Explore Protaras
Protaras, perched on the southeastern coast of Cyprus, offers a diving experience that captures the essence of the Mediterranean's underwater charm. The region is blessed with crystal-clear waters, providing divers with impressive visibility often exceeding 30 meters. This clarity allows for an unobstructed view of Protaras' underwater landscapes, which include stunning reefs, intriguing caverns, and twisting tunnels that beckon exploration.
What makes Protaras truly remarkable is its variety of dive environments that cater to both beginners and seasoned divers. Novices can enjoy the tranquil waters of Green Bay, famous for its shallow cove ideal for training. More advanced divers can venture to the nearby wrecks like the Liberty and Nemesis III, or explore the world-renowned Zenobia Wreck, considered one of the top ten wreck dives globally. These artificial wrecks lie just a kilometer from shore, offering an exhilarating introduction to wreck diving in the Mediterranean.
Protaras also boasts a vibrant marine life, with the warm waters teeming with colorful fish and unique underwater flora. Whether entering by shore or heading out by boat, divers can expect a diverse array of marine species and captivating underwater topography. With dive centers conveniently located along the coast and the option of liveaboard trips, Protaras provides an accessible and enchanting diving destination, promising unforgettable adventures beneath the waves.
Dive Activity
Diving in Protaras
While Protaras diving there are a variety of dive sites for beginners, from Green Bay with a maximum depth of only 10 meters/33 feet and various statues purposely sunk for excellent holiday snapshots to Crystal Cove, a shallow dive with a great chance to see moray eel and octopus within the reef. More experienced divers may decide to head into sites with more unique topography such as The Canyon, with a towering canyon and easy swim-through leading to a series of seamounts. Cave diving is often done around Cape Greco, where divers can slip into the turquoise waters of stunning secluded caves.
While caverns and tunnels are available in Protaras, so is wreck diving. The Nemesis III, Liberty and Zenobia Wreck are all accessible by boat from Protaras. While diving the extensive Zenobia Wreck, divers can explore 104 lorries, the Captain’s quarters and accommodation as well as so much more. The 172-meter/564-foot wreck has endless opportunities for discovery.
Top Wildlife Sightings in Protaras
Protaras’ marine life comprises of a myriad of tropical fish, from jacks, pipefish, parrotfish to cardinalfish. At calm reef dive sites, divers can meticulously search corals for clinging seahorse while sea turtles swim up for their surface intervals. Scorpionfish and moray eel are seen hiding within crevices with octopus and starfish as known residents to the Protaras area.
On wreck dives, grouper and giant barracuda patrol the sites while nudibranch decorate the ships metal body. Cuttlefish are often seen showcasing their intricate patterns within reefs and sandy flats and for the very lucky divers, a pod of dolphin may even appear delighting divers with their playfulness.
Wildlife Sightings are Based on User Generated Content
Shutterstock-Shane Myers Photography
840 Sightings
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7
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28
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313
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124
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98
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24
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The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.
Total number of species: 27
iStock-Global_Pics
Barracuda
350 Sightings
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18
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25
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144
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28
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43
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The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.
Total number of species: 200
Alamy-WaterFrame
Moray Eel
277 Sightings
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4
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4
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6
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18
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52
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56
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61
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52
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20
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2
The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.
Total number of species: 600
iStock/ultramarinfoto
Wrasse
122 Sightings
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6
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16
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59
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20
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13
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6
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The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.
Total number of species: 300
Alamy/Reinhard Dirscherl
Octopus
83 Sightings
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1
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12
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26
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The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.
Total number of species: 12
iStock/cinoby
Lionfish
1.6k Sightings
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131
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360
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247
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205
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116
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18
The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.
Total number of species: 3
Shutterstock_Leo Lorenzo
Trumpetfish
687 Sightings
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9
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22
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32
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56
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150
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194
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100
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90
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26
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4
The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.
Total number of species: 130
AdobeStock-JirinaVFR
Pufferfish
312 Sightings
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22
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124
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29
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The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.
Total number of species: 350
Alamy-Andre Seal
Damselfish
299 Sightings
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10
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13
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61
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142
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30
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33
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5
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The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.
Total number of species: 60
iStock-Global_Pics
Squirrelfish
226 Sightings
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4
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8
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6
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18
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65
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54
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30
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32
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9
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The best Months to Dive in Protaras
Scuba diving in Protaras is great all-year-round, where calm conditions and shore entries allow divers easy access and exit into the surrounding sea. The prime time for scuba diving is from May to September, where the water temperature ranges from 22°C–27°C/72°F–81°F. March to October is the diving season, which is the longest known in the Mediterranean, however even outside of these times, bad weather is rare and Cyprus still remains one of the best places to dive within the region.
