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White limestone cliffs of Bonifacio above turquoise water and rocky shallows

Corsica · France · Reef

Île de Forana (Nord)

Stepped plateaus at 6 to 20 metres off a bird-sanctuary island

Area photo: Reustli · CC BY-SA 4.0

The northern site off Île de Forana, an uninhabited island in the Cerbicale reserve that is also a bird sanctuary. Diving here works a set of plateaus between 6 and 20 metres — a shallow profile run from a boat off Corsica's south-east coast, with nothing on the island itself and the reserve's rules applying to how it is worked.

Also known as Forana Nord.

Where it is and how deep

Depth profile of Île de Forana (Nord): typical dive 6–20 m (20–66 ft) 18 m · Open Water30 m · Advanced40 m · Recreational limit6 m20 mtypical dive
Depths on a shared scale to 40 m (130 ft); dashed lines mark common certification limits.

41.5652° N, 9.3739° EPublished position for this site.

The dive

The ground here is catalogued as plateaus rather than one continuous slope, stepping between 6 and 20 metres, and that is what shapes the dive: you work a level at a time instead of following a wall down to a turn depth and back up the same line. With 20 metres as the deepest published point, bottom time is generous and nothing about the profile needs to be rushed.

Forana is uninhabited and protected — an island in the Cerbicale reserve and a bird sanctuary — so the surface interval is spent on the boat, and the reserve's rules apply to how boats and divers work the site. This is the north site of the island; beyond the depth range and the protection status, no current, visibility or marine-life figures are known for it, so the depth range is the only firm number to plan against.

Marine life and season

The sources we used don't single out particular species here.

Month-by-month season rating for Île de Forana (Nord)
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Off-seasonFairFairGoodGoodPrimePrimePrimePrimeGoodFairOff-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.

Sources

  1. Île de Forana Nord — Scubago / SSI MyDiveGuide

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