Côte d'Azur · France · Reef
Tiki Plage
Shore entry in a sandy cove, nothing deeper than 15 m
Area photo: Tangopaso · Public domain
A circular cove with a sandy beach at the foot of the Estérel between Cap Dramont and Agay, entered from the shore and no deeper than 15 m. It is the dive clubs keep for days when the forecast rules out taking a boat out, and it doubles as a beginners' site: anemones, shrimps, nudibranchs, urchins, starfish and posidonia over sand.
Where it is and how deep
43.4202° N, 6.8578° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
The cove sits between Cap Dramont and Agay below the Estérel massif, round and sheltered with a sandy beach to kit up on. You walk in from the shore, and the ground runs out to a maximum of 15 m, so the whole dive stays inside easy limits and no part of it depends on a boat, a mooring or a sea state anyone has to gamble on.
It is the site clubs fall back on when the forecast is too poor for navigation, and the one they use for beginners the rest of the time. Small Mediterranean life is the point rather than a consolation: anemones and shrimps on the rock, nudibranchs, sea urchins and starfish, posidonia standing over the sand and bothus flatfish lying flat on the open patches between.
Marine life and season
- Nudibranchs
- Macro critters
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Fair | Fair |
Season follows Côte d'Azur: Water runs about 13°C in February and 25°C in August, and diving carries on year-round; the Théoule park's shore trail opens only from mid-June to mid-September.
Questions divers ask
Can you shore dive at Tiki Plage?+
Yes — the cove is entered directly from its sandy beach and the maximum depth is 15 m, which is why clubs use it both for beginners and as the fallback when the weather is too poor to take a boat out.
Sources
- Tiki Plage - Dive Site — SSI/Scubago
More dive sites in Côte d'Azur
Reef
Red and white gorgonian fields between 40 and 60 m
Cave & cavern
Mediterranean red coral in a grotto at 30 to 33 m
Artificial reef
Six two-metre cement heads standing at 3 to 5 m
Pinnacle
Golfe-Juan pinnacle standing from 15 m down to 55 m
A 9 to 42 m wall and a 0 to 15 m beginner section
Cave & cavern
A cave at 20 to 35 m in front of the Lérins islands
Wall
Rock at 3 m on top, drop-off running past 40 m below
Grouper and dentex inside France's largest no-take reserve
Similar dives elsewhere
White gorgonians, nudibranchs and lobsters in the faults at 18 to 20 m
A reef grown over 2,000-year-old amphorae at 13-18 m
Shore-entry islet at 0–16 m with a short, easy tunnel
A small sponge-lined cavern at 22 m off the lighthouse islet