Stintino & the Asinara National Park · Italy · Reef · Sand slope
Punta Sabina
Octopuses mating on the granite each May
Punta Sabina is a point past the village of Cala d'Oliva on Asinara's east side. Bright granite and patches of posidonia seagrass slope gently down, and divers come for the octopuses that mate here in May and the barracuda schools that often cross the meadows.
0Where it is and how deep
41.0879° N, 8.3503° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
The dive descends a moderate slope to 18 m over bright granite and posidonia patches. Families of groupers share the rock with big brown meagre, and morays and conger eels sit a fin's length from scorpionfish, some as large as a cat.
Marine life and season
- Octopus & cuttlefish
- Groupers
- Barracuda
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Fair | Fair |
Season follows Stintino & the Asinara National Park: June to September has the warmest water; July and August are also the busiest months on this coast.
Know before you go
- An easy dive, but divers need to take care when a current is running.
Dive videos
Asinara punta sabina cala d oliva diving center · liscasarda on YouTube
Questions divers ask
When do octopuses mate at Punta Sabina?+
In May, when the octopuses at this site pair up and divers come to watch them.
Sources
- Immersioni all'Asinara — Roccaruja Diving Center
- Asinara Scuba Diving — Asinara Scuba Diving
- Immersioni all'Asinara: le 7 più belle — Traghetti per Sardegna
- OpenStreetMap — OpenStreetMap
More dive sites in Stintino & the Asinara National Park
Huge barracuda schools circling over canyons and boulders
Reef
Barracuda crossing salema and damselfish only 8 to 10 m down
Reef
A seldom-visited jagged bottom crowded with spiny lobsters
Wall
Large brown meagre in a shallow gully beside a small grotto
Pinnacle
An offshore shoal whose head rises to within a few metres of the surface
Similar dives elsewhere
Steps from the lighthouse car park into the cape's main shore dive
Loggerhead turtles in the channels between the four islands
Gorgonians on the vertical north wall of a submerged island
A giant anchor and its chain links lying at 21 m