On our final day of diving in Alonissos we were being treated to the area’s most famous site and a true bucket list dive.  The ancient shipwreck of Peristera is a large merchant ship from Classical times carrying a cargo of wine amphorae, which sank around 425BC. The wreck was discovered in 1985 and subsequently excavated by archaeologists during the 1990s and early 2000s.  The Athenian-built ship is one of the largest of classical antiquity and its discovery proved that merchant ships over 100 tons traveled the Mediterranean as early as the 5th century BC.  The wooden parts of the ship have not lasted the test of time, but many of the 4000 amphorae which made up the main cargo can be found on the seabed between 21 and 29 meters deep, tracing out the shape of the original vessel.  

As a hugely important historical site the wreck is very tightly protected and an impressive underwater camera system has been installed to ensure the preservation of this historical site.  The cameras have wipers to keep the lens domes algae free and have IR sensors for nighttime.  An AI “brain” allows for remote monitoring which can identify species and conduct biodiversity data collection, and spot any unauthorised dive activity.  The live camera video feeds are also available to the public to observe the wreck on the website https://nous.com.gr/naxly_project/peristeras-ancient-ship-wreck/ 

It is a true underwater museum, with informative signs and markers to label the different artefacts and route markers which help divers maintain the correct height and distance from the amphorae (a minimum of 2m away at all times).  Diving tours are scheduled in advance so that an underwater archeologist can meet everyone for a briefing prior to entering the water and divers are then observed with the underwater CCTV system throughout the dive to ensure all artefacts remain untouched.  

On our dive we met at 10 o’clock to fill out the special paperwork and take the boat over to Peristera Island, where we met the archeologist team based in Stena Vali.  They gave us our briefing and returned to shore to watch our dive on the screens in the headquarters.  Once we had the ok, we kitted up and jumped in, swimming directly to the mooring buoy.  Our guide Angel gave us the signal and we submerged maintaining a hand on the rope for the entire descent as instructed.  

On our dive we descended the mooring line in excellent visibility and the outline of the wreck soon appeared below us, followed by route marker A and the first of the monitoring cameras.  Our first impression was not only what a unique dive this was, but also how well preserved the amphorae were, with the shapes clearly defined and looking in great condition for items over 2500 years old!  The dive was a simple one, swimming clockwise around the wreck, observing the signs and artefacts, then repeating the circuit at a slightly shallower depths. To witness something so incredibly old, in pristine condition and with state of the art museum technology functioning perfectly in the sea was mind-blowing and it was an absolute privilege to visit.  Some of our family were even able to watch us during the dive via the camera feed website from their living room across the globe!

Due to the wreck’s protected status permission was not granted to take and share photos except for our personal use so we are unable to print them, but we hope our description is enough to inspire you to go and see it in person for yourself.  It was truly one of the most amazing dives we’ve ever done.  The excellent news is that with the success of this project, plans are underway to open up several more ancient shipwrecks located within the Sporades Marine Park to divers in the coming years, which gives us a perfect excuse to return very soon!

On return to the boat, we made the short trip to Agios Petros for our second dive.  This site was a fairly shallow dive around a rock formation close to shore.  A very pleasant fin brought us round to the best feature of this dive, a small pile of amphorae, presumably from one of the ancient wrecks prior to their protection.  Here we were able to look closer at the shapes and take some close up photos.  The rocks were home to moray eels and several shy octopus and well as shoals of damselfish and wrasse.  It was a lovely and relaxing dive to round out the trip.

In the afternoon we took a trip to the Alonissos Underwater Museum Peristera shipwreck information centre located in the Old Village.  The centre had a 3D model of the wreck, amphorae replicas, information displays and a Virtual Reality Dive of the shipwreck.  The VR system is quite incredible with a very detailed dry dive experience, perfect for those unable to do the real dive itself.  A trip to this fantastic centre was a wonderful addition to our trip and had the added bonus of giving us another excuse to wander the picturesque alleys of the Old Village and stop for an ice cream at a cafe overlooking the coastline.

Perhaps one of the best things about Alonissos as a holiday destination is that the island offers so much more than great diving.  We’ve always considered a full day of diving pretty perfect, but here we were delighted to take the afternoons off to go and explore!  We found stunning secluded beaches, mountain drives through the olive groves, picture postcard fishing villages, fabulous tavernas serving great local cuisine and one of the prettiest old towns you could hope to stroll through.  We felt we had found our own personal paradise. 

