Scuba diving in Cyprus is best known for clear water, easy shore entries and the Zenobia, a 172-metre ferry that capsized off Larnaca on her maiden voyage in June 1980 and now lies on her port side between 18 and 42 metres. [Source: Larnaka Regional Board of Tourism] Closer to our villas, the sites around Protaras, Ayia Napa and Cape Greco suit first-timers and certified divers alike, and the MUSAN underwater museum sits shallow enough to reach with a mask and snorkel.
LA MER Homes arranges scuba diving, snorkeling and two-day activity packages for guests staying in our villas. We are a villa company based in Paralimni, not a dive centre; the instructors are local PADI professionals we book on your behalf, in small groups, with hotel and villa pick-up across Protaras and Ayia Napa.
A shallow, sheltered bay with a gentle sand entry, used across the island as the site where people take their first breaths underwater. Sunken statues and amphorae placed on the seabed give beginners something to look at while they get used to breathing from a regulator, and depth stays modest enough that a try dive fits comfortably inside a morning.
The Museum of Underwater Sculpture Ayia Napa opened in 2021 within 200 metres of the coastline and sits in eight to ten metres of water, holding more than 93 works by Jason deCaires Taylor. [Source: underwatersculpture.com] Because it is shallow, it works for certified divers, for people on a first dive and for strong snorkelers, which makes it the rare site a mixed group can share. It sits inside the Ayia Napa Marine Protected Area. [Source: Cyprus Deputy Ministry of Tourism]
The headland between Ayia Napa and Protaras gives the area its caves, arches and swim-throughs, along with walls that drop away from the shoreline. Cape Greco National Forest Park covers more than 380 hectares above the water. [Source: Cyprus Mail] Conditions here depend on wind direction, so instructors pick the side of the cape that is sheltered on the day rather than committing to a site in advance.
Rated among the best wreck dives anywhere in the Mediterranean, the Zenobia still holds its cargo of lorries in the holds. The shallowest point sits at 18 metres and the deepest at 42, so Advanced Open Water certification is the usual requirement and the site suits experienced divers rather than first-timers. [Source: Larnaka Regional Board of Tourism] It is roughly an hour's drive west of Protaras, so plan it as a day rather than a morning.
Cyprus does not have big animals. What it has is clarity and detail: dusky groupers holding position near the rocks, barracuda in loose schools, octopus tucked into crevices, moray eels, and loggerhead turtles that pass through often enough to be a realistic hope rather than a promise.
Water temperature drives when people dive here. Open-sea temperatures sit above 22°C from June through November and reach 27°C in August, while the January to March average falls to 16°C or 17°C. [Source: Cyprus Deputy Ministry of Tourism] That makes the stretch between late spring and late autumn the comfortable window for anyone in a standard wetsuit, and it explains why September and October are quietly among the better months: the sea holds its summer warmth while the crowds thin.
Wind matters more than season for any given morning. Instructors move between sites on the north and south sides of Cape Greco depending on which is sheltered, so a booked dive rarely cancels outright; it relocates. Our guide to the best time to visit Cyprus covers the wider seasonal picture if you are still choosing dates.
If you have never dived, a Discover Scuba Diving session is where you begin. No certification is needed, and you spend the session with an instructor beside you.
If you are certified, book guided dives instead and tell us your level so the sites match it.
If you would rather stay near the surface, a guided snorkel over MUSAN or a sheltered reef needs nothing beyond the ability to swim.
From there, pick a single activity or pair one with a second day.
Five activities, each bookable on its own: a first scuba dive, a guided snorkel, stand-up paddleboarding or kayaking, a coastal ride on horseback, or a walk along the Cape Greco shoreline. Only the scuba session has any prerequisite, and that is simply being comfortable in water.
Your first breaths underwater, in a calm bay with an instructor an arm's length away. The session runs in three parts: a briefing on land covering equipment and hand signals, a shallow-water stage where you practise clearing your mask and recovering your regulator while standing, then a guided dive at modest depth. No certification is needed, and nothing about the day assumes you have done this before. Most guests book it at Green Bay, and it fits inside a morning with the afternoon still free.
One day on land or at the surface, one day underwater. Couples and families book these when only part of the group wants to dive, since the first day suits everybody and the second can run with one or two people in the water. Equipment is included across both days, and beginners have PADI fees and insurance covered.
