance, it seems to resemble a ship. Legend has it that it is precisely the one with which the Phaeacians accompanied Ulysses in his Ithaca, later turned in revenge into a rock by Poseidon.

It is full of cavities and passages where you can go deeper and admire expanses of sea daisies, small and curious lobsters, multicolored sponges, small crustaceans and in the darker areas even conger eel. It is an excellent dive spot for divers of all levels, starting from a sandy seabed rising to the surface among boulders. You will find small vertical cliffs, caverns and cavities all to explore.

The Lovers' Reefs

Two huge boulders shaped by the sea and wind, a short distance from each other: they look like two human profiles stopped in that long instant before a kiss. This is also a wonderful dive spot, one of the most famous postcards of Forio.

The ancient settlement of Aenaria

An ideal destination especially for snorkeling is the fascinating underwater archaeological site of Aenaria, a Roman citadel that existed from the 4th century BC until 150 AD.

The settlement was discovered in 1972 by two divers-Pierino Borrelli and Rosario D'Ambra. It was an industrial center where metal and clay were processed, between the Aragonese Castle and the St. Anna's rocks. It was suddenly destroyed by a catastrophic phenomenon, probably an earthquake or volcanic eruption.

The Aragonese Castle of Ischia

Around the iconic stronghold of the island of Ischia, at a depth of less than a meter, you can admire the characteristic Ischian phenomenon of gaseous emissions: a unique spectacle with many bubbles continuously rising to the surface, underwater landscapes, shoals of salps, Posidonia oceanica meadows, many species of Fish such as Pinna nobilis, octopus, cuttlefish, sea urchins and starfish.

Mermaiding, swim like a mermaid in the beautiful Ischian sea

Do you dream of swimming in the sea like the sweet little mermaid Ariel? Today you can with a wonderful new sport, mermaiding. You will learn to swim just like a fish using both legs with the help of a monofin. You will be able to explore the marine world from a different perspective. You can have this experience in two modes: a single outing or an engaging course that will teach you all the techniques for swimming like a mermaid.