Corfu Town is a surprisingly practical base for a diving holiday. Gouvia Marina — one of the busier dive centres on the island — is fifteen minutes’ drive from the apartment, and Paleokastritsa is forty. Here are the six dive sites within reach, with notes on what to expect underwater and how the days fit into a town-based trip.
The Ionian Underwater — the Short Version
Three things make Corfu diving distinctive. First, the visibility — routinely 20–30 metres, occasionally 40. Second, the temperature — up to 27 degrees in August, comfortable in a 5 mm wetsuit. Third, the variety — caves, walls, reefs, a couple of wrecks, seagrass meadows — you can dive a different kind of seascape every day.
Marine life: grouper, moray eels, octopus, schools of bream and damselfish, occasional barracuda or amberjack on deeper sites, seahorses if you look in the seagrass. Healthy, recovering, photographable.
1. Paleokastritsa Caves (40 min drive) Intermediate
Depth: 8–25 m · Cave system
The headline dive of any Corfu trip. Multi-chamber caves with sunlight filtering down through openings in the limestone, walls of orange sponges, lobsters in the crevices. Centres run from Paleokastritsa marina; book the day before. The drive across the island is 40 minutes — an early start.
2. Gouvia Bay Wreck (15 min drive) Intermediate
Depth: 18–22 m · Wreck
Nearest dive site to the apartment. A small cargo vessel sitting upright on the sandy bottom of Gouvia Bay, decades of marine colonisation. Easy intro to wreck diving. Centres at Gouvia Marina run boat trips daily; you can be on the water 30 minutes after leaving the apartment.
3. Koloveris Reef (35 min drive to Kassiopi) Intermediate
Depth: 12–30 m · Reef
Richest reef site around the island. Off the northeast coast near Kassiopi. Large schools, occasional barracuda or eagle ray on the deeper side. Currents possible — check before booking.
4. Agia Triada at Nissaki (30 min drive) Beginner
Depth: 5–18 m · Seagrass
The classic east-coast Discover Scuba site. Calm, shallow, easy. Octopus, cuttlefish, sometimes seahorses. Perfect for a first-ever dive or a relaxed second-day shake-out.
5. Agios Gordios Reef (35 min drive) Beginner–Int.
Depth: 8–22 m · West coast reef
The west coast’s best dive. The famous Ortholithi sea-stack continues underwater into dramatic swim-throughs and formations. Accessible as shore or boat dive.
6. Erikoussa Island Wall (full day trip) Advanced
Depth: 5–40 m+ · Wall
The most pristine diving in the Ionian, off the Diapontia Islands northwest of Corfu. Vertical walls dropping into deep blue with gorgonian fans, sponges, soft corals rare elsewhere. Day-trip dive offered by only a couple of centres; book a week ahead. Conditions-dependent.
Never Dived Before?
Discover Scuba Diving experiences run from most centres on the island. No certification required — a 30–60 minute briefing, shallow water practice, then a supervised dive to 6–12 m in calm clear water. Cost: 55–80 euros. From the apartment, the closest centre offering Discover Scuba is at Gouvia Marina (15 min drive).
If you want to leave Corfu certified, a full Open Water course (PADI or SSI) takes 3–4 days, 350–450 euros, includes four open-water dives. Several centres in town and at Gouvia run them weekly.
Cost Reference
- Discover Scuba: 55–80 euros
- Single boat dive: 40–55 euros
- Two-tank boat dive: 60–90 euros
- Open Water course: 350–450 euros
- Erikoussa day trip: 130–180 euros
Apartment-Base Diving Notes
Season: June–September for warmest water; May and October for the clearest visibility.
No-fly rule: 18–24 hours after your last dive. Don’t schedule a dive for departure day.
Bring: Certification card, logbook, personal mask if broken in. Everything else is provided.
Apartment storage: Wet gear can dry on the balcony rail. The apartment has plenty of space for a packed bag of dive kit.
Pre-dive dinner: Skip the heavy Pastitsada the night before a deep dive — Bianco (the light white-fish dish) is a better choice.
Booking: Day ahead in summer for standard dives; a week ahead for Erikoussa.
Getting to the Marinas
You’ll need a car. Buses run to Paleokastritsa and along the northeast coast but rarely match dive boat schedules.
★ Herbie Cars — Delivered to the Apartment
Our rental partner. Delivers to the edge of the pedestrian zone (one minute from the apartment). Free delivery, fair prices, easy returns.
Book a car →★ Pair With a Beach Stay?
For guests who pair an Old Town diving week with a swimming week, our partner Corfu Beach and Town has houses near most of the dive sites on this list.
Browse houses →See also: snorkeling guide for surface-level water exploration and the complete travel reference at CorfuRide.