Top 10 diving spots
The most beautiful shores, drop-offs and wrecks in Provence MéditerranéeDiving destination by excellence
With almost 50 dive sites to explore and some 30 professional dive centers to accompany you on your explorations, Provence Méditerranée offers scuba diving enthusiasts the chance to explore exceptional underwater landscapes with great biodiversity. From shallow baptisms to the deepest dives on drop-offs or wrecks, you can dive all year round in a wide variety of underwater landscapes. Here are our top 10 most beautiful sites, wrecks and drop-offs.
Le Donator
Between Porquerolles and Port Cros islands | Hyères
The Donator is the wreck of a 78-meter freighter sunk between Porquerolles and Port-Cros. At depths of over 50 meters, the wreck is entirely colonized by a wide variety of flora and fauna: groupers, dentex, amberjacks, moray eels… Covered in large red and yellow gorgonians, the Donator is the benchmark for wreck diving in the Mediterranean. The propeller and rudder, the engines, the wine vats: it’s not possible to explore everything in a single dive. But there’s no doubt you’ll want to come back. This enchantment has to be earned: dives on the Donator are technical and accessible to Level 3 divers only.
Le Grec
Between Porquerolles and Port-Cros islands | Hyères
Le Grec (real name Sagona) is the wreck of a cargo ship sunk after an explosion and lying in two parts in 45 meters of water south of the island of Porquerolles. The central part, with the chimney and stern, sits upright on the keel, while the bow is 60 metres further out. The interior, holds and superstructures can be visited, and the passageways are well worth a detour. Fauna and wildlife abound. The numerous corals have taken over every corner of Le Grec. This wreck is accessible with a level 3.
Le Cimentier
Between Porquerolles and Port Cros islands | Hyères
In Porquerolles, at the foot of the Jaune Garde lighthouse, the wreck of the Cimentier, a former barge built of reinforced concrete, is one of the few wrecks accessible to novice divers. Located at a shallow depth – 6 meters for the highest parts and 15 meters for the deepest – the wreck is very bright. You can explore its gutted hull from the moment you first dive in. Around the wreck, you’ll come across octopus, moray eels and moray eels hiding in the small canyons and posidonia meadows.
La Gabinière
Port-Cros Island | Hyères
La Gabinière is an islet to the southwest of Port-Cros, protected from the Mistral but very exposed to the easterly wind. Regulations governing scuba diving in the waters of the national park are very specific and subject to conditions. Diving at La Gabinière is accessible from Level 1 and is renowned for its exceptional flora and fauna. You’ll feel like you’re in an aquarium: a profusion of groupers, barracudas, moray eels, sponges, gorgonians, anemones, lichens… This drift dive above the drop-offs is guaranteed to thrill, especially when the current is present.
Les Fourmigues de Giens
Giens peninsula | Hyères
Les Fourmigues are two islets located to the west of the Giens peninsula, opposite Carqueiranne, where a drop-off allows diving to depths of up to 25 meters. Although accessible to beginners, the dive becomes more interesting for experienced divers who can admire the gorgonians. Having been used for army training, amidst the local flora and fauna – schools of barracuda, groupers and tuna – lie…bombs. Don’t panic: they’re harmless.
Escampobariou Point
Giens peninsula | Hyères
Off the coast of Giens, the Escampobariou mooring platform is sheltered from the winds. You can dive in serenity, even when the sea is rough. You can take a first dive here, as well as dives for all levels on the colourful, fish-filled drop-off and scree, which descend to a depth of 36 metres. Many playful octopuses hide in the rocks and posidonia meadows. The site is fairly well lit, and the variety of landscapes and seascapes means you can return regularly without getting bored.
La sèche de Guenaud
Embiez island | Six-Fours-Les-Plages
The Sèche de Guenaud dive site, made famous by the three “Mousquemers” (Frédéric Dumas, Jacques-Yves Cousteau and Philippe Taillez), off the coast of the Ile des Embiez, is rich in aquatic flora and fauna. The first The underwater film, “Par 18 mètres de fond”, was made on this rocky out crop, sheltered from the east wind. It’s made up of several large rocks in which you can thread your way to observe red gorgonians, encrusting anemones, several varieties of sponges, tricolored dories and planaria. You’ll also find corbs, brightly-colored moray eels, young groupers and a variety of other more common species.
Wreck of the Arroyo
Deux Frères rocks | La Seyne-sur-Mer
The wreck of L’Arroyo, stranded off Cap Sicié in the Natura 2000 area, is a renowned dive site in the Mediterranean. A 55-meter-long Navy tanker, it supplied ships with water until it was sunk in 1953 to serve as a training site. During your dive, accessible to experienced divers only, you can observe the wreck broken into two parts on a rock, without entering it. Conger eels hide in the chimney hole, while red gorgonians and groupers fly over the stern or emerge from the ship’s hold.
Wreck of the Mona
Cap Sicié | Six-Fours-les-Plages
Located between Les Embiez and Cap Sicié , opposite the Trou de l’Or beach, the wreck of this 15-meter-long harbor tug, built by the French Navy in 1949, sank in 34 meters of water while being towed between Le Brusc and Toulon. The wreck, in very good condition, rests upright on its keel. It’s a great subject for underwater photographers and divers, who can admire the ship’s structure, wheelhouse and engine. You’ll come across capons, moray eels, conger eels, red mullet and a few crustaceans.
Sainte-Marguerite cave
San Peyre | Le Pradet
This original dive site, accessible from the coast by snorkeling for about 15 minutes from the small port of San Peyre cove, comprises several caves linked by immersed or dry galleries. The siphon in the large cave allows you to enter on one side and exit on the other side of the cliff. Although sheltered from the Mistral, you need to be careful between the different caves, as there can be a lot of surf. These mauve and blue caves boast unparalleled biodiversity: dory, octopus, anemones and gorgonians will be your hosts during this dive.