(25 Sep 2010)
Diving in the South of France
First Trip Fully Booked - Now booking 2nd trip!
Group 1: Sat 25th to Wed 29th September
3 dives per day on Sunday & Monday. Option to dive on Tuesday morning.
Fly home Wednesday afternoon.
Group 2: Wed 29th September to Sun 3rd October
3 dives per day on Thurs & Fri. Option to dive on Saturday morning.
Fly home Sunday afternoon.
Cost of Accommodation & Diving just €365
Flights to be arranged separately – Aer Lingus currently selling flights for €125/€135 return!
ONLY 11 PLACES AVAILABLE – LOW DEPOSIT AND CHEAP FLIGHTS!
PHONE NOW TO BOOK 041 988 7900
We’re delighted to be visiting a new destination this year – Nice, in the south of France. France is the home of recreational scuba, with a thriving dive industry and some of Europe’s most
beautiful dive sites along its south coast. We will fly into Nice and transfer a short distance to nr Antibes, which is where we meet our partners Diamond Diving who have access to a great variety of diving in this area.
France is renowned for many things ….. diving, wine, and of course, campsite holidays! We’re staying in a campsite just 15 mins from Nice, near Antibes. This is a lovely campsite with plenty of shady trees, a pool, a restaurant and bar on site, a small shop, a bakery and a pizzeria. This is the ideal way to kick back and relax at the end of a ‘hard’ days diving! Organise a BBQ or eat at the restaurant – either way it’s far more sociable than a hotel! And on your free day there’s the option to lounge by the pool or take a trip to the lovely pebble beach just across the road.
For sightseeing, Antibes is a fabulous town with narrow winding streets and pretty squares with markets, cafes, bars, restaurants. This area has some of the most amazing yachts you’ve ever seen, if you want to take a stroll along the quays.
But more importantly – the diving!
Antibes is host to three main clusters or groups of dives sites, these being La Formigue, Les Iles de Lerins and the Cap d’Antibes itself.
La Fourmigue
This is a large rock formation that stretches some several hundred metres and is marked by a
small lighthouse which is a notable feature of Golfe Juan.This site is home to an underwater village built in the late sixties. The village, mostly ruins now, is situated at a depth of around 15m in what amounts to an “underwater valley”.
The lighthouse also marks a group of rocks known as L'Enfer de Dents (loosely translated as Hell's Teeth). These are a number of fingers of rock which rise up to just below the surface and drop off to depths of 30m and beyond. This is another site rich in Gorgonian and soft coral and schooling fish.
To the south lies a small cave known as the Grotte de Miro (it once held a sculpture of the Goddess of the Sea by the artist Miro). In the 1980’s this was replaced by a statue of Commandant Yves le Prieur, inventor of the first self-contained regulator. The cave has three exits and is located at the bottom of the rock at about 18m. It is carpeted in colourful sponges and soft corals.
Cap D’Antibes and Les Iles de Lerins
Other highlights and areas rich in dive sites in this area are the Cap D’Antibes and Les Iles De Lerins. The Cap D’Antibes is home to at least half a dozen sites, again all suitable to a wide range of ability levels. A couple of the most known sites are Rascoui and Le Grand Boule.
Then at Les lles De Lerins there are a number of dive sites, three of the more common are “Le Vengeur”, “La Tour Espagnole” and “La Convention” which are all wall dives ranging in depth from shallow (4m) to 40 metres and above.
All the dive sites are close by, and we’ve arranged 3 dives on Sunday and 3 dives on Monday. Divers can arrange to dive on Tuesday morning if they like, but need to be finished by lunchtime as the flights are Wednesday are in the afternoon and divers need to leave 24 hours + before flying.
How To Book:
1 Call us with either credit or laser card details for your booking deposit. The cost of the trip is €365. Deposit is €100 when booking. Interim Payment of €100 due Friday, 7th May. Balance due by Friday, 16th July.
2 Book your flight with aerlingus.ie.
Group 1:
Saturday 25 September 2010 Depart Dublin 10:50 Arrive Nice 14:20
Wednesday 29 September 2010 Depart Nice 15:00 Arrive Dublin 16:35
Group 2:
Wednesday 29 September 2010 Depart Dublin 10:50 Arrive Nice 14:20
Sunday 3 October 2010 Depart Nice 15:00 Arrive Dublin 16:35
Currently these flights are €125/€135, however if you want to bring your dive gear you should also choose to have luggage as well which will add a bit to this price. But still very affordable – so book NOW!
3. Let us know you have your flights booked and confirmed.