Dive Sites Dive with us in one of our amazing sites

Explore our amazing dive sites around Kalypso area. We provide 10 different dive sites for all levels of experience, all diving points are accessible without boat. The entry & exit are both from the Kalypso fjord or behind our resort main swimming pool. Actual bottom time - ABT - and maximum operating depth - MOD - are designed for the safety of the groups. We provide experienced dive guides who know better than everyone the specific spots, secrets of the bottom, safest underwater routes and the special places where animals live. In Kalypso Dive Center the safety of the groups are our number one priority!

Please Note: According to the Dive Center policy, no one dives alone, all the activities in the Kalypso area are under direct supervisor and guiding of the dive center professionals!

See the total map of dive sites and the description of each one below...

DIVE #1 Kalypso House Reef

Description:
Entry from Kalypso Lagoon by staying and exploring the inner area.
Dive Type:
Shore dive
Minimum Certification Level:
Scuba Diver (Supervised) or Open Water Diver
Maximum Depth:
10 - 12m
Bottom Composition and Features:
Best and safe dive site for beginners to explore the area inside the bay, very bright enviroment with crystal clear waters. You can start from the Kalypso lagoon just in front of the dive center (A) or you can choose to jump in from the Kalypso beach (G) spending time to see the big ancient anchor, the lander to the right (B) or the big buoy to the left and then explore the left wall (D-E) until the corner (F) and coming back to the bay.

Marine Life:
Octopus, Moray eels, Shrimps, sleeping colorful small fishes, various sponges, interesting vegetation, Sea Urchins and Starfish.

 

DIVE #2 Kalypso Bay

Description:
Diving close to the bay of Kalypso area
Dive Type:
Shore dive
Minimum Certification Level:
Open Water Diver or equivalent
Maximum Depth:
16m Open Water Diver or higher
Bottom Composition and Features:
This beautiful and crystal clear area leads to a stony incline with rocks covered in vegetation. A small cave to the right corner in just 3m depth (B) full of colors with sponges, corals (looks like a small garden), touching the attraction of Kalypso bay the minivan car wreck in maximum depth of 16m, (F) and come back from the vertical wall opposite to the bay returning to the plate of 10m and more shallow waters inside the bay. (G) Ideal for refreshing divers.

Marine Life:
Plenty of colourful small fishes, various sponges, vegetation on the rocks, Sea Urchins, Starfish, Fire worms, Groupers, Moray eels and, occasionally, Octopuses etc.

 

DIVE #3 Canyon

Description:
Diving easily from the shore with direction straight down and back.
Dive Type:
Shore dive
Minimum Certification Level:
Advanced Open Water Diver or equivalent
Maximum Depth:
23m Advanced Open Water Diver or higher
Bottom Composition and Features:
Starting from the entrance of the beach (A) with a Giant Stride or by swimming from the shore. By travelling directly down to the canyon, (B) firstly you can see a small open cave to the right. (C) Easy entry and exit to the bottom of the canyon at 23m. You can swim outside of the big hole to the right side of the canyon at 18m, (D) plenty of colours inside with huge sponges and corals. Eventually, ascend to the last underwater part of the canyon, (E) looking around the huge deep area under the canyon and come back very easily using the formation of the rocks. (F-G)
Marine Life:
Plenty of colourful small fishes, various sponges, interesting vegetation on the rocks, Sea Urchins, Starfish, Fireworms and occasionally Octopuses, Moray eels, Groupers and Shrimps.

