Greece
Amphitrite Cave (Paros)
- Max depth52 m
- CertificationFull cave
- Water temperature≈ 16–19 °Cestimated, no reports yet
Diving and fills
Dive here with
Fills nearby
- Paros Divers (Golden Beach)Air, nitrox (EAN32, EAN50), oxygen and trimix (helium: price on request); diluent and oxygen in 3 l cylinders for CCR. Price list 2024 — may change.
What it looks like
All 1 videos and posts
Videos and posts
From other divers, via YouTube, Instagram and Facebook. They only load when you click; after that, Google's or Meta's privacy rules apply.
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Other people's footage, not advice: how someone else dives here says nothing about what suits your team. Dive within your training.
The dive
Under a ceiling of black stalactites you hover over valleys and cliffs of white limestone silt, a 'snow' laid down over thousands of years; Addicted2H2O compares it to flying over the Alps.
Profile and sections
Under a ceiling of black stalactites you hover over valleys and cliffs of white limestone silt, a 'snow' laid down over thousands of years; Addicted2H2O compares it to flying over the Alps. Curtains and columns rise over 15 m, and at the deepest point lie the bones of a turtle. Paros Divers reports a halocline and visibility of often more than 30 m. According to T2B the water averages 16 °C; Paros Divers gives 17–19 °C all year.
The formations grew while the cave was dry: in the cold periods of the ice ages the sea stood about 120 m lower, and according to Paros Divers the cave was above water until 8,000–9,000 years ago. In the 2000s the Ephorate of Palaeoanthropology and Speleology dived it and found no traces of people. In June 2011 George Vandoros and Sara Gorretta laid lines in the two main routes and seven side branches, and T2B made its film 'Amphitrite' there in 2017. The cave is named after Amphitrite, one of the Nereids, who married Poseidon and became queen of the sea.
Practical: Paros Divers charges €150 per cave-diving day (2024 price list), with a runtime of up to 60 minutes on Line A or up to 80 minutes on Lines A and B; the season runs from April to November. The centre supplies trimix, nitrox, Sofnolime and 3 or 7 l cylinders for CCR on request; request rental equipment at least 2 months ahead. A zero-impact policy applies: if poor buoyancy puts the cave at risk the dive ends at once, and touching, kicking or removing formations is forbidden.
- Depth and profile
- Entrance at -7 m (T2B; Paros Divers: -6 m), close to the shore: a small opening into a roomy vestibule, then a short, narrow passage to a 'window' at -13 m, the way into the main cave. A wall drops to -23 m. Line A: ~250 m, average -17 m, max -24 m. Line B: ~150–180 m, to -50 m; the deepest room lies at -52 m and is over 40 m high (T2B).
- Configuration
- Open circuit: a D12 twinset with manifold and technical regulators, one on a 210 cm long hose (the centre's rule; ask whether sidemount is accepted). CCR only with a CCR certification and enough open-circuit bailout in the right mixes for a safe exit from the deepest or furthest point of the dive plan. Drysuit and hood are mandatory, plus a primary light (at least 90 min burn time for Line A, 180 min for Line B), two independent backup lights, a 35–40 m safety spool, one primary reel per group, line markers, two cutting devices, two computers (or a computer and a bottom timer), a compass, wetnotes and a spare mask. Line A is dived on nitrox 32 without deco, for at least 45–50 minutes.
- DPV: Not DPV-suitable (estimate)
- Two lines of ~250 m and ~150–180 m: no scooter needed.
- Gas
- Trimix from 45 m
Who can dive where
- At least Full cave
- Configurations: Backmount / twinset / Sidemount / CCR
- Goes down to 52 m (trimix or deco may be needed)
This is how the planner decides who in your team may dive this cave. Rules your own trip adds (organizer, a mail, the AI) show with your trip.
How to get there
Only with Paros Divers (Golden Beach, Paros), by boat to the Pantieronisia, a cluster of islets between Paros and Antiparos off the coast of Aliki. You always dive with a guide, at most 3 divers per guide and one cave dive a day. The centre asks for at least a Cave Diver certification (on CCR also a CCR certification), a drysuit certification, 2–3 logged cave dives in the last 12 months, a medical statement in English signed by a physician within the last 12 months and cave diving insurance (e.g. DAN Silver or Gold). Before you enter the cave you make two mandatory check dives for buoyancy, trim and configuration. You sign a registration form and accept the dive plan and the cave rules; your booking is confirmed only once the centre has all forms, certifications and the deposit.
Around Amphitrite Cave (Paros)
Fills1 fill station · 11 km
Paros Divers (Golden Beach)
Golden Beach Hotel, Chrysi Akti, 84400 Paros
Air, nitrox (EAN32, EAN50), oxygen and trimix (helium: price on request); diluent and oxygen in 3 l cylinders for CCR. Price list 2024 — may change.
Season April–November; daily departures at 11:00 and 16:00 — ask for fill times
CCR support: oxygen, booster and sorb
SSI, SSI XR and rebreather (rEvo) centre at the Golden Beach Hotel on Chrysi Akti, since 2017. Runs daily trips on its own RIB to the Amphitrite cave and teaches SSI XR cavern and cave courses there; rebreather courses up to CCR Hypoxic Trimix. Cave dives are private or semi-private only, under the centre's own rules (see the cave). Airport and port transfers on request.
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