Liguria · about 3 km from Camogli
Grotta dei Gamberi (Punta Chiappa)
- Max depth40 m
- CertificationCavern
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 ↗
The dive
Under the tip of Punta Chiappa lies a fissure whose ceiling and walls are covered in small red shrimp (Plesionika narval). Outside the cave you dive along a wall with red gorgonians and coral; the current is light to moderate.
Profile and sections
Under the tip of Punta Chiappa lies a fissure whose ceiling and walls are covered in small red shrimp (Plesionika narval). Outside the cave you dive along a wall with red gorgonians and coral; the current is light to moderate. One dive centre gives the entrance at -38 m and the exit at -29 m.
Practical: DG Portofino requires a cavern card to enter the cave, and the AMP rates the dive for very experienced divers only.
- Depth and profile
- Start at the buoy at -18 m · cave at ~-37 m, ~10 m into the rock · max -40 m
- Configuration
- Large fissure that narrows; at the back you turn around in a tight space. Backmount and sidemount work; with a bulky CCR the turn at -37 m is tight.
- DPV: Not DPV-suitable
- Scooters (propulsion aids) are not allowed in AMP Portofino, except with authorisation for disabled divers.
Who can dive where
- At least Cavern
- Configurations: Backmount / twinset / Sidemount / CCR / Small cylinders / no-mount (speleo sumps)
- Goes down to 40 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
Boat only, with a dive centre from Santa Margherita Ligure or Rapallo. AMP Portofino zone B, site 1 (Punta Chiappa levante): moor on the AMP buoy and stay within 50 m of it. Independent diving only by day with an AMP diving card and daily authorisation (see region info); otherwise via an authorised dive centre.
Around Grotta dei Gamberi (Punta Chiappa)
Fills3 fill stations · nearest 6 km
Diving Group Portofino
Via Favale 25, 16038 Santa Margherita Ligure (GE)
Air, nitrox (up to 40%), trimix, O₂
Not published — ask
Own filling station with four compressors (~2,050 l/min) and ~400 cylinders, shared with the second base in Rapallo (Via Amerigo Vespucci 2C, opposite the harbour, +39 0185 1870542). Rebreather courses. Runs trips to the Grotta dei Gamberi (cavern card required for the cave). Walk-in fills for visitors: ask.
Portofino Divers
Via Jacopo Ruffini 47, 16038 Santa Margherita Ligure (GE)
Not published — ask (technical trimix boat dives leave from here)
Mon–Fri 8:00–19:00, Sat–Sun 7:30–19:30
PADI and GUE centre (e.g. GUE Fundamentals and DPV 1, PADI Tec 40–50). Technical boat dives to wrecks and deep reefs, only for trimix-certified divers or students. Daily boat dives in AMP Portofino.
Nereo Sub
Via Berninzoni 124, 17028 Spotorno (SV)
Not published — ask
Daily 8:00–19:00 (ask about the season)
Dive centre authorised by the AMP Isola di Bergeggi (no. 01 on the 2026 list) for diving in the AMP; the Grotta marina di Bergeggi is currently closed to divers.
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Caves nearby2 within 56 km
News
All (2)
Nearby
Articles about cave diving that name a place within 25 km of this site, but no cave by name. They're not necessarily about this site.
- Tragedy in the Maldives: revealed how the five divers trapped in an underwater cave died ↗
More on this (7)
- Cause of death of the five Italian divers who died in a cave in the Maldives revealed, five months after the tragedy ↗
- Italian divers who died in Maldives cave ran out of gas ↗
- Italian divers dead in the Maldives, autopsies indicate anoxia: it remains unclear why they did not leave the cave ↗
- Maldives, "Italian divers died from total lack of oxygen": here's what happened in the cave ↗
- Maldives, the 5 Italian divers died without oxygen: the mystery remains about what happened in the cave ↗
- Maldives divers, how they died in the cave: the truth from the autopsies on the bodies. "Total lack of oxygen", what happened ↗
- Maldives, the five Italian divers died in the cave from lack of oxygen. Hypotheses of poisoning or shark attack ruled out ↗
- Bergeggi Island, Carabinieri divers among caves and seabeds: tarpaulin removed and new cavities mapped ↗
Access and rules change: check what applies locally right before your trip. Source: GDELT Project and the news feeds of diving magazines. Search for more news ↗ Searched automatically, last on 13 Nov 2026.
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