Montenegro is known for its spectacular natural wonders south to north, but what is also exciting to discover is the underwater life of the sea. A Plus Yachting is bringing you several recommendations for the places to look up during your next visit.
Diving near Bar
Mikovica Cave (Bigovica Bay)
Depth: 7m
Mikovica cave is the home to a variety of local marine wildlife. It represents an extraordinary dive experience for cave lovers. The depth inside the cave is only 4 to 5m, but it is not a dive for inexperienced divers.
The length of the cave is about 150m in total, with 10m wide cave entrance located at 7m. From there, it narrows down, but there are no tight spots. The cave has two branches, each one ending with large breathable air siphon, decorated with stalactites and flaming red color rock.
Old Ulcinj (Near Kruce)
Depth: 5-25 m
60 min of boat ride south of Bar, lays one of the fewer Montenegrin islets – Old Ulcinj. It looks like a splinter that broke off from the mainland during some violent tectonic event. The place got the name by a legend of the ancient town of Dolcigno Vecchio, that disappeared beneath the sea, and people believe it was located here. Many divers contact us asking if they can see the sunken city. In truth, after hundreds of hours of diving at this location, we were not able to find any trace of it. Nevertheless, the island makes for an excellent reef/cave dive and the beautiful sightseeing location.
Dague wreck
Depth: 18 m
One of the most prestigious French navy ships in the WWI, Dague, was built in 1911 in the Lorienne shipyard. On February 24th 1915, it was anchored at the entrance to the port of Bar (Antivari), as a support for the English cargo steamship Whitehead. Due to the strong winds, the ship was dragging anchors, and around midnight that night, it struck the Austro-Hungarian mine and sunk. 39 sailors found their death in the freezing waters.
Today, this is one of the most popular dive sites in the area.
Diving near Budva
Oreste wreck
Depth: 32m
This location is accessible to divers with minimum Open Water Diver Certificate, Advance Open Water Diver Certificate or Deep Diver Certificate. Divers with Open Water Certificate at this location can only dive within the Adventure program. Visibility at this location is an average of 15 – 20 meters.
The submerged steamer Oreste is located near the beach gap and is about 3nm from Budva or 10-15 minutes by boat.
The wreck of the Oreste ship lies at a depth of 32 meters. Due to the explosion damage, the ship is halved and its two parts are about 20m apart. As with most of these locations, the most common types of fish can be seen, which are found in the wreckage from the sea currents and fish predator. In the summer months, it often happens that the contours of the wreck are visible after 10 meters of depth. The temperature at the bottom, during the summer, is between 18 and 20 degrees Celsius.
Wreck Fisherman (Near St. Stephen island)
Depth: 21m
This dive site is accessible to divers with a minimum OWD certificate.
Wreck Fisherman boat is located in front of St. Stephen. The ship was submerged due to the storm that had hit him upon returning with the open sea moorings. Despite the severe storm that sank it, the ship is virtually unstable and is in excellent condition. The boat length is 27 meters and the width is 6 meters. It is 10 minutes boat drive away from Budva diving center. In this dive site, visibility is excellent and the natural area that can be seen before diving completes the impression of the unique satisfaction of all those who enjoy the unusual beauty of the country.
Tunnels near Budva (St Nicholas Island)
Depth: 9m
This dive site is available for all categories of divers, from beginners without certifications to experienced licensed divers.
Underwater tunnels near the island of St. Nicholas or as it is called Hawaii, because of their beauty and the clear sea, at a depth of 5 and 9 meters and are about 15 and 30 meters long. The candidate dives accompanied by instructors, and for safety reasons, one instructor dives with one person. The tunnels are reasonably broad and are not claustrophobic.
Underwater photos from this site fall under the must have category. A large number of clients in this dive position have fallen in love with diving and the chance to enjoy lovely underwater landscapes.
You can check out the photos here.
Cave Mogren
Depth: 25m
This dive site is available for all categories of divers, from beginners without certifications to experienced licensed divers.
Cave Mogren is near Budva town.
Underwater photos are something our customers always insist on, and our instructors are pleased to photograph them. The maximum depth of diving at this location is from 5 to 25 meters, and visibility is excellent.
Some photos are available here.
Diving spots near Herceg Novi
Patrol wreck
Depth: 24m
One of the most attractive and most visited wrecks in Montenegro, a beautiful patrol boat built in 1952 inside Tito’s shipyard Kraljevica. It served as a boat for survey and security protection of old Yugoslavia’s border. Active until 1972 and sank in 1983.
In 1983 the boat was used as a military practice target and was hit in an action training in the open sea. Soon after the exercise it was dragged to the bay of Zanjic where it sank to the sand floor on the depth of 24m.
Mermaid hole
Depth: 31m
This is a full adrenaline dive, and it is permitted for all advanced certified divers capable of maintaining a good buoyancy control during descending through the tunnel.
This is “one diver in a row” dive long 40 minutes with a maximum depth of 31m. The entrance of the chimney is integrated into the shore and looks like a small natural swimming pool. The tunnel is wide enough and with nice and controlled buoyancy descending can last 10-15 minutes. Exiting the tunnel divers are going to use an outside vertical wall as an ascending reference. After zigzagging the wall and conducting safety stop the dive ends after an absolute bottom time of 40 minutes.
Poseidon’s city
Depth: 14m
Poseidon Cave is suitable for all certified divers.
The dive site is located in the cove of Mala Gora. Maximum depth is 14 metres and the dive lasts about 45 minutes, including 5 minutes of safety stop. In a way to the exit divers are going to meet sharp walls, tunnels and sea cave with a presence of freshwater spring in it. If you are planning to dive in Montenegro, Poseidon Cave is must do.