DIVE #4 Vertical Wall

Description:
Diving across the rocks and drop offs
Dive Type:
Shore - Travel dive
Minimum Certification Level:
Advanced Open Water Diver or equivalent
Maximum Depth:
28m - 30m Advanced Open Water Diver or higher
Bottom Composition and Features:
Starting from the center of Kalypso bay and travelling down to the canyon, staying in the middle depth (A) to the left side in 15m (B) till above the end of the canyon, (C-D) which is a spectacular walled drop-off leading to another ledge at 42m. Beyond, the depths drop to 100m first and after to 200m in the deep blue abyss according to the official nautical maps. Divers are hovering over the deep blue and they stay safe while travelling to the top of the underwater mountain that comes from 200m in 30m (E) and back. The huge walls, drop offs, small caves and overhangs are turning your dive into an exciting one. Travelling back you can use the canyon for your orientation like a guide line straight back to the bay. Easy way to decompress in ideal levels of 21 - 16 - 9 - 5m (F-G) following the morphology of the right side of the canyon.
Marine Life: Plenty of colourful small fishes, various sponges, interesting vegetation on the rocks, Sea Urchins, Starfish, Fire worms, Big Groupers, Big silver Dentex, Moray eels and occasionally Octopuses, Sea Turtle and Sting Rays.

DIVE #5 Karavos Deep Challenge

Description:
Diving inside the canyon straight down to the bottom until the exit of the canyon and back
Dive Type:
Shore dive
Minimum Certification Level:
Experienced divers only. Advanced / Rescue diver or higher with specialty deep diving
Maximum Depth:
35 - 40m Advanced / Rescue cert. with specialty deep diver or higher
Bottom Composition and Features:
Starting from the center of Kalypso bay (A) and travelling straight down to the bottom of the canyon at 23-25m (B) you need to keep swimming down to 35-40m (C) close to the big table-rock and back. (D) Huge walls to the left with drop offs, open beautiful blue sea to your right hand. You can see the huge depth point outside of the canyon. On your way back from the canyon you can use the morphology of the rocks (E) at the safety stops in 21 - 16 - 9 - 5m (F-G) following the right side of the canyon.

Marine Life:
Plenty of colorful small fishes, various sponges, interesting vegetation on the rocks, Sea Urchins, Starfish, Fire worms, Sea Anemones, Different types of Groupers, Moray eels and occasionally Octopuses, Sea Turtle and Sting Rays, Big Groupers close to the bottom and small baracudas over the deep part of the canyon

Comments:

Those types of diving may absorb to much nitrogen that results to the difficulty of swimming straight to the surface without risking decompression illness, no matter how slowly the diver ascends. Ways that scuba divers absorb high amounts of nitrogen include engaging in very deep or long dives (with bottom times that exceed the no-decompression limit for a given depth). In this case, a diver must allow his body extra time to eliminate the high amount of nitrogen in his system by making a safety or decompression stop (E - F - G). Please stay close to your dive guide and folow the rules setting by the Kalypso professional dive team.

Attention: Do not try to dive alone or leave the group during the dive! Your dive guide in Kalypso knows better than everyone the limits to keep you safe without to exceed the decompression limits.

Remember: Any recreational dive must be without decompression and the maximum depth according recreational standards is 40m maximum!

DIVE #6 Swimming Through Area

Description:
Diving to the right side of Kalypso bay exactly to the corner of fjord with direction west to Plakias and back
Dive Type:
Shore dive
Minimum Certification Level:
Advanced Open Water Diver or equivalent
Maximum Depth:
22m for Advanced Open Water Diver or higher
Bottom Composition and Features:
Beginning from the upper part (right side) of Kalypso bay, divers can swim to the corner (B) and straight down parallel to outside part of fjord (C) till the ''swimming through area'' which is a place with big rocks in different levels with holes and small caves between. Normally they reach the area from the bottom in 22m, (D) they can penetrate inside and come back from the upper part. (E)
Marine Life: Plenty of colorful small fishes, various sponges, vegetation on the rocks, Sea Urchins, Starfish, Sea Cucumbers, Fireworms and occasionally Octopus, Moray eels, Groupers and Dentex fish they hunt in this area
Comments:
This dive site is ideal even for a long bottom time because of MOD. Perfect site for exploration of the holes and caves around with torches and finally you can return (F) to the level of 5-6m on preventative safety stop (G) or just travel inside the bay.

