Book Your Dive

5 reasons why Scuba Diving in France is Awesome

A Guide to Scuba Diving in Marseille, France

Think about scuba diving for your south of France holidays. The sea off the coast of Marseille is especially well-known for the beautiful underwater sights, coral reefs, schools of fish and individuals of all varieties of marine life. You'll see octopus, lobster, hermit crabs, barracuda, sea urchins, groupers, wrasse, bream, moray eels, congers, perch and many more species.

Marseille
150 ft below in Marseille
There are many excellent sites for scuba diving all along the coast from Nice to Marseille, but the best are in the Bay of St Tropez where you have both shallow dives over reefs and deep dives to wrecks. One famous wreck is the Rubis, a WWII French Navy submarine that had been captured and scuttled onto a sandy bottom in 40 metres of water south of the Bay of St Tropez.

On the eastern edge of the Bay of Cavalaire, you'll find the Togo, a WWI cargo ship that split in two when it sank in about 55 metres of water. You can reach the Togo most easily from the port town of Cavalaire Sur Mer. Further to the west in the Gulf of Lyon, you'll find a crashed Lockheed P38 Lightning airplane from WWII lying on the bottom 40 metres down.

The best place for scuba diving, though, is one near Toulon designated as a French National Park : the Ile de Hyeres, with its three islands, the Ile du Levant, the Ile de Porquerolles and Port-Cros. The waters are exceptionally clear and very large groupers are often seen there. Two sites near Bolouris, La Vierge and La Sirene, incorporate both wrecks and ancient ruins. Among the other diving sites to explore along the Marseille coast are Pointe la Galere, Sec de La Jaune Garde and Montremian, all near Port Cros Island, and the Embiez Islands.

If you scuba dive in France, you must abide by the country's strict diving regulations:

  • You must have a CMAS certificate from the Confédération Mondiale des Activités Subaquatiques (World Underwater Federation), whether diving alone or with an instructor or guide.
  • You must have a medical certificate of fitness dated within the last twelve months.
  • If under the age of 18, you must have a written consent form signed by a parent or guardian.
  • Insurance against injury is recommended, but not required.
  • It should be noted that French laws about diving are currently in flux, so it's a good idea to contact a French diving centre directly to find out the current applicable regulations.

There are several multi-lingual diving centres along the Marseille coast:

  • Diamond Diving in Saint Raphaël, with centres also in Nice, Sainte Maximin, La
  • Londe, and Antibes on the Côte d'Azur.
  • European Diving School in Ramatuelle.
  • Eau Bleue in Cavalaire.
  • Aquadomia in Marseille.
  • Au Delà Plongée in La Vesse.

Does scuba diving in France break the bank?

Rates for dives start at about 30-45€ per dive, the individual rate decreasing with more dives per day and more people in the group. Add about 10€ per dive if you want an instructor or guide to accompany you. Trimix, technical and rebreather dives are also possible. Hyperbaric chambers are located in Toulon and Provence. Training courses range from 400-1000€. Equipment rental starts at 5€. The surface water temperature is about 9ºC (48ºF) in January and 23ºC (73ºF) in August.

Accommodations along the Marseille coast cover all types of facilities, from outdoor camping for 5-10€ per night, to shared rooms at 25€ per night, to individual rooms in good hotels and Marseille apartments at 40-50€ per night and rooms at fancy hotels from 100€ on up. For details on individual locations, check the Marseille & Provence web site

Have you been scuba diving in France? Where have you been and what is your favorite dive site in France?

Pictures by: ParaScubaSailor