Clear water · Small boats · Short crossings

A Dive Centre and Kayak Base on a Quiet Stretch of Coast

The water here drops from a shingle beach into thirty metres of visibility within a hundred metres of shore, which makes it unusually good for both first-time divers and people who simply want a paddle along an empty coastline. We teach recognised diving courses in groups of four, run two boat dives a day to reefs, walls and a pair of wrecks, hire sea kayaks and snorkelling gear by the hour, and guide coastal paddles to caves and beaches reachable no other way. Everything is walk-in friendly and nothing needs to be booked weeks ahead.

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Diver descending in deep blue water alongside a shark

Divers exploring the hull of a sunken wreck

About us

Small Centre, Long Memory of This Coast

The centre was opened by two instructors who had worked seasons across half the Mediterranean and wanted somewhere they could dive the same sites often enough to know them properly. Twelve years later the site log runs to several thousand entries, which means we can tell you where the octopus dens are in June, which wall holds the best light at four in the afternoon, and which reef becomes unpleasant when the meltemi has been blowing for two days. That knowledge is the difference between a dive and a good dive.

We stayed deliberately small. Two boats carrying eight and twelve divers, four instructors and two guides in high season, and a maximum of four students per instructor on every course. Nobody is put into a group of sixteen following a guide they have never spoken to. Equipment is serviced in our own workshop on a documented schedule, cylinders are tested in date, and the compressor filters are changed on hours rather than on optimism, with air quality tested twice a season by an outside laboratory.

The kayak side started because divers' partners were sitting on the beach waiting, and it has grown into half the business. It uses the same principle: stable boats, short briefings, honest advice about wind, and routes that reward a beginner rather than punishing them. We also run the local reef clean-up, map ghost nets for the coastguard and keep a photographic record of the seagrass meadows for a marine institute.

Advantages

Why Divers and Paddlers Choose Us

Six things that make a day here safer, calmer and more interesting than the alternative down the coast.

Two paddlers in a tandem kayak on flat open water

Four Students per Instructor, Always

Course groups never exceed four, regardless of how many enquiries arrive in August. That ratio means an instructor can see every student at every moment, correct buoyancy before it becomes a habit, and give each person real time in the water rather than a turn. Skills are repeated until they are genuinely comfortable rather than signed off to keep a timetable, and a student who needs an extra session gets one at no additional cost. The result is divers who can hold depth and trim after their first course instead of arriving on holiday two years later having forgotten everything.

Sites Chosen for the Day, Not the Brochure

Every morning the guides check wind, swell, current and visibility before deciding where the boats go, and the choice is explained to everyone on board. On a calm day that means the outer wall and the deeper wreck; when the meltemi is up it means sheltered reefs on the lee side where the water stays clear and the dive is still worth doing. We would rather move a dive than deliver a poor one, and we say so plainly when conditions mean a site people were hoping for is off the list that week.

Equipment You Can Trust

Regulators are serviced annually and logged, cylinders are visually inspected and pressure tested in date, wings and BCDs are checked before every trip, and anything that develops a fault is retired to the workshop rather than passed to the next customer. Wetsuits are rinsed in fresh water, dried properly and replaced on a rotation. Air quality is tested twice each season by an independent laboratory and the certificate is posted on the wall. Rental sizes run from extra small to triple extra large, including women's cut suits and boots.

Safety Cover on Every Trip

Boats carry oxygen, a full first-aid kit, spare masks and regulators, radios, a recall system and a surface marker for every diver. A crew member stays on board throughout, dive profiles are planned conservatively with computers issued to anyone without one, and roll call is taken in and out of the water every time. The centre maintains a direct link with the coastguard and the nearest chamber, and our staff hold current oxygen provider and first-aid qualifications. In twelve seasons we have made two precautionary evacuations and no diver has been treated for decompression illness.

