By Anyck and Mitch
Has anyone gone on a snorkeling vacation in Europe? My boyfriend and I would be happy to go anywhere in Europe, our only concern is that it’s not too expensive to stay. Right now, we’re looking at places in Greece, for example, checking out some videos and pages about many of the beaches, etc. But the country does not really matter to us.
Thanks in advance for sharing any experience you have with good snorkeling destinations in Europe.
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Christina – Feb 9, 2017 – Consider Corsica!
Snorkeled off the beach in northern Corsica and loved it. Very clear water and good variation. But it was 15 years ago. It was at Saint-Florent, a village west of the town Bastia.
Howard – Mar 21, 2017 – European Snorkeling
Echo the comments regarding Corsica, just west of the harbor. Rocks beneath the Citadel provide a good spot to launch from. Clear and warm last year.
Nicole & Galen – May 31, 2020 – More Info
Here is some more info about snorkeling in Greece for another Europe option.
Has anyone here recently (within the last couple of years) snorkeled in Italy? We’ll be attending a family wedding there in September, and would love to get in some snorkeling IF there are any good spots: good visibility with lots to see.
Thank you.
I am also looking for experiences snorkeling Italy. We are heading to Tuscany area for three weeks in September and October 2025. One stop will be Orbetello. I am wondering if sea temperatures will be warm enough to just use a rash guard. And, wondering if it is worth taking and carrying our fins and gear around Italy (I appreciate that this is a very subjective value judgement).
Update: We decided to take masks and snorkels but not fins (too much space in our bags given the low usage we expected). We spent a day at Isollotto Beach Club near Orbetello. It was late September but the water was warm enough to stay in for an hour without a rash guard. The water was clear with visibility of at least 20 feet. The bay has a sand bottom with occasional rocks/boulders (2 feet to 30 feet in diameter). I spent most of my time swimming around a few of the large boulders that were about 150 feet from shore in about 20 feet of water. I did not see any coral and only a few patches of vegetation along the shoreline.
Fish diversity was lower than the Caribbean, probably because the variety and the richness of the habitat was low. I saw:
§ Indigo Hamlet
§ Brown chromis
§ Annular sea bream
§ Two-banded sea bream
§ Puddingwife (immature)
§ Small, slender fish with neon blue stripe
§ Octopus
§ Wrasses – bluehead?, Mediterranean rainbow wrasse
§ Salema porgy
§ Striped red mullet
§ Black sea urchin
I wouldn’t suggest this as a snorkeling destination but still worthwhile if you have a day and enjoy exploring new areas.