Corsica · France · Reef
Île de Forana — Nord-Ouest
A 3 m to 15 m nursery plateau in an island reserve
Area photo: Reustli · CC BY-SA 4.0
Forana is an uninhabited island in the Cerbicale islands reserve, off Corsica's south-east coast, and it is a bird sanctuary as well. The north-western dive works a plateau catalogued between 3 m and 15 m, shallow enough to be dived as a long slow pass over the island's nursery ground rather than as a depth dive.
Where it is and how deep
41.5636° N, 9.3708° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
The ground here is catalogued as a plateau rather than a slope or a wall, running from 3 m to 15 m, and that is what shapes the dive: the profile stays flat and long. With 15 m as the deepest published point, the limit on your time is how much gas you have rather than no-decompression time, so there is no reason to rush any part of it.
The entry calls it diving in the nursery, which is the clue to the pace: shallow protected ground is where juvenile fish sit, so how slowly you move matters more than how much distance you cover. Work along the rock and sand, stop at the seams, and stay off the bottom — silt and fin contact are what spoil a shallow dive like this, for you and for whoever dives it next.
Forana is uninhabited, inside the Cerbicale islands reserve and a bird sanctuary, so this is a boat dive with no facilities ashore and no reason to land. Reserve rules govern what boats and divers may do here, so confirm the terms with the operator when you book. Beyond the depth range and the protection status, nothing else is known about this site.
Marine life and season
The sources we used don't single out particular species here.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Off-season | Fair | Fair | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Fair | Off-season |
Season follows Corsica: Operators run Apr–Oct with July and August warmest; the Bouches de Bonifacio funnel wind and can close the crossing at short notice.
Questions divers ask
Is Île de Forana suitable for beginners?+
The north-western dive runs on a plateau catalogued between 3 m and 15 m, which is inside Open Water limits and shallow enough for a long, flat profile. It is a boat dive to an uninhabited island in the Cerbicale reserve, with no facilities ashore.
Sources
- Ile de Forana - Nord Ouest — Scubago
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