DIVING

The diving program for divers at Nosy Be.
For the tenants of the villa In a Gadda Da Vida there is an agreement with Aqua diving for the organization of excursions and diving in the ocean.

DIVING LOGISTIC:

Every morning, departure at 08:00 through boarding directly from the beach of the selected facility to the first of two diving points with a minimum of one hour on the surface. Depending on the season, the surface time will be used for humpback whale search and sighting of sharks.

Return for lunch: afternoon available for land activities, relaxation or possible night dive.

DIVING POINTS:

Depending on the season, the participants’ level of experience and the tide, we will daily choose the two best spots available among the over 30 available. Among dives at the coast, offshore, and dry walls, wrecks and coral gardens makes the choice of Nosy Be one of the most desirable destinations for diving enthusiasts, with attention from photojournalists and seen in documentaries.

From August until the end of October the passing of the humpback whales and from October to Christmas the whale sharks will brighten our surface times between the two dives.

UNDERWATER COURSES:

AQUA issues PADI teaching certificates from the beginner (Open Water Diver, independent up to -18 meters) to assistant instructor and additionally the Master Scuba Diver license and 14 other specialty certificates.

Immersions in Indian Ocean

Immersions near the shoreline

  • Marine Park of Nosy-Tanikely: 3 diving sites in a 20 meters seabed around a volcanic island. You will be able to see: sea turtles (hawksbill turtle), goliath groupers, pelagic fishes, lobsters, sometimes Guitarfishes and leopard sharks or dolphins.
  • Gorgonia Valley: an amazing forest of huge colorful gorgonians of different shades (from ocher to bright red). Located at a few km from the Nosy-be shore, the seabed goes from 14 to 22 meters. You will be able to see: Spanish dancers, cowries, lobsters, slipper lobsters, blackfin icefish. You can also hope to see the rare sea stars.
  • Mitsio wreckage: an old fishing boat sunk in 2004, which is now the house of a multitude of fishes of several species. There is a sand seabed around 26 meters deep. You will be able to see: longhorn cowfish, scorpionfishes, stonefishes, red scorpionfishes, fusiliers, platax, as well as barracudas and Carangidae around the wreckage.
  • Nosy-Sakatia caves: caves created by corals structures, potential destination of nurse sharks, at a depth of 26 meters on a sand seabed. The immersion will end on a plateau at a depth of 15 meters rich of gorgonias, lobsters and unicornfishes. You will be able to see: black coral, several types of wrasses and nudibranchs.
Corals of the Ocean
Sea turtle Nosy Be

Offshore immersions

  • Grand Banque d’Entrée: last spot before the depth of the Mozambique Channel. It’s a wall extended for a big length, with a depth between 15 and 55 meters. The rising tide offers the best show. You will be able to see: pelagic fishes as well as settled fishes, whales (whitetip and grey) as well as hammerhead sharks, common eagle rays and mobula.
  • Aqua Point: at 24 km from Nosy Be, a vertical surface that goes down to 44 meters. The ideal depth during high tide is 27 meters. You will be able to see a huge variety of all the fishes of the archipelago, both settled and pelagic.
  • Grand Banque d’Entrée 13: a wonderful vertical surface. It’s possible to see: whales, settles and pelagic fishes, sometimes the rare ‘djibuti Giants’, Spanish dancers around 40 centimeters long.
  • Manta Point: a plateau made of sand and corals located at a depth of 21 meters. Here the huge skates come up from a depth of 80 meters to exhibit themselves in fascinating movements.
  • The Camel: an isthmus of coral and gorgonias that connects two underwater shallows at a maximum depth of 26 meters, on a sand seabed. The scenario is surrounded by wonderful red anemones. It’s possible to see several species of settled fishes (surgeonfishes, fusiliers, triggerfishes, moray eels and groupers).
  • Bank Rosario: the maximum depth of immersion is 19 meters. The scenario is created by plains of corals, amazing gorgonias and a cave. This spot is often used as a base of departure to look for the whale shark. It’s possible to see: big sea turtles (that live inside the cave), tripletails and barracudas.
  • The Labyrinth: only for experts, this immersion starts at a depth of 24 meters and ends at 45 meters. The immersion ends on a plain of white sand at a depth of 12 meters. Five conformations of coral enclosed in big gorgonias come out from the vertical surface and give the impression of creating a labyrinth. Underwater photographers cannot miss the white Alcyonaria of over 1 meters of height that you can see from the surface during the comeback. It’s possible to see: leopard sharks, groupers, grey sharks and whitetip sharks.
  • Bank of Fusiliers: it’s a shallow with an oval form and a maximum depth of 26 meters. It’s possible to see: fusiliers, unicornfishes, grunts, ray-finned fishes, whitetip sharks. Sometimes you can also see tripletails, moray eels and big titan triggerfishes.
  • Olaf: not far from the coast, it’s the ideal place for night immersions, with a maximum depth of 18 meters. It’s possible to see: tripletails, seahorses, Spanish dancers, dromia personata and sometimes little guitarfishes and flying gurnards.
guitar shark