Kayaks That Suit Beginners

Sit-on-top and stable touring kayaks in single, double and family layouts, with adjustable seats, dry hatches, spare paddles and buoyancy aids in every size including toddler. Every hire includes a short briefing, a laminated map with the safe area, wind guidance and the return signal, plus a waterproof phone case. On guided paddles a support boat shadows any group larger than six. Nobody is sent out when the afternoon wind is forecast to build, and hires are refunded if we cancel for weather.

A Coast We Look After

We run four reef clean-ups a year, recover ghost nets and report their positions to the coastguard, photograph the seagrass meadows for a marine institute's monitoring programme and brief every diver on not touching, not collecting and not feeding. Sunscreen sold at the centre is reef-compatible, boats use mooring buoys rather than anchoring on the reef, and a share of each course fee goes to the local marine reserve fund. Guests are welcome to join any clean-up without charge.

White Aegean village above the sea at sunset

Services

What We Run

Courses, boat dives, kayak tours, snorkelling and hire, all from the same beach hut.

Try Dives and Beginner Courses

A half-day try dive introduces complete beginners to breathing underwater in a sheltered bay at five metres, with one instructor to two guests and no prior experience needed. Full entry-level certification runs over three to four days, combining theory sessions in the shaded classroom with confined water skills and four open-water dives. All equipment, materials and certification fees are included, groups never exceed four, and anyone who needs an extra session receives it without charge. Medical questionnaires are reviewed before booking so that nobody travels for nothing.

Guided Boat Dives

Two departures daily to reefs, walls, caverns and two wrecks lying between eighteen and thirty-eight metres. Each trip includes tanks, weights, a guide in the water, drinks and fruit on board, and a site briefing with a hand-drawn map. Groups are limited to eight per guide and split by experience so that nobody is rushed or held back. Night dives run twice a week in summer, and photographers can book a guide who will stay with them at one feature rather than covering the whole site.

Continuing Education and Specialities

Advanced and rescue courses, nitrox, deep, wreck, navigation, night, drift and underwater photography specialities, plus refresher sessions for anyone who has not dived for a season or more. Rescue courses are run over three days with realistic scenarios in open water and a full first-aid module. Instructor development is offered outside the peak months. Teaching is unhurried, materials are provided in several languages, and we will happily certify with the agency a diver already holds cards from.

Sea Kayak Hire and Guided Paddles

Kayaks by the hour, half day or full day, with buoyancy aids, dry bags, maps and a briefing included. Guided paddles leave twice daily along the cliffs to sea caves and a beach that cannot be reached on foot, stopping to swim and snorkel, with a picnic on the longer trip. Sunset paddles run in high summer. Routes are chosen for the wind on the day, groups stay under eight, and support cover is provided. Beginners are the majority of participants and receive a proper first lesson on the beach.

Snorkelling Trips and Family Days

Boat and shore snorkelling with masks, fins, floats and wetsuits provided, guided by someone who will point out octopus, moray, sea bream and the seagrass meadows rather than just handing out equipment. Family days combine a short paddle, a snorkel in shallow water and lunch on the beach, with a guide in the water at all times and buoyancy aids for every child. Non-swimmers can join using floats. These trips run in the morning when the sea is calmest and the light is best.

Equipment Hire, Service and Groups

Full sets or individual items available by the day or week, with cylinders, nitrox fills, lamps, computers, cameras and drysuits in stock. Our workshop services regulators, replaces valves and tests cylinders for visiting divers and other centres. Clubs and groups of six or more receive a fixed price covering boats, guiding, tanks and transfers, with a private boat available on request, and we can arrange accommodation, airport transfers and meals through partners in the village.

Contacts

Bookings and Conditions

Write or call with your dates, certification level and what you would like to do. We will tell you what the sea is likely to be doing that week, which sites will be workable and how many days a course realistically needs.

Group bookings, equipment servicing and clean-up dates are handled at the same desk.

Centre

Leoforos Poseidonos 45, 166 74 Glyfada, Greece

Phone

+30 21 0894 5512

bluecovedive@gmx.com

Season

April–November, daily 08:00–19:00