Protaras scuba diving starts with a first try-dive at Green Bay. It grows into cave and wreck dives off Cape Greco for certified divers. Plan more days out with Greece Tours.
This page compares the dive sites, the dive centres, the courses, the season and the planning details.
What is Protaras scuba diving?
Protaras scuba diving means guided dives from the east coast of Cyprus. They range from a first try-dive in a calm bay to wreck and cave dives for certified divers. Wikipedia calls Protaras a popular diving destination, and PADI lists 21 dive sites around Protaras and Ayia Napa.
Protaras is a resort town in the Famagusta District, under the municipality of Paralimni. Cape Greco, the headland between Protaras and Ayia Napa, is ten minutes by car from central Protaras.
Protaras scuba diving falls into three kinds. Shore dives start in the bays. Cliff and cave dives start at Cape Greco. Boat dives reach the wrecks offshore.
The same coast hosts boat trips and land tours, and our Cyprus tours page compares them across the island. This page covers the dive centres, the sites, the courses and the season.
Which Protaras scuba diving experiences lead the bookings?
The Protaras Discover Scuba Diving Experience leads GetYourGuide with 791 reviews and a duration of 3 hours. The Turtle Bay Introduction and Safari Dive Combo adds a second dive and runs 5 hours.
GetYourGuide also lists a Bubblemaker course for children and a single reef dive at Cape Grecko for qualified divers. A PADI Open Water Diver certification runs 3 to 4 days, and a private-instructor Open Water course takes 2 days.
Beginner dives head the list of Protaras scuba diving bookings. The shorter ones take 2.5 hours with hotel pickup, and the standard first dive takes 3 hours. Viator adds a first-time scuba experience in Protaras with 250 reviews.
The card below shows the first dive that guests book, and the sections after it explain each format in turn.
How does a Discover Scuba Diving session work in Protaras?
A Discover Scuba Diving session needs no certificate. You fill in a medical questionnaire and hear a safety briefing. You practise in waist-deep water. Then you follow an instructor to a maximum depth of 6 to 10 metres, says Easy Divers.
A Protaras scuba diving try-dive at Easy Divers holds about 60 minutes of underwater time inside the 3-hour programme. The dive centre supplies the gear, and a PADI instructor leads the group.
PADI caps a Discover Scuba Diving experience at 12 metres. It also states that participants are not allowed to scuba dive following the experience. The session stays a taste of the sport.
Poseidon Dive Centre runs beginner sessions in the morning and in the afternoon. It asks for no certification, no equipment and no previous experience. It offers pickup in Protaras and Pernera.
Why do beginners start Protaras scuba diving at Green Bay?
Green Bay is a shore dive with walk-in entry and a maximum depth of 11 metres. Visibility reaches 20 metres or more in good conditions. Visit Cyprus calls it the easiest dive site in the area, suited to introductory dives.
Visit Cyprus adds that a current or waves are rare at Green Bay. The Cyprus Diving association notes that PADI and other dive associations approve the bay as a confined water training area.
The bay gives Protaras scuba diving a clear target. Divers see artificial statues at 10 metres, and Visit Cyprus reports frequent turtle sightings. Hundreds of seabreams gather around the fish-feeding area at less than 5 metres.
Easy Divers places Green Bay 5 minutes by car from the centre of Protaras, beside a small fishing harbour. Cars park close, so the walk to the water is short.
Which sites follow Green Bay on Protaras scuba diving trips?
Divers who finish Green Bay move on to the Caves at 12 metres. Green Bay Cave reaches 17 metres and Da Costa 11 metres. The Cyclopes Caves reach 45 metres. Visit Cyprus lists Open Water as the minimum qualification for all four.
On Protaras scuba diving trips, the Caves site has flat sand and small caverns that divers swim through. Visit Cyprus calls it one of the easiest sites in the area. It lists two entry points, with drop-offs of 1.5 and 3 metres.
Green Bay Cave lies about 10 metres of swimming from the entry point. Divers find through-and-through caverns with corals, lionfish, turtles and moray eels. The site suits scooter diving.
The Cyclopes Caves site is a cliff with an entry depth of 1 metre. Visit Cyprus rates it for beginners up to technical divers, and for night dives and deep dives.
GetYourGuide sells a Cape Greco tunnels and caves dive with a personal guide. The tour takes 2.5 hours.
Which wrecks can you reach on Protaras scuba diving trips?
Two wrecks lie off Protaras. The Liberty cargo ship rests at 27 metres, and the Nemesis III fishing vessel at 26 metres. They sit 90 metres apart. Both need a boat and an Advanced diver with a Boat Diver qualification, says Visit Cyprus.
Liberty was a Russian cargo ship, 37 metres long and 10 metres wide. Nemesis III is a fishing vessel, 25 metres long and 6 metres wide. Visit Cyprus lists groupers, lionfish, seabreams, sea slugs and moray eels at both.
