Gorgonian13 sites9 countries

Dive sites: Gorgonian

Gorgonian dive sites — depth, conditions, and required training level.

Croatia

Kornati Islands

Murter · Dalmatia · Croatia

Croatia's most spectacular national park archipelago with dramatic cliff walls plunging into deep Adriatic waters, hosting gorgonian forests and rich marine life.

Mljet Island

Dubrovnik · Dubrovnik-Neretva County · Croatia

Croatia's greenest island with a forested national park and dramatic underwater cliffs along its southern coast, where walls plunge into the deep Adriatic channel revealing red coral, gorgonian gardens, and Mediterranean lobster.

Egypt

reef

Ras Um Sid

Sharm el-Sheikh · South Sinai · Egypt

A dramatic headland reef at Sharm el-Sheikh's southern tip where gorgonian fan forests grow in extraordinary density, lionfish congregate in the hundreds, and shore access makes it one of the Red Sea's most versatile dive sites.

France

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Scandola Nature Reserve

Porto · Corsica · France

A UNESCO World Heritage volcanic peninsula where red gorgonian forests and huge groupers thrive in crystal-clear Corsican waters.

Calanques National Park

Marseille · Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur · France

Dramatic limestone cliffs plunging into the Mediterranean, sheltering over 40 dive sites rich in gorgonians and groupers.

Indonesia

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Negeri

Manado · Manado Tua · Indonesia

A dramatic volcanic wall on the west side of Manado Tua island featuring spectacular drop-offs, dense gorgonian fans, and resident Napoleon wrasse.

Italy

pinnacle

Strait of Messina - The Mountain of Scilla

Scilla · Calabria · Italy

A legendary underwater monolith rising 20 metres from the seabed, carpeted in gorgonians and surrounded by powerful currents.

Libya

reef

Sabratha Offshore Reef

Sabratha · Zawiya District · Libya

A remote rocky reef system several kilometres off the Libyan coast near Sabratha, untouched by recreational diving for decades and sheltering enormous grouper, dense gorgonian forests, and pristine sponge gardens.

Malaysia

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Sipadan Hanging Gardens

Semporna · Sabah · Malaysia

A dramatic vertical wall on Sipadan Island's southern face where cascading soft corals and gorgonians drape the limestone like a hanging garden, surrounded by patrolling grey reef sharks and enormous schools of jacks.

Sipadan Mid Reef

Semporna · Sabah · Malaysia

A less-dived section of Sipadan's legendary reef wall between Barracuda Point and South Point where enormous gorgonian fans, dense turtle populations, and occasional hammerheads reward divers who venture beyond the famous sites.

Spain

reef

Medes Islands

L'Estartit · Catalonia · Spain

Seven protected islets off Costa Brava harbouring the Mediterranean's densest concentration of dusky groupers and gorgonians.

Tunisia

reef

Tabarka Needles Reef

Tabarka · Jendouba Governorate · Tunisia

Dramatic needle-shaped rock pinnacles rising from a coral-encrusted seabed off Tabarka, hosting some of the last remaining red coral colonies in the Mediterranean alongside grouper, barracuda, and dense gorgonian forests.

Zembra Island

Sidi Daoud · Nabeul Governorate · Tunisia

A UNESCO-listed marine reserve off the Cap Bon peninsula, Zembra Island offers sheer underwater cliffs draped in gorgonians, massive grouper populations, and some of the clearest water in the central Mediterranean.