Freediving in Corfu, on all its reefs and beaches is definitely one of top things to do in the Ionian sea. The diving is spectacular, with clear warm water, the deepest blues, and vibrant wildlife.
The whole island has amazing water for swimming. However, for maximum water clarity and visibility, its important get away from the sandy beaches that surround the island. The least sandy area is the mountainous western coast of Corfu.
Due to the mountainous terrain and steep cliffs many of the locations listed below a boat to reach them. To reach many of these locations you have two options. You can charter a boat yourself if you have several people with you and the required skills. Or you can book a tour with a local dive shop and get driven to many of these sites.
Don’t let the apparent inaccessibility stop you from venturing into the ocean of this piece of coast. Boat charters are plentiful and relatively cheap. Plus the undersea playground that is Corfu is well worth the euros that you will spend.
A Note of Caution
The area around Liapades and Palaeokastritsa is teeming with boats. The marine traffic is similar to what one would expect in a busy commercial port. The difference is that most of the boat are small launches, 12-15 feet in length with an outboard motor.
These launches carry tourists to and from the many beaches that can only be accessed by water. They also act as taxis from from locations. Some have professional skippers, but many other are bare boat charters. That means that the skill and attentiveness of those driving those boats varies widely.
When you are on a dive it can be especially unnerving to hear the hum of an engine that sounds to be very close to your location. You may notice that this decreases your level of relaxation and impacts your dive time/depth.
Places to Free Dive
Rovinia Beach
Our favorite beach that can be readily accessible by people without a boat. Rovinia is an exceptionally picturesque beach that can accessed via a steep walk from the town of Liapades. In the height of summer when temperatures regularly reach above 35 degrees Celsius, the sight of the azure waters of Rovinia beach is mesmerizing.
The beach itself is partially rocky with some patches of sand. Where the sand is depends on the day and the wind direction for the previous days.
As there is some sand, visibility near shore can sometimes be compromised and appear murky. However, once you venture away from the often-crowded beach the clarity greatly improves.
We recommend that free divers stick to the right side of the beach, near the cliffs that lead farther in the bay. In this location you will find sea grass beds, and rocky outcrops down to depth of 10 plus meters. It is also possible to see large schools of multiple fish species and the occasional octopus.
Be aware that Rovinia Beach is very busy with small charter boats coming and going. Some of these boats are captained by professional skippers, while other are captained by tourists. As such having a proper free diving float is a must to ensure your safety when diving at Rovinia. If you forget your float, a floatation ring that you can get at any of the shops will do.
If you ever get thirsty or hungry on your dive at Rovinia Beach, just swim back to shore and wait for the canteen boat which makes regular stops at the beach throughout the day.
All told, Rovinia Beach is our favorite beach location for freediving in Corfu.
Colovari Reef
Located near the small offshore island of Kolyviri about 1 kilometer west of Corfu, Colovari Reef offers some of the best deep freediving in Corfu. Due to its location, we highly recommend booking a charter to reach this location. The expense is worth it.
Consisting of two separate reefs, you could spend a whole day at just this one location and never get bored. In fact, we recommend doing just that.
The reefs have a maximum depth of 40 meters, at which depth there is a plateau of soft coral. While reaching this plateau is not recommended for beginners, there is still much to see for divers of all skill levels.
The whole reef site spans over 2,000 square meters and includes numerous boulders, crevices and swim throughs for you to take enjoy. There are also numerous species of fish, including Barracuda and Moray Eels, shrimp, and octopus.
If you are going to rent a boat to visit on location to go freediving in Corfu, we recommend that it is Colovri Reef.
The Monastery
Located just offshore from the Monastery at Paleokastritsa, this site is excellent if your goal is to see a wide range of wildlife. At the Monastery you can see octopus, shrimp, crayfish, and large schools of Chromis Chromis. It is even possible to see the occasional large grouper.
There are two caves that are accessible at the site, one has its entrance at 3 meters, and the other has its entrance at 23 meters. While the first cave is open roofed, meaning you can see the sky from within, we do not recommend free diving into either of these caves. To see these caves, we recommend using SCUBA.
This site can be accessed by boat or from the shore. However, to reach the site form the shore requires a surface swim of 500-600 meters each way. As such we recommend chartering a boat unless you are confident in your swimming abilities. If you do decide to swim, you can visit Nausika’s Cave on the way in or out. Nausika’s is not a fully submerged cave, as such you can safely swim in without running out of oxygen.
Agia Triada Reef
Agia Triada actually offers two separate freediving sites. The first is Agia Triada beach which one of the main beaches in Paleokastritsa and is generally very busy with both tourists and boat traffic.
We much prefer Agia Triada Reef which is located further from shore in more open water. It is still close enough to shore that we consider it to be a shore dive. With a maximum depth of 12 meters this site is ideal for the beginner free diver. While visibility can sometimes become an issue, it is usually at least 10 meters.
Agia Triada has very impressive rock formation, a broad range of fish, octopus, and even a very nice swim through.
After your afternoon of diving, head back to Agia Triada beach for an afternoon drink at one of the many beach bars to
Junkers JU 88
This is definitely one of the most interesting locations for freediving in Corfu. Much of this dive site is a mystery.
For those who are interested in wreck diving, world war two history, or airplanes, the final dive site on our list is truly special. This wreck in particular is that of a Junkers JU-88 twin engine bomber. This bomber, operated by the German Air force in world war 2, it is uncertain when exactly this particular plane crashed.
Today, it can be found at depth of 22-25 meters, just off the coast of Corfu. While it is not recommended for first time free divers to attempt to reach this wreck, it is still visible from the surface and from any depths a diver is comfortable achieving.
Due to this wrecks offshore location and some what “secret” location we highly recommend booking a dive tour if you are set on seeing this wreck.
Want more Free Diving?
Are you new to freediving and want more information on the sport? Are you a seasoned (salted) diver looking for your next dive spot? If you answered yes to any of the above questions, or any of the infinite freediving questions not listed above, why not check out some more Free Depth Content?
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