Paros & Naxos

The diving is split across two islands and three centres. On Paros, Cycladic Diving works from the Aliki waterfront and Paros Diving Center from Golden Beach on the south-east coast; both run the local coves and islets by boat, with sites such as Hôtel des Badèches a seven-minute ride from Aliki port on a fixed mooring. On Naxos, Blue Fin Divers has been a PADI centre on Agios Prokopios beach since 2006, with a boat leaving from in front of the beach. All three run to the two wrecks in the strait, and the Aliki boat also crosses to Faneromeni and the Labyrinth off Antiparos. Beginners start from shore at Piso Aliki, a short walk from the village, or in Agios Prokopios bay.

The terrain is Cycladic rock: boulders, short walls, canyons and caverns, with Posidonia meadows on the sand between. Tripiti slopes to 8 m before a steep wall and a large overhang of soft-coral growth; the Cathedral is a wall named for the light through its formations; at Panteronisi the wall leads to a cavern where divers surface among stalactites. Ayers Reef rises from a Posidonia meadow at around 25 m. The Beaufighter lies in fine silt at around 34 m, cockpit and gunner's seat still open, large scorpionfish on the wreck and one propeller bent by the impact. The Mariana lies in two parts against its reef and carries nudibranchs, worms and morays, with barracuda from May to September.

It suits divers who want variety: a beginner can start from the beach, and an Advanced diver can fill a week with walls, a cavern, a drift and two wrecks. The constraint is the meltemi. From mid-May to mid-September the north wind blows at up to force 7 to 8, strongest in the afternoon, and can stop ferries; operators answer with north-sheltered moorings such as Hôtel des Badèches and Faneromeni, so a July week is mostly protected coves rather than open water, and divers set on the wrecks have better odds in June or September. Those after one marquee wreck are better served by the Peristera amphora wreck at Alonissos, and wreck-first divers by the Zenobia at Larnaca.