A shore dive at Schinaria, 33 km south of Rethymnon in the wider Plakias area, and one of the sites divers on that coast keep returning to. It is listed for deep wall diving, underwater caves, big groupers and sea turtles, and the dive centre working the bay puts the maximum depth at 27 m over a seabed of sand patches and rock.
Also known as Schinaria Beach.
Where it is and how deep
35.1663° N, 24.4217° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
You walk in off the beach. The bay is sheltered from the north wind, and the ground under it starts as sand patches at different depths, which is why the site doubles as a training area, before the rock takes over. Head out and the drop-off is what you came for: the face falls away and the route runs along it rather than out from it, holding a depth and letting the rock pass. Twenty-seven metres is as deep as the dive goes.
Large canyons cut the same rock, and they are the other half of the site. Groupers here run big and sit back under ledges, and turtles pass through, so the swim along the face is worth taking slowly rather than covering ground. When conditions allow there is a cavern to visit, and it asks more of you than the rest: crossing from open water into torchlight means buoyancy has to be settled before you commit. Take a torch each, agree who leads, and treat any passage you cannot see the end of as a dive you are not equipped for.
Marine life and season
- Groupers
- Sea turtles
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Fair |
Season follows Crete: Apr–Nov is the season with Jun–Oct warmest; the meltemi blows hardest in July and August and closes the north coast.
Questions divers ask
How deep is the dive at Shinaria Beach?+
The dive centre working the bay gives a maximum depth of 27 m. Shallower ground is available too, with sand patches at a range of depths close to the entry, which is what makes the site usable for training as well as for the drop-off.
Can you dive Shinaria from the shore?+
Yes. Shinaria is a shore dive, entered from the beach itself, and the bay is sheltered from the prevailing north wind. The beach has paid beach beds, showers, toilets and taverns, though parking is tight.
Sources
- Shinaria Beach — Scubago — Scubago
- Our dive sites — Shinaria — Dive2gether
More dive sites in Crete
Reef
A 400-year-old anchor at 32 m, with more scattered around it
Wreck
A sugar carrier lost in 1985, lying in 12-16 m
Cave & cavern
A fixed rope up a siphon into an air pocket inside the cliff
Fossil dwarf-elephant bones in a chamber that still holds air
Seagrass, sand and rock in 7 m, straight off the beach
Reef
Cool, fresh-fed water over rocky patches to 15 m
Wall
A vertical wall dropping to 40 m, 15 minutes out by boat
Reef
A tunnel entered at 14 m that lets you out at 8 m
Similar dives elsewhere
Gullies at 30 m over a ledge past 50 m, with a cave entered by a siphon at 18 m
A cave at 19 m that marks the way back along the wall
A cavern shaped like a three-aisled building
A cavern at around 25 m on the islet's northern wall