Naples - Baia Archaeological Park

Article by Clare Watters, our guest diver on this Mid Herts trip...

Six members of the Mid Herts Divers and two guest divers headed off on a early morning luxury bus trip to Gatwick to fly off to the apparently sunnier climes of Naples. We stayed in Pozzuoli a small town to the south west of the city and home of the Baia Archaeological Park, Campi Flegrei. The trip was excellently organised by Dom Young, who took the lead also on the socials in the evening. We dived with Diving Naples, Campi Flegrei and Islands - Centro Sub Campi Flegrei who were inclusive to all divers and took us to a great range of spots.

We had 6 dives overall diving off RIBs, with 4 dives on the park itself: and one each by the islands of Capri and Ischia, which gave a great mix of different dives and sights. Here are the dives we completed:

Day One

We split into two groups, each getting the chance to see Nympheum di Claudio and Protiro Villa, parts of the archeological site closest to the modern town of Baia. The nympheum contains a set of statues been reconstructed and placed at 5 metres depth where they once held pride of place. Protiro means the porch of this villa, which we viewed as the guide uncovered different areas of the floor of the villa to also display incredibly well-preserved marble and mosaics. We took a short tour and ate well at a local taverna, as we did each day.

Day 2

Two early dives on Day 2 took us to first to Punta Pizzaco by the Island of Procida and the Smoky Reef back on the Baia site, the first with beautiful walls of coral, the second with bubbling thermals. We took two groups to coral walls so the most experienced divers could enjoy the 30 metre deep red gorgonian corals and the wildlife among them. In the evening, we had took a cultured trip to see more Roman artefacts in the Archeological Museum in the castle and enjoyed the view across the coast to the Bay of Naples.

Day 3

Our last day of diving including the trip Dom had been waiting for, a cave dive near Ischia, the Ant’s Cave. We saw beautiful red corals around the archways on the way to the cave and then ventured into the cave (for some of us our first cave dive) where we met a friendly octopus. Our final dive was the most spectacular for mosaics with gladiators battling below us and volcanic bubbles and hot-vents.

Before heading home, we braved the first of the Neapolitan hot weather to see a lake with caves, a Roman Temple and enjoy an ice cream together. A great group and a beautiful trip filled with food, culture and most importantly great dives. Thank you all.