Byblos, Amchit & Batroun

Bubbles Cliff is best reached by boat, though it can be dived from the shore after a long surface swim, and the Amchit Wall lies only a few hundred metres off the beach. Natural currents sweep through the Amchit sites continuously, which keeps the water clean and the ecosystem in good health. Weather, not temperature, is what stops diving on this exposed coast: wind and swell build quickly and boat dives are the first to be called off, and in summer the sea often builds through the day, which is why boats go out early.

Walls shape the diving. The Amchit Wall is a vertical reef running along the coastline, its top at 20 m and its deepest points at 50 m, and both Barbour and Bubbles Cliff sit on it. The Maritime Wall, averaging 40 m, is marked by pyramid-shaped formations and a small, well-established colony of soft corals. Maabour is a multilevel dive whose northern side reaches Bubbles Cliff, and at Batroun the wreck of a cement freighter lies near the coast.

Divers trained for depth get the most from the wall and its arches. Guided dives still take divers from SSI Scuba Diver or equivalent upward, and juniors with appropriate supervision, with the site and depth planned to each diver's certification and logged experience, so newly qualified Open Water divers have dives here too. Clarity is a reason to come north: the coast around Batroun is consistently clearer than the water near Beirut, being further from run-off and development.