Visit Cyprus calls both wrecks safe for basic swim-throughs. It also rates the pair excellent for scooter diving that visits both wrecks.
Easy Divers adds an artificial reef beside them. The reef sits inside an underwater reserve where fishing is prohibited. Its concrete structures lie at 18 to 25 metres.
The Kyrenia wreck, a former Greek navy boat, reaches 23 metres. Visit Cyprus rates it for Advanced and Boat divers. It notes that the marine life is less rich than at the other wrecks.
Can you combine Protaras scuba diving with the MUSAN museum?
Yes. Operators pair a Green Bay training dive with a guided MUSAN dive in Ayia Napa. Easy Divers says official regulations require a certified diver for scuba at the museum. Guests without a licence do the training dive first.
Poseidon Dive Centre sells the same idea as Discover Scuba plus MUSAN, two beginner-friendly dives. GetYourGuide lists two intro scuba dives, at Blue Bay and at the MUSAN museum, as an 8-hour tour.
Easy Divers puts the sculptures at 8 to 10 metres and describes a museum excursion of 2 to 3 hours. It recommends booking 3 to 5 days ahead in the busy summer season.
Protaras scuba diving guests who stay for the art can read more in our Ayia Napa tours guide. It covers the museum as a sight.
What do divers see on Protaras scuba diving trips?
Divers see green turtles, octopus, moray eels, groupers and schools of seabream. Visit Cyprus lists frequent turtle sightings at Green Bay and Da Costa. Easy Divers names green and loggerhead turtles grazing on seagrass.
Green Bay holds more than turtles. Cyprus Diving lists fragments of ancient amphorae on the seabed. The fish rock feeding station draws bream, cuttlefish, parrot fish, starfish and octopus.
The cliffs at Cyclopes show other life. Visit Cyprus names moray eels, sea urchins, starfish, lionfish, nudibranchs, groupers and seabreams there. It adds that the Octopus site is known for its octopus.
Cyprus Diving Centre links its dives to the Xenios sea turtle project and to PADI Dive Against Debris dives. Turtles matter to Protaras scuba diving centres as much as to guests.
AquaNaut sells a combo of an introduction dive and a safari dive. GetYourGuide lists a similar Turtle Bay pairing that runs 5 hours.
What do Protaras scuba diving courses cover?
The PADI Open Water Diver course has five knowledge sessions, five shallow-water sessions and four open-water dives. Easy Divers runs it in 2 to 3 days with eLearning. The certificate allows dives to 18 metres without a professional.
A Protaras scuba diving course starts with theory on a screen. PADI itself says you can learn to dive in as little as 2 to 4 days. Then you train in shallow water and finish in the sea.
The instructor asks for a swim of 200 metres without aids, or 300 metres with mask, fins and snorkel. Easy Divers sets the minimum age at 10. The 10 to 14 age group earns the Junior certificate with a 12-metre limit.
Half of a Protaras scuba diving course earns the PADI Scuba Diver rating. It carries a 12-metre limit, and the diver stays with a professional.
Advanced Open Water follows. Easy Divers says it allows 30 metres after five adventure dives. Poseidon teaches SSI courses instead, including the Open Water Diver and an online Nitrox 32 certification.
Can children try Protaras scuba diving?
Yes, from age 8. PADI’s Bubblemaker lets children aged 8 and over breathe from scuba gear in water shallower than 2 metres. Easy Divers takes guests for Discover Scuba Diving from age 12. It asks parents of 10 and 11-year-olds to contact the centre.
Bubblemaker needs a child who is comfortable in the water, and it needs parental approval. PADI sets the depth at 2 metres. It states that the child cannot scuba dive after the experience.
GetYourGuide sells a Protaras Bubblemaker course with a 2-metre dive at Blue Bay. The tour takes 3 hours.
Older children move on to the Junior Open Water certificate. Easy Divers allows it from age 10 with a 12-metre limit. PADI sets the Junior Advanced minimum at 12 years, with a limit of 21 metres for ages 12 to 14.
A family can book Protaras scuba diving in two steps. The youngest child takes a Bubblemaker session, and the older ones take a Discover Scuba Diving session.
Which dive centres run Protaras scuba diving?
Five dive centres around Protaras publish beginner dives and courses online. They are Easy Divers, Poseidon Dive Centre, AquaNaut Diving School, Cyprus Diving Centre and Dive Cypria. Each runs Discover Scuba Diving and PADI or SSI courses.
Easy Divers is a PADI 5-star IDC centre. It celebrates 20 years of work. It offers free transfers from Protaras, Pernera and Kapparis hotels.
AquaNaut runs a beachfront dive school at Green Bay. It calls itself one of the longest standing diving schools in Cyprus. It also rents wetsuits, fins, full scuba sets and snorkels.
Cyprus Diving Centre sits in Pernera and is run by Daniel and Tamara from Switzerland. Groups hold no more than 4 people. The centre picks guests up in Agia Napa, Protaras and Pernera.