Mike and I had high hopes for Alonissos and it easily exceeded our expectations in every way. We throughly recommend visiting for yourselves and we will certainly be back again next year!

Thanks to:

Alonissos Triton Dive Center https://bestdivingingreece.com/

Albedo Travel https://alonissosholidays.com/activities/

Paradise Hotel https://paradise-hotel.gr/

Alonissos Municipality https://alonissos.gr/en/

In June we were incredibly fortunate to be invited to dive in Alonissos, a small Greek Island in the Sporades island chain located in the North Aegean Sea.  While I have long been a big fan of the Greek Islands as a great holiday destination, I had not had the opportunity to do any diving on previous visits and Mike and I were extremely excited to see what Alonissos had to offer both above and below the surface!

The Sporades are easily accessible via the airport in Skiathos (the first island in the chain), which is served by Jet2 flights from all major UK airports from May through October.  Numerous ferries and charter boats make island hopping from Skiathos Town a breeze.  After an hour boat ride, the picturesque port of Patitiri was a wonderful introduction to Alonissos, where we were met by our gracious hosts Kostas of Albedo Travel and Dias of Alonissos Triton Dive Center.  Mike and I were delighted to be staying at the Paradise Hotel, aptly named for its stunning views over the sea and great location for walking to the waterfront.

Alonissos is beautifully situated in the National Marine Park of Alonissos and the Northern Sporades, the largest marine protected area in Europe.  The surrounding seas offer fabulous marine life, including incredibly rare species such as the Mediterranean monk seal.  They boast deep walls covered in gorgonians and sponges, stunning topography with caverns, swimthroughs and pinnacles, and the first accessible ancient shipwreck from 500BC!

In locations where historical sites have been reported, the waters are largely restricted, but with collaboration between government, underwater archeologists and dive centres, incredible underwater museums are being created for a truly unique diving experience.  Alonissos is home to the first of these, the Ancient Shipwreck of Peristera Accessible Underwater Archeological Site.  The chance to dive into history (along with reports of healthy reef life and amazing underwater topography) meant Mike and I were keen to get in the water.

Our introduction to the diving around Alonissos was at the Agios Georgios Pinnacles, in the channel between Alonissos and Skopelos.  This fantastic site was named “The Chimney,’ and proved to have a huge amount to see.  We got to a decent depth here (over 25m), and marvelled at a colourful reef wall with a wonderful swim through whose rocky walls were absolutely covered with life.  As well as brilliant topography there was no shortage of macro life here.  We saw numerous nudibranchs, five different species in total.  The second dive at Mourtias reef nearby was a shallower dive along a nice wall with lots of crevices. Several moray eels and grouper called this site home.  We enjoyed looking in the crevices for lobster and smaller benthic life, such as cup corals and tunicates.

Our itinerary allowed us two dives a day with afternoons left to explore the island with our hire car and evenings to enjoy the famous Greek hospitality.  This proved to be a lovely mix of in-water and land based diversions.  

The next days diving to the Gorgonian Gardens and Triton’s Cave was to be even better!  These two stunning sites are nothing short of fabulous.  The Gorgonian Gardens was a deep wall near to the Agios Georgios islands.  The ever-present currents in this deep channel meant that the sea life was amazing … the namesake Gorgonian sea fans dotted the wall at a depth of 30 to 50 meters, getting ever larger the deeper we went.  Above 30m was by no means less beautiful, with sponges, corals, scorpionfish, moray eels and some rare and colourful nudibranchs.

The second shallower dive of the day was to Triton’s Cave or the Cavern of Skopelos, on the east side of that island. The spectacular rock formations had wild striations both above and below the water making a truly epic topography.  The cavern entrance was at 14m, and big enough for a buddy pair, winding up to 6m and passing two beautiful windows out into the blue.  Emerging from the cavern, the light at the shallower depths and the incredible rock formations made for a fantastic gentle swimming safety stop and we all surfaced by the boat with massive grins. 

Check out our next blog :Alonissos: The complete diving destination (Part 2)” to hear about our amazing dive on the 2500 year old Peristera Wreck!

Thanks to:

Alonissos Triton Dive Center https://bestdivingingreece.com/

Albedo Travel https://alonissosholidays.com/activities/

Paradise Hotel https://paradise-hotel.gr/

Alonissos Municipality https://alonissos.gr/en/