The same structure without any tanks. Day one is your chosen activity; day two is a guided snorkel along a sheltered reef or over the MUSAN sculptures, which sit shallow enough to see clearly from the surface on a calm day. Children who can swim confidently manage these comfortably, and no prior experience is assumed.
The instructors are PADI professionals who have worked these sites for years and pick the location each morning based on wind and visibility rather than a fixed timetable. Group sizes stay small, which means more time underwater and an instructor who is actually watching you.
LA MER Homes handles the booking, the timings and the pick-up, so a dive slots into your week without you coordinating anything. Guests staying in villas in Protaras are a few minutes from Green Bay, and those in villas in Ayia Napa are close to the MUSAN departure points. For a fuller picture of the island's dive sites, our guide to scuba diving in Cyprus goes further than this page can, and the best snorkeling spots guide covers what you can reach without a boat.
Every villa is bookable direct, with live availability and no third-party fees.
Yes, particularly for clear water and wreck diving. The island is best known for the Zenobia, a 172-metre ferry off Larnaca that ranks among the top wreck dives in the world and still holds its cargo of lorries. [Source: Larnaka Regional Board of Tourism] Around Protaras and Ayia Napa the appeal is different: sheltered bays, caves and swim-throughs at Cape Greco, and the MUSAN sculpture park. Cyprus has no large marine animals, so come for clarity and structure rather than sharks.
No. A Discover Scuba Diving session is built for people with no qualification and no experience, and an instructor stays with you throughout. You get a briefing on land, a shallow-water practice stage and then a guided dive at modest depth. If you want to dive independently afterwards, an Open Water course is the next step, and certified divers can book guided dives straight away by telling us their level.
Green Bay in Protaras is the usual choice for first dives: shallow, sheltered, with a sand entry and sunken statues on the seabed. MUSAN off Ayia Napa holds over 93 sculptures in eight to ten metres of water. [Source: underwatersculpture.com] Cape Greco supplies the caves, arches and swim-throughs, with instructors picking the sheltered side of the headland depending on the wind that morning.
The Zenobia lies on her port side with the shallowest point at 18 metres and the deepest at 42. [Source: Larnaka Regional Board of Tourism] Advanced Open Water certification is the standard requirement, and most centres will want to see recent logged dives. It is not a site for a first dive. The wreck sits off Larnaca, roughly an hour west of Protaras by road, so treat it as a full day rather than a morning.
Yes. MUSAN sits in eight to ten metres of water within 200 metres of the Ayia Napa coastline, and it was designed for both divers and snorkelers. [Source: Cyprus Deputy Ministry of Tourism] From the surface on a calm day you can see the sculptures clearly, and confident swimmers can free-dive closer. It suits mixed groups where some people want tanks and others do not.
Open-sea temperatures stay above 22°C from June through November and reach 27°C in August, dropping to an average of 16°C or 17°C between January and March. [Source: Cyprus Deputy Ministry of Tourism] A standard wetsuit is comfortable across the warmer stretch, and September and October are worth considering because the sea holds summer warmth after the busiest weeks have passed.
Age minimums are set by the certifying agency rather than by us, and they vary by programme, with junior versions of most qualifications available for younger children at reduced depths. Guided snorkeling has no equivalent restriction beyond swimming ability and suits families who want everyone in the water together. Tell us your children's ages when you enquire and we will confirm what the instructor can offer for your dates.
A try dive is a single guided experience. You learn enough to breathe underwater safely with an instructor beside you, and it ends there, with no qualification issued. A PADI course is structured training across several days, ending in a certification that lets you dive with a buddy anywhere in the world to a set depth. Many guests take a try dive first and decide afterwards whether the course is worth the rest of their week.
Yes. Pick-up from villas and hotels across Protaras and Ayia Napa is included with the sessions we book, so you do not need a hire car for a dive day. Green Bay is a short drive from most Protaras villas, and the Ayia Napa departure points for MUSAN are close to our villas in Ayia Napa. If you would rather have a car for the rest of the week, we arrange car hire separately.
Swimwear, a towel and sunscreen cover almost everything, since equipment comes with the session. Bring any certification card and logbook if you have them, because instructors will want to see your level and recent experience before choosing sites. Leave a gap of at least eighteen hours between your last dive and a flight home, which matters if you are booking toward the end of your stay.