Wall
down to 18 m
Cala Giacone
Easy 18 m dive around a large boulder with crevices and passages, over fine white sand and back across a posidonia meadow.
- Open Water
Ustica
Diving in Italy
10 documented dive sites, 1 of them for Open Water divers. Known for dentex, tuna and amberjacks.
- Best months
- May–Oct
- Water
- 18–26 °C
- Levels
- Open Water, Advanced, Experienced
- Nearest airport
- PMO
When to go
Pick a month: the diving season, from published sources, and the typical weather.
Pick a month
- Best
- Good
- Possible
- Closed
- Not documented yet
Ustica in October
Best season- Air
- 23 °C
- 21 °C at night
- Rain
- 90 mm
- one of the wettest months
- Wind
- 17 km/h
- on average
Typical weather, not a forecast: averages for 2021–2025 (air, rain, wind), data from Open-Meteo (ERA5 / Copernicus, Météo-France). Covers an area of roughly 10 to 25 km around the destination.
Best May–October (water 18–26 °C; a warmer suit is advised in May and October); winter dives are possible but cooler and weather-dependent.
Dive sites in Ustica
From the easiest to the most demanding. Levels with a dashed outline are estimates we are still verifying.
Ustica has Italy's first marine protected area (1986): under its founding decree, access is banned in zone A, the integral reserve, and in zone B divers may not fish or take anything.
Open Water friendly
usual dive down to 18 m1 siteFor Advanced divers
usual dive down to 30 m7 sitesFor experienced divers
usual dive down to 40 m2 sitesMarine life
When the big encounters happen, month by month.
Reported here, season not documented yet:
- Dentex
- Tuna
- Amberjacks
- Barracuda
- Crustaceans
- Nudibranchs
- Groupers
- Moray eels
- Corals
- Eagle rays
- Mobula rays
- Octopus
Where is Ustica?
- Nearest airport
- PMO
Ustica: frequently asked questions
- When is the best time to dive Ustica?
- The best months to dive Ustica are May–Oct. Best May–October (water 18–26 °C; a warmer suit is advised in May and October); winter dives are possible but cooler and weather-dependent.
- Is Ustica good for beginner divers?
- Yes, partly: 1 of the 10 dive sites we document are suited to Open Water divers, including Cala Giacone. The others need more experience or a higher certification.
- What is the water temperature in Ustica?
- The water is usually between 18 °C and 26 °C over the year.
- What marine life can you see in Ustica?
- Divers regularly see dentex, tuna, amberjacks, barracuda, crustaceans and nudibranchs.
- How do you dive Ustica?
- The nearest airport is PMO.
About this page
Seasons and marine life come from the sources below. Site levels and depths marked as estimated come from our original catalogue and are being checked one by one. Conditions change: always confirm with a local dive centre.
Your next dive is somewhere out there.
Find my next dive tripPhoto credits
- Sunlight and bubbles in deep blue water, Sarah Lee, Unsplash License, on Unsplash