Poseidon works around Cape Greco and teaches SSI courses. Dive Cypria is a 5 Star PADI centre in Protaras. It uses Green Bay for Discover Scuba Diving, Open Water training and refresher dives.
Visit Cyprus lists Cyprus Diving Centre and the Scuba Diving Support Center among the enterprises certified to ISO 24803. The support center fills tanks and says it is not a diving center. Pick a Protaras scuba diving centre by its pickup area and its group size.
Which Protaras scuba diving trips suit certified divers?
Certified divers book guided shore dives at Cape Greco and boat dives to the wrecks. They also book trips to the Zenobia wreck off Larnaca. GetYourGuide lists a Cape Grecko reef dive for qualified divers that takes 3 hours.
It also lists a guided dive in the Cape Greco caves for divers, and that tour takes 2.5 hours. Both trips are for qualified divers, unlike the intro dives of Protaras scuba diving.
The Zenobia ferry, reached from Protaras scuba diving centres, lies off Larnaca. It is 172 metres long and 28 metres wide. Visit Cyprus lists the richest marine life in Cyprus there. It says that multiple dives are needed to explore the wreck. The wreck needs a boat and an Advanced and Boat Diver qualification.
Easy Divers says the Zenobia lies 40 minutes from its dive shop, and a trip includes two deep dives. Viator also lists Zenobia dives and a diver-propulsion-vehicle dive.
Technical divers have a place too. Cyprus Diving Centre has technical diving instructors. Visit Cyprus rates the Cyclopes Caves site, at 45 metres, for recreational and technical diving.
When is the season for Protaras scuba diving?
Protaras scuba diving runs all year. Easy Divers names April to November as the sweet spot. The water averages 25 degrees Celsius, and visibility reaches 40 metres. Visit Cyprus rates visibility at 20 metres or more at Green Bay, the Caves and the Cyclopes Caves.
The Scuba Diving Support Center says Cyprus offers one of the longest diving seasons in the Mediterranean. It lists excellent visibility and sites for every level.
Summer fills the Protaras scuba diving schedule. Easy Divers keeps small groups, so it books up quickly in the summer months. It offers morning and afternoon slots.
Poseidon also runs beginner sessions in the morning and in the afternoon. Early booking helps in the busy months.
What do you need to know before Protaras scuba diving?
Bring swimwear and a towel, because the dive centre supplies the gear. Fill in the medical questionnaire on site. DAN recommends waiting at least 12 hours before you fly after a single no-decompression dive.
DAN adds a wait of at least 18 hours after diving on multiple days in a row. The workshop also looked at people who took an introductory scuba experience.
Easy Divers asks for a good general state of health. It links the PADI Diver Medical Participant Questionnaire, so read the form before a Protaras scuba diving session.
Visit Cyprus lists hyperbaric clinics at Paphos General Hospital and Ammochostos General Hospital. Its emergency advice is to stay calm and ascend slowly. Then seek help from the nearest dive center or medical facility.
How does Protaras scuba diving differ from snorkelling and boat trips?
A first scuba dive reaches 6 to 10 metres with an instructor. Snorkelling stays on the surface. A boat trip stops at the Blue Lagoon and Turtle Cove for swims. Choose scuba for statues and caves, and a cruise for a day at sea.
GetYourGuide sells a snorkelling trip to Green Bay or MUSAN that takes 2.5 hours. Cyprus Diving notes that Green Bay suits snorkelers as well as beginner divers.
Protaras scuba diving and a cruise fit into one week. The Blue Lagoon cruises from Protaras appear in our Protaras boat trip guide. The ones from the neighbouring resort appear in the Ayia Napa boat trip guide.
West-coast visitors can compare the dive and snorkel sites of Paphos in our Paphos snorkeling guide.
What do travellers ask about Protaras scuba diving?
Do you need to swim well for Protaras scuba diving?
You need to be comfortable in the water. Easy Divers says you do not need to be an Olympic swimmer for a first dive. A PADI Open Water course adds a swim of 200 metres without aids.
How deep is a first dive in Protaras?
Easy Divers takes first-time guests to a maximum of 6 to 10 metres. PADI caps a Discover Scuba Diving experience at 12 metres.
Does the dive centre provide the equipment?
Yes. Easy Divers, Cyprus Diving Centre and Poseidon list the equipment as included in their trips and courses. Guests bring swimwear and a towel.
Can you dive the Zenobia from Protaras?
Yes, with a certificate. Easy Divers places the Zenobia 40 minutes from its shop. Visit Cyprus requires an Advanced and Boat Diver qualification for the wreck.
Do dive centres collect you from Ayia Napa?
Cyprus Diving Centre offers pickup from Agia Napa, Protaras and Pernera. Poseidon offers pickup in Protaras and Pernera. Ask each centre for its pickup area.