Mediterranean · Italy
San Vito Lo Capo & Scopello
Caves, walls and the Capua wreck between San Vito and the Zingaro reserve
The coast of western Sicily from San Vito lo Capo to Scopello, where the cliffs of the Zingaro reserve run between the Capo San Vito peninsula and the Gulf of Castellammare. Boats work walls in the Tonnara bay, the Secca di Cala Rosa shoal, caves inside the reserve such as the Grotta del Camino and the Grotta della Ficarella, and the cargo wreck Capua in Cala Azzurra. It suits divers who want caves, walls and a wreck on one stretch of coast.
About diving in San Vito Lo Capo & Scopello
San Vito lo Capo is a launch point for diving as well as for snorkelling and paddleboard tours. Dives from the town go out by rigid inflatable to three stretches of coast: the Makari bay, the bay of the Tonnara and the Zingaro reserve. Boat trips also cover the reserve from the Scopello end up to the edge of San Vito. In the Tonnara bay the walls drop away only a few metres from the shore.
Underwater the coast is a mix of walls, caves and shoals. Several sheer walls in the Tonnara bay fall to about 40 m, the Secca di Cala Rosa rises from the deep floor of the gulf, and the Zingaro stretch hides caves such as the Grotta del Camino and the Grotta della Ficarella. The Capua lies on a sandy bottom, and its interior can be visited in a single dive.
The coast rewards divers who are at home on walls and in caves. The Grotta Perciata is rated an easy dive, with a wall that runs from about 9 m to 22–23 m and a cave lit through its holed roof, but the Capua at 37 m, the drop at the Torre dell'Uscere to about 40 m and the lower entrance of the Grotta del Camino near 35 m lie well past the 18 m an Open Water card allows, so those dives belong to divers with deeper training.
Best time to dive San Vito Lo Capo & Scopello
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Good | Prime | Good | Good | Fair | Fair |
Summer is the peak season and conditions stay good well into autumn; the sea is warmest in August and coolest in February.
Best months: August
Dive types & marine life
Small octopuses shelter in the cracks of the Grotta Perciata wall, where colourful nudibranchs are easy to find. Moray and conger eels often hole up in the debris beside the Capua at about 35 m.
- Wall
- Cave & cavern
- Wreck
- Octopus & cuttlefish
Best dive sites in San Vito Lo Capo & Scopello
- 1
Relitto del Capua
Cargo ship 45 m long, about 400 tonnes, lying in the Cala Azzurra bay inside the Zingaro reserve
- 2
Grotta Perciata
Wall dive running from about 9 m down to 22–23 m
- 3
Grotta del Camino
The first dive inside the Zingaro reserve, a cave with one entrance at 18 m and another on the wall near 35 m
- 4
Secca di Cala Rosa
Shoal in the Tonnara gulf rising from 40–50 m to a top near 10 m, a few hundred metres offshore
- 5
Torre dell'Uscere
Starts in a small sandy cove at 10 m, then follows the coast's drop to about 40 m
- 6
Grotta della Ficarella
Underwater cave in the Zingaro reserve whose entrance opens at 14 m
Site guides
Cave & cavern
One cave, two doors: a mouth at 18 m and another on the wall
A cave roof so riddled with holes that a torch is barely needed
Wreck
Conger eels and big lobsters on a wartime arms carrier
Pinnacle
An offshore shoal rising to 10 m in the Tonnara gulf
A sandy cove at 10 m, then the coast drops to 40 m
How to get to San Vito Lo Capo & Scopello
Palermo's Punta Raisi airport is about 60 km from Scopello, and Trapani's Birgi airport is roughly 90–100 km by road from San Vito lo Capo.
Photos from San Vito Lo Capo & Scopello
fred_v · CC BY 2.0
Questions divers ask
What certification is needed to dive the Capua wreck?+
The Capua lies at about 37 m and is rated an intermediate to advanced dive. Open Water certification covers dives to 18 m, so deeper training is needed for the wreck.
Are the dives near San Vito lo Capo done from shore or by boat?+
By boat: a rigid inflatable carries divers to sites such as the Torre dell'Uscere, and boat trips cover the Zingaro reserve between Scopello and San Vito.
Which caves can be dived in the Zingaro reserve?+
The Grotta del Camino has two entrances, one at 18 m and one on the wall near 35 m, and the Grotta della Ficarella has its entrance at 14 m.
Sources
- Punti Immersione San Vito lo Capo | Under Hundred — Under Hundred
- Relitto del Capua | Under Hundred — Under Hundred
- Centro Sub San Vito lo Capo | Under Hundred — Under Hundred
- Centro Sub Atlantis — Centro Sub Atlantis
- Scopello – Wikivoyage — Wikivoyage
- Zingaro Nature Reserve – Wikivoyage — Wikivoyage
- Trapani (province) – Wikivoyage — Wikivoyage
- San Vito Lo Capo – Wikivoyage — Wikivoyage
- San Vito Lo Capo Average Sea Temperatures — seatemperature.org
Photo credits
Embed
Run a dive centre, club or blog? Embed this map of 6 dive sites near San Vito Lo Capo & Scopello on your own page.
Similar destinations
Mediterranean
Egadi Islands
Italy
Roman amphorae and gorgonian caves in the Mediterranean's largest marine reserve
Four thousand Classical amphorae still stacked on the seabed at 25 m
A 40 m wall under the monastery filmed in The Big Blue
Reserve reef diving at Cerbère-Banyuls, France's first marine reserve