La Maddalena Archipelago Reef
Dive site
The granite islets of the Maddalena Archipelago National Park create a maze of channels, bays, and submerged pinnacles that concentrate amberjack, dentex, octopus, and posidonia meadows across remarkably transparent water. Currents channelling between the islands can be used for gentle drift dives along encrusted boulders. The park's no-take rules since 1996 mean fish here are bold, large, and abundant.
Conditions
Depth
5 to 40 m
Advanced depths
Current
Usually gentle
Can pick up on the edge
Visibility
25 to 35 m
Clearest in the calm season
Water
13 to 27°C
3mm wetsuit
Month by month
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water (°C) | 13 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 16 | 20 | 23 | 24 | 22 | 19 | 16 | 14 |
| Vis (m) | 15 | 15 | 15 | 20 | 20 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 20 | 15 | 15 |
| Current | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Gentle | Gentle | Gentle | calm | calm | Gentle | Gentle | Moderate | Moderate |
Your chances of seeing each animal
Dusky grouper
Photo: Billy Bensted-Smith · CC BY-NC
Sometimes
About 1 in 3 dives
Octopus
Photo: Susanne Spindler · CC BY-NC-ND
Sometimes
About 1 in 3 dives
Posidonia seagrass bed
Sometimes
About 1 in 3 dives
Greater amberjack
Photo: Luis P. B. · CC BY-NC
Rare
Now and then
Field journal
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