DIVE #7 Cave

Description:
Diving to the right side of Kalypso bay till the cave and back
Dive Type:
Shore - travel dive
Minimum Certification Level:
Advanced Open Water Diver or equivalent
Maximum Depth:
26m for Advanced Open Water Diver or higher
Bottom Composition and Features:
Beginning from the upper part (right side) of Kalypso canyon (B) followed by a wall that drops from 12m to 22m (C - D) where you can reach the entrance of the cave at 26m (E). Swimming throw the cave to the upper part in 12m (F) and travel back from the level of 12-10-6m. (G). Less experienced divers can stay to the upper part of the cave (F) situated above the exit. Divers with more experience can enter the cave and look around.
Marine Life: Plenty of colorful small fishes, various sponges, vegetation on the rocks, Sea Urchins, Starfish, Sea Cucumbers, Fireworms and occasionally Octopus, Moray eels, Groupers and Shrimps.
Comments:
This dive site is ideal even for a long bottom time, but divers should keep in mind the consumption of the air because of long distance (C-D-E) till the cave. Divers can decompress during the travel back directly after the exit from the cave in 12-10m (F) and finally to the level of 5-6m on the preventative safety stop. (G)

DIVE #8 South Travel

Description:
Entry from the back side of the hotel by stairs with Giant Stride. Direction to the east and travelling outside of the fjord
Dive Type:
Shore - travel dive
Minimum Certification Level:
Advanced
Open Water Diver or equivalent
Maximum Depth:
26m for Advanced Open Water Diver or higher
Bottom Composition and Features: Because of the real travel dive divers pay attention to the SPG. You can reach very easily the level of 18m (B) and keep swimming between 26 and 22m (C-D) exploring the outside part of the fjord in your left hand while seeing the open Libyan Sea (deep points) in your right hand.
Marine Life: Plenty of colorful small fishes, various sponges, vegetation on the rocks, Sea Urchins, Starfish, Sea Cucumbers, Fireworms and occasionally Octopus, Moray eels, Groupers and Shrimps.
Comments: Ideal alternative dive site with completely different direction as usual. You can travel in the open sea and be amazed by the unknown of the site. The wide range of the dive that is long makes the dive an unexceptable one. During your travel you can see different places and animals. The site is accessible only with good weather conditions without south wind.

 

DIVE #9 Cape Kakomouri

Description:
Entry from stairs behind the hotel swimming pool with Giant Stride.
Dive Type:
Shore dive - Travel dive - Drift dive
Minimum Certification Level:
Advanced Open Water Diver or higher.
Maximum Depth:
30 - 40m
Bottom Composition and Features:
Diving directly to the corner down and right, (A-B) direction to Plakias - west point. You can reach very soon the outer drop off of Cape ''Kakomouri'' at 30m (C) first and after the huge deepest area, (D) coming back from the upper level of 20-18m (E) till 8-6m (F) near to your exit from stairs (G) behind Kalypso Cretan Village.
Marine Life:
Octopuses, Moray eels, sleeping colorful small fish, various  sponges, interesting vegetation, different kind of sea Urchins and Starfish.
Sometimes ''Caretta - Caretta'' sea Turtle or big Groupers, big silver Dentex comes from the depths to meet you.

Comments: Extremely bright area with different environment from Kalypso Bay. According to the sea condition and the height of the waves, the site will be opened or closed for diving. Even in good weather conditions without south wind, you may have to deal with strong underwater current which makes the returning to the entry point difficult. Nice site for drift diving especially if the current direction comes from the west. Only for divers who can handle with difficult situations and have good air consumption.

Attention: the come back to the exit point from the stairs is possible only without waves!

