Scuba diving in Greece: why south Crete

Thousands of islands, warm water from late spring into autumn, and a sea that is clear by European standards. Diving in Greece is spread across very different places, from the Ionian in the west to the Aegean islands and Crete in the south, and each region has its own character: some are known for wrecks, some for caves and walls, some for easy, sheltered bays.

We cannot tell you what another island is like underwater, and we will not pretend to. What we can do is describe our own coast properly, so that you can compare it fairly with whatever else you are considering.

The south coast looks out over the Libyan Sea, the stretch of the Mediterranean between Crete and North Africa. It faces away from the weather that roughens the north of the island, so the water around Plakias is often calm and clear on days when the north coast has waves. Mountains come almost straight down to the sea here, and the underwater landscape continues the same way: rock, walls, gorges and caves rather than long sandy slopes.

It is also quieter than the resort coasts. Plakias is a village, not a strip, and the dive sites are not queued up with boats in the morning. With us, you are usually the only group at the site.

Visibility often runs past thirty metres. We dive three sites we know well enough to tune to the day and to the diver: Schinaria, with its boulders, channels and a large cave; the old harbour of Damnoni, gentle and shallow near shore with deeper gorges further out; and Peristerovolakas, a long reef sloping into blue that fills with fish when the north wind blows.

Most of the diving is from shore, because here the good sites are reachable on foot, and a boat takes us to the places no path leads to. The same site can be a first dive for a beginner or a demanding one for an experienced diver, depending on where we take it.

We are a small SSI centre, the only one in Plakias. The full-day boat takes a maximum of six guests, and courses and guided dives stay small enough that the instructor is actually with you. Giannis is the name that turns up in almost every review, and the reason is usually the same: he took his time.

It also means the rest of your group is part of the plan. Non-divers come on the boat, snorkel over the same reef, or spend the day on the beach. Diving, snorkelling and briefings are in English, German and Greek.

It is not a wreck destination. Our three sites are reef, wall and cave, and if wrecks are what you want, other parts of Greece will suit you better.

It is not the Red Sea either. There are no coral reefs in the Mediterranean and no walls of colourful fish. The reward here is clear water, dramatic rock and the animals that hide in it: octopus, moray eels, scorpionfish, cuttlefish. Divers who like to slow down and look usually love it. Divers who want to be surrounded by fish may prefer somewhere else, and we would rather say so now.

Plakias is on the south coast of the Rethymno region, under an hour by car from Rethymno town on the north coast. If you are staying anywhere in the region, or touring the island, it is an easy day to come south for diving, and many guests base themselves in the village for a few days to dive properly.