4 caves · down to 40 m · 3 suitable for an intro team
Cave diving in Liguria
- Caves4
- Max depth40 m
- For intro teams3
- Dive centres4
Diving and fills
Dive here with
Fills nearby
- Fill stationDiving Group PortofinoAir, nitrox (up to 40%), trimix, O₂Route ↗
- Fill stationPortofino DiversNot published — ask (technical trimix boat dives leave from here)Route ↗
- Fill stationNereo SubNot published — askRoute ↗
Why come here
Along the Ligurian coast you dive short sea caves and caverns spread over more than 100 km: Portofino in the middle, Bergeggi in the west and Porto Venere in the east. From Santa Margherita Ligure you reach the caves of the Portofino marine reserve, where you dive only by day at fixed buoy sites. Count on an authorised dive centre there, as the online permit system was temporarily off in September 2026. These are cavern dives in fissures and between boulders, some down to around -40 m, with gorgonians and red coral outside the entrances. The Grotta marina di Bergeggi is currently closed to divers.
Don't miss
- Grotta dei Gamberi (Punta Chiappa): a fissure under the tip of Punta Chiappa whose ceiling and walls are covered in small red shrimp, with a wall of red gorgonians and coral outside.
- La Colombara: in one dive you see three underwater caves, starting deep and working up a sloping wall of red and yellow gorgonians to the shallowest and largest cave, with an air chamber and a roomy 'amphitheatre'.
- Grotta del Tinetto: an almost straight, gently rising passage where daylight falls in halfway through the chimney in the middle of the islet.
On a rest day
- Portofino: Take the bus, or the ferry in summer, to the harbour village and walk past the church of San Giorgio and Castello Brown to the lighthouse on the point.
- San Fruttuoso Abbey: An old Benedictine abbey beside a fishing hamlet in a cove that you can only reach by boat or on foot.
- Cinque Terre and Portovenere: The five villages on the steep coast with their terraces of vines and olives, and Portovenere with its Doria castle facing the island of Palmaria.
- Toirano Caves: A dry show cave inland on the western Riviera, once home to the cave bear.
All 4 caves
1 closed not shown ·
| Site | Max depth | Type | Certification |
|---|---|---|---|
| La ColombaraBackmount · Cavern | 36 m | Backmount | Cavern |
| Grotta dei Gamberi (Punta Chiappa)Backmount · Cavern | 40 m | Backmount | Cavern |
| Grotta del TinettoBackmount · Cavern | 28 m | Backmount | Cavern |
Certification requirements, configurations and trimix depths are estimates for planning. Always check them locally and dive within your training.
Map
Dive centres and fill stations
4 dive centres, fill stations and instructors
Dive centre
Diving Group Portofino
Via Favale 25, 16038 Santa Margherita Ligure (GE)
- Air, nitrox, trimix, O₂
- CCR
- Grotta dei Gamberi (Punta Chiappa)
Dive centre
Portofino Divers
Via Jacopo Ruffini 47, 16038 Santa Margherita Ligure (GE)
- Not published — ask
- PADI, GUE
- Grotta dei Gamberi (Punta Chiappa)
Fill station
Nereo Sub
Via Berninzoni 124, 17028 Spotorno (SV)
- Not published — ask
Dive centre
Cycnus Diving Center (Finale Ligure)
Via D. Alighieri 1, Finale Ligure (SV)
- Air, nitrox, trimix and rebreather fills
- CCR · GUE, TDI, PADI
- Cylinders, BCDs, suits and regulators; SUEX scooters (rental and service)
Order: partners first, clearly marked as partner; then dive centres by distance from Santa Margherita Ligure and independent instructors by name. Not a recommendation: check what they offer yourself.
On this list, or should you be? Get a free partner card →Where to stay
Find a place near Santa Margherita Ligure, Camogli, Rapallo, Spotorno, Bergeggi, Porto Venere
Villages that work well as a base for the caves in this region. Find a place for your team:
- Santa Margherita LigureBooking.com ↗
- CamogliBooking.com ↗
- RapalloBooking.com ↗
- SpotornoBooking.com ↗
- BergeggiBooking.com ↗
- Porto VenereBooking.com ↗
The links to Booking.com are affiliate links: if you book through one, DiveTripPlanner earns a small commission. You pay the same.
Practical info: rules, fills and emergency numbers
Emergencies
- Recompression chamber: Policlinico San Martino, Largo Rosanna Benzi 10, Genova — 24/7 for diving emergencies, +39 010 555 8759 / +39 010 555 8757. On the La Spezia side also CeMIS, Via Aurelia Ovest 349, Massa, +39 0585 834141 (ask about 24/7).
- 112 · coast guard 1530 · DAN Europe +39 06 4211 5685.
Access and rules
- AMP Portofino: zone A is closed to divers; in zone B you dive only by day at ~20 fixed buoy sites (site cards: within 50 m of the buoy). Independent diving needs an AMP diving card plus an online daily authorisation (min. 2nd-level card; max 6 divers per boat, 24 per site and 90 per day), and daily authorisations are only for divers accompanied by annual or semester card holders. The online system was temporarily off in Sept 2026, so count on an authorised dive centre. No scooters; night dives only with a separate authorisation. AMP: +39 0185 289649.
- AMP Isola di Bergeggi: diving in the Grotta marina is currently banned; only authorised scientific research is allowed (Comune di Bergeggi, 2026). Elsewhere in the AMP independent diving with authorisation (zone A: 3rd-level card, max 20 per day). No propulsion aids; no night dives in zone A.
- Porto Venere: Tino and Tinetto are military zones (do not land). Ask the Parco Naturale Regionale di Porto Venere or your dive centre about the diving rules of the Area di Tutela Marina (municipal regulation of 2013).
Gas and fills
- Gas: Diving Group Portofino (Santa Margherita Ligure/Rapallo) fills air, nitrox and trimix; Portofino Divers runs technical trimix boat dives. Around Bergeggi: ask the authorised centres.
Getting around
- The sites are spread over more than 100 km of coast: Portofino in the middle (province of Genova), Bergeggi in the west (Savona), Porto Venere in the east (La Spezia).
News
No recent news found about the caves in this region.
Searched automatically, last on 13 Nov 2026.
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