DIVE #10 Old Wreck

Description:
Entry from stairs behind the hotel swimming pool with Giant Stride.
Dive Type:
Shore - Travel dive - Drift dive
Minimum Certification Level:
Open Water / Advanced Open Water Diver or equivalent
Maximum Depth:
18m for good qualified Open Water / Advanced Open Water Diver or higher

Bottom Composition and Features: Diving to the first corner (B) and continue right with direction to the west. You can reach very soon the area with the middle depth of 16m (C) and you can keep the depth level according to the morphology. Firstly you will find the small parts of the shipwreck (D) and directly after the formation of the Glasses (E), coming back from the upper level of 12m (F) till 8-9m (G) near to the exit behind Kalypso Cretan Village.
Marine Life: Plenty of colourful small fishes, various sponges, different kinds of sea shell, vegetation on the rocks, Sea Urchins, Starfish, Sea Cucumbers, Fireworms and occasionally Octopuses, Moray eels, Groupers and silver Dentex. Sometimes when the waters are warm the Sea Turtle / Caretta-Caretta comes to the area for hunting.
Comments:
The ship probably came from Egypt and was filled with huge pieces of glass and its final destination was to the Venetian market in Italy. It was sunk due to bad weather conditions and the first samples of the cargo and some small parts of the ship are visible now in just 18m depth. Unfortunately, the main body of the ship was swept away by the wind and now is laying down to the prohibited depth for recreational dives of 75-80 meters! Divers can still admire the pure glass which is like huge rock formations. Scientists from Germany & Austria came to Kalypso, took and studied small pieces of glass in the university laboratory and found approximately the chronology setting between 600 and 700 years old!

Free transport

Our daily excursions start with the pickup and transport from your hotel or from a pickup point. Our service covers all areas of the Prefecture of Rethymnon.

Photo service

We offer professional photos of our divers, guests and underwater life for more than 10 years. You can take these lasting memories with you on a USB stick. 

Memory certificate

At the end of the day, just before leave and during our final meeting you will receive a memory certificate from your "journey" with Kalypso Dive Center.

Multilingual staff

Carefully selected, multilingual professional staff - we speak more than 10 languages - will make sure you have safe and enjoyable dives.

The Kalypso blog
Check the latest news, articles & advice in Kalypso's blog. Browse all posts

Masks, our window to the other world

The diving mask is a very important element our dive gear and often is not given the importance it deserves. Some water inside the mask does not present a hazard to the diver, but can make a good dive becomes a nuisance.

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Our terrestrial instinct and the need for training

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How to turn a DSD into a unique dive experience?

How many certified divers took their first scuba diving steps through a PADI Discover Scuba Diver? Anybody wonders why this first experience changed their lives?

Most divers I talked to explained their DSD was a great experience. Thanks to the dive centre and dive instructor, passing their passion for diving, a new diver was born. The correct environment, information sharing, atmosphere and good preparation turned the Discover Scuba Diver in a unique and once-in-a-lifetime experience for most of them.

Both my wife and I started in the same way years ago. Thanks to the great time we became so passionate about diving that we completely changed our lifestyle. From the discovery, we went through recreational diving to become so passionate about diving, to decide to swap our traditional jobs for a life in the diving industry. Even after we took this big step, we still remember our DSD years ago.

How to turn each Discover Scuba Diver (DSD) into an “I-love-scuba-diving” experience:

  • Organise each DSD as if it was a first date: Understand the DSD candidate does not know what to expect!
  • Be prepared: Follow a fixed DSD circuit and routine, but leave room for a personal touch.
  • Adapt to your customer: Accept people are unique, give them room to absorb scuba diving at their own pace.
  • Be passionate: share your passion for scuba diving with your guests before, during and after the dive.
  • Take your time: Remember the experience does not stop getting out of a wetsuit.
  • Help them remember: a picture says more than a thousand words, help them organise some pictures or a video as a permanent souvenir.

I fully agree there are a thousand more points to be added, but these six definitely help making a DSD something unique!

Posted on by Joris De Witte
Article on https://scubasur.net/how-to-turn-a-dsd-into-a-unique-dive-experience/
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Kalypso Beach, a place to explore and dive

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Location:
Kalypso Cretan Village Resort & Spa hotel, Karavos beach
Plakias, Rethymnon 
Crete 
74060 
Greece 

Tel:
(+30) 2831074687

Email:
kalypsodivecenter@gmail.com

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