Isola Bella North

Mediterranean Marine Life: common stingray, amberjack, bluefin tuna, yellowmouth barracuda, two-banded seabream, dusky grouper, damselfish, wide eyed flounder, scorpionfish, striped red mullet, greater weever, Atlantic lizardfish, Mediterranean moray eel, hermit crab, lobster, shrimp, fan mussel, sea-hare, different sea slugs like dotted sea slug, pink flabellina and hervia, octopus, cuttlefish, sea urchin, pentagon starfish, sunset cup coral, yellow encrusting anemone, light bulb sea squirt, sponges, false coral, algae, Neptune grass, harpoon weed

Summary: Isola Bella North has a lot of diversity to offer, one moment you are focused on the macro life sitting on the wall and the other moment enjoying the big blue with large schools of bream to admire.

Description: The dive site is located on the northside of the Isola Bella in Taormina, just in front of the famous beach and rocks of Isola Bella. It starts on a rocky bottom at around 8 meters depth, we descend and encounter a big field of seaweed called ‘Posidonia’ in Italian. We get to witness the wrasses and other small marine life that call the meadow their homes as well as watch the hypnotic way the grass flows back and forth with each movement of the sea. The seaweed is a vital element to the Mediterranean ecosystems, regulating CO2 absorption in the sea and in the atmosphere.
We can then navigate within the passages of the island or outside, to make the dive always different and fun. When diving a profile for advanced open water divers, we can descend to a maximum depth of 25m on the north side, where we find a sandy bottom. Here we can look for stingrays or a wide-eyed flounder. Be sure to also look out into the blue to catch schools of the various species of breams! Like a lot of our dives around the Isola Bella, it is fascinating that at one moment you are focused on the macro life sitting on the wall and the other moment enjoying the big blue with large schools of marine life to admire.